Capitol Hill Blue Forums Policies & Guidelines Forum Guidelines FORUM MISSION STATEMENT & POSTING GUIDELINES

MISSION STATEMENT

The CHB Reader forum is one of the oldest discussion boards on the web, and one we think is unique. We are non-partisan and emphasize collegial discussion of the events and issues of the day. All points of view are welcome.

We believe in civility and must insist that posters avoid attacks on other readers. Obscenities, racist, bigoted or anti-semitic comments and threats are forbidden. This board exists to discuss issues, not attack people. We reserve the right to remove any comments which we feel violates this spirit of civility.

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POSTING STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

Respect One Another's Beliefs

Everyone is expected to treat each other with dignity and respect. Address the issues pertaining to the topic of the thread. Feel free to question, discuss & debate those issues. Feel free to speak your mind regarding the issues. Give others' opinions the same consideration you would like yours to receive.

Flaming & Cheap Shots Are Not Allowed

We do not tolerate personal attacks on members. Feel free to dispute another member's assertions, but don't attack the person. Your response should pertain to what the person said, not what the person "is".

Respect for Elective Offices

Elected Officials, both past and present, are referred to by name, not by nickname or by verbal/visual insulting reference. Feel free to criticize an elected official's actions, but don't attack the person. Address what the person did, not what the person "is".

Disputes, Arguments, Feuds Between Members

These shall be carried out off the board by Private Message or by email. Questions or concerns about application of the guidelines on a specific thread should be directed to the moderator team for consideration via Private Message or on the Forum News/Questions/Concerns rather than on the original thread. This minimizes potential thread drift and hijacking. Fighting on the board will result in warnings, deleted posts or more serious action. Let's keep bickering private.

Threats are off limits, either on the public board or via Private Messaging!

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ADDITIONAL POSTING GUIDELINES

Private Message Function

Members must leave their Private Message function enabled in case we need to contact you about a posting violation or any other reason. We reserve the right to suspend members who refuse to leave their Personal Message function turned on.

Stay On Topic

Most off-topic deviations probably merit their own thread. Don't be bashful about starting a new one. When starting a new topic, make sure it is a good fit for the forum you choose. If it is not, a moderator will move it to the appropriate forum.

Starting Threads

The title of the thread should accurately reflect the content of the post. If the sole subject of the new topic is a published article, the title of your thread should be the title of the article. Inflammatory titles are not allowed.

Starting threads for the sole purpose of directing traffic to your own website is not permitted. Moderators will remove these threads at their discretion.

Abide By the Copyright Laws

Posting an entire article violates U.S. copyright law. Post enough to introduce the article you wish to cite, 100 words or less only, with links back to the original article and cite the date and author. If the source is not linkable, please provide bibliography information. Copyright law also applies to visual works such as cartoons, images and the like.

Cite Your Sources

Say whether any source you quote is a news piece or an opinion piece. If your personal comments are opinion, do not claim they are facts. Back up your comments with documentation.

Ignore a Member
Reader Rant encourages a collegial, informed and respectful discussion on issues of importance to our members. Our guidelines are designed to minimize conflicts among our members and provide a safe place for such discussions.

If you find that a particular member's comments regularly offend or inflame you, one option is to ignore that member's comments. In order to do so, follow these steps:

1. Click on the member's name in any topic and select "View Profile"
2. You will see this menu bar under the top portion of the profile
3. Click on "Ignore this user" All posts by this member will be hidden from you.
4. You can reverse this action at any time by repeating these steps and clicking "Stop ignoring their posts"

Photo Post Section

The Photo Post Section provides users a way to post pictures and graphics to the forum for mutual enjoyment (not to mention the oohing and ahhhing over new grand children and such). Linked photos must meet the following guidelines.

• images and graphics linked to this system must be either the personal property of the person linking the image, or must be in the public domain. No copyrighted images may be linked to the system unless the user linking the image holds the copyright.
• Limit images and graphics to a file size less than 100k.
• All images must be 800x600 pixels or less.
• No pornographic images or graphics will be linked to this system.

If you aren't sure about an image, contact a Moderator or Administrator for advice FIRST.

Signatures

Don't use a sig that is a flame either towards other posters or elected officials, in poor taste, or one that advertises for another site. Sigs are meant to be expressions of our viewpoints and personalities, but they have to abide by the same rules as our posts do. The moderator team will decide when a sig is not suitable for use here.

Selection of a 'Public Name'

This is the name that others will see as you on the board. Please do not register a “url” as your public name. Your registration will be denied. The 'homepage' section of your profile is the place for promoting your own webpage or favorite webpage.

You are free to select the display name of your choice so long as it is not racist, homophobic nor violating any of our guidelines.

If you wish to change your display name,, you should contact one of the board's Administrators through a PM and indicate what name you wish to display.
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ADMINISTRATOR/MODERATOR ACTIONS

The Administrator/Moderator Staff determines if a member has violated the forum guidelines. If a poster violates a guideline, that member will receive a warning via Private Message and will be given the opportunity to edit the post. If the member does not respond to moderator warnings, the offending post(s) will be edited or deleted as appropriate. If the violation requires immediate action, a warning will be posted on the topic where the violation occurred, and a Private Message sent to the member.

Any member who has a question or concern about application of the guidelines is welcome to contact the moderator team via Private Message or ask a question on the Reader Rant News/Questions/Concerns forum. Arguing about the guidelines or moderator action on any other thread is not permitted.

Penalty Box

At the discretion of the Moderator staff, a member may have posting privileges temporarily suspended. This temporary suspension could be due to major violations or repeated minor violations of the rules. If this does happen, the member will be notified via pm and the date and time of the suspension and the removal of the suspension will be documented in the "Penalty Box."

Probationary Period

Once a stay in the Penalty Box has been completed, that member will be placed on probation for a period to be determined by the mod team. Any offenses incurred during that period will be cause for immediate and permanent suspension.

Suspending Members

Any member who has to be repeatedly warned and/or disciplined will have his or her posting privileges suspended. Any suspended member may contact an administrator to discuss reinstatement.

A visual aid for posting



Link for full size and readable image

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We value your membership and your discussions. Please don't hesitate to contact a moderator by Personal Message if you have any concerns or input to contribute. We look forward to hearing from you.

~~The Capitol Hill Blue Reader Forum Administration/Moderator Staff~~

(rev. 1/13/13)

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NEW RULE: The Vegas Rule

Vegas Rule: What happened in Vegas STAYS IN Vegas.

Any argument, fight or any other issues that tend to aggravation over stuff that happened OUTSIDE the Rant is PROHIBITED here.

Example: If you and another person had a fight or argument or any other hostilities outside The Rant, do not bring it up here, do not make mention of it at all.

AND: Any (non political) personal fight or argument that DOES arise here at The Rant will be immediately directed to Private Messaging and taken OFF the publicly accessible portions of the forum anyway.

Take it outside because it will not stay up where others can read it.
If anyone has a beef with another member that is not political, it does not belong at The Rant.

Continued and/or flagrant refusal to abide by the Vegas Rule carries escalating consequences. Just don't do it.