Ducati Monster Forum

Forum Guidelines

We're completely nuts about monsters.  We just are.  We welcome all Monster enthusiasts, riders, and gawkers to share their knowledge, questions, experiences and lives with one another.  We hope the board can provide a fun, irreverent, but mature environment to share our fanaticism.  To keep our happy little family functioning smoothly, we've come up with some guidelines.  

                 Members' Privileges

1.  Visitors and members can find pertinent motorcycling information quickly.

2.  Visitors and members can expect to not be subjected to inappropriate graphic content.

3.  Visitors and members can find relevant content in the forums they choose to browse.

4.  Members can interact in a respectful and mature environment filled with spirited discussion.  We want this community to be fun and welcoming for all.

5.  Members can expect that other members will contribute their knowledge and passion to the board.  The community can only exist if people help out others, occasionally write a "How To" thread, or find some other way to give back.  

6.  Members can read quarterly accountings of the board's finances.  This is forum was not designed to make us money.

7.  Members can be heard regarding any major decisions affecting the forum or the community.

8.  Members can expect that the board will always be owned, run and administered by enthusiast members.  ALWAYS!

9.  Members can voice their opinions as long as that it does not conflict with another privilege.

10.  If such action is necessary, members can expect to know why their membership was suspended or banned in a timely manner.


                 Members' Responsibilities

1.  Introduce Yourself before posting.

2.  Posting

      2.1  Members will conduct themselves in a respectful manner. Members shall not engage in disrespectful posting, personal attacks, name-calling, flaming, baiting, inflammatory posting or language, juvenile, chauvinistic or demeaning posting, post whoring (posting with the sole purpose of increasing their overall post count), trolling, e-sniping, e-stalking, indirect attacks, and other such activities not conducive to a positive and productive environment.  This includes posts or threads of a purely sexual nature.  All posting in violation of the Guidelines will be acted on by interpretation of moderators.  

      2.2.  Posting about religion or politics or cop-talk are allowed on a probationary basis, but limited to the Politics board.   <edit:  this didn't work, so the politics boad is gone.   politics, religion, and cop-bashing are not allowed>

      2.3.  Do not threadjack.
    
      2.4.  Members will not post people's personal information.  

      2.5.  Members should not post copyrighted materials without permission of author or photographer as applicable. Links to other publications or materials are allowed along with a short introduction to the material.

      2.6  Threads posted about current racing results where TV coverage is imminent shall not contain information about the result and will have the word "SPOILER" in the title.

      2.7   "Baiting"      Some people find it fun to push and poke at members while believing they technically are within the guidelines in how it's done.  Then when the subject does something in return that violates a guideline, a 'report to moderator' is done.   This is childish and such 'baiting' will be cause for a permanent ban.   It is at the discretion of the administrators whether someone is being a jerk and baiting.

3.  Images.  

     3.1  Members shall not post images or links containing, nudity, partial nudity, sexual acts, or depiction thereof.  This includes pictures for purely sexual purposes.  This isn't a frat house, and the board needs to be work-appropriate.  As a simple example,  the DMF should be able to be up on a screen in anyone's office and not get them in trouble for anything other than wasting time.  Pictures of clothed spouses or significant others are ok.  If questionable, images should be linked and not directly visible in a thread. This link, and if possible the thread title, should carry a warning that such material may be NWS = "Not Work Safe".  Links will be deleted if determined to be inappropriate by the moderators.  


     3.2  Graphic images depicting violence are discouraged, with the exception of those that serve an educational purpose in the motorcycling community. Those that satisfy the educational clause should be linked and not directly visible in a thread. This link, and if possible the thread title, should carry a "GRAPHIC" warning.

4.  Signatures are limited by the software, and shall not exceed [size to be determined as we go...it's an evolving process]

5.  When personal disputes arise between members they should take their squabble to Private Message (PM) and will do so when requested by staff.

6.  Interactions with moderators.  
    
     6.1  Members shall conduct themselves respectfully when in dispute with a moderator.  Disagreement with moderation should be discussed by pm, and not on the open forum. The moderators will determine whether to lock the thread.  

     6.2  Members that smear or otherwise attack the site or moderators are subject to suspension and or removal.

     6.3  Members will not start a thread with the intent of continuing the topic of a thread that was closed or removed.

7.  Multiple logins are not permitted.

8.  Members shall not promote their business or other forums in fashion that can be considered SPAM. Postings of such material may be removed by the moderators and an explanation will generally be provided, but not required. Repeat offenses may lead to suspension and/or removal. Advertisers are exempt and may post specials and/or information about their business.  Hotlinks to other commercial moto related websites are not allowed in sig lines. That is reserved for sponsors. More detailed vendor Rules are here:  [insert link]

9.  The board is not responsible for policing business dealings in the classified.  Buy and sell at your own risk.
 
10.  Provide feedback regarding vendors or dealers, but do not gratuitously slam a vendor on the board.  Prior to posting, please contact them directly if possible to work out issues.

11.  Moderators have discretion in interpreting the Guidelines.  Their judgment is final.  The moderators will deal--in their discretion and with the best interests of the board and community in mind--with any grey areas not explicitly covered by the Guidelines.

12.  While we will try to keep these guidelines consistent, members acknowledge that the guidelines may be edited and updated from time to time as needed and new issues arise.  Members agree to periodically review the guidelines.

13. For Sale posting must meet the requirements listed here... http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=65018.msg1198662#msg1198662 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=65018.msg1198662#msg1198662)

                  Suspensions & Banning

First violation:  24-72 hour suspension.  Initiated by any moderator.

Second violation:  One week suspension.  Initiated by any moderator.

Third violation:  One month suspension to permanent ban.  Admin decision.

Repeated violations or serious one-time violations or a pattern of conduct that requires disproportionate amount of moderator time will result in the member's access to the board being terminated.  Basically, don't make youself a pain in the butt to deal with.

ADDENDUM: General Posting Principles

Ok, so above we listed the dos and don'ts re how to conduct yourself on the board.  Here's a much simpler version.  Make sure that before you post you ask these questions:

1)  Will others think I'm being a jerk?

2)  Would I say this in front of my mother?

3)  Does this post contribute to the board or add value to this thread?

4)  Is this post on topic? Should I begin a new thread?