So why did we decide to change the Rules? Well for one they were about 20 Rules long which is sort of ridiculous. If you need that many rules you might as well declare a Fascist state run by a Dictatorship. Under new Ownership that saw Palmetto steel leave and Steelreign take over his spot to work along side - Me :yo: we felt that the way things had been done and run at the Pittsburgh Sorts Forum needed changed. The atmosphere needed to change to reflect what myself and Steelreign want Pittsburgh Sports Forum to feel like when you are here which is a "chill" environment.
One of the main focuses of the new Rules was to simply make them "common sense" Rules. Stuff that you look at and say "well naturally...". I went through and eliminated nearly a thousand words worth of text that I felt was "worthless", "overbearing" and would make one feel like they were walking on Egg Shells. Outside of Trimming and Slimming down the Rules to a simple list of "10 Commandments", our desire to keep the Management ranks to a minimum of 3 (Kipper, Steelreign and Buccoray61) for as long as we possibly can also helps alleviate issues related to too many people with "authority" enforcing in their own "personal"ways which can cause conflicts, as they had in the past. Eliminating confusion, conflicts and issues with the Admins and Mods make for a more fluid Message Board.
The days of strict Rules and personal judgment are gone as we move forward. We have decided to utilize more of a Democratic approach to all of the major issues as some witnessed with the handling of Crash. We put up a poll to get people's views on a person that we had been getting a sense from comments and a few private messages that was irritating others and gave everyone here a vote. The majority voted and Crash was banned. We've tweaked the voting concept so that it utilizes a post count to determine who gets a vote. It's a way to reward those that spend a lot of time here and do so posting. We also decided to include "Donors" as well if they don't have the specific amount of Posts as our way of showing Gratitude!
So, check out the *New* Rules but most importantly realize that myself and Steelreign have been hard at work trying to change the atmosphere here at PSF. We are trying to change the way PSF was judged and viewed. We want people to have a laid back, chill time. We're not interested in babysitting and playing Message Board Cops. You guys have a stronger responsibility to govern yourselves, we only want to get involved when we have no choice but to be involved, not because our personal ego's need stroked.
Here at the Pittsburgh Sports Forum, our Open Forum Message Board and Blog is dedicated to one thing and that is to make sure everyone is having a Kick *** time. This is your Neighborhood Sports Bar. "Cheers" online. We might not be the classiest and most upscale but we smell a little nicer than the local dive.
At PSF we're not a big fan of Rules but you need them to set some ground rules for everyone to follow. All of our Rules at PSF are "common sense" based but some people like to have the Rules spelled out clearly, so here they are!
Kipper : Kipper is the Administrator and Co-Owner of Pittsburgh Sports Forum. If you have any questions with the technical and/or artistic aspects at PSF, help, guidance and/or need to bring something to PSF Management’s attention, contact Kipper. You can also find Kipper on Twitter @pghsportsforum
Steelreign : Steelreign is the Administrator and Co-Owner of Pittsburgh Sports Forum. If you have any questions or need any assistance, Steelreign is your guy. You can also find him on Twitter @PSF_Steelreign.
Buccoray61 : Buccoray61 is a Global Moderator for all of Pittsburgh Sports Forum. He assists in overseeing every Forum, enforcing rules and can answer any question you have.
------------------
Each of the above members of PSF Management volunteer their time and efforts to the Pittsburgh Sports Forum with zero compensation. Try not to be a complete Jagoff towards them, since this is not their job. Like you, Kipper, Steelreign and Buccoray61 are here to enjoy themselves and talk some Pittsburgh Sports 'N At!
PSF Management isn't a bunch of uptight, power hungry types that you find on 99% of every Forum/Blog. Feel free to call them an ******* if you'd like. They'll probably call you one in return.
At PSF we ask that you keep in mind that this is a "Discussion" Forum. We accept and have no problem with differing views and opinions and openly invite them. That's what makes a Message Board/Blog great. You could hate Ben Roethlisberger, want to run Pirates GM Neal Huntington out of town, believe that Sidney Crosby is overrated or whatever else and while we might not agree with that opinion, you have every right to express it. What we won't tolerate are people coming to the Pittsburgh Sports Forum with a purpose to instigate a reaction based on their views. There are various ways to have a good open discussion about every topic and ask that you use your best judgment when presenting it. Please don't cause problems and if your purpose is to register with an intent on being a troll like jagoff, we will shove our blue collar boots so far up your *** you'll be choking on the laces.
**NOTE** Before we get to the PSF Ten Commandments we would like to point out that all Members at the Pittsburgh Sports Forum have the ability in their personal settings to disable the viewing of Profanity, Avatars, Signature Pictures, Attached Images, and Embedded Images. Each Member also has the ability to "Ignore" another Member of the Pittsburgh Sports Forum by clicking on their name and choosing to "Ignore User". This also includes Quotes of the ignored Member posted by someone else.
The Pittsburgh Sports Forum is unique in many ways and one of those is the way in which the PSF handles Banning Members. This is simply something you don't see on any other Forum or Blog. Simply put, Admins and Moderators do not Ban Members on their own. Here at PSF, we don't like to Ban people. We understand that people have bad days, ways of expressing their opinions that aren't exactly delivered with "tact" and we don't want to be the ones deciding what is right and wrong. We have no business making that ultimate judgment call. We may privately ask you to stop doing something but we aren't going to ban you. Under the previous Co-Ownership from October 2009 - September 2012, the Rules at PSF were far harsher and Management more unorganized. A simple set of Rules evolved into a needless list of near fascism. People were banned by one member of PSF Management without any other member of PSF Management knowing. Those days are over. The confusion and conflict has ended, the Berlin Wall has crumbled. Things are done Democratically now.
Here's how it works:
If you have 2,000 posts or more (Your Rank is All-Star, Superstar, The Elite, All Pro, Hall Of Famer or Legend), you are to us considered a "Veteran" member here at PSF. You're actively involved and chances are, you have been around for a while to accumulate 2,000 posts. If you don't have 2,000 posts but have made a Financial Donation to the Pittsburgh Sports Forum, you are included in this group as well as a token of our appreciation. These are the Members at PSF that ultimately decide who gets Banned or not. If a member of PSF Management or a Member of this group feels that someone may be wearing out their stay at PSF, the entire group will be contacted privately to discuss and vote. 50% is the majority so that there can be no ties.
One major exception is that any and all Members of this group have to have actively been logged in to PSF 60 days prior to any discussion to take part in it. If you weren't, then you will be excluded.
Now here's the Rules!
I. If A Moderator/Admin tells you something in regards to conduct on the board it must be taken seriously. Management is laid back at PSF. They aren't going to tell you something unless they feel that it is important for the entire atmosphere at PSF. If you are confused about whether the Moderator or Admin is being serious or joking around, ask them Privately in a PM rather than out on the Message Board to avoid any back and forth conflicts that clutter the place up. This sort of "clutter" could be subjected to Deletion or being moved. People don't want to read "personal drama" so please don't argue your case Publicly at PSF. Nobody wants to read it. Failure to do this will result in posts being DELETED without warning.
II. Do Not make or insinuate any comment, topic or response that may be viewed as being "Racial". While one's intent might not be racist, the subject of race is too sensitive and subjective from person to person. Eliminating any issues that could permeate from a race based comment is a priority of ours. Any post(s) regarding race as deemed by PSF Management are subject to being Deleted and a Private Warning will be issued.
III. Stay On Topic. The "Sports" Forums are created to discuss topics related to those teams. All Off Topic posts are subject to being moved to a more appropriate Forum at PSF with a "Temporary Re-Direct" attached to the Thread/Post. PSF Management may choose to Keep, Move and/or Delete these Threads/Posts. All Threads/Posts that are "Deleted" are temporarily "Soft Deleted". They are still there but only Moderators and Admins can view their content. If uncontested, these Soft Deletes will become Permanent.
IV. Don't Discuss Politics And Religion at PSF. We are aware that people have their personal preferences on such matters, however it is our experience that discussion on these subjects often result in endless argument, personal hostility, future snide remarks and it takes away from the laid back and enjoyable atmosphere and environment we are trying to maintain here at the Pittsburgh Sports Forum. Political and Religious topics and posts are subject to being DELETED without any warning or explanation.
V. Don't Release A Member Of Pittsburgh Sports Forum's Personal Information. This Will Result In An Instant Ban without a Vote. No questions asked. Only a complete dick does something like that.
VI. No Trolls. Any person that registers and posts with the intent to instigate others into negative arguments, flame wars and/or hi-jacks threads to accomplish this annoyance is subject to either a Warning or Vote on being Banned. Below are various specifics as to what we consider Trolling/Trolls at PSF.
A. Registering and posting with the intent (determined by Management), of purposely aggravating, baiting and instigating any member(s) at the Pittsburgh Sports Forum with blatant negativity towards any or all of -- the Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins, Pirates & Power, their Owner(ship) and/or Management. We might view you as cheap entertainment and keep you around like a cheap toy. You could be Banned at any point without Warning and with no explanation. It's your own risk if you choose to be a ******.
B. Presenting a known opposite viewpoint with blatant disregard toward presenting factual evidence with intentions to stir the pot, aggravate and instigate any member(s) of the Pittsburgh Sports Forum.
C. Cross Team Trolling. Just because you're a fan of one Pittsburgh sports team doesn't give you the right to go into another Pittsburgh sports teams Forum and act like a Troll. Those fans deserve the same decency and ability to converse in peace that you are given and expect on the Forum of the Pittsburgh Sports team you're a big fan of. A Troll is a Troll whether you a fan of just 1 or 2 Pittsburgh sports teams. You may be Banned from just specifically posting on the particular Pittsburgh Sports Forum that you were violated the Trolling rules.
D. No use of Avatars and Signatures to instigate and bait others into negative conflicts and flame wars.
VII. No Personal Attacks. Joking around with each other is always acceptable but attacking someone personally isn't. Personal Attacks we consider involve a PSF Member's family or personal/private life that he or she hasn't made publicly at PSF. We will protect you from someone spouting negativity and ignorance towards your family regardless whether you have discussed family or not publicly at PSF but be aware of what other private topics you discuss at PSF as those are "free reign" for discussion.
VIII. Unfortunately No Porn. Nipples, Vagina's, Penises. All of these count as nudity and will be deleted if seen. This is a rule of our Server Host not a personal preference of PSF.
IX. No Selling Of Merchandise at the Pittsburgh Sports Forum. This isn't Ebay. If you, a friend or a family member is selling something and you think it would be a good offer for the rest of PSF, send a PM to one of the Admins/Moderators to get their approval. Everything else is subject to being Deleted without warning and an Instant Permanent Ban without a vote for "spamming".
X. Don't Be A Jagoff To First Time Posters. If you feel the need to insult someone's first post at PSF then keep it to yourself. We're sure they don't appreciate taking the time to join the Pittsburgh Sports Forum and sharing their opinions/ideas only to be given a Cleveland Steamer.
