Manga Punk loves freedom of speech and encourages you to use it. However, we also encourage you to keep in mind a few things to help fight Site Rot.
What is Site Rot?
Sometimes, you start visiting a great site where everyone is cool and knowledgeable and helpful. Then, as the site becomes more popular as the word of its awesomeness spreads, some people start coming who do things that make the site less interesting and helpful. The forums start going off topic, flame wars break out, and in general, all those cool, awesome helpful people desert the site for one that is less derelict, taking their friends with them, and the once mighty and promising site degenerates into a mere pseudo-chatroom, rife with trolls, which is of no help to anyone.
I've seen it happen and have the battle scars to prove it. I won't let it happen to Manga Punk. There are measures I can take to make sure that it never happens. I can ban people. I can delete posts. I can filter words. I can make "preview post" mandatory. I'll only say this once: I am the owner and admin of this site, and I am omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient here. Try your best to follow the rules, and if you have a problem with something (or someone), contact me first. Don't be a silly ass, or you are inviting me to smite you.
I'd rather not be a dicatator, though. I'd rather have a site where mature, intelligent people can speak their minds and debate and laugh in a civilized manner. Although I may control the posting on this site, I do not control you. So here are some tips that will help keep Manga Punk from becoming a dictatorship. Follow them, and we shall thrive as an online oasis; ignore them at your own peril. A sternly moderated site is better than a anarchal site, and I will micromanage to keep the order if I must. So keep the rules and keep your right to free speech. Keep Manga Punk free of Site Rot!
Forum Rules
1. Avoid swearing. We get a lot of people on here who use school computers. Some of those computers will block any site with things like the f-word. So, avoid swearing. We all slip up, yes, but posting "bloody mothering f-ing hell this" and "son of a shitty b*tch that" constantly makes you look like a damn fool, and I'm sorry to say that experience leads me to believe that people who swear constantly do it because they have nothing better to say. Try to think of a more articulate way of stating your feelings. Instead of, "She is such a bitch," say, "She is such a smarmy tart." That is much more descriptive. As a last resort, consider censoring your own swearing with conventions like "@$$hole" and "what the bleep?" Even "WTF" is preferable to the real thing for the sake of our school users.
Retaliation: If the swearing gets too bad, I can install a language filter. Then no one will be able to swear. Punk does not equate potty mouth.
2. Speak modern English. That means try to use proper grammar and spelling. Not everyone is perfect, so I don't expect you all to write as well as a journalist. But, I do expect you to make the effort to use capitalization, punctuation and proper spelling. Typos, emoticons, and common abbreviations like "lol" are fine and not frowned upon. Chatspeak, 133t and excessively poor writing are frowned upon, though, so put some effort into what you post. You will be judged by the effort you put into your writing. Everyone here can read proper modern English, but not everyone an read chatspeak. Everything in all caps or all lowercase is also offensive and strongly discouraged. Language studies show that the human mind can decipher properly capitalized words faster and better than improperly capitalized ones.
Retaliation: If I find too much chatspeak or whatnot going on, I can make "preview post" mandatory. That would force everyone to click "preview post" before their posts go live. It's a really nasty convention because often we don't remember to hit "post comment" on the preview page, so our posts never go live.
3. No flaming or trolling. We don't always agree with other peoples' opinions. But, everyone on Manga Punk has a right to their own opinion and the expression that opinion. If you don't agree with someone's opinon, word your argument in the least offensive manner as possible. Provide evidence and write logically. Instead of saying, "You are stupid! Everyone knows that the Egyptians were more advanced than the Mayans! Just give up already," write, "Actually, the Egyptians were more advanced than the Mayans in many ways. For instance, the Mayans used wheels on children's toys, but never actually used them to make carts. The Egyptians used the wheel to make mills and chariots." And, of course, bullying, insulting, and otherwise arrogant posts and personal attacks on fellow boarders are so frowned upon that they carry the heaviest of punishments.
Retaliation: Banishment of the user and/or deletion/alteration of the offending posts. I am vengeful site goddess :)
4. Stay on topic. Free association is fun, and it has its place. But, it can be the death of a message board. If someone takes a topic started about drawing hands and starts asking about something completely different, like the author's My Little Pony collection, then everyone reading the topic who has little ponies will start posting about their little ponies instead of about hands. People browsing the forums who also have My Little Ponies will not realize that the topic is now about My Little Ponies because it's called "Drawing Hands." Hence, the My Little Pony conversation will be limited to those who were already reading it and those who stumbled across it thinking it was a topic about hands. People expecting a post about drawing hands will be distressed to find instead a topic about little plastic ponies. So, instead of replying to the hands topic with, "Hey, I love your MLP icon! Do you collect little ponies, too?" start a brand new topic like, "My Little Pony collectors on Manga Punk unite!" That way everyone knows where to find what. I cannot stress the importance of staying on topic. Off topic conversation can kill a good discussion.
Retaliation: Deletion/alteration of the off topic posts. Possible implementation of mandatory "preview post." I am loathe to do either, though, as off topic offenses are so comparatively minor in nature to other offenses, even if their effects are devastating to a board's health. This one is in your hands, so it is really important that you try to observe this rule.
Conclusion
The more we follow these rules, the healthier and happier Manga Punk becomes. I'm not going to ban you over a few typos or some accidental off topic converation. I do that myself. But it is important that you, as a Manga Punk, make the effort for your fellow punks and all of Manga Punk. Do your part. Make the effort.
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I live under a bridge.
