Discussion About the New Forum Rules (Also: Frink's Avatars) (Was: For those of you who want to be rid of me, you might get your wish sooner than you thought)

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Guidelines-for-Post-Content-and-General-Behavior-Or-How-Not-To-Get-Banned/forum/6/topic/12074/post/450138/#TopicPost450138

Beats me.  I'm guessing it's been a few weeks or months coming based on the ESB:R thread, but it took Jay a while to get around to it.

Frink, there is no reason for you to leave.   From what Jay said, you can still do whatever you want in off topic.   Just behave yourself in the rest of the forum is all.   Please don't go, Frink.  I'd hate to see another of my friends leave

I didn't say I'm leaving.  But I put odds at 50-50 that I'll be banned in the next month.

Just confine your brand of wacky humor to the off-topic section, and you should be good, right?

I have faith in you, Frink.

but there is no reason for you to be banned.  Nothing has changed in off topic.   All you have to do is follow the rules that Jay set down for the rest of the forum.  

Yes, but here's the problem.  There are all kinds of weird-ass threads that are not in off-topic, such as this one.  By the rules, I would be banned several times over for that one thread.

And I don't see how I can hold my tongue in those kind of situations.

Or how about this one?  20 wonderful pages of off-topic nonsense, but located in the General SW Discussion thread.

I guess I'm just curious how far these rules will go.  The first time someone bitches because ESB:R isn't done yet, and I post a crying Dawson gif, is that strike one?

:-(

I don't know.    We will just have to see.   You could PM Jay and Moth3r and ask them how strict they will enforce the rules.  

I am surprised by the change in Jay's policies.   Anyone know what caused it? 

I agree with Warbler, Frink.  Just try really hard to keep it in off topic.  I would hate to see you leave or be banned. 

It is a shame that the rules cannot be enforced a little less strictly in the general Star Wars discussion forum because there are always some threads there that are just asking to be Frinked.  I do think that the off topic posts in threads devoted to specific projects should be curtailed though.

c'mon... everyone is guilty of going off topic at one time or another.

Johnny Ringo said:

c'mon... everyone is guilty of going off topic at one time or another.

If that is meant for me, then I agree that I am guilty of this too, but I do try to stay on topic in the project threads.

In the thread mentioned Moth3r would normally have deleted the thread as spam but gave you and others permission to 'play with things a while before annihilation' (I can't remember if this was before or after he ordered us not to reply to any spam posts because it was making his life hellish).

Perhaps if you are in doubt you could use some sort of 'safe word' (or PM).

I doubt if you would get banned for dipping your toe off topic, hunting for Red October off topic would probably be pursued with extreme prejudice though.

Personal attacks could be a tricky one (most of the time it's obvious but sometimes one persons personal attack is another person's illustrating the point you just made with picture of a Time Lord surrounded by zombies).

If the Off Topic section is still a relatively hands free area as some of the people on this thread seem to think than the position is clear...don't do it elsewhere.

What about off the cuff remarks about George's neck?

Sure he isn't a member but it's pretty much a personal remark which may offend some people who would see it as an attack.

I don't know where this leaves things like stay on target!, the memory cheats, Actual Movie Still and Actual Movie Sequence cards?

They are often on topic but single images which convey concepts in a clear way without the need for space wasting words.

If someone were to banned for that then there should be people banned for oversized images and the forums will empty very quickly.

I would be interested to see how this plays out because sometime project threads can get bogged down by this sort of thing but sometimes it keeps threads current and a new burst of creativity can explode out of the silliest jokes.

If this became the sort of place where odd-ball zany irreverence became unwelcome I'd sell my landspeeder anyway.

I wouldn't need to be banned.

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Vintage-Memories/post/450184/#TopicPost450184

20th Century Mark said:

A friend of mine once got a 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar at a grage sale for $20. I was hardly used.

My normal response to this would be something about the I vs. It typo.  If it was someone on my buddy list like Sluggo, it would be an obvious mom joke.  But now, per the rules, I would be warned if I did it.

And here's another harmless one that would get me in trouble:

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/The-Prequel-Radical-Redux-Ideas-Thread/post/450135/#TopicPost450135

This sucks.

Grrrrrr!!!!

Frink, I don't think you will be banned or punished the second you make some kind of sarcastic remark or off-topic reference. Everyone does that here and its part of the off-the-cuff charm that makes non-preservation discussion entertaining at OT.com. I think its just a warning about doing this chronically without ever contributing anything worthwhile to a discussion. I have to say you are often guilty of this and sometimes it gets a bit old. But if you got in trouble for any "technical" breach of this new rule then we'd all be in trouble as well, and obviously this is not going to happen. So I would say just be yourself but take it down a few notches in areas where it otherwise might impose upon more "informative" discussion, or whatever.

That seems to be a reasonable interpretation of the rules.  I suppose I'm looking at the rules (esp. #3 and #4) in the strictest, worst case sense.  It would be nice to have some clarification.

Moth3r or Jay?

Have you recived a warning as of yet?? If so you just need to curb your behaviour from there on. Or just stick to Off Topic and continue mayhem as usual.

No warning yet, but I'm one of the most frequent violators of #3 and #4.  The way I read it, you get one warning for your first violation of any sort and then you are banned.  I'm hoping I'm wrong, but it seems like there is no wiggle room or exceptions.

If I do get banned, someone will need to take over my Classic LOL thread and put me on the list. ;-)

Paranoid at all? Now you know whats its like to post in your currently about thread. The cry of PROBATION! hunts me.

#4 is a stinker i admit as it causes major LOLs in threads.

I stopped my BS in Adys thread a long time ago because i could see the extent of the other none related rubbish building up as a result. Now Adys thread is plagued by BS. I just brought my shit underground (which apparently still okay).