Forum code of conduct

[CDP]

FORUM CODE OF CONDUCT

This is a forum based upon the discussion and dissemination of all things related to the Wartime airfields of the UK - their extant remains and history. It is intended as friendly meeting place, where like-minded people can share their knowledge.

All users under the age of 13 must obtain permission from a parent to join these forums.

1) We, the Administrators (herein after known as "Admin"), will have full control over what is posted. Admin has the right to delete posts or suspend and/or delete accounts, should any of the following be breached. These forum rules may be changed without prior notification.

2) We are here to encourage the dissemination, in a friendly and legal environment, information and bona fidé research regarding the many airfields, largely disused, which populate the UK. To this end, Admin does NOT encourage or condone the following activities:

2.1) Illegal access
2.2) Trespass
2.3) Anyone knowingly removing or defacing items and artefacts which may be seen at these sites

Anyone who promotes this behaviour will have their account deleted without review by Admin.

3) Please be polite on the forums. There may be newcomers who wish to forward questions which to some, may seem trivial, yet to others, may answer their question. To this end, any posts which are deemed by Admin to defamatory, racist, sexist or any other such behaviour which is likely to be of a personal nature will have their account either suspended or deleted, pending a review by Admin. Failure to conduct correspondence in an adult, discursive manner, will result in accounts being suspended/deleted without review.

4) Please keep to the subject in hand and try to avoid too much "thread creep". Whilst we know that on forums, we can all become a little side-tracked, where possible, please stay on topic. Threads will be either be locked/closed, moved to the appropriate Forum Section or deleted entirely should this happen.

5) Posting of personal photographs and research is allowed and copyright rests with that person. If any other material is used which is not from a personal source, please try to cite a reference for it.

6) No "text speak" please! Please post in clear English, unless it is not your first language of course!

7) Anyone found to be taking the identity of another will have their account deactivated without notice.

8) We reserve the right to remove any posts, which in the sole opinion of the moderators, could constitute liable or defamation. This includes naming companies or individuals in a derogatory light without being able to show objective evidence for any negative comments made regarding them. Please also avoid talking politics and religion, it causes too many arguments and these threads will be deleted / locked by the mods/admin.

9) Decicions made the Admin team are final, please do respect this as we are working for the benefit of those who use Airfield Information Exchange.

10) Most of all, have a good time here. We all have a common interest in keeping alive the memory of the people who served at these airfields and the legacy, both in the fabric of society and the archaeology which remains with us. Please bear this in mind.

[AiXAdmin]

The Airfield Information Exchange (AiX) was established on behalf of the Airfield Research Group to provide a freely accessible public forum for the exchange of information and news amongst airfield researchers.
There are no charges to view or contribute to the forum but registration or ARG membership is required to view or post to some reserved members-only topics.

The Airfield Research Group has been in continuous existence since the 1970's and is widely respected as a knowledge base and archive of the first order. It follows therefore that the public forum (AiX) should strive to maintain standards of reportage, discussion and decorum commensurate with the parent organisation. It is with these principles in mind that the trustees have appointed a number of "moderators" whose task is to monitor forum content for postings that are deemed to be inappropriate, disruptive or potentially harmful to the reputation of the Airfield Research Group.

Additionally there are nominated forum administrators responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the forum against external threats. (essentially spamming and hacking)

Those of you that have "worked the internet" for any period of time will have seen once popular and respected forums fall into decline as they have succumbed to loss of focus, spam, self promotion, intrusive content or cliques;
without robust moderation this is not just a possibility but a certainty. We are fortunate that the AiX content to noise ratio is extraordinarly high which suggests that members value the resource and have effectively taken ownership of the forum. In fact active moderation tends to be a sufficiently unusual event for it to sometimes cause a bit of a stir or even cries of censorship! Furthermore such moderation as there is tends to be confined to the general discussion areas as distinct from the defined topic sections.

With the above in mind it might be constructive to set out some broad guidelines about postings that may attract the attention of moderators.

1. Any posts deemed to be libellous, abusive, racist or potentially offensive to a minority.
2. Posts designed to incite polarised or opinionated responses in respect of topics best discussed elsewhere; eg politics, religion, Royal Family etc.
3. Posts deemed to be made principally for the purposes of advertising or self promotion. Members wishing to promote their websites for example are encouraged to complete their forum profiles thus making it easy for others to learn more about them.
4. "Thread creep" - changing the flow or subject of a topic mid stream can kill a good thread stone dead and prejudice future content of substance.
5. Posts comprising solely of a link to an external resource with no original content.
6. The apparent emergence of cliques.
7. Promotion of activities that may be in conflict with ARG best practice. eg trespassing, theft of artefacts, vandalism.
8. Anything not covered above but considered to be prejudical to the good order of the forum.

Moderation can tend to be subjective at times and lively discussion amongst moderators prior to any action is not at all unusual. It is important to stress that whilst it may appear so to the poster active moderation is never personal.

This item is for information only and should be read in conjunction with the preceeding post; indeed other than item 1 above there is plenty of room for interpretation and members should not feel unduly inhibited about contributing as they see fit.

(AiX moderators revision September 2011)