The K440 forum is the most entertaining, informative and provocative internet forum in South East Asia, and we want to ensure it stays that way. Until recently there have been no formally communicated guidelines for posters, something which may have helped its wild growth in the past but which has the potential to limit its growth and development in the future. Several posters have expressly asked for posting guidelines so that they know how to stay 'onside'; clearly articulated rules which apply to all posters also help the moderation team do their job.
We have developed the following set of posting guidelines so everyone knows what will be tolerated and encouraged, and what won’t. At the same time, we have developed a corresponding set of moderating guidelines (below) to give posters confidence that these guidelines will be moderated fairly and consistently.
Posting guidelines
1) K440 posting guidelines apply to all posters, irrespective of longevity.
2) K440 would not be K440 without the occasional handbags at five paces spats. Having said that persistent trolling, personal vendettas or an obsessive campaign of attacking particular members won't be tolerated. For long, at least.
3) Racism and offensive remarks based on race or religion will not be tolerated on the forum. Unless such remarks are made against Australians, in which case they are encouraged.
4) Overtly sexist and gratuitously homophobic remarks have no place on 440.
5) K440 is a boisterous place and the language is always going to be colourful, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. But childish crap like posting c**t in bold 24 point text simply to get attention is pathetic and does nothing to the forum or the poster's credibility. Neither does excessive and gratuitous vulgarity. It won't be tolerated.
6) K440 is not the place to discuss the specifics of prostitution. Yes, it exists. Yes it's an interesting topic generally. But there are other places to go to if you want to find out more detailed information. The same applies to unprompted discussions about pedophilia or illegal drug use, outside of news stories related to those subjects.
7) Spamming other members through forum posts, PM or any other method to promote businesses or other activities (including websites or blogs) is not permitted. Similarly, links to other Cambodia forums, or forums which could reasonably be construed as competition to K440, are not allowed.
8) We respect our members' privacy. Please avoid revealing personal information about other posters, particularly their name, photograph, phone number, email address or details of their private life on the forum. Anyone breaching this rule will receive an immediate indefinite ban and the particular instance will be discussed in the mod forum to decide if a longer suspension or permanent banning is warranted.
9) No username or avatars that are overtly commercial in nature are allowed for new members other than sponsors. If you want to promote your business, give us your money. Any new poster who chooses a name they think may go against this guideline should contact Admin in advance.
10) Please refrain from posting gratuitously provocative pictures and links to illegal software sites.
11) While we welcome feedback on Admin and Moderation issues and will listen to reasonable arguments on all contentious issues, Admin's decision is final.
Moderating guidelines
Moderating a forum like K440 is challenging. On the one hand we don't want to needlessly stifle discussion or censor threads and turn the forum into something asinine; on the other hand we have a responsibility to keep discussions on track, ensure personal disagreements don't escalate into fights that bore other members, and generally retain the special tone and vibrancy of K440 for every member - old, new and potential.
In the interests of transparency, what follows are our thoughts on moderating the forum. It is important members understand how and why we take moderating decisions.
1) The sole reason for taking moderating decisions is for the welfare of K440 and its members, not to settle individual grievances, pursue agendas or satisfying egos.
2) Most moderating activity has absolutely no impact on most members; a lot of moderating is done behind the scenes, monitoring new members and deleting spam. This is mentioned so that members understand the significant time commitment made by the moderation team.
3) As a general rule, the moderation team can't and shouldn't be expected to explain every moderation decision made. Moderating decisions will be made in order to enforce the posting guidelines already outlined. Having said that, where it seems particularly appropriate to provide an explanation for a deletion or an edit, we will try to provide one, either in PM or on the affected thread. This will be at our discretion.
4) For minor transgressions, we will issue a warning to offending posters before more drastic action is taken. A warning is not an invitation to escalate bad posting behaviour, nor is it personal. It is issued privately and is intended ONLY to give a poster a chance to tone down his or her behaviour. Individual moderators have the discretion to decide what they think constitutes a 'minor transgression' but it is likely to include such things as persistent and gratuitous trolling or excessive use of obscenities.
5) Individual moderators will have the discretion / authority to unilaterally suspend a member's account for a maximum of up to seven days. Longer and permanent bans will happen only after a discussion in the moderator forum and when at least two mods and / or one Admin agrees to such a ban.
6) The forum posting guidelines apply equally to all K440 members, regardless of how long they have been members. The application of these rules by the moderation team will be applied equally to everyone.
7) While we welcome feedback on moderation decisions, moderation decisions are final and should be seen to reflect the collective will of the moderation and Admin team. Everyone is welcome to state their opinion about a moderating decision, but refusing to accept the decision by repeatedly complaining or opening a new thread for the purpose of discussing or continuing one that has been locked or deleted is not acceptable.
8) The K440 moderation team will not be arses. Neither will we be pushovers.
EDIT: I'm locking this thread, but please feel free to discuss or seek clarification on the speakeasy thread.
K440 posting and moderating guidelines
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