These rules are disclosed to clarify the various responsibilities of all community members here on Media Talk. They shall be adhered to by everyone to ensure that our board runs smoothly and provides a fun and productive experience for all of our community members and visitors.
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Dealing with Inappropriate Content
Post Reporting # -
The forum is reactively moderated and we ask that forum members notify us of any inappropriate posts by clicking the Report button next to the post in question. Please provide any relevant information in the 'further information’ box.
Please only report posts which break the community guidelines and not just posts that you disagree with, you may face punishment for this. # -
Please refrain from being overly emotive and using terms such as "Excuse me?!?! I've been banned for less!" The key to effective reporting is to be clear and concise, while supplying as much contextual information as possible.
Abuse of the report feature – whether for nonsensical reports, excessive and/or inappropriate use – can result in posting privileges being revoked. # -
Ignore
You can also add users to your foes list, which will prevent you from seeing any of their posts and messages they may send you. # -
The Rules
1.0 - Posting personal information
For your own safety, please do not reveal your personal information on the forums. This includes but is not limited to your full name, email address, postcodes, home address, phone numbers or personal social media accounts. Any such disclosure is at your own risk. # -
1.1 - Privacy
Do not post personal email addresses, telephone numbers, or other personal information on the forums. General contact information (that is available on a company's 'Contact Us' page, for example) is fine.
For example, 'Try emailing name.name@place.com and see if they can help you!' is not.
Any attempts at doxxing or intentionally revealing personal information without consent could result in an immediate ban. This includes linking to personal or private social media accounts of other members without consent. # -
2.0 - Copyright
You agree and confirm that any contribution(s) and/or material you provide or upload, including but not limited to text, photographs and sound, is original to you and does not infringe the copyright, trade mark or other intellectual property rights or any other rights of any third party.
2.1 - Illegal activity
Discussions regarding illegal activities such as illegal downloading, streams of copyrighted content and methods of distributing copyrighted material for free are not permitted. Posts containing such material may be removed and action taken. # -
2.2 - Advertising, External Links & Surveys
We only permit links to third-party sites when they are relevant to ongoing discussion. Any Users posting URLs of sites excessively or promoting their own websites, products or services in a way which could be construed as advertising are liable to have their right to post removed. # -
Please note that this also applies to advertising via Private Message, and contacting members unsolicited to advertise will result in a ban.
2.2.1 - Premium phone numbers
Please do not post premium rate phone numbers on the forum. # -
2.3 - Potential Libel
Do not post libellous or defamatory comments.
3.0 - Discriminatory, Offensive and Harmful Material
This forum is an inclusive community for everyone. Our aim is that each and every one of our members feels welcome. Remember that you're talking to other humans on the forums. # -
Bad faith commentary and discussion surrounding representation, identity, diversity and inclusion will be moderated accordingly.
We have a zero tolerance policy on all content that includes, defends or dismisses any discriminatory content, such as (without limitations), content that is racist, homophobic, biphobic, transphobic, xenophobic, sexist, ableist, contains hate speech, or any other content that is discriminatory, overly offensive, or harmful. # -
3.1 - Pornographic images/adult material
Anything containing or linking to adult content is not tolerated and, if flagged, may result in a permanent ban.
4.0 - Baiting
Deliberately making provocative comments or engaging in trolling behaviour, including provoking others will result in a ban.
Baiting could also include naming or bringing up other members in discussions they're not involved in. # -
Discussing thread behaviour or other members in the thread, taking discussion off topic, may result in action being taken.
4.1 - Respect
While you are of course welcome to disagree with other members, we expect you to respect each other, and our team, at all times.
Personal attacks towards other members will not be tolerated. Breaches of this clause will be moderated accordingly. # -
4.2 - Profanity
We understand that profanity may be used, but must not be used excessively.
Note that some profanity is automatically censored on the forum. However, excessive use of profanity, or evading the profanity filter to bypass our rules, may result in action being taken.
Directing profanity at the forum team may result in a ban.
5.0 - Disruption: Unconstructive, off-topic posts
The purpose of our forums is to enable constructive discussion. Unconstructive posts might include deliberately derailing threads with disruptive content, and hostile or confrontational posts that prolong arguments. Other examples might be: # -
- Off-topic posts: Try to avoid making comments that are not related to the topic of the thread you are currently in. Users attempting to deflect away from the topic of the thread will receive a warning. These types of posts are disruptive and often result in threads being derailed with the posts having to be removed.
- Thread whining: Do not enter threads to complain about the thread topic. Going into threads to say "Who cares about this?!", "Why is this thread allowed on the forum?!", "Do we really need a thread on this?" is considered disruptive. If you have no interest in a thread it would be better to avoid it. If you feel a thread is against the rules, is a duplicate or is unnecessary you can report the thread and we will handle it accordingly.
5.1 - Disruption: Spoilers
Please be mindful of other forum members who may be trying to avoid spoilers. You may encase your post in the dedicated spoiler tags where appropriate.
Ignoring 'no spoilers' or ' pace' in thread titles is considered disruptive and will be dealt with as such. # -
If you wish to discuss something without the use of spoiler tags, a separate thread should be made with (Spoiler Discussion) in the title.
5.2 - Disruption: Bumping
Posting in old threads without good reason is considered disruptive, and can be confusing as the information may not be up to date or may no longer be relevant.
If a thread has long since died a natural death, a fresh thread should be made if you wish to continue discussion. # -
Warnings and Banning Users
We have a warning system in place to handle breaches or non-compliance with our rules. That includes written warnings, account restrictions, temporary bans and ultimately permanent bans. If a user receives a warning, they will be notified privately with a message outlining the reason for this being issued.
Warnings can vary depending on the severity of the infraction but they will usually follow the process set out below.
Multiple, ongoing or overlapping warnings, or actions which in our opinion justify a stronger approach, may result in account restrictions or a temporary ban being extended.
Please note that our moderation team cannot discuss any action taken against other individual users of the forum with you.
Warnings are tiered as follows: # -
1. Level 1 Warning - No account restrictions are implemented. A simple message to highlight the rule a user has broken. This is usually issued as a first notice for users who haven't been warned previously or if the rule break isn't severe.
2. Level 3 Warning - Account is restricted. Unable to make new threads temporarily and posts are limited to once per 150 seconds. This may be issued if, for example, a previous warning has been given, for repeated infractions, if the post in question is severe in nature, or if the warning is based on an unproductive thread the user has made.
3. Level 5 Warning - Account is temporarily banned. If a user repeatedly breaks the rules we may temporarily revoke their posting privileges. Temporary bans may be 48 hours, 7 days or 14 days. This is usually dependent on the amount of previous warnings and the severity of the infractions. We understand that sometimes our members may just need some time away to reflect on their posts and hopefully with a break they can return with a better understanding of the Community Guidelines.
4. Permanent Ban - Account is permanently banned and the user will no longer be able to use their account. For example, if a user has received numerous warnings but persists to break the rules a permanent ban will be issued. A user may also receive a permanent ban for really severe infractions that are highlighted above as zero tolerance. It's compulsory for every user to adhere to these guidelines.
These tiers are not exhaustive and we retain full discretion to manage threads, the forum and the site as we deem appropriate.
Accumulating all warning levels may lead to the termination of your account the next time you are warned. A temporary ban will only be issued in circumstances where it's deemed appropriate and a user could be permanently banned without ever receiving a temporary ban. #