Last updated February 6, 2004

Rules of the Discussion Forums

The following rules apply to posts in all prince.org discussion forums, including the content of "signatures" and avatars:

Note that these rules are in addition to the terms of service you agreed to upon registering. Final say and interpretation of these rules for specific instances rests with the Moderators.

Be civilized
Don't create offensive, vulgar, obscene, threatening, abusive or excessively profane posts. Do not instigate, engage in, or encourage 'flame wars'. If you insult someone "jokingly", be prepared to have it not interpreted that way by the Moderators. A good general rule: "criticize ideas, not people." Any language which encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense is grounds for immediate account deletion.
Do not post racist or 'hateful' material.
This means no racist/homophobic comments, period. Discussions of racism itself in the proper forum are OK. Making hateful comments, directed at a person or group, may get your account immediately suspended. We are extremely serious about this. prince.org is not a place for racial bigotry or hateful speech.
Don't post trolls/ads/spam/get-rich-quick schemes/other junk.
Don't make posts that are inflammatory just to get people riled up. Don't post useless off-topic stuff. Even if a silly, no-purpose post seems harmless and fun, don't be surprised if you get a warning and the message locked/deleted. You might think it's cute, but Moderators who have to wade through tons of posts like this, don't. In general, don't post advertisements. Advertising may be allowed in certain circumstances; ask a moderator privately before posting. If a post is mostly just an ad for another website, it will likely be removed. In general, post if you have something to say. If you want to start a new thread, make it worthwhile. Don't be lazy and give a 1-sentence "what do you think about X?". At least explain your position, why, etc... make it interesting to read; you're more likely to get quality responses.
You're responsible for what you write.
Individual authors of prince.org messages are solely responsible for their content, and prince.org isn't interested in encouraging any illegal activity. Specifically, don't solicit to violate copyright law (via trading mp3s/CD-Rs/bootlegs, or whatever), publish people's personal information or slanderous statements, or anything else that might violates someone's privacy. Threats against another person will be taken seriously. We cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies bearing appropriate paperwork.
Keep messages on-topic, and don't cross-post.
Post in the appropriate forum for your topic, and don't post similar messages in multiple forums. Don't create new threads when an existing one will do. Don't create 'nonsense' threads.
Respect others' privacy and belongings.
Don't post orgNotes, e-mails or other private correspondence in public forums. Don't make private information about other users, public. Don't take avatar or other graphics and use them as your own, or as the basis for your own, without permission.
Moderators have final say.
prince.org administrators and moderators reserve the right to edit, relocate and/or remove any message, at any time, for any reason. Consider all editing decisions final. If you don't agree with a decision, you may discuss it with the moderator who made the judgment in private. If you cannot reach resolution with the Moderator in private, contact the site administrator via e-mail (ben@prince.org), explaining the entire situation, with all relevant links/excerpts/emails, etc. Under no circumstance attempt to start a 'debate' about specific moderation decisions in a public forum.

The prince.org discussion forums are moderated by a group of volunteers who have to make difficult decisions, read a lot of messages they aren't necessarily interested in, and deal with complaints, on a daily basis. The Moderators are not babysitters. If your actions make the Moderators' job more difficult, it hurts the community. Participating in this site is a privilege, not a right—and everyone's cooperation and adherence to the above rules is an absolute necessity. If you encounter users/messages violating these rules, please report it to the moderators.