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Code of Conduct update

Archived thread 2150722 from Members Information. Markdown source: Members_Information/thread_2150722_Code_of_Conduct_update.md

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#1

As I have mentioned in FFH - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2146904

Is anyone interested in what we're expecting to do.

If so then once we've finalised it amongst staff than I can post the updated versions here for you to get a first look

#2

Elfy said: As I have mentioned in FFH - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2146904

Is anyone interested in what we're expecting to do.

If so then once we've finalised it amongst staff than I can post the updated versions here for you to get a first look

Honestly, I'm happy with whatever you decide. You do a fine work here. It's all seems common sense to me.

If any one gets in to a position where they start arguing about the CoC or T&C, then quite frankly they are just trouble makers.

#3

That's true - however passing on forum information to Forum Ubuntu Members is one of the reasons for this forum ;)

#4

Elfy said: Is anyone interested in what we're expecting to do.

Would there be room for accepting suggestions if we have any?

Although you clearly said "finalised" version, so I don't think there would be. Just confirming.

#5

Depends ;)

What we're not going to get into is a wholescale rewriting of it.

#6

Elfy said: Depends ;)

Then let me try my luck encashing the chance. Here are the ones that were boiling in my stomach -

[INDENT] 1) If it is going to split in two parts, I suggest moving the points 2 (do not bump old threads) and 12 (do not cross-post) from the 'Posting Tips' section to the 'Rules' section. Point 2 sometimes raises questions like "Why was it closed... (blah-blah-blah..)"

2) I think that points 19 and 20 in 'Posting Tips' section could use links to some useful guides on using BB codes. Maybe- http://ubuntuforums.org/misc.php?do=bbcode , or http://ubuntuforums.org/misc.php?do=bbcode#code

and/or bodhi.zazan's guide to forum posting : http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1006656 or, http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2054969&p=12231647#post12231647[/INDENT]

Just thoughts.. :)

#7

Well, before you start having thoughts I'd wait until the new versions have been posted in here ;)

#8

Elfy said: Well, before you start having thoughts I'd wait until the new versions have been posted in here ;)

:-#

#9

:P

It should be sometime this week.

#10

At present - the CoC is loooooooooooooong.

We've split it up.

The actual 'CoC' itself - but we've reworded it slightly in places, added a couple of things and been a bit more specific in places.

The Posting Tips - which shouldn't in our opinion be in the CoC is now new and will be linked to from the Code of Conduct and will live in FFH as a sticky - replacing Joeb454's do's and don't's

A Simplified Code to show when people register - this will link to the main one for people that actually read it.

#11

Code of Conduct

To have an account on the Ubuntu Forums, you must agree to this Code of Conduct. This code of conduct applies in any and all areas of the Ubuntu Forums and is a supplement to the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, which also applies here.

The purpose of the Ubuntu Forums is to provide support for Ubuntu. We also want this to be a place where community can develop and we can enjoy one another's company. To achieve this, we strive to maintain an atmosphere that can be enjoyed by all and we ask all members of the community to be respectful at all times. This means please use etiquette and politeness. Treat people with respect. If you do this, the rest of the code of conduct won't need more than a cursory mention. All posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author of each post. Those liable for the content of posts and private messages are the ones submitting the material, and not the administrators, moderators, webmaster, the Ubuntu community, Canonical, or anyone else.

This is a moderated forum, but only in the sense that we act to deal with content that violates the forum code of conduct when we become aware of it. The staff of this forum attempt to edit or remove any objectionable or illegal material as quickly as possible. However, with the volume of activity we have on our site it is impossible to review every message.

Users agree not to post anything abusive, rude, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, advertising or marketing related, or sexually-oriented. Material that suggests illegal activity or contains illegal content is also forbidden. We do not support circumventing TOS, EULA, etc here. Such threads will be closed and offending users will be penalised with infractions and warnings. Given that our forums could be used by people at work and school we want to ensure they will not encounter material that will cause them problems or cause their access to our site to be limited, so all content should be safe for both.

Users posting any content that violates this code of conduct may receive a warning or an infraction that creates a record of the behavior and will be associated with the account (this record is only visible by the original poster and staff), may have their posts edited or removed, may have their account or IP address banned temporarily or permanently, and could have a report filed against them to their internet access provider. The IP addresses of all users are recorded to provide evidence or assist in enforcing these rules.

Posts which violate any part of this Code of Conduct may be edited or moved to a special holding area called "The Jail," where they are preserved as evidence. Posts in The Jail are only visible to staff members and the original poster. The only exception is spam, or advertising-related posts, which are temporarily moved to a subforum of the Jail called Spamalot. Finally, you agree that forum staff have the right to remove, edit, move or close any post, topic or thread at any time they see fit following the guidelines outlined below. You agree that the staff of this forum have the right to send a private message with a warning and/or censor any forum user who is in violation of forum policy.

Section I - General Policy:

  1. Respect the Forum Staff: We provide a service in our free time to keep the forums running efficiently. We are all volunteers. Feedback is welcome in Forum Feedback & Help , this is also the place to request assistance with forum software issues. If you believe an error has been made in moderation or other staff actions, please post politely in the Resolution Center and help us understand your perspective.
  1. Adult Content, Violence, Illegal Activity: Messages containing violent, sexually oriented, or illegal content or links to sites with this content will be saved in the Jail as evidence. Messages with links to or suggesting illegal activity will also be saved in the Jail. Posting or linking to any of these could result in a ban.

Attacks and derogatory terms of any kind are not welcome. This includes references to any operating systems or the companies that produce them. Flames are messages that personally attack or call any people names or otherwise harass. These, along with any generally condescending posts will be edited or removed at the moderators discretion.

  1. Trolling, Attacks and Flaming: These are always forbidden. Trolling is posting in a way that provokes emotional responses.

If a thread is flame-bait (appears to be intended to start an argument or is likely to cause an argument rather than enhance discussion, as in trolling), it will be locked or removed without notice. Individual flame-bait comments in a post may be deleted or edited at the moderators' discretion.

If the thread turns into an argument, it can be closed to further comment or removed without notice. Sometimes a moderator may split the thread or jail certain portions in order to keep the discussion going, this is not always possible .

  1. Spam (unsolicited advertising): Spam will be moved to Spamalot in the forum Jail and the account posting it will likely be banned. You are allowed to have links to personal sites in your signature and in your profile, and may post them in threads on occasion (just not often, please) as long as the content of the site linked does not include material that violates this code of conduct and if you are not posting any other form of advertising. A business site regardless of provenance will be treated as spam.
  1. Profanity: We have users of all age groups and of all tolerance levels where profanity is concerned. A language filter is in place to catch most major forms of profanity that may accidentally be used. Do not attempt to circumvent the language filter by using variations or slight misspellings of profanities.
  1. Politics : This topic has caused serious problems in the past, and as such is subject to tight control. Discussion of the politics of open source is permissible within the Ubuntu/Linux and Other OS forum, no other political posting is permitted in any form in any other area of the forum.
  1. Religion – This is a forbidden topic forum wide. Please find another venue to exercise your freedom of speech on this topic.
  1. Thread Drifting/Steering: Please keep discussions on topic. Topics that do not belong in the technical or 3rd party project sections belong in Ubuntu/Linux and Other OS or the Cafe.
  1. Report Posts: If you have found a post or receive a private message that you feel is inappropriate or that violates the forum code of conduct, please use the report function to notify staff. Do not attempt to moderate discussions or correct other users yourself.
  1. Images: Be prudent in your use of images; they may help to explain something more clearly or indicate a problem you are experiencing better but you have to remember that not everyone has the same bandwidth. If an image is the best way of handling the information, please use thumbnails or keep your image to a small size and less than 100kb.
  1. Links: You may post links to sites with content that is acceptable according to this code of conduct. This is most useful when giving tech support and explaining a topic and then linking to a wiki page or Linux site with more information. You may also link to your personal site.
  1. Signatures: Forum signatures are limited to four lines of text, 10pt maximum font size. Signature content must conform to the same guidelines as all content in this code of conduct.
  1. Avatars: Images must comply with the content guidelines of this code of conduct. A discreet image from your religion is permissible if it is not ostentatious, disruptive, provocative, or for the purposes of proselytising. Political avatars are not permitted at all.
  1. Multiple Accounts: Users may only have one active account. If you feel you have justification for requiring a new account, please contact an administrator to discuss your situation. Users who have multiple accounts without approval of an administrator may be penalized or banned.
  1. Private Messaging: Asking support questions via private messages is strongly discouraged. It is unlikely that users will respond to these requests and it defeats the secondary intent of the forums to be a resource for people seeking assistance using internet searches and forum searches. Private messages sent to other users are subject to the Code of Conduct.
  1. Editing of posts: When a post breaks guidelines and requires editing in order to bring it back under compliance with this Code of Conduct, the moderator should report the post before editing so that a copy of the unedited text of the original post is copied to the staff area. Only after the original post is preserved as evidence should the original post be edited. In the private message outlining the reason for editing or that message automatically sent when the infraction is issued, the moderator should specify or describe which part of the Code of Conduct was broken. It is not required for Staff to send a message when a post has been edited but are requested to do so when time permits.
  1. Cracking: Requests for help about any form of password or encryption "cracking" are not supported. Even though there are packages such as aircrack in the repositories, discussions about cracking or software related to cracking often lead to discussions about illegal activities. Such threads will be closed.
  1. Surveys: Surveys: Before posting your survey,please post it in the Resolution Centre. An administrator will respond to you to let you know if you can post it in the Ubuntu,Linux, and OS chat.

  • Can only used to collect data on open source software, hardware, or licenses.
  • State the reason why you want to post it.
  • Have an end date.
  1. Thread Closing: Staff are not required to do so, but are requested to post an explanation in a thread that is closed when time permits. This is a non-exhaustive list of reasons a thread may be closed, but will give the general idea:

  • The thread has run it's course and posts have begun repeating themes
  • The thread has degraded into an argument
  • The thread topic is a duplicate of another current and active thread
  • The thread is very old.
  1. Jailing of posts/thread: If a post/thread would require a lot of work to bring it into compliance, or if editing the violations would result in a nearly blank post/thread, the post/thread should be moved to the jail instead.
  1. Staff: Staff are chosen by the Forum Council. Users who have demonstrated a consistent attitude of friendliness and kindness and who have shown a pattern of helpfulness in their posts may be contacted and invited to serve. Recommendations are made by current staff in the staff forums or other users by private message. All recommendations are considered. Due to time constraints and privacy issues the Forum Council is unlikely to comment publicly on these recommendations.
  1. Staff posting and moderating in the same thread: This is generally discouraged. Exceptions include when no one else is available or when content very clearly violates the code of conduct.
  1. Appeals: If you have a complaint about a staff action or believe an action was taken in error, the process for dealing with that is to first post in the Resolution Center where a member of the Forum Council will respond. You may appeal to the entire Forum Council if you are unsatisfied. After these avenues have been exhausted, you may open a complaint with the Ubuntu Community Council.
#12

Posting Tips

Posting Tips:

Quick start link: Suggestions on how to get your support questions answered as quickly as possible. When asking for technical support:

  • Search for posts on the same topic before posting a new question. Sometimes using Google to search the forums works better than our own search function. You can do so by entering your search in the Google search bar followed by site:ubuntuforums.org.
  • Try to give clear, specific information in the title of your post. Also, please resist the urge to use a sensationalist, extreme, and flame-baiting title like "I've had it with Ubuntu!" "I bet you can't solve my problem" or "Ubuntu sucks".
  • If you intend to include screenshots – use the forum attachment system rather than an offsite host such as imgur.
  • Include as many details as you can. Include as much information as you know, like software version numbers or computer hardware specifications. If you do not know how to find out the information that a user is requesting of you, ask them how to find the information they have requested.
  • Post a follow up with a "Thank you" or "This worked!" It's always nice to let the people that help you know that you appreciate their help and it lets future readers know the information was useful. You can also mark a thread solved as a courtesy.
  • When you learn something, use that knowledge to help another user later.
  • While we are happy to serve as a resource for hints and for asking questions when you get stuck and need a little help, the Ubuntu Forums is not a homework service. Please do not post your homework assignments expecting someone else to do it for you. Any such threads will be taken offline and warnings or infractions may be issued.
  • Write your posts in English unless you are participating in a Loco Forum, where you are permitted to use another language if it is in common use in that Loco Forum and understood by the Loco Forum staff. We have many users from many different countries that visit here and English is the common language of these forums.
  • Refrain from using "leet" speak or excessive or unclear slang.
  • Do not shorten your words to acronyms or abbreviations or use URL-shortening services, as is often done when texting or in a Twitter-style update. It is very difficult to read and understand and you are not limited to a small number of characters.
  • Use color and font properties for highlighting portions of your text, and not for all of the text in your post. Please use the default font color and properties unless you need to highlight or draw attention to a part of your post. ALL CAPS is interpreted as screaming. Funky non-uniform font size/color is difficult for those who are visually impaired. If you are having problems with reading the font, please adjust your browser.
  • Do not cross post, or post the same thing in multiple locations.
  • Do not bump your thread more than once in any 24 hour period, you might it helps to wait longer than that in order to reach users outside of your timezone.

When answering technical support issues:

tags around terminal commands.

  • Be considerate to the person asking the question. Yes, some users are harder to help than others, but please be respectful to all users.
  • Try to avoid acronyms and jargon when giving instructions.
  • If the users' question has been covered in one of the community documents, please give them a description and the links. Some useful sites to point green users are: wiki.ubuntu.com, help.ubuntu.com, and the forum HOWTOs.
  • If you wish to remind a user to use search tools or other resources when they have asked a question you feel is basic or common, please be polite. Any replies for help that contain language disrespectful towards the user asking the question are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. This includes things like STFU, RTFM, and LMGTFY as well as the obvious forms of disrespect.
  • Always assume the the user has a default installation unless you're told otherwise. If you tell people to use an application outside of the official Ubuntu installation, please give instructions on how to install it.
  • Always assume that the user is a new user unless you're certain the user is not.
  • To avoid confusion and auto-formatting issues, please use ```
  • Wrap long outputs from commands or other text to prevent users from needing to scroll through the content inside [noparse]
[*] Remember to do things the Ubuntu way. Often there is more than one solution to a problem. Choose the one you think will be the easiest for the user and the method most commonly used in Ubuntu. 
[*] Never instruct users to do anything that might break their system. 
[*] Explain each step of the solution. If possible, try to teach the user while giving a solution to them. Teaching begets more teaching. 
[*] If you're uncertain if a procedure is correct, please tell users so. If your procedure has inherent risks, please tell users what they are. 
[*] Replies to questions that ask for help running legitimate software (albeit closed source or proprietary) that do not answer the question, but instead instruct the user that they should not be using that software on the grounds that it is not free serve only to frustrate and confuse the user and may be removed. The goal of this forum is to first provide technical assistance and then to educate users on the benefits of free software.
[/LIST]
#13

Simplified Registration CoC

This is an abbreviated version of the Forum Code of Conduct. When you agree to creating an account you are agreeing to that full version of the Code which can be found here.

Respect the Forum Staff - We provide a service in our free time to keep the forums running efficiently. We are all volunteers.

Forbidden:

Guidelines:

  • Messages containing violent, sexually oriented, or illegal content or links to sites with this content.
  • Trolling, Attacks and Flaming.
  • Spam (unsolicited advertising). Users posting such will be banned.
  • Profanity. Do not attempt to circumvent the language filter by using variations or slight misspellings of profanities.
  • Politics - This topic has caused serious problems in the past, and as such we only allow politics directly related to GNU/Linux.
  • Religious discussions.
  • Multiple accounts.
  • Cracking - software such as aircrack is not supported
  • Surveys - while threads requesting input is not forbidden, we would prefer you to ask first.
  • Thread Drifting/Steering - please keep discussions on topic.
  • Report Posts - do not attempt to moderate discussions or correct other users yourself.
  • Images - If an image is the best way of handling the information, please use thumbnails or keep your image to a small size and less than 100kb.
  • Links - you may post links to sites with content that is acceptable according to this code of conduct.
  • Signatures - signature content must conform to the same guidelines as all content in this code of conduct.
  • Avatars - images must comply with the content guidelines of this code of conduct.
  • Support via Private Messaging - asking support questions via private messages is strongly discouraged.
  • Thread Closing - staff are not required to do so, but are requested to post an explanation in a thread that is closed when time permits.
  • Appeals - if you have a complaint about a staff action or believe an action was taken in error, the process for dealing with that is to first post in the Resolution Center where a member of the Forum Council will respond.
#14

Elfy said: Code of Conduct

In "6. Politics" the word "politics" should be in bold.

#15

Some forums have a rule that you start your own thread and don't tack onto the end of an existing one. That's regardless of the age of the thread.

Do we have any such guideline here?

#16

Irihapeti said: In "6. Politics" the word "politics" should be in bold.

That's just an edit error.

The real one doesn't work with bbcode anyway.

Irihapeti said: Some forums have a rule that you start your own thread and don't tack onto the end of an existing one. That's regardless of the age of the thread.

Do we have any such guideline here?

Not that I can see.

Edit - I knew I shouldn't have posted this here yet - post #13 is now the right one and not a copy of post #12 - I blame varunendra :p

#17

Sorry, I'll go away. :-#

#18

Elfy said: Edit - I knew I shouldn't have posted this here yet - post #13 is now the right one and not a copy of post #12 - I blame varunendra :p

Was just askin' :-\"

And we wasn't tellin' ya to be hasty, was we? :popcorn:

EDIT: By the way, the idea and the contents of the 'abbreviated CoC' are really nice. I hope it will make it more effective.

#19

Irihapeti said: Sorry, I'll go away. :-#

Lookz like you misunderstood what Elfy said. Perhaps you didn't see the 'other version' of post #13 which has been corrected now :lol:

#20

Something that arises out of splitting off the posting tips. I think we need to change this:

Finally, you agree that forum staff have the right to remove, edit, move or close any post, topic or thread at any time they see fit following the guidelines outlined below.

To this:

Finally, you agree that forum staff have the right to remove, edit, move or close any post, topic or thread at any time they see fit following the guidelines outlined below, or the posting tips which you can find here <insert link>.

Otherwise we'll get the barrack room lawyers grumbling in the Resolution Centre or to the contact us link when a staff member closes a duplicate thread or deals with premature bumping, or whatever.

#21

Looking better, I'll be glad when this is actually put in place.

coffeecat said: Otherwise we'll get the barrack room lawyers grumbling in the Resolution Centre or to the contact us link when a staff member closes a duplicate thread or deals with premature bumping, or whatever.

But I enjoy participating in complaints thread over semantics :) (and no, I am not volunteering for 24/7 RC duty)

#22

Semantics: e.g. those who think that "freedom of speech" means being allowed to express themselves with as much obnoxiousness as they can muster....

#23

Irihapeti said: Semantics: e.g. those who think that "freedom of speech" means being allowed to express themselves with as much obnoxiousness as they can muster....

:lolflag:

#24

While issue is tldnr imo :p

#25

What about having a summary at the beginning – basically the headings slightly reworded so they'll stand alone. Then the compliant types will just read the headings, get the general idea and use basic common sense. The bush lawyers can go off and make their eyes bleed on the wall of text, and no doubt find something to argue about.

#26

Removed link from 3rd paragraph @ elfy

#27

s.fox said: Removed link from 3rd paragraph @ elfy

Yes, some Discourse features one can get used to quickly :some_random_winky_smiley_face:

#28

@notfound

No, I have used @ before when talking to a group without directly quoting anyone inparticular ;)