inGen Information Terminal

This post is intended to serve simply as a friendly reminder to each and every member of W2JP. It is also intended to clearly outline what behavior will be tolerated and what will not, in perhaps simpler terms than what is found in The Rules of the Park.

First and foremost, it is crucial that each and every member, regardless of post count, registration date, age, or any other label or status, show respect to every other member in the community. Members deserve just as much respect as staff, so regardless of who you are responding to or discussing in your posts, you must do it in a way that is respectful and tolerant. Never use personal attacks or label accusations against someone. If you disagree with a point that someone has made, that's perfectly fine and you're free to open a discussion focusing on that point. When you do this, make sure that you challenge the discussion point and not attack the person simply because you do not find yourself in agreement with them. Try your best to see the other side of the discussion and be open minded about it. Do not be confrontational or aggressive. That doesn't do anybody any good.

Essentially, the whole point of having a discussion or a debate with someone is to explore the topic from a variety of angles and develop a better understanding of where the other people are coming from and why they see it that way. If you are respectful and open minded, and willing to hear the other people out, you can be fairer in your response, raise better points, and possibly even learn something. Best of all, you develop respect for others that see things differently than you do - and that is imperative if you want to succeed in life and live a life that isn't occupied with stress, frustration, and anger towards others. Don't see a discussion or a debate as a "win or lose" situation where only one side comes away victorious - see it as an opportunity to share your feelings and perspective with others and to learn some things as well from a side that holds an opposing view to your own.

We want everyone, current members and new members, to feel welcomed and comfortable. People should not feel hesitant to make a post or a reply out of worry over how someone is going to respond. People should be allowed to express their feelings, beliefs, and opinions, without being attacked with accusations and assumptions about personal character. This is a community where expression is encouraged, but that does not extend to expressions that are hurtful, confrontational, or rude. That will not be tolerated and simply put, if a person continues to demonstrate aggressive behavior and disrespect even after members of the staff confront them and explain to them why their behavior is improper, that person will be permanently banned. Either The Rules of the Park be followed, along with what is outlined in this post, or that's it. We will, of course, handle each situation individually, and there might be circumstances where we feel some leniency is in order. We are not anxious to ban members and we would like to avoid banning members whenever possible. We would much prefer the situation be resolved and the member be allowed to stay, but if that is not possible, we are not going to permit the members of the community to be disrespected or harassed.

I hope that everyone just keeps this in mind when posting here, and if each person does, then we will have no problems at all.

Much needed statement.

Yay! Yeah... after what happened, definitely needed...

If I may ask what did happen that caused this thread to be created? Or is it just a reminder type thing?

Scratch my original reply, this is a clearer one.

It is a reminder - a reminder of what is a crucial component of The Rules of the Park. We recently dealt with a new (but now permanently banned) member that repeatedly made unjustified accusations and persisted with behavior that was intolerantly confrontational and rude. This member was not unlike some of our previous members from the past (that were banned at the ezBoard), but our response was different in the respect that we responded far quicker and dealt with the matter before the problem worsened.

Thus, now seemed to be an appropriate time to remind all members of what behavior is appropriate and what is considered disruptive and rude. It's important that this is all very clear to everybody so that the community will run smoothly and peacefully. We want everybody to enjoy themselves and feel comfortable, and that is why we will address problematic members far earlier than in the past and I want the consequences of unacceptable behavior to be clear.

And can someone tell me who this member was?

Overlord. He's been permanently banned now. He wasn't being decent to the staff at all.

Overlord?

Since I wasn't here... what'd he do? I get he was being rude or something.

And his name was very original.

As Adam said, he wasn't being decent to the staff at all (that's a polite way of saying it). Rudeness and disrespect towards any member of the staff won't be tolerated - especially after one or more members of the staff instructs a member in how to behave.

Essentially, he acted in a manner that went against everything I wrote about in my initial post in this thread.