As a staff, we have been relatively tolerant with the message board but, lately, repeated polite requests for self-control have largely been ignored or tested, thus we have put together a list of message board rules that will go into effect immediately.
— If we have to take the time to edit or delete your post, you will get a private message. On the third PM you will be subject to a read-only ban of two weeks. Any subsequent violation of this (the fourth violation) will lead to permanent read-only status.
— Racism, sexism, or other overt bigotry is strictly not allowed. We will take any action deemed appropriate including immediate ban or read-only status.
— Ghost bumping threads has been an issue on this site for the last several months. Multiple staff members have asked for it to stop. There will be no warnings for this. If you are caught you will be banned for a month with no warning or negotiation.
— Threatening and bullying are not allowed. Moderators will be responsible for determining if a post has crossed the line. Overt threats could subject you to immediate ban. If we have to take the time to edit or delete your post, you will get a PM. On the third PM you will be subject to a read-only ban of two weeks. Any subsequent violation of this (the fourth violation) will lead to permanent read-only status.
— Insults made against other posters will be edited or deleted. Moderators will be responsible for determining if a post is an insult/taken too far and causing a problem. If we have to take the time to edit or delete your post, you will get a PM. On the third PM you will be subject to a read-only ban of two weeks. Any subsequent violation of this (the fourth violation) will lead to permanent read-only status.
What constitutes an insult? You may discuss the merits of someone's opinion on a pertinent subject matter. You may even reference previous posts they have made, but they have to be specific to the subject matter being discussed, or in a way that clearly articulates why the person's opinion should not hold merit. Ad hominem attacks or posts that are lazily dismissive and disrespectful are not permitted. Moderators will have the ability to determine if a post has crossed the line.
— Trolling of the board is not permitted. We'll deal with this on a case-by-case basis with clearly articulated warnings via PM.
— Retaliatory attacks are not viewed differently by us than the initiating attacks and are subject to the same punishment system. If you feel like someone has crossed the line in any way, you should alert one of the Swamp247 staff members rather than responding. You won't help the situation by responding. Please don't. Please allow the rules to work and for us to do the job of dealing with violations.
— Sarcasm is fine if it's light-hearted. There is a gray area here but if something is clearly insulting to a person, or someone is repeatedly being sarcastic or dismissive of others, that's not okay. We will alert you, warn you and you'll get the two warnings and then a two-week read-only followed by a permanent read-only status.
— Our policies don't change relative to how pro or anti you are on any subject, or what percentage of people feel a certain way. There may be times when a coach is loved but a few people are very convinced he's the wrong coach for Florida. We'll protect those people just as much when we protect the few people who think a coach shouldn't be fired if the masses are ready to run the coach out of town. Please understand and respect this. Our goal is to keep the playing field as level as possible and be facilitators of conversation.
— Please understand that these rules are a necessity because enough people have not conducted themselves responsibly and it has led to numerous private and public messages from subscribers to the staff with people threatening to leave the site. As you can see, we are giving people multiple warnings if/when there are violations of the rules but if we have warned you twice, you should know what to not do by the third time and certainly by the fourth time when you face a permanent read-only ban.
We reserve the right to modify the rules or add to this list of rules without warning.
