Message Board Guidelines

Those are all standard on most forums. In fact some of those (posting private messages for example) are grounds for suspension on many forums.

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Bumping is annoying, but the way the boards work it might be necessary. F.i. you have a contest going, and after 5 minutes it's lost on page 389 of the category :o) As long as there is no search function it would be hard for people who are either in it or interested to keep up with the contest.

Edited on August 13, 2007 at 9:38 AM Permalink

you could get rid of the whole dern board and i wouldnt be sad =)

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I'm not on the message board much, But I do think those Rules are Great......Chris

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I think these are wonderful guidelines, but they need to be STRICTLY enforced. The message boards need more constant moderation as there is way too much fighting and inappropriate behavior going on.
I also agree with Karaokegod73, that certain behavior should merit a suspension and in some cases termination of membership privileges for those who choose to ignore the rules.
I'm relatively new here, but I am a moderator for another site (non-karaoke) and I would never tolerate the mess that I've been reading lately on these boards.

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besides the message board how about innapropiate language before or during songs?

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I think the forums are a great place for getting to express valid opinions and sing with your friends...etc, but when they start to become an arena for personal vendettas, attacks, character assassinations, etc.. that's when something needs to be done.. ~~Applause~~ To SS for this...

As I said before, when used for their specified intention, these boards can be a great way to keep in touch with old friends, make new ones, hear new singers, etc....

Just MY two cents... ~~Lani

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Sounds great to me!

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It all sounds good to me, although I'm with Kjell on the bumping part. Maybe delete or warn just if there's EXCESSIVE bumping?

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Kjellvis wrote:Bumping is annoying, but the way the boards work it might be necessary. F.i. you have a contest going, and after 5 minutes it's lost on page 389 of the category :o) As long as there is no search function it would be hard for people who are either in it or interested to keep up with the contest.

I have to agree here. I know that sometime it gets "cutesy", (and I will admit my guilt on this), but with no search function it is something that I believe is a necessity.

I'm not clear on what is meant by "discussing specific blocks". Can this be clarified?

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Not sure I agree with the part of 'not sticking to the subject'...Kinda kills any spontaneous chat that occurs on some of the boards.

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DMMc wrote:

Kjellvis wrote:Bumping is annoying, but the way the boards work it might be necessary. F.i. you have a contest going, and after 5 minutes it's lost on page 389 of the category :o) As long as there is no search function it would be hard for people who are either in it or interested to keep up with the contest.

I have to agree here. I know that sometime it gets "cutesy", (and I will admit my guilt on this), but with no search function it is something that I believe is a necessity.

I'm not clear on what is meant by "discussing specific blocks". Can this be clarified?

I'm of the same opinion as long is there is not viable way to search topics bumping is the only method I know of to keep a contest prominent for contestants to be able to find. I have used it a few times to allow the challenge topic to remain prominent to keep it easily found for contestants in my latest contest.

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DMMc wrote:I'm not clear on what is meant by "discussing specific blocks". Can this be clarified?

I believe that Per means people discussing the names of people they blocked or plan to block on the boards.

......Please correct me if I'm wrong, Per.

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grammatea4u wrote:Not sure I agree with the part of 'not sticking to the subject'...Kinda kills any spontaneous chat that occurs on some of the boards.

I agree with this, on some of the threads there is just chatter to keep the mood light and fun! so this I dont agree with, but otherwise I agree with the rest of them :)

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grammatea4u wrote:Not sure I agree with the part of 'not sticking to the subject'...Kinda kills any spontaneous chat that occurs on some of the boards.

Absolutely!! I've been on many forums for years, and it's forum life that topics deviate from the header. It's also a good way sometimes of veering away from negative talk that may be arising.

Take away freedom of expression in this way, and you may as well close the forums down completely!!

And how exactly do you define a 'bump'?? If you say the word 'bump' can't be used, then another more creative way will be found to get the topic back on top.

Live with the bumps! I do!!

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grammatea4u wrote:Not sure I agree with the part of 'not sticking to the subject'...Kinda kills any spontaneous chat that occurs on some of the boards.

Spontaneous chatting is one thing, Gramma, but IMHO I believe that they mean when the topic goes so far off into left field that the original topic is completely lost.

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i think you forgot a couple,, like...
DON'T "DONT MAKE A NEW THREAD" OR
"DONT REPLY TO ANY THREADS BECAUSE A SMALL 'MINORITY' OF PEOPLE ARE FAR TOO OVER SENSITIVE AND CANT TAKE A JOKE"....LOL..
WELL THE NEGATIVE COMMENT ONE IS GREAT.....AT LEAST NOW WHEN I READ MY COMMENTS I KNOW THAT WHAT THEY REALLY MEANT WAS THAT I WAS ABSOLUTE RUBBISH...
OOOPPSS.... ARE WE ALLOWED TO WRITE IN CAPITAL LETTERS?

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oh my I could get kicked off then for the bumping..I never go in and write bump..but I will put some sort of a comment such as how is the weather today..just to get the thread moved up..guess that won't be allowed?

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AND AS FOR "NOT STICKING TO THE SUBJECT"...
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHO WON THE 4.40 STEEPLECHASE AT LINGFIELD TODAY?

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i love bumping lmao

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lmfao omg loon lmfaoooooooooo shut up..(oops) lol...and soffee you dirty dirty girl (oops agian) lmaoooooo ..sorry .rules ..rules..hmm..rules..nm lol

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Loonpotter wrote:AND AS FOR "NOT STICKING TO THE SUBJECT"...
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHO WON THE 4.40 STEEPLECHASE AT LINGFIELD TODAY?

Seeing as it's only 4.02...that would mean I would have to be a psychic! LOL

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Will you be going through and deleting all the "nasty" threads? Why not just delete everything except for the "contests & challenges" and start fresh? I don't know..that's probably stupid.

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sorry..the dreidbyrne is me softy lmfao(dammit!!!) my son forgot to sign out! lmfao

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Not sticking to the subject is probably relevant if somebody goes in and just spams something deliberatly rather than going off topic naturally... I would imagine.. or begins to take the road and goes into most of the things above...

Discussing blocks shouldn't be happening...
Discussing members in negative shouldn't be either..
bumping thread is cos of search facility.. but i am glad that is gone especially when peeps have used it just to see if I've been about... would rather have thread subscription... so that you can't lose threads you were interested in or participating in.. that were lost

contact info for others is just not on
spamming nonsense is bad *blush* we don't do that no more though :)

Inappropriate stuff..

You could have an 18+/Adult part of the message board.. that your only allowed in via what your birthday states.. and you could filter that but having notification of who suddenly just aged 2-4 years etc just to get in.. if you get me.. and those who get offended just don't go in... just like warnings on songs some of us put...or songs they know to contain these type of lyrics etc..

But I'm kinda with Roger too LOL

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MANDY.... I WAS HOPING NO-ONE WOULD NOTICE THE TIME....LMAOO...OOOPSS I MEAN LOL... I REALISED AFTER I TYPED IT

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I second those who said

"- not sticking to the subject"

Is not the best one... Reasons stated above but quite simply... one question leads to 100 more so to end a discussion just because it went off track.. hmmmm....

Bumping - There have been cases of ridiculous bumping. I've no problem with bumping old threads of interest, contests, etc.,

Bumping just to get exposure on inactive threads that people have clearly shown no interest in- that would warm my heart to see those deleted! :)

Edited on August 13, 2007 at 11:17 AM Permalink

I don't read much of the message boards...I basically participate when I run the Diva Idol contest at the end of the month. However, I think what you're suggesting might be a bit excessive. Here are my thoughts:

- inappropriate language, links, images
****I personally would be estatic if no more glitter images, etc. were allowed for posting. But I see the logo in the upper right hand corner and I have a feeling it's generating some income for Singsnap. I personally find those more of an annoyance than any language or link.

- pasting private messages
****I think the word PRIVATE says it all.

- discussing another member in a negative context
****This should go without saying. However, I've seen some instances where a particular member says something generally insulting and is called out on it. I don't have a a problem with that, as I think it's part of normal discourse.

- posting the same topic in different categories
***I don't see an issue with this. Not everyone reads every category. If you're posting the same message in EVERY category, sure, you're just spamming. But in one or two categories where it's relevant, what's the issue with that?

- bumping threads
****Until a system is put into place where you can subscibe to the threads you want, I think this is probably necessary.

- discussing specific blocks
****I don't know what this means.

- spamming a thread with multiple similar replies
****I think this gets into tricky territory. Is it spam, or just another way of (more articulately) saying what you need to say? This is a bit objective and could cause some problems in the "freedom of speech" department.

- not sticking to the subject
****Geez. I feel like I need a school marm standing over me with a ruler. lol Sometimes discussion...happens. Conversations in every day life can zig zag back and forth...and it's bound to happen in chat as well.

- posting contact info for other members
****This should be an absolute MUST for security reasons. We all have the ability to post whatever contact info we want public on our profile. No one should be giving that info out for us.

My two cents! :)

Cheers,
Taunia

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- inappropriate language, links, images Who determines what is inappropriate?
- pasting private messages In less than a heartbeat!
- discussing another member in a negative context In less than a heartbeat!
- posting the same topic in different categories Unless it applies to different categories
- bumping threads When used to excess. Many people post challenges that are NOT contests that warrant exposure also. I agree with the need for thread subscriptions.
- discussing specific blocks In less than a heartbeat! Falls in line with intentional trashing another member.
- spamming a thread with multiple similar replies Only like Spam fried with homemade buttermilk biscuits. My southern side is showing. Have been guilty of spamming and bumping to remove a undesirable post from front page. :-(
- not sticking to the subject Meandering threads lead to increased discussion/interaction. If is serious thread then consider for deletion. Not automatic.
- posting contact info for other members In less than a heartbeat!
-threatening or implied threats In less than a heartbeat!

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well heres one I have yet to see:

Deletion of Old Threads
The ones that have no interest in over a 10 day period. This would solve alot of your spamming of dead threads and solve some of the bumping issues, which I find sometimes to be very annoying.

If you think about it this stops alot of build up for the server also frees up alot more of the servers mem space. as I said it's just a thought but something I think would help us all out in the end.

other than that the plan you have is great!

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Here are my views.

- inappropriate language, links, images - I second what connie suggested about an 18+ section, but obviously no 'pRon' allowed :/ & people who don't like that kind of thing don't enter..?

- pasting private messages - Something i've never done so it doesn't affect me. Don't like it when it happens though :(

- discussing another member in a negative context - Sounds like a good plan, would stop mega wars on here!

- posting the same topic in different categories - Not so bad, but can become annoying.

- bumping threads - You gotta do the bump man! :D

- discussing specific blocks - I'm not familiar with the block button so I have no idea.. I haven't ever blocked anyone & I hope i'm not blocked by anyone!!!!!? (O.O) lol

- spamming a thread with multiple similar replies - ugh, annoying, but can't be helped sometimes with the Snap servers ;)

- not sticking to the subject - Ooh I always have to change subjects, thats what forums & building friend bases are about!

- posting contact info for other members - Shouldn't be allowed at all!

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Mr-Magoo-Who wrote:well heres one I have yet to see:

Deletion of Old Threads
The ones that have no interest in over a 10 day period. This would solve alot of your spamming of dead threads and solve some of the bumping issues, which I find sometimes to be very annoying.

If you think about it this stops alot of build up for the server also frees up alot more of the servers mem space. as I said it's just a thought but something I think would help us all out in the end.

other than that the plan you have is great!

10 days I think is too soon..perhaps a month or so.

I'd also like that a thread be 'marked' for deletion before it happened as well, just in case someone is reading it, but not posting on it.

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I have a question for you per..seeing this is your thread lol....What is the age limit in a chatroom? Last I heard it was 18..is this still true?

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The problem with all this censorship is that it takes away from the community vibe of the site. I see no problem with debate and discussion, nor do I see a problem with going off topic. That is the natural flow of a thread. This one: "discussing another member in a negative context " is wide open for interpretation. So if I say, Susie Sunshine isn't being nice, she left me bad comments, etc, would that be negative context? In the strict sense, yes, but it would be ridiculous to delete a thread because of it.
The main problems on the forums (IMO) seems to be the use of profanity, extreme sexual references/photos and the use of threads to "call out" specific members for various "crimes" commented against the creator of the thread. If you constantly delete threads, you will be chasing your own tails and won't have any time to work towards what this site was intended for; Karaoke. I have reported on specific content on the threads, but only when members have become abusive and/or graphic in their language or imagery. I don't like bumping, spamming,glitter graphic, etc, but others do. It's as simple as, if you don't like the thread, then leave. We are not children on here and I don't think this level of intervention is warranted at all. If you go this route, I think it would be better to just remove the forums altogether.

That's my 2 cents.

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:O I don't think I like deleting old threads...

There are a lot of reference threads or cool threads that may go some time without being active but when they resurface, they either initiate new conversations and bring warm fuzzies (Like the Rainbow thread.. hehe) !!!

And I like Mandy's "Marked for deletion" thing

and would LOVE to be able to subscribe to a thread!

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Something to ponder over the 18+ only being allowed into certain areas.

That would not work if it used the IP address as happens with blocks. It would mean that adults using the same IP address wouldn't be able to access it either!!

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You know I've come to accept most everything on these threads and if I don't like the subject or whatever I just don't go there.

The only thing I really don't like is when people start beating the hell out of each other with their degrading attitudes.

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I dont come onto the message board anymore,, cause to me it looks like a huge school drama scene,, but those are awesome rules, maybe it will make it somethin the rest of us that dont like to be slamed can be apart of on here now~your awesome ~ ty for seeing this problem~liz

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I guess this is a hard thing to do because freedom of speech is great and the forum should not become Nazi ruled...but I agree that some intervention is badly needed!

I feel a few of the more serious matters should be dealt with much more strictly (not just a thread deletion) but a warning of some form...and ultimately a banning if they continue. These would be:

1) Any threats of violence!
2) Posting people's PM's and/or contact information.
3) Starting a flame thread to harm/discuss/berate/humiliate another member.

If the rules were clearly posted and people were warned if they broke them (at least once) then I feel a ban would be in order. It would also put a fast halt to the offending behaviours!

The swearing, images and links do not bother me at all, as long as they are not porn or directed at someone.

The bumps are not usually a big deal either, unless it is the few members who bump 3 pages worth of threads that nobody is interested in.

Staying on topic is not something I want to see monitored, besides by the thread creator.....discussion is part of forums and wandering off topic can lead to some of the best threads. It also often diffuses the negative stuff!

Spam and multiple posts in lots of categories are more of a case by case thing I think...

My opinion is make rules that are enforced about the BIG issues and leave the little ones alone.

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Hey that sounds good, Ditto Sultry ;)

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I think go for it!!! It all sounds sensible and reasonable to me !!

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bringing back the search feature would definitely be the solution for some of these problems. It was so much nicer before when you could do a search and go to the specific threads, because that meant more time for singing and listening.

Edited on August 13, 2007 at 12:19 PM Permalink

I browse the message board often and comment sometimes.....it depends on the topic and whether or not the thread ends up being a war between two individuals...LOL!! I enjoy the message board and think it is a great way to get to know new people.
As for some of the changes being discussed in this topic, I personally like the bump.....it allows for bringing some of the old topics I am interested in to the forefront!! I do agree however that we do go overboard with it sometimes. As for the other items, I agree with Monique....we are not children! The offensive language and calling others to the front in a negative connotation is definitely not acting like an adult in my opinion.....and I do often see that the thread topic is changed to get away from negative things going on. Therefore topic change sometimes is a very good thing!!

Well that is my 2-cents....and thank you for listening.

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No.. they use the user name...

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Mandy wrote:Something to ponder over the 18+ only being allowed into certain areas.

That would not work if it used the IP address as happens with blocks. It would mean that adults using the same IP address wouldn't be able to access it either!!

No.. they could use the user name...

by date of birth... not by ip..

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As far as the 'bump' thing is concerned. Perhaps if a guideline of only bumping (and by bumping I mean saying 'bump', or leaving a graphic bump, not general conversation) if the topic has reached the bottom of the page, or gone onto the next page??

If general conversation is keeping the thread alive, I find nothing wrong with that

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Connie wrote:No.. they could use the user name...

by date of birth... not by ip..

Yep, if they can do it that way, I agree...but I remember when blocks were introduced, and at that time my 8 year old had an account..I wanted to block her from being to come onto my account any time she felt like it, but couldn't because by blocking her name, I blocked myself from seeing my own account..and that was down to IP address..they said at that time when I questioned it that they couldn't block by name only.

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I agree with everything proposed by per.....:-)

Edited on August 13, 2007 at 12:36 PM Permalink

I'd like to propose also but it only goes if we are going to have a decent chat room :o):
Using the message board to chat or instead of private messages.

The same goes for bumping.. It can only be applied when "search" function is back.. according to my opinion.

Edited on August 13, 2007 at 1:03 PM Permalink

You do not want to many rules. That might hurt the enjoyment of it. A few rules are fine. Discussing people in a negative way, inappropriate language and discussing blocks are rules that need to be enforced. Bumping threads need to stay because there is no search funtion. Also, getting off topic is not problem.

Edited on August 13, 2007 at 1:02 PM Permalink