FinHeaven House Rules (TOS)

[FinHeavenAJ]

Hello,





It has come to my attention that FinHeaven & Co should create a governing policy for our message boards. It is YOUR reponsibility to be aware of these terms and conditions.

1. Personal Attacks
   There will be no personal attacks toward any other member, no matter what. If you are offended by another posters comments, please email an administrator or moderator as soon as possible explaining what happened. If you respond in the same manor as they did, you are now part of the problem. If you have something against someone else, please email/PM the member. DO NOT take out personal arguments in a thread.
   
   Personal attacks can be categorized as (but not limited to): Racist, Bigoted, Derogatory, Sexist, Hateful or Threatening.
2. Language
   Comments considered to be derogatory, disgusting, hateful or offensive are not permitted. There will be no swearing of any kind. Circumventing the profanity filter is also not permitted. Basically, use your head.
3. User Names
   Added: July 25, 2002 - Anyone user name that contains profane words will be deleted from the message board. Note that this is not a ban, as you can re-register using a different name. Added: January 23,2006Multiple active user names,however, are discouraged, and the staff reserves the right to delete or ban backup/secondary usernames. Note, if one username is banned, that does not give a member license to create a new one in order to circumvent a ban.If you are given a temporary ban, and create a new username in order to bypass the suspension, your suspension will be increased. If you continue to use a name that contains profanity or maybe harmful to children's eyes, you will be banned.... it's as simple as that.
4. Signatures and Avatars
   Amended: February 16, 2007 - Avatars and signatures should not have any type of nudity or be too risque', nor are they to contain violence. Avatars must fit in with the family-oriented nature of the community, with no profanity, vulgarity, obscenity, nudity or suggestion of nudity. Thus, there should be no pictures, as stated above, in one's avatar or signature. However, images such as stated in the above may be posted in The Ladies Lounge.
   
   updated: September 30, 2009 - You are permitted one photo per signature. Please keep the dimensions within the 400x300 pixel range and below 40k in size for regular members and 800x600 pixal range and below 80k in size for VIP members. Exceptions can be made if a signature is wider than 400 pixels, but much shorter than 300 pixels in height (a banner for example). Not only does this make for a sleeker, less congested forum, but it also helps visitors who are limited to 56K dialup connections. Added: January 23, 2006 The use of quotes from other members in your signature in a derogatory or inflammatory manner is not allowed. This creates bad feelings among fellow members, and is considered a personal attack. Added:14 February 2006 - Politically oriented Sig and Avatars are not permitted. This tends to distract from discussions, much as a sexually explicit one would. Videos are not allowed in sigs.
5. Off Topic
   Added: May 01, 2002 - Please keep posts where they belong. If you wish to talk about politics for example, please post it in Political | War Forum. If you wish to talk about other NFL teams, post it in "General NFL." And, of course, if you wish to talk about YOUR MIAMI DOLPHINS, post it in the Miami Dolphins forum! If an Admin or Mod find that you have posted an off topic post, it will be moved to the appropriate forum.
6. Private Conversation
   Added: August 23, 2004 - If you talk to another member via email/IM/PM then please do not post that message. The conversation between the two of you is PRIVATE and not for the other 10,000+ people to read.
7. Quoted Text
   Added: September 13, 2004 - You may not alter someone else's words and use it as quoted text. Previously, this had long been an "unwritten rule" followed by all. But it now must be added.
8. "Breaking News"
   Added: August 12, 2004 - The thread title "Breaking News" is only to be used when actual, bigtime news is breaking. This is a rule we take very seriously. While this is an internet message board, many Dolphin fans come here for their Dolphin-related news. And few if any of them appreciate being "taken". There are some things we hold sacred. This is one of them.
   
   This rule also prohibits the intentional posting of sensational news that is known to be false.
9. Posting Articles
   Added: May 30, 2002 - Please do not post an entire article. Instead, post the first three or so sentences, and then include a link to that article. The reason is simply due of copyright issues. And I for one do not want to have The Sun-Sentinel coming after me in a lawsuit.
10. Links to Other Sites/Content
    Edited on October 19, 2006 - Please feel free to share valuable content and photos with other Miami Dolphin fans. If there's a commentary article or news item that you want to share with our members, then post it to encourage discussion - that's what forums are all about after all. However, please do not post links with no real intended purpose and/or don't have any "value" to Miami Dolphin fans. Don't post some random website address because you're feeling like it. Lastly, as with a post, if the website content isn't related to the Miami Dolphins, please post it in the appropriate forum. In other words...please don't promote a competing fan site unless you are promoting a specific article on that site
11. Moderation
    Moderators and Administrators reserve the right to edit or delete your thread or post without consulting you first. Moderators and Super Moderators also have the right to act without consulting an Administrator first.
    
    However, if you find that a Moderator continually does this for no apparent reason, please email an Administrator.
12. Annoyance
    Individuals who detract from the site through ongoing incivility, immaturity, and/or disrespect for the contributions and responsibilities of others may be afforded maximal opportunities to spend their time elsewhere.

Warning System:

First Offense:

Personal Attack - 4pts
Circumventing Profanity Filter - 2pts
Innapropriate comment (racist, sexual, other....) - 4pts
Off-Topic/Wrong Fourm - 2pts
Sig Size - 1pt
Avatar/Sig inappropriate - 1pt
Breaking News/Misleading thread titles - 2pts
Posting full article - 1pt
Spam/linking to other fan sites - 2pts
Annoyance - 3pts
Quoted text in sig, or links to quotes - 1pt
Altering quoted text - 2pts
Multiple username - 2pts
Posting Nude or lewd pictures or content - 8pts
Posting Nude or lewd pictures or content - (say goodbye to your friends first)

At first glance the totals may look low but, there is another part of the system that i haven't mentioned yet.....A second offense, doubles the point total, and a third offense triples it.

In the case of a personal attack, you don't go from 4 to 8, you go from 4 to 12. That means two personall attacks within 30 days nets you time off and 8 of those points extend for 60 days.

Please note that you may be banned/suspended without notice for a FIRST offense.

If you feel you can behave in a mature manner, please feel free to contact us.
For a more comprehensive explanation of the warning system, click here.



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Other Notes



Please do not take everything one person says seriously. Yes, if you feel that it needs to be seen by a moderator or an administrator, please do. However, in most cases, a poster is joking around.


If you're about to make a comment but feel it might offend someone, don't post it. But if you must, please include some type of indication that you are just joking around.

If you repeatedly encounter a poster whom you just cannot stand, please take advantage of the site's Ignore List feature.

The FinHeaven & Co. Message Boards are meant to be an enjoyable place for Dolphins fans to talk football with other fans. Anything that does not relate to football should be posted in The Lounge or any other appropriate section of the forums.

These policies are subject to change without notice. So please check back often.

I hope this clears up any confusion, and will keep the boards fun for enojoyable for all.