As previously mentioned in the Fixing the OTZ thread, there is a new administration and changes afoot. With a new administration comes new rules and a new way of thinking. We’ve gotten together and discussed what changes need to be made in order for the OTZ to be as marvelous as it once was. So PLEASE read these rules.

Moderation Nation

mamabraxas and Miss Bingley join Sarahpi as administrators. The three of them are in charge of-well, everything: Validation and Registration, Banning and Warning People, Technical Issues, etc.
There are several backup moderators who read the boards and make sure that everything is going smoothly, addressing issues that the admins might have missed. They are:

• acceber
  
• P. D. Noosh
  
• They Called Her Styrene
  
• Young Mr. Grace

Debates vs. Attacks

It’s impossible (unpossible, even) to go through life having everybody agree with you (If you have sycophants whose sole job in life is to keep you from hearing about this, and I’m looking at you George W. Bush and Tom Cruise, that’s different and thankfully neither of them post here-can you imagine the lawsuits?-so that is a moot point). That’s just a fact. None of us are so brilliant and perfect that we are above being disagreed with.

It’s natural, then, that there will be disagreements on the boards. This is a disagreement:

Cher: Gone shopping with Dr. Seuss again, I see.
Dionne: At least I didn’t skin a collie to make my backpack.
Cher: It’s faux!

See how they had a difference of opinion, but it never got nasty? That’s a disagreement and it’s only natural that someone here is going to disagree with you. That’s fine!

What makes it an attack is when you start calling someone a name and being cruel. This is an attack:
Tai Fraiser: What, am I some sort of mentally challenged airhead?
Cher Horowitz: No. Not even, I didn’t say that.
Tai Fraiser: But I’m not good enough for Josh, or something?
Cher Horowitz: I just don’t think you mesh well together.
Tai Fraiser: You don't think that we mesh well? It’s like, why am I even listening to you to begin with? You're a virgin who can't drive.

Not cool.

We’re not going to stop discussions if someone doesn’t agree with your opinion, because that’s not how things operate in the real world. If you stoop to calling names, nasty comments or using the caps lock of RAGE, we’re going to intervene because that’s not how it works in the real world.

Drama-Rama

As anybody who watches Dynasty knows, drama can be great (especially when accompanied by shoulder pads). Drama on the boards, though, not so much (even when accompanied by shoulder pads).

We’d be naïve in thinking that by saying, “Don’t stir up shit” that people would listen to that and we’d all be shiny happy people holding hands. It’s a given that spats are going to happen; the thing is, though, that when they do happen? Let it go. If you start taking a benign comment too personally, take a deep breath and step out of that thread. If you feel like a poster is taking a shot at you and crossing a line, PM one of the admins or mods. If you feel the need to have a series of posts arguing with somebody, making derogatory and offensive comments or disrupting the boards in general? That’s drama and it’s not going to be tolerated.

If you feel the need to be entertained by drama, please go over to Fandom Wank or LJ Drama for all of your voyeuristic needs. This is not the place for it. Nor do we condone going to other boards who comment on us and starting drama over there (See: Jerko, El incident of January 2005). Don’t. Do. It.

Nastygrams

You know how Fametracker had that policy that threatening and abusive personal messages wouldn’t be tolerated? Same here. Just…no, okay? No. Again, as stated above, there is a difference between a disagreement and being abusive. If you want to PM somebody because you disagree with something that they said, but you don’t want to risk causing drama on the boards, 1)You get a gold star and 2)that’s perfectly okay. If you PM or email someone to tell them things that you know you wouldn’t get away with on the boards (i.e., hurtful, offensive, derogatory comments; threats; expletive riddled rants), that’s crossing the line. If you receive a PM or email with such content, please forward it to mamabraxas, Miss Bingley or Sarahpi and they will deal with the sender.

Really. Harassment is the very definition of not cute. If you are saying something that the prosecution could use against you in a trial? That’s a signal that you should take a deep breath, count to ten and not send the PM.

It’s a post about nothing!

Okay, here’s the thing: We read the OTZ to be entertained. And you know what’s not entertaining? Reading a thread and seeing posts consisting of:

• LOL!
• Ha!
• Hee!
• Bwah!
• Ew!
• !!!

I mean, really. Is there anything less satisfying than clicking a link with the hopes of reading something new and being greeted with “!!!”?

We all like being told that we’re funny (or, er, disgusting, as the case may be) and telling someone that a funny post was funny? Totally allowed. But pleasepleaseplease with a cherry on top, follow it up with something substantive. Remember Glark’s “Be funny or I’ll kill you where you stand?” We’re not asking that you all be funny, because some people aren’t funny by nature and it doesn’t make them awful people. But we’re asking that when you say something, you actually say something. Here is an example:

So Good

mamabraxas: Pedro keeping a bottle of it on the mound. The ump trying to confiscate said bottle of Care Free Curl because it's slick as owl shit and therefore illegal. Pedro cursing out the ump in Spanish, tossing his jhullet about and hitting ump in the face with great gobs of it. Ump falling to the ground in fetal position, having flashbacks of Clarice in Silence of the Lambs in the corridor during leaving her visit to Lecter
Miss Bingley: Hee! That’s awesome. Pedro truly has the worst hair in baseball, even worse than Mike Piazza’s bleach job and Hideki Matsui’s bowl cut.

No Good

mamabraxas: Pedro keeping a bottle of it on the mound. The ump trying to confiscate said bottle of Care Free Curl because it's slick as owl shit and therefore illegal. Pedro cursing out the ump in Spanish, tossing his jhullet about and hitting ump in the face with great gobs of it. Ump falling to the ground in fetal position, having flashbacks of Clarice in Silence of the Lambs in the corridor during leaving her visit to Lecter
Miss Bingley: Bwah!

See how the first one kept a conversation going? That’s good. And see how the second one was really pointless and dull to read? We don’t want a lot of that.

Basically, you know how in person-to-person interactions, you’re supposed to interact instead of just laughing? Wouldn’t that be uncomfortable, if someone made a joke during a conversation and you just laughed creepily and didn’t respond? We’re here to converse, not kill conversations.

Repetition

This is a big pet peeve so we are going to make this brief: Read the thread you are posting in. Making a post that somebody made three posts above yours or on the previous page makes it look like you think what you have to say is so important that you are too good to read the thread. And you know what? You’re not. That’s rude. In a 200 page thread, we’re not asking that you read the entire thing before posting, but, really, read the last 10 pages before you say something just to make sure it hasn’t been discussed to death already.

Offensiveness

There are certain things that are just wrong and upsetting to read, even if they are said in a joking manner. Talking about rape in a joking way or talking about how it is sexy? No. Homophobia? No. Racism? No. We shouldn’t even have to bring this up, but it’s best to cover all of our bases just in case.

“I know I’ll get stoned for saying this…”

No. No, you won’t. Hey, we’re down with hyperbole, but that, “I am the only person” “[small voice]” and all of the other iterations are ridiculous and a little twee, don’t you think? If you like George Michael or if you think Nick Cannon is hot, just say it! Generally speaking, if someone is going to judge you for it, that person will have questionable taste in something else, so it all evens out in the end. Being twee for the sake of being twee? Icky.

“How do I….???

Are pictures from gettyimages not working for you? Do you want to know how to use spoiler tags? These questions have been asked and answered a billion times and baggylettuce has been kind enough to create a Technical FAQ with commonly asked questions.

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There, now, that wasn’t too painful, was it? If you have any questions or concerns about Da Rules, feel free to get in touch with the mods. Happy Posting!!!