Our forum is considered to be a "self policed" forum. That is to say, our staff is instructed to only moderate when required and react to issues, rather than seek them out. In exchange for this light handed approach, we need to trust our members to govern themselves, and use the "Report Post" feature when they find something that violates our rules or general "family friendly" environment.
These rules are to be seen as general governing principals and you need to understand that the specific language is unimportant. Alan Greenspan put it best when he said "Rules cannot take the place of character." The following outline is just that; it outlines and embodies the character of the environment we wish to enjoy with our fellow enthusiasts.
We choose staff members very carefully, selecting those individuals we believe understand the "spirit" and character of our community. We trust these folks to make decisions and judgment calls that always keep within that spirit. In other words: read these rules to get a feel of how we run this place and do your best to keep within that feel. If a staffer contacts you in regards to these rules and guidelines, always remember they do so in order to keep this place within those guidelines and that their judgment is to be respected as such.
If a member is found to have deliberately broken one of the following rules or guidelines, then a staff member may issue a warning or an infraction, depending on the violation.
Forum Rules/Guidelines
- Avoid personal attacks and be respectful of our members. If you don't agree with what someone posted, debate their post... not the person that posted it. "Flaming" in any form is strictly prohibited. "Derailing" someone's thread for the purposes of negatively affecting it is strictly prohibited. And if someone does choose to disrespect, flame or derail, anyone who responds in kind is just as guilty. Bottom line is to respect each other, and each other's posts. If you don't like what someone posted, figure out how to say so without disrespecting them, flaming them, or derailing their post. If you can't do so, use the Report Post feature and let the staff handle it, or simply move on to the next post. But no matter what, do not contribute to the problem.
- Expressions of hatred based on race/ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, disability, and/or religion are strictly prohibited. Any such expressions, whether directed at another person or at a group in general, may be grounds for immediate banning. Seriously, don't even think about going there.
- Adult material will not be allowed in any way, shape, or form. Ask yourself before posting or picking that avatar or that signature, "would I want to explain this to my 6-year-old niece?" If the answer is no, don't do it. Other likely examples include videos of people and/or animals being hurt or killed, as well as illegal activities.
- No Duplicate Threads. Pick the one and only one best place for your thread or announcement to be seen by the world. If we see a topic plastered all over the place the staff member who has to clean it all up will be very cranky.
- Politics in any form are prohibited. There are thousands of political places to visit on the web. This ain't one of them. Our members come here to talk watches and the community that surrounds them, not to put up with "your" political propaganda.
- Religion in any form is prohibited. Religion is a volatile subject and not welcome here. You can be true to yourself and your beliefs without the need for religious expression. Please do so when you're here! The exception to this rule, which is subject to staff approval, is your avatar or username. These things are expressions of your personality and some leeway is allowed.
- Guns, Knives, weaponry. MoT's Watch Deal Forum understands that hobbies can converge. However, we have chosen not to host the aforementioned materials here. Please refrain from posting content containing them.
- No unauthorized advertisements. If you post something for sale, and you are not a Brand or Brand Representative, that something may not be related to your source of income in any way. Got parts you're not using for sale? No problem! Do you sell these parts or services and make money on them as a matter of course? Big problem! Make sure you're a Brand/Brand Representative before mentioning them here (this includes - but is not limited to - direct posts that may or may not include links or pictures, avatars, quotes and/or signatures that advertise). This includes unauthorized affiliate linking.
- No one may solicit users for any purpose external to the forum. Our member base is not a resource to be "mined". Ignore this rule and you may find yourself banned without warning.
- Privacy of your fellow member is paramount. Posting any personal information of another member will not be tolerated. In addition, impersonation or misrepresenting yourself will also not be tolerated. Any private information posted by a member about another will be edited or deleted. Any member that misrepresents themselves may find themselves banned without warning.
- Multiple accounts are not allowed. Get caught with more than one account and all accounts will be banned, and you will be reported to your ISP as harassing our site.
- Embedded vs Linked Content. All rules regarding content apply to anything you directly embed in your post AS WELL AS anything you link too. Posting a link to rule breaking content is the same as showing it directly in your post. Either way, you're breaking the rules.
- If you post it, the world owns it. Any material entered by any member on MoT’s Watch Deal Forum is considered as being available on public domain and should be treated as such. No material entered by any member is to be considered representative of Mot’s Watch Deal Forum, its staff or its data providers. In other words, you are posting at your own risk. As such; all material entered and/or submitted to MoT’s Watch Deal Forum database are considered the property of MoT’s Watch Deal Forum, its community and the world in general.
Any thread that has been closed or moved is not up for review. Restarting a closed or moved thread will earn the restarter an infraction. If you have a question, bring the issue up with a member of the staff privately.
These forums are managed on the basis of moderators having discretionary authority to make decisions as circumstances require. While this gives them considerable authority, they make it a point to be transparent to the membership and consistent in their attitudes and decisions. Furthermore, when new things necessitate changes in standard general practices, they will try to ease the affected parties into the change as gently as possible without penalty during the learning process.
This is not the forum where you should be looking for a "show-me-the-rule" discussion to have any rightful place. This forum does not work that way. The staff is far more concerned with maintaining the spirit of the community rather than the letter of any law. If any member chooses not to live within that broad spectrum, it is the staff's job to first remind, either publicly, privately or both at the staffer's discretion, and guide them back onto an acceptable path. If transgressions continue, moderators and admins will usually graduate first to formal warnings, followed by formal infractions which increase in severity. Again at the discretion of the staff. However, should a moderator or administrator decide to go straight to severe sanctions and skip the intermediate steps, that is also a reserved prerogative.
Decisions taken by staff members are often group decisions. Remember there is an entire forum here that is invisible to all but the staff here. Very often, when a situation presents itself that the situation will be discussed in a roundtable before action is taken.
Private messages to staff members about staff issues, the business of this forum, infractions received, etc. are subject to review by the entire staff if that staff member chooses to share it. Oftentimes a member brings up an issue where the situation will be better resolved if everyone gets a chance to go over it as a group.
Thank you for choosing to be a member of MoT’s Watch Deal Forum. The staff hopes you find this place to be welcoming, enjoyable and informative.