Forum Centre and Facebook Group Rules and Suggestions
Updated 08-Jul-2010

The purpose of our forum is to foster the sharing of knowledge relating to H.M.S. Hood, her crew as well as personalities, events and other ships of her era. Our Facebook group page on the other hand, is intended to be something more akin to a guestbook. It's essentially a place where people can leave Hood-related messages for our Association or one another. It's also a place where people can go to learn about upcoming or recent Hood-related events. The following rules and suggestions are based on common-sense and if adhered to, should keep things civil yet productive and ensure a better experience for all.

Forum Centre Rules and Suggestions

I. Basic Rules
By posting in our forum users must agree to the following common-sense rules:

• No Impersonation – When you register for our forum you can use a screen name, but please at least tell our staff who you are (we find that most of our senior posters use their real names).   Screen names are fine provided they are not offensive (use your common sense) nor usually/commonly associated with someone else.  We have zero tolerance for anyone who deliberately or maliciously posts something while pretending to be someone else. This will result in automatic and permanent banishment. 
• No Spam/Advertising – Posting of pyramid schemes, chain letters or advertisements for commercial products or services is prohibited.  Additionally, posting of anything illegal or of subject matter not fitting our stated forum purposes will be subject to deletion and permanent banishment when deemed appropriate.
• No Offensive Posts/Flaming – Personal attacks (i.e., abuse in the form of name calling/insults, harassment or defamation, etc.), or other extreme or inappropriate comments are not acceptable.  Additionally, discriminatory posts (i.e., things of a sexual, sexist, racist, religious or political nature) are not tolerated. 
• No Trolls – People who generate controversial or otherwise useless topics in an effort to provoke others are simply wasting time and bandwidth and are not tolerated.  If you suspect someone is a troll,do not respond to them.  Instead, report them to our Moderator Bill Jurens or our Site Administrators, Paul Bevand and Frank Allen (see “Reporting Offenses and Accessing Penalties” below for contact details).   
• No Modifying Forum Posts – Posts cannot be modified or deleted AFTER others have responded.  This is out of courtesy to others.  You see, the loss of data may have a “snowball effect” which will make subsequent responses incoherent.  If you feel strongly that something should be deleted or modified, either re-post with a correction, or notify our staff and we will make the determination.    
• Respect the Moderators and Your Hosts – If the forum Moderator or Site Administrators take any action, please respect their decisions and adhere to their instructions/judgment.  Also, please remember show respect to the crew of Hood and their relatives – you see, many men died in the sinking and that this adversely affected countless others.  When posting, remember the human element.  If we deem anything offensive, we will take appropriate action.

II. Reporting Offenses
We do our best to monitor the forum.  Even so, it’s possible that members may come across a potential problem/issue before we do.  In these cases, we ask them to please report the offenses by notifying Bill, Paul or Frank via one of the following means:

• Private Message through the Forum – This is the easiest method. It can accessed by logged-in members by clicking on either "Administrators" or "Global moderators" at the bottom of the forum screen, or by clicking on "Moderator: Bill Jurens" in any of the forum sections (should be located directly under the pink section containing the "Forum rules").
• Standard e-mail – Click here to access our Contacts page.
• The forum’s “Report this post” feature – Logged-in members can access this by clicking on the small exclamation point within an inverted triangle icon near the top right of every post. We will review and make a determination.

III. Assessing Penalties (Rules Enforcement)
With the exception of the items mentioned above which warrant automatic membership deletion/banishment, we generally use a warning system of the “three strikes and you’re out” variety. We will use the following means/methods to maintain order:

• The moderators will generally issue informal cautionary notes – essentially ‘calls to order’ -- regarding posts which they feel are potentially offensive in any significant way.  If we receive formal written complaints from three or more individuals, we will investigate the matter closely and issue a formal warning if we determine a violation did take place.  The identity of those registering the complaints will not be revealed. Warnings will be posted ‘in the clear’ in the relevant thread will contain specific descriptions of the nature of the complaint(s), and will suggest potential remedies.     We may also need to modify or delete the offending post (but only if absolutely necessary and if it won’t adversely affect on subsequent posts in said thread.
• If the offending person has a total of three warnings within a 6 month period, they will be suspended for a period of 3 months.    If they return and resume their behaviour, they will then be subject to permanent deletion/banishment.    
• Anyone who strongly disagrees with an action taken by us (removal of posts, banning of posters, etc.) is asked to please contact our staff via the forum’s private message feature or standard e-mail.  The situation will most certainly be addressed in a fair manner.  However, it’s inevitable that we won’t be able to please everyone and as such will not allow it to become a drawn-out debate.  In these cases please remember that this is our site and assessment of penalties is done at our own discretion. In other words, we have the final say. 

IV. Helpful Suggestions
The following, while not strict rules and certainly things that are open to interpretation, are suggested “best practices” for posting.  Following these recommendations should make your forum experience more beneficial:

• Treat Each Other With Respect – We understand that some topics can become the centre of heated debates.  We also understand that not everyone gets along.  Nevertheless, treat each other with respect.  Avoid name calling and resorting to offensive posts such as those specified in our rules above.  Simply agree to disagree and move on.
• Keep it Factual & Cite Sources – When making a statement, it’s wise to provide some form of documentation or evidence to back-it-up.  If the statement just represents your opinion or your interpretation of evidence, say so.  This will give others the chance to understand “where you are coming from” plus give them the opportunity to review, interpret and absorb the information and hopefully prepare more pertinent and informed responses. 
• Stay on Topic – We understand that threads can “mutate” into something quite different than originally intended.  Please try to avoid this.  Start new threads rather than change the direction of the thread.  Keep in mind that this is the H.M.S. Hood forum and that many discussions relating to other topics might better be addressed on other forums.   Our staff reserves the right to call “time out” if and as required.
• Avoid Cross-Posting -When posting a topic be sure to post it in only one of our forums.  Also, post it in the proper place- crew posts go in the crew forum, scale modeling posts go in the models forum, etc.  Use your common sense.  This will help keep things “tidy” and focused.  We reserve the right to move threads/posts to what we deem to be the applicable forum.
• Friends and Foes -  If you have people you find insightful and helpful, you can set it up so that you are notified when they post. On the other hand, if there are people you wish to ignore, you can set it up so that you do not see their posts at all. This may help avoid potential conflicts, but be advised that it can also cause a thread to have gaps, and that it may result in your postings not making any sense to others reading the entire thread.  This could, potentially, lead to warnings.  The Friends and Foes option is  available via the User Control Panel (near top left of screen after you log-in) then the “Friends and Foes” tab. Check it out!

Facebook Group Rules & Suggestions

I. Basic Rules
By posting on our Facebook group page, users must agree to the following common sense rules:

• No Impersonation – We don’t want members with offensive names (use your common sense).  Kids use this site.  We also have zero tolerance for anyone who deliberately or maliciously posts something while pretending to be someone else. This will result in automatic and permanent banishment. 
• No Spam/Advertising – The deliberate posting by members of pyramid schemes, chain letters, commercial advertisements or anything illegal or illicit is not permitted.  Of course, it should be noted that Facebook automatically lists some advertisements on pages.  We have little control over this. 
• No Offensive Posts/Flaming – Personal or discriminatory attacks in the form of name calling/insults, harassment, defamation or other extreme or inappropriate comments are not acceptable.  Remember that people from all walks of life may use this Facebook page.  If members see any offensive posts, please do not respond to them.  Instead, report them to our staff via e-mail.
• No Modifying Posts – Posts must not be modified or deleted AFTER others have responded specifically to them.  This is out of courtesy to others- the loss of data may have a “snowball effect” which will make subsequent responses incoherent.  If there are responses to earlier posts in the thread, but not specifically to yours, you can delete it.  Just don't do anything that will cause subsequent posts/comments to no longer make any sense.
• Respect Your Hosts –Please also show respect to the crew of Hood and their relatives.  Remember that many men died in the sinking and that this adversely affected countless others.  When posting, remember the human element.

II. Reporting Offenses and Accessing Penalties
Although we monitor our Facebook page closely, it’s still possible that members may notice a problem before we do.  If so, they are welcome to notify our staff via e-mail.  We will review the situation and if we find that an offense did take place, we will take appropriate action.  This could range from a warning to banishment from the site.  Naturally, we will attempt to work with the offender privately before taking any further action. 

III. Helpful Suggestions
The following, while not strict rules and certainly things that are open to interpretation, are suggested “best practices” for posting.  Following these recommendations should make your Facebook experience more beneficial:

• Treat Each Other With Respect – We understand that some topics can become the centre of heated debates.  We also understand that not everyone gets along.  Nevertheless, treat each other with respect.  Avoid name calling and resorting to offensive posts such as those specified in our rules above.  Simply agree to disagree and move on.
• Keep it Factual & Cite Sources – If you make a statement, please let people know if it’s just an opinion, an interpretation or if it’s a direct quote.  Please cite sources used so that other’s will have the chance to form their own informed opinions. This should make any information exchanges more fruitful.
• Stay on Topic –   Keep in mind that this is the H.M.S. Hood Association Facebook page, so the topics of discussion should revolved around Hood, her crew and of course our Association and it’s friends. 

As you can see, the above Forum Centre and Facebook rules and suggestions are based on good old fashioned common sense.  If something is wrong, don’t do it.  Just remember to adhere to the old adage ““Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.