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I've received a noticeable number of complaints recently from a variety of CU contributors, readers, lurkers and regulars who have expressed a distaste for the abundance of trolling, name calling, fight picking, excessive bickering and otherwise worthless, off topic or mean-spirited contributions around here. While there will always be some level of acceptable joking and non-serious discussion, there also needs to be some adherence to the rules. We have always had a Terms of Service page that outlines what's acceptable and what's not, and I think it bears a revisiting for those who have not viewed it in awhile:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/tos
Columbus Underground is a valuable community resource because it is a moderated community. There is a level of civility and intelligence expected of the people who use this website. That especially applies to the more serious discussions. If you want to talk about something silly, start a separate discussion in the "Everyday Chit Chat" section and have at it. Otherwise, other topics should mostly remain on topic.
If that sounds like something you're interested in, great! Keep on truckin'.
If that sounds like something you're not interested in, then feel free to find another spot on this great big internet that is more your speed.
As a moderator, I have given out plenty of warnings, cleaned up fights and asked repeatedly for calmer demeanors when tempers flare. To some degree, I feel that I've given out *too many* warnings to the point of it having no real repercussions anymore. Moving forward from today, intentional offenders will get one final warning and the disruptive behavior won't be tolerated beyond that.
More likely than not, this warning applies to probably 2% of the overall user base of this site. So the vast majority of everyone reading this has little to worry about. Carry on as usual. And thanks for continuing to abide by your own common sense when it comes to playing nice with others. You make our jobs here easy, and we fully appreciate that.
For those who regularly prefer skirting the rules and causing problems, I'm asking politely for a new bit of tact moving forward. Let's keep CU a productive, civil, intelligent, useful and welcoming resource for to everyone to use.
If anyone has any questions about any of this, feel free to send me an email: walker@columbusunderground.com and I'm happy to answer to the best of my ability.
Thanks & Happy Posting! ;)
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