Updated Forum Rules and Guidelines

[Shaun]

Hello Everyone,

I'm really enjoying being back on CycleChat after such a long time away from the day-to-day running but I've noticed a couple of things that need attention so I've made some changes to the site guidelines to address them:

• Forum Rules Update. I've added some new Forum Rules to go with our guidelines that I would like everyone to read. I've also given the moderators some new tools to address the key issues, primarily - direct insults; harassment; nit-picking at others without contributing anything to a thread yourself; and backseat moderating. If you think something breaks the rules or someone directly insults you, don't try to moderate it or respond in kind, just report it.
  
  
• Reminders. Moderators will send a reminder if they notice you breaking a key rule. A reminder is simply a heads-up personal message to alert you to a problem so that you can avoid it in the future. They are given to help you and to help other forum members. If we have to keep sending you reminders, your account will be suspended and eventually closed. It is our hope that we won't need to use the reminders very often, but we do need to address some of the more serious issues and this should be a transparent and consistent means of doing so. To help you avoid getting a reminder, don't insult or harass other members or moderators; don't derail or spoil threads through nit-picking or circular arguments; don't try to moderate CycleChat - just use the report facility and let the moderators deal with it.
  
  
• Moderation. Messages questioning or commenting on moderation will be removed and any personal attacks or harassment of moderators will lead to your account being suspended or closed. Our moderators are volunteers who work very hard and make personal sacrifices to make CycleChat work well for us all. They're human, and just like you and me they can make an occasional mistake - but they always act in good faith and with the best of intentions and CycleChat would not be possible without their efforts. If you feel a moderator has made a mistake or wish to query a moderator decision, do not start a thread or post about it on the forums, use the Contact Us form to send a polite message and it will be looked into for you.

One of the good things about CycleChat is that we've had a lighter moderation touch than many other sites and I'd like to keep that in the main, but there are some things that do need addressing and I think the sooner they are dealt with, the better.

Cheers,
Shaun