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Guidelines for avatars/signatures

ahw676

Mythical Poster
Advisor
16/11/08
7,543
97
0
At RWI, we welcome a diversity of cultures and personalities. Our membership extends to the far reaches of the earth (and from what I've seen from some members, maybe farther) and we are glad to have everyone here. We want this to be a place where people can feel free to express their individual tastes.

That being said, the good of the forum trumps the right of any particular individual to post something icky. We want this to be a forum where everyone feels safe to participate and browse at all times. And this means that we would encourage some sense of responsibility and consideration when choosing avatars and signatures. We are aware that at an all boys' club, there are going to be a few people who insist on gazing upon attractive women (purely for artistic purposes, of course). These may be posted in the Looney Bin, suitably labeled NSFW (Not Safe For Work). However, unless you are planning on confining all of your posts to the Looney Bin, and adding NSFW as a prefix to your usernames, please use a modicum of restraint when selecting representative artwork.

We do have members who would like to be able to participate at work or from home where there are children present. It would be nice if those folks did not have to throw a towel over their screens every time certain members posted. Now, the usual argument is typically presented here, which is that you do have the option to turn off signatures and avatars. This is absolutely true, and a few members do choose this option. But this turns off signatures and avatars for to everyone, not just to totalperv34 (which is, by the way, a real username for someone who just subscribed to my youtube channel, and if anyone might know how to ban this person from my videos, I'd be grateful for the advice), which means that this member is now prohibited from getting to see anyone's signature/avatar. It seems that this should not be strictly necessary, if we could get everyone to agree to use a little maturity and consideration in their choices.

Keep in mind too, that you might eventually want to buy or sell something from another member, and you might look just slightly less trustworthy if you are sporting an avatar that promotes abject pornography or Satan worshipping.

Please consider the following when choosing artwork to represent your person:

1) Avoid images featuring nudity, partial nudity, or other offensive material. Realizing this is subjective, the rule of thumb that I personally apply is that if it's something that you can, say, see on most public beaches (and by public beach, I mean the stodgy, boring, American kind, where women wear tops *and* bottoms, and don't engage in any activity that requires barrier protection), we'll probably let it go. If it's something that's more appropriately confined to the bedroom, please leave it there. If it's something that you wouldn't want your grandmother, toddler, or Sunday School teacher to see, post it in the Looney Bin instead.

2) Avoid any racist images. I think that we all pretty much have a zero tolerance rule for that one.

3) Avoid any frankly violent images. We don't have much of a problem with that, so keep up the good work.

4) Avoid any images designed to mock any particular groups, in particular, homosexuals. I realize that most of the time, this is in good fun, but out of 30K members who like nice accessories, I'm fairly certain that a few of them probably also like other boys. This does not make them, in any way, less of a valuable member to RWI. So leave them alone, please.

That's it, at least for now. I'm sure that some of you will come up with something that we'll have to add to the list. So it's a work in progress. :)

In the meantime, the staff will endeavor to politely ask you to remove any pictures which violate these suggestions, so that you can do so of your own volition. However, it does retain the right to remove them for you, if necessary.

Thank you all for exercising good judgment!

The Staff of RWI
 

QinetiQ

Banned member, the goat does not approve
Banned
6/8/09
4,585
0
0
Good work ahw! Too bad ThinkBachs will go ape sh*t over 1) :lol1:
 

ahw676

Mythical Poster
Advisor
16/11/08
7,543
97
0
Thanks, guys.

Now please help me start monitoring for signatures and avatars of piles of exrement or decapitated cats that I did not specifically prohibit, because you *know* some wisea** is going to figure out exactly which categories of offensive material I neglected to mention. And this forum is nothing, if not creative. :)
 

levelmanroger

Mythical Poster
Patron
Certified
1/10/08
9,773
63
48
Texas
Thank you for being both our mother and our moral compass, AHW. And, as sarcastic as that sounds... I actually mean it!
I appreciate having a forum where I (rarely) have to worry about what my wife or kids will see if they stumble in and peer over my shoulder. Those types of forums should be reserved for the laptop... in a locked bathroom... when the family is all gone. :google:

Those who know what's best for us, must rise and save us from ourselves. And in this case it's AHW!!!!! :fakey:
 

Spboudart

Put Some Respect On My Name
26/9/08
4,398
3
38
AHW some of your first words were 'diversity of cultures...' and 'Our membership extends to the far reaches of the earth', but mainly (and this has been said many times) an American minded forum.
I know, it's a private place and not a democracy either... I know our chief admin is australian and that many of our mods are from all over the world...

But where some of the American minded members might be offended by a piece of skin, some of the European minded member are offended about guns...

When my kids (girls 6 and 8) watch TV at home and the commercial ads come on, it's very rare that they do not see tits or butts...
I'm not talking about pornography, I'm talking about beauty (Charlize Theron totally naked walking away in a commercial ad for Dior, etc..), art, like naked painting or sculpture of the past centuries.

On the other hand guns that are a symbol of liberty for some is just a reminder of horror of the 2 world wars for some and still ongoing war for other, poor civilians who've lost a brother, etc...
Don't forget that in some European country some cops do not even wear guns...
Let's admit that hand weapons are the same as sexy pic, but come one no need for AK47 or other machine guns...

There're fora for Gun and other for nudes, but RWI as accepted some of it, let the rules be the same for all...

So, I'm just asking to remember that when apply censure!
Just my 2p!!!
 

Wiz

Mythical Poster
9/8/09
6,708
21
0
AHW some of your first words were 'diversity of cultures...' and 'Our membership extends to the far reaches of the earth', but mainly (and this has been said many times) an American minded forum.
I know, it's a private place and not a democracy either... I know our chief admin is australian and that many of our mods are from all over the world...

But where some of the American minded members might be offended by a piece of skin, some of the European minded member are offended about guns...

When my kids (girls 6 and 8) watch TV at home and the commercial ads come on, it's very rare that they do not see tits or butts...
I'm not talking about pornography, I'm talking about beauty (Charlize Theron totally naked walking away in a commercial ad for Dior, etc..), art, like naked painting or sculpture of the past centuries.

On the other hand guns that are a symbol of liberty for some is just a reminder of horror of the 2 world wars for some and still ongoing war for other, poor civilians who've lost a brother, etc...
Don't forget that in some European country some cops do not even wear guns...
Let's admit that hand weapons are the same as sexy pic, but come one no need for AK47 or other machine guns...

There're fora for Gun and other for nudes, but RWI as accepted some of it, let the rules be the same for all...

So, I'm just asking to remember that when apply censure!
Just my 2p!!!

+10000
 

rooster133

Mythical Poster
Advisor
25/7/08
6,358
28
0
Guys, frankly I'm not a frequent visitor to the gun section either. And there are probably a couple of sections on RWI that don't have much to do with a watch forum. But that's a matter of personal opinions. But the difference here is that unless some rules are put into place, tits and asses tend to appear all over the place. I really don't want to have to switch off avatars or signatures just because of fears of offensive material popping up on the screen when I click on a thread. I do access RWI in places where if that happened it would be bad or embarrassing. We have the looney bin for that and I think it works well.

On the other hand, I don't think I have seen that many guns in sigs and avatars... Guns are mostly in the guns section, in the same way as Sub4Me's posts are in the looney bin. So people can make a choice whether to look at them or not (with avatars and sigs, people have no choice unless they switch them off).

Having said that, if enough people feel that there is also a problem with guns in sigs and avatars, then let us know, and if there is enough weight behind the concerns, we will discuss it. We are keen to keep this a family friendly forum, within reason.
 

Spboudart

Put Some Respect On My Name
26/9/08
4,398
3
38
Roo, I was just saying that before applying censorship, lot of thought must be put in as other stuff can be offending...

Above everything censorship is the worst thing that can happen... It's usually used to leave people into ignorance to be able to have more power over them... See what's happening in the north affrican countries...
 

Wiz

Mythical Poster
9/8/09
6,708
21
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IMO the guns section is actually a good idea.

I don't have a problem with other people liking guns. I totally understand that people from other cultures may have different interests.

But yes, I do believe that guns, as much as nudity, don't belong in a sig or an avatar on a watch forum.
 

rooster133

Mythical Poster
Advisor
25/7/08
6,358
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0
Boudart, I see your point. But we have to start somewhere. And if we need to develop an exhaustive list of things that are potentially offensive before we can ask people to follow some rules, then we'll never start. Who knows, there might be someone on the forum who's offended by poultry... Should I remove my dancing chicken from my sig? Or should we hold off on developing a set of rules until we have established whether poultry should be on the list? First we deal with the obvious stuff, then if there are enough concerns we can consider other issues. But we need to start somewhere. I think that's a fair way to go. And I'm sure that the guns issue can be debated. I for one would like to know first how many people think that we have a guns problem in sigs and avatars. Then let's take it from there. ;)

IMO the guns section is actually a good idea.

I don't have a problem with other people liking guns. I totally understand that people from other cultures may have different interests.

But yes, I do believe that guns, as much as nudity, don't belong in a sig or an avatar on a watch forum.

Point taken.
 

Wiz

Mythical Poster
9/8/09
6,708
21
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I for one would like to know first how many people think that we have a guns problem in sigs and avatars. Then let's take it from there. ;)

I don't think you'll get much answers, for the same reason that the average number of voters on polls is so low.

If you ask me, except for maybe one or two, right now there is no problem with guns in sigs and avatars. But I also can't see a nudity problem, except for one or two. :)

My point is: are these problems big enough so rules are needed or is it small enough that each case may be taken individually?
 

Spboudart

Put Some Respect On My Name
26/9/08
4,398
3
38
I'm not saying the mods are not doing a good job, it's the total opposite, I find the place perfectly fine to my taste...
That's why I don't beleive any change should be made...
I don't want to see pornography, nor machine guns, nor excrement, etc...
A little nudity or a hand gun isn't going to kill anyone...

You guys keep on the good work...just don't reinforce the rules...

Power given in some hands gets often 'out of hand', I've seen to many small city cop abusing of it...
Power of censorship is a REAL responsibility, no to be taken lightly...
 

rooster133

Mythical Poster
Advisor
25/7/08
6,358
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My point is: are these problems big enough so rules are needed

In short, yes. In the admin section we are frequently dealing with issues with signatures and avatars. We felt there was a need to address this. Maybe you haven't noticed much offending material because we can usually deal with them quickly, but it is a tedious and time-consuming job.
 

Wiz

Mythical Poster
9/8/09
6,708
21
0
In short, yes. In the admin section we are frequently dealing with issues with signatures and avatars. We felt there was a need to address this. Maybe you haven't noticed much offending material because we can usually deal with them quickly, but it is a tedious and time-consuming job.

My bad. You're indeed doing a great job because I've never noticed more than one or two that might be considered offending.
 

Spboudart

Put Some Respect On My Name
26/9/08
4,398
3
38
Let's not forget, the purpose of forum: help each other.
Whoever accept a mission above just being a member should be ready to do more work, being a mod her just doesn't mean to be green.
A good friend of us took the job after refusing it for many years and he kept on saying before he took it that it was a real JOB.

I'll say it again, the best would be that it stays as it is without reinforcing rules.

I see so many member of other fora that keep on saying that they were afraid to state something on RG because they thought they would have been banned and now that things have change they feel so much better.
It starts with censorship from the responsible person and rapidly grow into fear for the members.