Given the current state of things we thought it was a good time to review and clarify the rules here at FOS.

The FightOnState.com community is one that welcomes discussion and debate on Penn State and collegiate athletics. This open forum is a relatively unique approach when it comes to message boards; we encourage varying viewpoints on topics surrounding Penn State and collegiate athletics. However, we also have some straight-forward, simple rules we ask our Community Members to respect.

We have a large and growing community and we want FOS to be a welcoming environment for all fans.

Before we get into the rules, we recommend that when participating in online communities (FOS or elsewhere) that you do so with a thick skin and a sharp wit. Individuals are often emboldened behind an anonymous screen name and some may post things they would never say to another individual's face. The best approach is to not take things personally. Also, we recommend not lashing back if someone says something you take personally, but rather bring it to a moderator's attention.

Also, on FOS, expect to have your opinions debated and challenged. That's part of the back and forth of the board. If you don't want others critiquing or challenging your opinions on a topic it's best not to post them then.

OUR APPROACH

Unlike many forums, FOS tries to be as transparent as possible with our community moderation. For example, when locking up a topic, we often try to explain why the action was taken.

If you look at the board's moderation like athletic officiating, we generally like to "let the players play." We use our judgment and may let "incidental" violations go. However, blatant and chronic violators will be addressed.

Again, we generally don’t like to interrupt the "flow" of a discussion, but if individuals can't respect our rules, they will be dealt with accordingly.

THE RULES

• Obscenities: Keep them off the forums, including misspellings and attempts to "mask" them with special characters, spaces, etc. Simply put, they are not welcome on FOS and do nothing for a poster's credibility, so please don't use them. Also, risqué images are not allowed on the site.

• Personal Attacks: Personal attacks on anyone are unwelcome on FOS. Responding to the content of a Member's comments is fine, but keep any and all personal attacks off the board. That includes, but is not limited to: others posters, coaches, players, etc. Critiquing coaching, playing, the content of a poster's opinions, etc. is welcome. But posting comments such Person X "is an *****" are unwelcome and adds nothing to the discussion or the poster's credibility.

• Identification: Posting any personal information about a Member, including but not limited to their real name, contact information, etc. is prohibited on FOS. Just like your identity is protected here, it is expected that no one attempts to reveal the identity of others on the forum.

• Content: The focus of the forums is on Penn State and collegiate athletics. There are specific free forums for varying athletic topics, with the Total Access Premium forum open to all PSU/collegiate athletic topics. Please keep your posts focused to these general topic areas.

• Spamming: Please do not use the forums to promote other sites, events, etc. without the permission of FOS. If you have something PSU-related you would like promote please drop a Moderator a private message and ask permission first. Also, we often consider repeating a point over and over as spamming; making your point is one thing, but repeating it regularly with no new insight or thought does not add to the discussion.

• Hijacking: Threads certainly can move from topic to topic, but blatant injection of posts to derail thread topics is unacceptable. Please try to keep your discussion within the realm of the topic at hand.

• Politics/Religion: Topics related to politics and religion in particular should be kept off the sports-related forums. The "Willard Steps" forum is an off-topic board that allows non-sports topics. However the other rules (e.g. no obscenities) apply to this forum as well.

THE PENALTIES

There are a variety of penalties that can be handed out for those two violate these rules. These depend on the type of violation, the poster's board history, previous posting history, etc. FOS maintains the right to issue penalties at its digression.

The penalties include, but are not limited to:

• Edited Message: The Moderator may edit out the message's violation with a warning to the poster.

• Moved Message: If a topic is off-topic to the forum in question the Moderator may move it to another board, typically to Willard Steps for off-topic threads.

• Revoked Privileges: If a poster uses their avatar, signature or image posting to commit a violation, their ability to use avatars, signatures or image posting may be revoked.

• Private Warning: The moderator may send the violator a warning of the violation via private message.

• Suspension: The moderator may suspend the violator's ability to post on the forum. The duration of this suspension can vary from one day to permanent.

• Locked Message: If a thread has run its course and gone off topic we may lock the thread.

• Deleted Message: Gross violations may result in a deleted message along with a warning or suspension of the violator. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP

First, follow the rules. They are designed to be simple, straight-forward, sensible and above all else fair. 

Second, if you see what you think is a violation, report it by clicking the "report" link in the upper right corner of the post in question. This will bring it to the attention to the board Moderators. It is impossible for our Moderators to read every post on the board, so if you see a violation please report it.

However, please do not report posts that are not violations and are simply posts that contain content with which you disagree.

Third, remember that, despite the debates and disagreements that take place, the vast majority of posters here root for the same team as you.

Fourth, if you don't want to interact with another Member for whatever reason, simply "ignore" them by clicking the "Ignore this Member" link under their username on the left of one of their posts. Clicking this will remove all of the ignored Member's posts from your forum view.

Finally, moderating for violations is similar to policing for speeders. If you are caught, saying, "But other people do it" is not an excuse. Your best bet is to respectfully respond to the Moderator, acknowledge the violation, indicate you won't do it again and then respect that pledge. It doesn't mean there won't be a corresponding penalty, but it can't hurt your situation. 

Again, these rules are not intended to be burdensome, but rather to help keep the community welcoming for all fans while facilitating the flow of discussion. If you have questions, please private message a Moderator.

These rules are not necessarily comprehensive and new community rules will be added as needed.

Happy posting.

The Fight On State Staff