If there's a moderator action you disagree with, PM another moderator, or one of the administrators. This is already covered by rule 17.

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"God bless thee, my son; I will give thee the greatest jewel I have ...
"The end of our foundation is the knowledge of causes, and secret motions of things; and the enlarging of the bounds of human empire, to the effecting of all things possible."Trying to make sense of computers, The Error Log.

From the rules (bold added):I for one would welcome inputs, as PMs, on mod actions I have taken. And, again speaking personally, I recommend that you send any such PM to at least one other mod.

Ok.

Very well said.

Thank you Henrik and Nereid.

I also welcome critique of my moderating from anyone in the community - it can only help me get better. We're as prone to human error as anyone. For me, personally, to echo Nereid, please feel free to either PM another mod (like N., I would recommend at least 2), or Phil or Fraser if you feel I'm ever in error. Although it may be hard to believe, grudges aren't held, and I can only become a better mod because of it. You can also request anonimity from the mods you PM, if you prefer

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"I have this theory that the Apollo missions were faked when NASA found out that general relativity was wrong because the Earth was expanding due to the Sun's iron core being influenced by magnetic waves from the electric universe after being perturbed by Planet X and thereby causing global warming. Where should I start a thread about this?" ~ ToSeek

"Those are the people that wonder how a thermos knows whether to keep something hot or keep something cold." ~ NeoWatcher

I don't have a problem with people remarking that someone seems to be violating the rules and should be more careful, particularly if that someone is new here. It's remarks along the lines of "Looking forward to seeing your name on the Banned Posters List" that are inappropriate.

I take it that countdowns, "goodbye," etc., are inappropriate, even in the case of blatant trolling?

Also, is it appropriate to state in the forum thread that one has reported a post? If so, is it appropriate to state one's reasons for so doing?

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--Doug

"When your statics problem becomes a dynamics problem, you're in trouble." --me

Moor's Law: "As you go from freshman engineering to Ph.D., the amount of work required per credit hour doubles approximately every 18 months." --me, inspired by Prof. Scott Moor

No countdowns or goodbyes, please, no matter how justified.

I don't have a problem with saying you've reported a post and referring to the rule or rules you think it's violated so long as you're matter-of-fact about it.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Its part of learning Serenitude, like me , I'm still NEW in this forum and I still have a lot to learn as a member as for you as a Moderator.

My example is not meant only for you but in general. Although I admit that you have contributed in that post of mine.

If I encounter or think of any incident again.. I would'nt request for anonimity, but I will have to inform a couple of Mods if ever.

I usually PM the alleged suspect.
It has always worked quickly, and I have even received thanx for it. Most of the time they just edit the post, and write spelling or grammar as a reason.
It also doesn't disrupt the flow of the thread.

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'Sir........, I don't like these numbers.'
'Then hire somebody that can change them!'
("`-/")_.-'"``-.,,
\. . `; -._( );, `)
(v_,)' _ )`-. \ ``'`
_.- _..-/ /((.'
((,.-' ((,/

I fully agree.
This will also prevent the alleged suspect from being embarassed publicly and will refrain and be more careful the next time he post.

Having been a board member here for quite some time, a member of various message forums for more than twenty years, of which I've been a moderator on some since the mid-1980s, I thought I'd take a stab at the rules. Not my first time, as I've been either writing or rewriting forum rules for more than two decades.

However, the following is merely a suggestion from the point of view of a former long-term moderator/admin and technical writer:

RULES FOR POSTING TO THIS BOARD

The rules for posting to the Bad Astronomy/Universe Today Bulletin Board are given below. Most of these are common courtesy, but some address concerns particular to this board.

In general, the first violation will result in a warning issued via Private Message (PM). If you have PMs turned off, the warning will be sent to you via your registered e-mail address, or will be issued in the thread itself.

Depending on it's severity, the second violation will result in either a more severe warning or a temporary ban. In severe cases, a permanent ban may be given. This may sound harsh, but the rules exist to ensure the safe and effective ongoing operation of this message forum and to protect its members, particularly those who're underage, from unnecessary or unwelcome content.

These rules are pretty easy to follow. This board is based upon mutual respect for and by all posters. This is a community. Whether we agree on specifics or not, we’re all here because we’re interested in the Universe around us. When you follow the rules, everyone benefits.

1. Posting Topics

The primary focus of this forum is space and astronomy. If you wish to post anything not dealing with space or astronomy, use the Off-Topic Babbling section. Do remember, however, that the forum rules apply there as well. If you wish to post scientific topics outside of space and astronomy, please post them in the General Science section.

2. Civility and Decorum

While spirited debates are expected, civility is the ultimate, overriding rule. Personal or ad hominem attacks will never be tolerated. We expect everyone to foster an atmosphere of polite respect towards others, regardless of whether you happen to agree with their opinions. If you disagree with their posts, address the content of their posts. Do not resort to personal (ad hominem) attacks against the poster.

If you feel you've been wronged on this board, contact one of the moderators via private message or e-mail. Do no resort to flame wars or public humiliation.

Any violations of these guidelines will be met with swift and appropriate action.

3. Language

Any form of cursing or vulgarity is prohibited. This is a PG website, and is often read by young school children who want to learn about astronomy, space, and space exploration. If you refuse to keep things clean, you'll receive a warning, or if it's flagrant enough, a ban.

Along these lines, please tidy up your grammar. Deliberately misspelled bad words, or replacing key letters with different characters or numbers will not be tolerated. This issues applies to any adult topic - talk about them somewhere else. If you do need to post something risqué, stick with arcane scientific terminology.

These guidelines include avatars, since you can upload an image to be your avatar. Use care in choosing that image. If you have any doubts, contact a moderator or an administrator.

4. Copyright

Copyright violates will not be tolerated here. Do not post copyrighted material. You may post small, relevant quotes, but not whole passages from newspapers, magazines, books, etc. If you do, the post will be deleted, and you will be warned. Do it twice and you will be banned. If you want to reference material somewhere else on the web, give a brief summary and link to the rest. People can go take a look at what you're talking about and then return to discuss it further.

***
Break
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The rest appears to be very well written, so I'll stop here.

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I am Mugs, of the Alien clan of Usa, Nordamerica, a Terran, of Sol.

Perception isn't reality. It's merely an abstraction thereof, and quite often not a very good one at that.

I am human. Fully human.

what is the baut?

Welcome to BAUT!

It's the forum for the Bad Astronomy and Universe Today websites. Just follow the links above.

and what a forum!

I spend nearly four hours a day in this place and still have barely scratched the surface of the wealth of ideas on here , I do love BAUT!

Here's a question:

When posting about a personal experience one has had in the 'Off-topic Babbling' forum, is 'substantiation' required for that experience, if the experience under discussion is unrelated to space and astronomy, doesn't debunk any scientific theories, and isn't part of a conspiracy theory?

For example, if one is posting about experiencing tardy service in a restaurant, should one have to post 'substantiating evidence' for said 'claim' if asked for it by a BAUT member posting on your thread?

I'm only asking for my own clarification. I'll go with whatever the moderators say is correct.

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The dose makes the poison--Paracelsus (1493-1541) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus

I don't know. That's why I'm asking--Noclevername

Intelligence may not be clearly defined, but you know stupid when you see it--Noclevername

Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge--Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

You're required to provide substantiation for claims made in CT and ATM, not BABBling. That doesn't mean that someone won't (or can't) ask for evidence to support your anecdote, but basically anecdotal stories are meant to stand alone. They provide personal information and experience, nothing more or less.

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Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by ignorance or stupidity.
Isaac Asimov

Thanks! That's what I thought.

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The dose makes the poison--Paracelsus (1493-1541) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus

I don't know. That's why I'm asking--Noclevername

Intelligence may not be clearly defined, but you know stupid when you see it--Noclevername

Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge--Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

RE Rule 4: when posting a snippet of an article, news item, etc, what is the maximum length of quote allowable under Rule 4? I often post threads based on articles from Science, many of which are subscription only and thus unavailable to users who don't subscribe. I've tried linking to the full articles several different ways to give non-subscribers full access without success. The quote I give in the initial post is often all people have to go on.

Is there any way I can download the pdf for any article into a post? If I did, would that be a violation of Rule 4 (I have a feeling it might be, which is why I haven't tried it)?

I'd hate to have to stop posting new threads based on anything out of Science, as they have a lot of good articles..

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The dose makes the poison--Paracelsus (1493-1541) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus

I don't know. That's why I'm asking--Noclevername

Intelligence may not be clearly defined, but you know stupid when you see it--Noclevername

Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge--Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

I doubt you'll get someone to provide an exact number of characters, or a percentage of the original. You're asking what is fair use of another's copyrighted intellectual property. That is ultimately decided by a court at trial, something we don't want BAUT to endure, nor you probably. Before that, only guidelines exist. See Wikipedia: Fair use.

I don't expect there is a good way for you to give access to Science articles to non-subscribers. Give them a small taste of the original. Make them want to subscribe. Summarize material in your own words if they need more.

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