Acceptable Conduct Policy

[Adrian]

It is 6 months since we summarised what you can and can’t say on TgR into the Acceptable Conduct Policy (ACP).
http://forum.tgr.net.au/acp.html
Time for a review!

Of course we have had a policy of “being nice to each other” for a lot longer than 6 months. So I wasn’t expecting to see any dramatic change in the forums or chat room.

The ACP was primarily a way of alerting new members that we have a very distinct culture on TgR.
Unlike most other forms of networking on the internet we keep communication channels open by not allowing conversations to degenerate into personal abuse and poor taste.
That said, it is gratifying to see the tradition of robust debate on contentious issues continuing.
I hope everyone feels they are free and welcome to express an opinion

There is a second, more personal, aspect to the ACP that was a change from the past. Denied the opportunity to attack anyone publicly in the forums, a very few members resorted to venting in private emails and messages. There was a disturbing trend where I, and those who were involved in running TgR, received what can only be described as hate mail. The ACP was an attempt to discourage this anti-social behavior by allowing us to post all such private communications publicly, and so allowing the normal rules of acceptable posting to be applied.

The ACP made attacks on the admin and moderators no different, whether they are made in public or in private. Over the last 6 months there still have been some “bad eggs” but in general the unpleasantness aimed at those volunteering to help the TgR community has been reduced.

Of course there are still members who let their judgement be clouded by uncontrollable emotion, and who find themselves on the wrong side of the ACP.
But, as one member said recently, being part of TgR is a privilege.
If you can’t argue what you think is wrong in TgR in a civilised, mature way then perhaps you just don’t belong.

Review outcome – positive I feel.