»» FORUM CODE OF CONDUCT»»»
The Nkpologu town forums are different than most forums on the internet. We want our forums to be a place where everyone, regardless of who they are, can gather to socialize and talk with like-minded people in a safe and welcoming environment. In order to make that happen we have certain rules we ask all members of our community to adhere to. These rules will be vigorously enforced so that a handful of bad apples don't spoil it for everyone else.
# 1; Don't Be a Jerk.
This rule trumps any other. Any loophole you think you've found in any other rule is covered by this one. If you make our forums a less pleasant place to be, we don't want you here and we have no problem revoking your account. Here are a couple of the things you should stay away from:
#2; Flaming.
Calling people names (or groups who may visit The NTF), this includes calling others a troll. Calling another user a troll is always an infraction.
#3; Trolling.
Posting inflammatory, extraneous or off-topic messages with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.
#4; Offensive Posts.
Please read what you wrote before you post it and think if anyone else could find it offensive.
#5; Rants.
You can disagree with whatever you like but using large amounts of obscene language and CAPS is against our policies. We are sure you can find another way to voice your opinion without being aggressive, regardless of whom it is directed at.
#6; Ban Jumping.
If you post on multiple accounts after being permanently banned, suspended, on probation, or warned both of your accounts will be automatically banned.
#7; Targeted Harassment & Bullying.
Following a user from thread to thread, insulting and harassing specifically them, or sending repeated harassing private messages, is cause for elevated penalties starting with a probation.
If you find someone is violating one of these rules, report them and let the Administrstors do their job. Responding to a troll or someone who may have flamed you and others will only get you in trouble. Report, ignore and move on.
#8; Have Respect for Others.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but no one is entitled to attack others for sharing, or not sharing, that opinion. If you can't communicate without using combative, aggressive, or demeaning language, then please keep those comments to yourself, or be shown the door. Deliberately inflammatory threads; posts written with the sole intention of irritating people; attacks toward or inappropriate commentary regarding The NTF staff, creators, or other posters; or attempts to derail a thread will be removed, as will your forum privileges. Note that this does not mean you cannot share your opinion of another's opinion, i.e. "I think that what you said is racist" is allowed, but "You are racist" is not. However, this is not a way to call someone racist by proxy - you must provide reasoning and justification for your statement. If you cannot, do not post. If you don't like a thread, the people in it, or anyone involved then don't post in it. If you feel the need to deride the reappearance of an old topic or particular sore subject, then don't post. See "Don't Be A Jerk," above, for details.
#9; Adverts/Burial Announcement.
Any burial announcement should be done by the deceased Son, daughter, Husband, wife or relatives. Anybody other than this stand a risks of receiving single red (3months) suspension. Any other advert should be approved by Administrators!
#10; Have Respect for the Site and its Content.
We put a lot of work into the content on the site, and if you've just shown up to trample on that hard work, we will remove your comments and ask you to leave. Constructive criticism is welcomed; negativity for its own sake is not. Further, discussions instructing or otherwise advocating the circumvention of The NTF's advertisements, forum sponsors, security mechanisms, media protections or similar facilities will not be tolerated. If we find you being slanderous with regard to any part of The NTF, you will be penalized. This includes, but is not limited to communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give The NTF, an individual creator, advertiser, forum sponsor, product, group, government or nation a negative image. In short, if you say something you better be able to back it up with fact. Regardless of what some of our members may say, do or provoke within their pictures or articles, this does not give members the ability to act in the same way. They are entertainers and if they brought their language or flaming into the forums, they would be held accountable, just as any other forum member of The NTF would be.
#11; Have Respect for the Administration/ Moderation Team and the Rules.
The moderation team works very hard to keep the forums clean, and the rules all exist for a reason. If you have a problem with the moderation team or the rules, there is an appeals system in place for that. Publicly airing your grievances or mocking and disrespecting either the moderators in their official capacity or the rules will only get you further warnings.
#12; Put Some Effort Into Your Communication.
A well-made thread or a well-written comment engages its audience and facilitates discussion. We do ask that posters take just a little time to make their posts as readable as possible and keep their responses on topic. We also ask that you take a moment to check your spelling and grammar. Here are a couple things to avoid:
#12; (A) Low Content Posts.
This could be anything from simply answering a question, posting LOL, "agreed," "this," +1, or even a joking quip. These forums are used for discussion and low content posts halt discussion. In order to participate in conversation one should present an explanation of the reasoning that informs your opinion. "I like pie" isn't an argument. The fact that you like pie is well and good, but why do you like that pie? This explanation offers others an opportunity to respond to your opinion and avoids forum spam.
Pictures, Links and Videos
These will all be considered low content posts if not accompanied by a well thought out opinion, debate or reasoning. Pics, links and videos should help to strengthen your stance or opinion, not the other way around.
#12; (B) Topicless Creation.
Posting a thread without any discussion value, or with a deliberately misleading title, will get you penalized and your thread locked. This includes creating a poll without an accompanying discussion or beginning a thread with an original post that does not sufficiently explain the topic at hand.
#12; (C) Posting in Old Threads.
Posting in an inactive thread older than 30 days is not allowed. Please do not do so. If there is an old thread you would like to bring back, ask a moderator and they will judge whether that should be done. If so, they will post in the thread reopening it. All such moderator judgments are final.
#13; Use Our Forums Appropriately.
Our forums are a place to talk with like-minded people, Dont Promote another Body, Group/Forum whatsoever in NTF, not a place to advertise your blog, webpage, YouTube channel or commercial enterprise. Your profile has a place for such things, and that is where it should stay. If you fail to do this, you will automatically get a 1 month suspension. Similarly, posts including, advocating, or linking to illegal or adult material are a very quick way to end your time as part of The NTF community, which should generally be kept to a PG-13 standard. An example of these are:
Piracy - Do not link sites for piracy, nor advocate or admit to piracy.
Ad Blockers - Do not link to, advocate, or admit to using ad blockers.
Illegal Drugs in Nigeria - Do not admit to using illegal drugs, and do not link to nor advocate them outside of specific discussion threads.
Illegal Acts in Nigeria
Pornography
Sexist, Racist or Perverted Remarks - Remarks such as these are often met with elevated penalties or bans.
For discussion purposes, users will often need to share anecdotal experience with some of these topics, such as piracy or illegal drugs. Threads where this is allowed should be very clear, but advocating these acts is still not allowed in those threads. Discussion of ad blockers, pedophilia, illegal acts, and pornography is never allowed.
#14; Posting Pics or Videos.
Any pictures or videos that are vulgar, racist, hateful, spam or contain advertisements or nudity will be taken down immediately. When posting pictures or video, we request that you use spoiler tags: [spoiler]LINK[/spoiler] Please see the section on "Put Some Effort Into Your Communication" for more information.
#14; (A) User Groups.
Stylistic constraints, such as the low content rule, are at the discretion of each User Group. Group posts are otherwise subject to the same policies as forum chat, and are reminded not to advertise, distribute illegal material.
#15; Penalties.
The NTF forums are different from other forums on the internet. We try to maintain a system that balances intelligent discussion, debate and fun. The penalty system is meant to provide guidance to users - it allows users to better understand the rules and adjust to the differences from other Internet forums. The NTF uses a strike system that grants you a maximum amount of 8 penalties to learn how to adhere to forum policies. Here is the breakdown of all 8 stages:
#15;(a) Up to 2 Warnings (Green).
Warnings do not negatively impact your account but will stack against you for penalties.
#15;(b) Probation (Yellow).
This is your final warning. All penalties after this will be suspensions, and all badges for good behavior will be negated.
#15;(c) 3-months Suspension (singleRed).
You will be unable to post in the forums for three months, and all badges for good behavior will be negated.
#15;(d) 6-months Suspension (doubleRed).
You will be unable to post in the forums for six months, and all badges for good behavior will be negated.
#15;(e) Permanent Ban!!!
Your posting rights on the site, as well as other methods of community participation, will be revoked permanently.
We do not enjoy banning people, but we will not hesitate to do so if we think that a person's removal will have an overall positive effect on the community. We also reserve the right to increase the punishment as we see fit, and any punishment above a warning will put the user at a minimum of the probation level. ------For example, advertisers get an automatic one month suspension, which means that any future infractions (once the suspension has ended) will result in a minimum of a suspension. You will be able to see your Forum Health Meter in your profile as a colored bar progression, using the colors listed in the penalties list above. Ban Histories, which the health meter loosely represents, are also taken into account when moderating.
#16; Appeal System.
Administrators and staff are human and sometimes make mistakes. For this reason, we have an appeal system that members can utilize to plead their case in hopes of a reversal of a penalty. Once you have received a penalty, a message will be sent to you via private message. At this time, there is also a link to the appeal process. Please note, the appeal process works with the private message system on The NTF. If you choose to use the appeal system. All appeals are normally seen within two days of your appeal, except on weekends.
Forums Admins---
Obodo Paul Apoka1 GCONF- chief Admin
Ofili Donatus (Donfills) CONF- Senior Admin
Marvelous Da Don, GCNF- Officer in Charge
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