These rules are in place not to limit free-speech but to keep the Canadaka.net (CKA) Forums a civil place where all Canadians and others can come together to discuss topics.
Please note that CKA does not wish to have to censor content; in fact, it's just the opposite. CKA has prided itself in the past as being capable of functioning as a community with minimal supervision, and we wish to maintain that atmosphere as membership grows. These rules serve to familiarize new and existing members with the manner in which the forum has functioned so well.
Typically, almost any topic of discussion is acceptable on Canadaka.net, and as long as each member does their part to keep discussions reasonable and respectful, there should be no need for staff interference.
The rules outlined here apply to all aspects of the site, including forums, personal profiles, blogs, and galleries. The administration reserves the control of all content and activity, and may modify these rules without notice at any time.
Note: this is a privately owned website, and as such, membership is a privilege, not a right.
The following represent general rules of membership of Canadaka.net. Failure to comply with these rules will result in disciplinary action (see “Warnings, Suspension, and Banning”):
Respect for other members and site staff are of the utmost importance to maintain a well-rounded and inclusive membership. All members, regardless of age, sex, race, sexual orientation, forum-rank, etc are to be treated as equal unless their conduct dictates otherwise. Undue discrimination against any member or visitor to this site is not tolerated. Please see the section titled “Flaming” for special consideration into this matter.
Administrator and Moderator authority is to be respected at all times by all members. Moderators volunteer their time to this site and have been selected based on a proven track record. They are charged with the control of this site, and represent the wishes of CKA administration in all decisions. Diplomatic and constructive criticism of their role is accepted; however, hostile challenges to their authority will not be tolerated. A list of CKA Moderators and Administration can be found here: ####.
Pornography (sexually explicit) or other excessively obscene content (including links to such content) is not tolerated and will be removed at staff discretion.
CONTENT NOT ALLOWED
full nudity
pornographic images, videos, or games
Strategically covered nudity
Sheer or see-through clothing
Lewd or provocative poses
Close-ups of breasts, buttocks, or crotches
Members are limited to operating one account at any time on CKA only, and any member found with multiple accounts will be immediately suspended.
Profanity is discouraged, but not prohibited, and forum members are expected to maintain a level of discourse appropriate to the subject matter and participating members.
Advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, enlistment or solicitations without the consent of CKA Administration are not permitted and will be removed, and membership may be suspended.
Public complaint (including forum topics) regarding the moderation of this site, including the deletion of content or user suspension, is not acceptable. These issues are between the Moderators and the members involved. Concerns or complaints on Moderator decisions should be directed to the CKA Administration in a Private Message only.
Avatar and signature images and/or text are to be of appropriate content, at the discretion of CKA Staff. Members are required to comply with any requests made by CKA Staff pertaining to Avatar/Signature content.
Signature images should not be any larger than 100 pixels in height and 600 pixels in width. It is preferred if signature images are uploaded to the site rather than linked to from an external site.
Sound files are permitted to be used in topics provided only if they contain a controller (no hidden sound!) Under no circumstances are sound files permitted in Signatures.!
Attempts to bypass or subvert any of site controls or functions are not permitted, and will result in the immediate banning of any members involved in such acts.
The intentional burdening of CKA Staff and/or disruption of site operation is not permitted, and members doing so will be suspended.
The discussion of, or attempts to attain, personal information of CKA members is prohibited. CKA Staff will not make public the personal information of any member.
Threats of violence or other excessively hostile actions are prohibited, and offending members will be suspended or banned.
Members are free to leave the forum at anytime and do not have to announce to the forum that they are doing so. "Goodbye" threads do not contribute to the site and will be removed.
Donating members receive no more say in how the site is run than any other member, and are not exempt from the rules as outlined here. However, donations may be taken as an indication to the CKA Staff that a given member has an interest in the welfare of the site. While CKA Staff may choose to take the opinions of donating members into special consideration, the retain right to make that call as seen fit is retained.
You should report any post that is in violation of any of these guidelines or common sense to the moderators. All content is not guaranteed to be reviewed by CKA Staff, and the participation of site members in reporting rule violations is an important aspect of maintaining the site.
Reports of such content can be made in several ways:
A ‘Report Post’ [!] button is found at the bottom of each post. This button, when activated, will alert Moderators to the post in question.
Complaints outside forum posts which cannot be made using the method above should be made to one of the Moderators via a Private Message (PM). A detailed description of the violation should be included in your report.
Response by members to violations publicly on the site is discouraged. Quoting inappropriate content inhibits the ability of the Moderators to address the situation.
Note that reporting a post does not guarantee any action will be taken. It is up to the CKA Staff to decide if the reported post is in violation of forum rules or considered inappropriate flaming. Back to top
Flaming
“Flaming” is the term used to describe the sending or posting of messages that are deliberately hostile and insulting. While flaming is generally discouraged in most topics, CKA recognizes that a certain level of such behaviour is inevitable, and acceptable in certain instances between consensual members. The disparagement of any member is not acceptable, and disciplinary action may be taken, if:
The comments interfere with the topic of discussion
A member complains of excessive abuse to the site administration (see below)
The content is otherwise prohibited in the forum rules
Any member who feels they have been treated inappropriately is personally responsible for reporting the offending content to the CKA Moderators. It should not be assumed that such disagreements will be addressed by CKA Staff unless a complaint is made (See “Reporting Violations”). Any member who actively engages in such behaviour must accept that the consideration of any later complaints make be revoked, at the discretion of CKA Staff.
Any member who feels the topic of discussion is interrupted by such action may report the offence.
Forum threads that have digressed excessively into “flame wars” may be locked, or “flame wars” may be moved to a separate topic in the “Flaming Dumpster” Forum. Members are prohibited from re-engaging in flaming in the same thread if such action is taken.
In order to keep things running smoothly here, CKA follows these steps designed to help curb inappropriate posts and member behaviour. With the development of special treatment of “flaming” incidents, infractions are to be divided into two categories: major infractions, which represent the breaking of forum rules as described here, and minor infractions, which represent “flaming” and similar incidences.
Warnings
Warnings are given in the event of a minor infraction. Should a post be deemed to be inappropriate by the CKA Staff, the inappropriate content shall be removed and a warning will be given to the member, which includes a brief explanation of the grounds. Warnings do not affect a members participation in the forum; however, the accumulation by any member of ## warnings within the span of ### will be punished as a major infraction, subject to the terms described below.
Suspension/Banning
The system of dealing with major infractions has three tiers, culminating in a full ban from the forums. This methodology serves to give members a clear indication of acceptable/unacceptable forum behaviour, while giving ample opportunity to learn from mistakes:
After a period of one year, major offence accounts are removed from a member’s record.
Ban terms may be modified by the CKA Staff after the initial ruling if necessary.
When a member is placed on temporary Ban, a public post will be made in the Jail Sentences thread. The post will briefly state the reason for the banning.
Any attempt to circumvent a banning decision may lead to an extension of the sentence or permanent banning. Circumvention includes re-registering under a new username, changing IP addresses to evade an IP ban, or otherwise using site features to post as an anonymous user.
CKA Administration retains the right to modify the protocol outlined above should it be deemed warranted.
Things to consider before posting in the CKA Forums:
Is this in the correct topic? Is what you are posting in the current line of discussion?
Is this in the correct forum? We have multiple forums for a reason - they organize the discussion.
Have you checked your post for spelling/grammatical errors?
Have you reread your posts? Many times you will find small errors when you reread your posts. Some of these errors may involve our rules.
Are you contributing? If you are posting a question, did you provide information for us to help you? If you are posting a response, do you add something else to the discussion?
If you are posting a question, has it already been answered? Try using the search feature to save everyone some time. Also try checking "sticky" topics.
Is it really necessary to add insults or flaming to your post to get a point across?
Break your posts into paragraphs with lines in between each paragraph. Do not post in all CAPS!
Does your post violate any of our other rules? If it does, do not post it.
Remember this is an organized community where we can come together as Canadians and other nationalities to share ideas surrounding our day to day lives. Open debate is encouraged, but keep it civil. In registering as a member of the Canadaka.net website you agree to all rules and regulations stated above.