| Doc |
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| Founder |
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Joined: 11-04-2009 00:45:15
Posts: 18
Location: SW Missouri |
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Welcome to the Thunder Alley! This is the place where you can discuss and share on a variety of topics, have fun, meet folks, and build relationships. Our main goal here is to build each other up, encourage, and challenge each other within the context of our Christian commonalities.
Below are some rules you need to know to participate in this online community. At first glance, you may wonder why we have such a detail list of rules. The reason is because we are human, and we have a need for detailed guidance which is clearly reflected in Scripture. Instead of giving us only the two great commandments (love God and love your neighbor), God gave us the Ten Commandments. And he didn't stop there. Realizing our weakness and our sinful tendency to ignore or distort his commandments, God instructed Moses to set forth dozens of detailed laws on how we should behave (see Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy). All of these laws are summed up in the two great commandments, but even Jesus knew that until the world is renewed, we will still need the helpful guidance of the more detailed moral principles set forth throughout Scripture (see Matthew 5:17-7:6).
Please respect these rules, and each other.
1. Act Christ-like. This is a Christian online community. You are a guest to our online community. We will not tolerate rude, abusive, or inappropriate behavior from anyone in the room. No personal attacks. Do not feel compelled to defend your honor in public. No flaming, inappropriate language, name calling, or personal attacks. No complaining or causing problems. Flaming is a mean-spirited cheap shot at another member or a member's post. Personal attacks on someone just because of a disagreement with their point of view will not be tolerated. Also, responding to a flame is just as bad as having flamed someone yourself. If someone comes into a thread and posts comments that you deem inappropriate then report them.
2. Stay on topic. Most of these forums and groups are read by busy people, so please pay attention to the topic of your messages, and check that it still relates to the title of the forum or group to which you are posting. Off-topic discussion not taken to private email or any place where it is not considered off-topic by someone who knows they should be taking it elsewhere is eligible for removal.
3. Identify your subject matter properly. Use descriptive subject title. This makes it easier for people to see what your post is about. Not everyone has time to read all of the forum and group postings, so help them out with a proper subject title. Posts with subject titles that are very vague are likely to be deleted - so save yourself some time and post it right the first time; and don't get upset with the moderator because you didn't follow the rules
4. No cross posting. It is never appropriate to post the same message in two forums or groups. If you feel it warrants being in multiple forums or groups, you may request permission from one of the moderators.
5. Respect differences of opinion. Each person is entitled to their opinion as you are your own. So, after posting your opinion, they are just as entitled to post their own. Try not to take it personally and don't respond to them to contradict them or to further explain your ideas. If you need to clarify your argument, then edit your initial post to provide more information. Don't waste community space by repeating yourself. You most likely aren't going to change anyone's mind, so just let it go.
For those who have difference of opinion to the one initially posted, don't direct your comments at the original poster. Just post your opinion, without referring to the original post or poster, and let your opinion stand on its own merit.
6. No derogatory remarks. It is unacceptable to judge, condemn, or otherwise vilify or make fun of anyone that is not like you. If you can't make a point without degrading someone else, you are not welcome here. All posters must refrain from making comments that could ordinarily be construed as significantly demeaning to any individual or group. What is construed as demeaning or hateful is ultimately up to the discretion of the moderators.
7. Be kind to newcomers. Newcomers may be annoying. They ask questions that might be annoying to some, including questions that might seem obvious (or whose answers seem easy to find). But lots of valued contributors started out this way, and treating newcomers kindly makes them more likely to turn into the valuable community members we all know and love, so cut them some slack and suffer them gladly! It's fine to point out when they make mistakes, just point them in the right direction, and be kind to them in the process when correcting their transgressions.
8. No Yelling. DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. TALKING IN ALL CAPS INDICATES THAT YOU ARE YELLING! Turn your Caps Lock key OFF. Yelling will cause your posting to be deleted.
9. No profanity or adult content. Absolutely no profanity or explicit sexual references are allowed on Thunder Alley. All content must be rated G. In addition, do not post links to adult content. Not everyone cares to read foul or off-color language, and those who do not should not have to be subjected to it. This includes attempts to circumvent the word censor or any other form of word masking.
10. No Trolling. Trolling is when you provoke large volumes of responses by posting absurdities, deliberately offensive insults, etc. This will get you banned so please don't do it.
11. Let sleeping dogs lie. It's tempting to revisit controversial discussions you disagree with, but it's rarely productive to do so, since it almost always results in the same heated, lengthy, and time/energy draining discussions leading to the same conclusion that was reached in the last round.
Therefore, for issues already raised, discussed, and decided upon, re-open the discussion only if you have significant new information that would reasonably prompt reconsideration of the original discussion.
12. No blasphemy. Blasphemy, posting cultic material or posting links to immoral sites will get you banned immediately. Remember that this is a Christian community.
13. No posting spam. Spam is not tolerated here under any circumstance. Spam can be described as this: the posting of advertisements, abusive, or unneeded messages in forums or groups. You may think it only applies to junk mail or ads, but it also applies to any unnecessary posts that don't contribute any useful information to a topic. This includes, but not limited to, offering hosting services; Multi-Level Marketing (MLM), Network Marketing, or pyramid schemes; prescription medications, etc. Users posting spam will have their post removed and/or be banned from this community.
14. No promoting other web sites. If the moderators find that the links are for solicitation or for advertising purposes, such postings will constitute as spam and will be deleted. The exception to this rule is the promotion of a church, ministry, or motorcycle event. You may also include links to other sites for the purpose of expanding on comments or providing additional information as part of regular community interactions.
15. Ignore spammers. Spam is an affliction upon the face of the net. Nobody likes it. However, it is hard to avoid. Despite our best efforts, you will occasionally see spam on Thunder Alley. If you feel the need to flame the spammer, don't do it! Complaining about spam in public increases noise, but not signal. It might make you feel better, but it doesn't help.
16. No large attachments. Many people read these messages through slow network connections; try to be respectful of them. If you have a large file that you would like to distribute, put it on a web page and announce the URL link instead of attempting to attach the file. Access and use of this community is offered free of charge, even so it is not free to the organization that is offering its service. Large attachments unnecessarily use up server resources and ultimately impact the cost to the organization.
17. Trim quotes. If you are responding to a specific portion of someone else's post, edit the quote to include only that particular portion. Do not quote the entire content of the post to which you are replying to. Include only as much of the quote as necessary for context. Remember that if someone wants to read the original message, they can; it is easily accessible. A good rule of thumb is, don't include more quoted text than the new text you are writing.
18. No plagiarism. Do not post copyrighted material without the author’s permission. Determine if you need permission to quote a copyrighted source. Do not assume that you can use the work of a lesser-known author or obscure or older works without permission. Give the author credit in your post whenever possible.
19. No re-posting. Avoid re-posting content from another website. If you want someone to read an article, story, etc. from another website; please avoid re-posting the entire article here again. Please just provide a link to the story along with a brief summary of it. If you are posting content that is not following these guidelines, your post is subject to being deleted at the moderators discretion.
20. No sock puppets. We do not allow double aliases or "sock puppets" in this community. Only one account per user. If you wish to modify your display name, contact the site admin by PM. A display name change will be granted/denied on a case by case basis. Users caught with multiple accounts may be suspended or banned.
21. Leave the moderating to the actual moderators. Do not attempt to put another poster in his/her place. Even if you are in the right, we prefer instead that you use the Report link if you feel that someone is breaking the community rules or if something needs the attention of a moderator.
If your post was edited by a moderator, do not re-edit out the moderator's changes. If your topic is moved, merged or deleted, do not re-post it in the same or another forum or group.
If you have any questions about the way the community is ran or feel the need to argue a moderator's decision or a community rule, please PM the moderator or the site admin instead of addressing it in the forums or a group thread.
22. Keep private messages private. The private messaging (PM) system is used by members of this community to send a communication between two people. These messages are by nature and name, private. They are not to be published in the forum or a group without the consent of all parties involved.
If someone sends you a PM that violates the community rules or in any way makes you feel uncomfortable, please notify a moderator or the site admin immediately.
23. No point jacking. Posting in an attempt to raise your Faith points/post count will not be tolerated in any form. Your Faith points are just a number, not a status symbol. If you think you will get more respect having more posts, you are mistaken. If the site admin or a moderator deems you are abusing your account in this manner, your post count can be zeroed. Other such activity includes, but is not limited to: posting messages back to back that could have been easily posted in one post, or when you have innocuous conversations back and forth with minimal post material or content or even minimal word content for that matter. Please use the private message (PM) system for such conversations. |
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The Bible warns us not to follow men [Jeremiah 17:5, Psalm 118:8],
but to test what all leaders teach with scripture [1 John 4:1-2; Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17]. |
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House Rules and Announcements 
