Charter - READ BEFORE POSTING - AGAINST THE RULES NOT TO READ

Annasopra

This Charter reflects the posting guidelines which we expect posters to this board to follow. This latest revision was updated August 2018

1. This board relates to LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning) issues. General discussions about gender and sexual diversity are absolutely fine too.

2. The overall ethos of this forum is one of equality and inclusiveness. There is an expectation with that of mature, civil, constructive discussion.

3. No personals.

4. If you want to meet other members of this board, there are regular meet ups - keep an eye out on the forum. Any poster can self organise a forum meet up. Meet ups should generally be inclusive of all and welcome to all members on boards.ie regardless of age, gender identity, sexual orientation.

5. Do NOT post content of an explicit nature here. These will be removed and you will receive an infraction or ban.

6. We may well get some trolls on this board. They will be dealt with (infracted or banned from the forum depending on each case). Kindly do not feed them. Report any posts that you feel are homophobic/transphobic or trollish in nature.

7. No trolling or flaming. This means posting something that you feel will incite anger and/or abusive posting. This is usually thinly veiled insults. Starting up threads for the singular purpose of inviting such flames is also discouraged. It is the moderators discretion to decide whether a poster is trolling or flaming.

8. Abusive language that is homophobic/transphobic will not be tolerated and the persons posting it will be banned from the forum. Saying that transgender is a choice, saying that trans surgeries are cosmetic, or calling trans people "a man/woman who thinks they are a woman/man ", will result in an immediate infraction and/or ban, as these things aren't "opinions", they are falsehoods rooted in transphobia. Deliberate misgendering of another poster is also explicitly not allowed on the forum.

9. Keep things civil. No name calling, personal abuse, unneccessary aggression, snide comments, deliberate misgendering or backseat moderating.

10. While posting of controversial questions to stimulate debate is acceptable, soap boxing, i.e. constant repetition of a single viewpoint while refusing to entertain discussion on it, is both disruptive and annoying, and will not be tolerated. You are expected to contribute something other than placard proclamations. Offensive suggestions comparing lgbt+ parenting to child abuse or trans children to child abuse are not welcome and will be moderated accordingly. The same with victim blaming of lgbt+ people will too.

11. Attempts to derail discussions in the forum will not be tolerated. See derailing for dummies for further information. It is at the mods discretion to decide if a poster is attempting to derail a discussion.

12. Do not post or request medical advice (looking for a diagnosis or offering a diagnosis). We cannot give medical advice on boards.ie. Although we do encourage general discussions about various aspects of LGBT+ health, please be aware that threads requesting specific medical information will be locked and posts deleted where necessary.

13. If you want people to answer a questionnaire or survey or to answer questions for a piece of writing that will be published or broadcast then you must get permission off at least one moderator before you post it up. Please see surveys/questionnaires thread for more details before posting up any kind of survey.

NOTE. If you are a journalist/author/blogger/writer you must get permission from a moderator to seek members opinions. For any piece of writing you can start a new thread once you have permission from 1 moderator and you are open and honest about the intention to publish or broadcast.

14. This forum is welcome to everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity to discuss LGBT+ issues. We do however insist that people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender or another identity have the right to be treated with dignity and respect and that the forum be treated as a safe space for LGBT+ people. If you contribute to a thread you are expected to be willing to learn about the issues involved, and listen to what is said by members of the community/ies involved.

15. Trans posters here may have gone through very difficult lives and referring to them with the wrong pronouns can potentially be damaging to them. We ask posters to be mindful of this. In terms of misgendering please try to avoid using gendered terms like "dude", if you are referring to another poster try to use "they" as a pronoun. Misgendering may gain you a yellow or red card depending on the circumstances. Repeated deliberate misgendering wil be dealt with by ban.


General Information

If you feel that a particular post requires attention by a moderator for being against this charter or any other reason, then please report that post using the "report post" link visible underneath that post. The moderators will review the reported posts and either take no action or issue an infraction or ban.

Many people have mentioned various LGBT+ organisations that perform good work for the LGBT+ communities. If you feel such an organisation is worthy of mention, then if that organisation has a website it is preferable to add a link to that website in the Resources Links thread on this board. Check and see if the organisation has already been mentioned first. Starting up a thread promoting a specific organisation, no matter how well intentioned, is discouraged.

Unregistered posting is enabled. This means that your username and/or IP will not be visible to other posters when posting unregistered. However, the admins can use this IP to track you. They will only do this as a last resort however, so all of the above rules still apply. If there is abuse of this feature it will be rescinded.

If you have a problem with any of the moderation techniques used, please feel free to take it up via PM, or you can report it on the Feedback forum or if necessary the Dispute Resolution Forum. We will not discuss action or decision in any of the threads.

A warning will usually be given in thread with an infraction to the poster (yellow card or red card if necessary). Repeat offenders will be banned,
often temporarily, depending on the severity of the offence. Serious offenders will be permanently banned from the forum.

Any questions feel free to contact any of the moderators