READ BEFORE POSTING - Rugby Forum Charter [25/02/23] *** UPDATED ********

.ak

RUGBY FORUM CHARTER:

Welcome to the Rugby Forum on boards.ie. This forum is for discussion on any matter Rugby related. If you have come to this forum for the first time then you will need to register with boards.ie before you can post.

Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with our rules before posting. In this first section you will find the most important topics.

RUGBY UNION

• Obviously enough this board is for discussing the game of Rugby Union and everything related. There is a Rugby League forum here.

OTHER SPORTS

• Don’t waste the mods time by posting about other sports here, we don’t care for other sports, we will move the offending threads to a more relative board.

DISCUSSION RULES

• This is a Rugby Discussion Forum, please try to remember that different people will have different opinions. Just because someone has an opinion different to yours doesn't mean they are trolling. At the same time, please try to refrain from posting one line posts stating "Player X is crap". Do try to give reasons and stimulate discussion.

OFF-TOPIC

• Straying off topic will result in post deletion.

TROLLING

• Trolling (deliberately trying to provoke other posters) is a bannable offence.

ABUSE

• Personal abuse against other posters, racism etc. will lead to bannings, there is no need for it, so don’t do it. Furthermore abuse of players and/or Pundits and Commentators will result in bans/infractions. Calling players and/or Pundits and Commentators derogatory names is not tolerated on this rugby forum.

DON'T BE A DICK

• Stupidity is a bannable offence. Further to this, there is a general Boards.ie rule, the all encompassing "Don't be a Dick" rule. So, just don't be a dick.

.ak

Please review these additional topics, which are also very important to the forum.

MEDICAL ADVICE

• DO NOT post medical advice, or seek it. We appreciate the temptation to seek other peoples experiences for low level physical problems that present themselves. But no one here is in a position to physically assess and diagnose you. You risk greater harm than good. These threads will be locked.

MATCH-DAY STREAMS

• DO NOT post illegal match-day streams. Furthermore, current legislation in Ireland makes it illegal to host information on how to by-pass copyrighted material, as all media coverage would be control by others, threads/posts asking for information on how to circumvent geo-locking or encryption services will be deleted or locked.

PERSONAL CONTACT DETAILS

• Posting of anyone's email address and/or phone number directly is not allowed.

DIRTY STUFF

• NO porn/NSFW (Not Safe for Work) material.

SPAM

• No Spam. That means no self-promoting for your own benefit without first seeking MOD approval.

ENGLISH

• This is an English speaking Forum. We ask you to please write all your posts in English - not that we have anything against other languages. Except for TXTSPK... Do not use Txtspk.

ADVERTS

• In accordance with boards.ie and adverts.ie rules the buying and selling of tickets is currently only permitted on Adverts.ie Tickets Section. There is also a Tickets & Travel subforum of Soccer, but they allow other sports to be discussed also.

DO NOT SPOIL THE PARTY

• DO NOT post results in the subject line, repeat offenders will be banned. It's common sense folks, but don't put the result of the matches or obvious indication of the winners in the title of threads. You may post results in the threads about various matches. People are expected to use their brains and know that if a thread is about a particular match, then the score will be within. Don't post results/scores from other matches taking place at the same time.

ANTHEMS

• Moaning about the "Anthems" will result in a ban....This has been discussed to death and only results in flame wars.

TG4 COVERAGE

• DO NOT moan about by non-English speaking TV coverage, or indeed the lack of English speaking coverage. As above, this has been discussed to death and only results in flame wars.

RELIGION/POLITICS

• Bringing religion or politics into this forum will result in a ban....Sectarianism will not be tolerated.

NEW THREADS

• Give threads a chance, the first response should not be something along the lines of '' Leinster v Munster thread :rolleyes:'' Whether a thread is intentionally antagonistic is up to the mods. Anyone who even hints that the thread has an ulterior motive will be assumed to be Back Seat Modding. When a thread starts along those lines it won't end well.

BACK SEAT MODDING

• Back Seat Modding is a bannable offence. Do not call anyone a troll. Do not tell someone to stop posting. Do not say that you are reporting a post. Do not Back Seat Mod. If a post breaks any point of this charter, use the report post icon , and let the mods know. We will deal with it as we see fit.

.ak

SPECIAL SECTION - Leinster/Munster

On this forum there is a fair bit of natural tribalism. We are not against that, it's very good and part of the game. Unfortunately, some people don't know how to handle it. constant arguing, bickering, bitching etc will result in bans. If a thread is pulled off topic by this behaviour all participants will be banned. Instead of getting involved and getting banned, report the posts.

Furthermore, DO NOT start a ROG vs Sexton debate. Consider this your first and final warning - we've all heard this argument about a thousand times and it is not fun.

.ak

If you have a problem with a post, thread or a ban from a forum, the first step should be a PM to the moderator in question. If you are not comfortable with PM'ing that particular mod, you can PM the other mods of that forum. You will find the list of the mods at the bottom of the forum in question. If you have been banned from a forum it is still possible to enter it to see who the mods are by logging out of boards.ie first.

If you are not happy with the outcome of the above, then next step is to PM the Category Moderators.

The Category Moderators (CMods) for Sport are GavRedKing, Mickeroo, Steve


Failing that, you can then take it to the DRP Forum where an Admin can become involved and give an opinion on the matter.

Here is the Boards.ie Dispute Resolution Procedure Map.



THINGS NOT TO DO

• Argue with a mod on thread - This is just so that the thread doesn't become derailed by something other than the topic of the thread
• Start a new thread in the forum you are having a problem in
• Start a thread in Feedback or Helpdesk
• Send abusive PMs (this will earn you a siteban)
• If you re-register to avoid a temp forum ban...all accounts will be permanently banned and you run the risk of being site banned.

Please remember, that if there is any Personal Abuse directed to a Moderator in Personal Messages then we can and will extend your Card/Ban.

.ak

There are no loopholes in this charter, you cannot get around a deserved warning/infraction/ban by asking where, specifically, a certain indiscretion is listed as being explicitly against the charter.

If any of these Charter rules aren’t clear please PM any of the mods and we will be happy to help. There is a list of current mods at the bottom of the Forum page.

Finally, and we really want to stress this because we will be cracking down on it. This is the Report Post button and is located under every username beside the post, use it if you think someone is breaking the charter. If you do any Back Seat Modding, your punishment will be more severe than what is issued to the original offender. We can’t make that any more clear.


MOST IMPORTANTLY however is to enjoy yourself. That's the whole point of boards and this forum - go and discuss the finer points of the game, and share your interest with like minded rugby mad folk.

awec

Common Threads (e.g. Ireland / General)

In common threads (i.e. all threads except the provincial threads) we are seeing an increasing amount of attacking the poster, rather than the post. This is stifling discussion. Not all posters here are going to have the same views, we're not a hive mind, a breadth of opinion is a good thing and avoiding every issue being reviewed through the exact same lens is something we are going to work hard to avoid.

We are making this post to make it clear how we will deal with this going forward.

Discussion of topics of interest is to be welcomed. Why was player x picked. Is player y good at z. What if we paired player a with player b instead of c? Did Andy Farrell get this decision wrong? What's going wrong at club x. Why is club z doing really well? Should player a get a new contract? Should this other player get a central deal?

Most of these topics will have posters with varying opinions, and many of the topics will be controversial. When these topics come up in the common threads:

Do:

• Discuss the topic at hand in good faith
• Attack the post, not the poster.

Do not:

• Make the same point over and over again. This is spamming.
• Attempt to shut down the discussion by dismissing it as crazy / stupid, or by suggesting that posters here aren't qualified to talk about the topic (e.g. the we aren't involved in training camps so don't know stuff).
• Make jokes / jibes about a poster or an opinion they expressed in a previous topic, no matter how indirectly or coy you are about it
• Question the motivation of the poster
• Make comments suggesting the poster is not a real supporter or anything like this.
• Backseat moderate.

If you think in any given topic you will struggle with this, then avoid the topic. If you think a topic or post is trolling, report it and don't post.

Provincial Threads

The provincial threads will be moderated slightly differently. Each provincial thread is obviously going to be skewed toward that province. Naked provincialism, within reason, is permitted in here by supporters of that province.

Do:

• Feel free to discuss any topic in any of these threads so long as you are not deemed to be trolling or griefing the thread.

Do not:

• Troll or grief the thread.
• Turn the thread into a province vs province argument.
• Become a time sink or a pest by feeling the need to explain why the posters in that thread are wrong repeatedly
• Do not use YOUR provincial thread to moan about any poster or group of posters in any other thread. Do not goad other posters thinking you'll be safe.

If Leinster fans want to post in their thread that they believe Johnny Sexton is the best rugby player ever, Munster fans are welcome to discuss this but dropping in with a "ROG was way better" is not going to be tolerated.

Fans of any province are welcome to post in any provincial thread, but when you post in the thread of a province other than your own you must accept that if you are deemed to be trolling or griefing you will be dealt with more harshly. If it comes down to it, the mods will side with the posters of the province that the thread is for.

Threadbans

If mods deem you to be derailing a thread, a thread ban will be issued. This will be for 2 weeks initially, but if you cause more problems in the thread after the 2 weeks is up further thread bans will be issued for a longer duration, up to a permanent thread ban. Posting in a thread while you are thread banned will result in an automatic 6 month thread ban and 2 week forum ban.

Note that the boards software doesn't stop you posting in a thread you are thread banned in. It is up to you to keep track. When you are thread banned you'll be quoted and mentioned in the thread by the mod, and the date of expiration of your ban will be posted. The list of thread banned posters will be listed in the OP of the thread. Ignorance won't be accepted as an excuse.

Sanctions for issues:

Mods have the option to give a 0, 1 or 2 point warning. A 1 point warning expires after 1 week, a 2 point after 2 weeks. 0 points do not impact your record, they are a warning. Mods can use their discretion depending on the severity of the problematic post.

Note that on Boards, a user accumulating 5 active points (active being points that have not expired) at any point will trigger an automatic 5 week site ban.

Accumulation of sanctions (only accounts for sanctions worth at least 1 point, 0 pointers don't count):

2 sanctions: 1 week forum ban

3 sanctions: 1 month forum ban

4 sanctions: 3 month forum ban

5 sanctions: 6 month forum ban

Every further sanction: 6 month forum ban.

Disputing Mod Sanctions

If you are unhappy with a decision a mod has taken, you are welcome to appeal. The appeal must follow these steps:

1. PM the moderator who took action to discuss the issue. This can lead to sanctions being reversed.
2. Open a thread in the Dispute Resolution forum. A Sports Category Mod will review. They will look at the post in question, and the sanction, and decide if it was warranted or not. They could decide to reverse the sanction, or downgrade it, or they can uphold it.
3. If they uphold it, you have the option of an Administrator reviewing your case.

Obviously, one of the current Rugby mods is an Administrator. They won't be involved in any disputes for the Rugby forum.

Thread bans are discussed in Help Desk, not Dispute Resolution.