Posting Specifics for Coffee Break Threads
The political, religious, and (debatable) humour threads never bothered me. To me it was just a case of 'move on'. I was raised to believe there are three things to never be discussed at work: politics, religion, and pay cheques. So, on occasion, yes, I'd skim those threads but my contribution was more lurker than involved.
The humour thread was good for me, though. Okay, the carrot/woman pic was crossing the line in my opinion, but I admit to laughing - shaking my head at the same time, though - and moving right along.
So...my thoughts on rules/guidelines:
Sample topics:
But with everything, there is still the possibility for some people to be offended. Take the Hobbies thread. Many of you enjoy hunting and/or collecting guns. My personal opinion is 180 degrees away from that, but that does not mean that you should not have the right to enjoy your recreational activities. So, I choose to not get involved in those discussions. I will not blast you for enjoying something I do not.
This is part of the wonders of humanity. We're a diverse species. We talk about world peace in the Coffee Break forum and yet now face the possibility of losing our "social scene" because of vastly differing views on some topics.
It is too bad that we might lose this forum. It was a wonderful tool to help show the personable side of our field. We could tout our vast knowledge in one forum, and be human in this one. It was a nice break from the craziness that goes in my life and I know that I will be sad to see it go.
The political, religious, and (debatable) humour threads never bothered me. To me it was just a case of 'move on'. I was raised to believe there are three things to never be discussed at work: politics, religion, and pay cheques. So, on occasion, yes, I'd skim those threads but my contribution was more lurker than involved.
The humour thread was good for me, though. Okay, the carrot/woman pic was crossing the line in my opinion, but I admit to laughing - shaking my head at the same time, though - and moving right along.
So...my thoughts on rules/guidelines:
- Profanity will not be tolerated - applies to the whole Cove.
- Content is to be "clean" - unfortunately, this does imply that a moderator will be required to remove questionable material, with notices being sent to the offending person(s). Think before you post - would you want your 15 year old child seeing what you're about to post?
- Three strike rule applies - should you be emailed three times re: postings, you will be removed from the Cove.
- Discussion is allowed - not insults. We all have our opinions on topics, but there is no need to sling mud.
- Should a moderator ask you to cease posting re: a certain topic, please do so. Take it outside - i.e., continue your conversation along another line of communication if you wish, but not within the Cove.
- If a thread is closed/deleted, do not contact the moderator - the moderator will post an announcement explaining why.
Sample topics:
- Humour - no x-rated material, no discriminatory material (guess this means no redneck humour, no newfie jokes from the Canucks, no blonde jokes)
- Announcements - charities, births, weddings, celebrations
- Hobbies & Sports
- Work
- Social Scene
But with everything, there is still the possibility for some people to be offended. Take the Hobbies thread. Many of you enjoy hunting and/or collecting guns. My personal opinion is 180 degrees away from that, but that does not mean that you should not have the right to enjoy your recreational activities. So, I choose to not get involved in those discussions. I will not blast you for enjoying something I do not.
This is part of the wonders of humanity. We're a diverse species. We talk about world peace in the Coffee Break forum and yet now face the possibility of losing our "social scene" because of vastly differing views on some topics.
It is too bad that we might lose this forum. It was a wonderful tool to help show the personable side of our field. We could tout our vast knowledge in one forum, and be human in this one. It was a nice break from the craziness that goes in my life and I know that I will be sad to see it go.