STAR TREK CONFERENCE GUIDELINES
Last Revised on February 1, 1997
These rules are in effect until further notice.
Lines marked "|" denote changes since last rules posting.
Moderator - Bob Kohl
Vice-Moderators - Zorch Frezberg
Rosemary Ighel
Michael Marek
Moderator Emeritus - Marshall Presnell
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* POSTING OF ANY MESSAGES IN THIS CONFERENCE INDICATES THAT YOU HAVE *
* BOTH READ AND COMPLETELY AGREE TO ABIDE BY THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES. *
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Informational Note: This conference is not affiliated with any specific
network and may be gated to any network so long as the moderator is
informed as to the location and functional software of the gate.
Failure to gain such permission can and will result in that gate
being denied access to the conference by the moderator.
STAR TREK, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, STAR TREK:
DEEP SPACE NINE, and STAR TREK: VOYAGER are registered trademarks of
Paramount Pictures Corporation.
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D E D I C A T I O N
This conference is dedicated to Eugene Wesley Roddenberry and others
like him, who push back the curtain of darkness to show mankind's
potential to the rest of the world...
==========================================================================
Let's all remember the basic guidelines for participation in this
conference:
1: BE POLITE!
This is pretty much self-explanatory. The Moderator
defines what is and is not polite behavior in this echo. The
Vice-Moderators carry out actions under the authority of the
Moderator, and can only be overridden by the Moderator.
2: BE TOLERANT!
This is the companion rule to Rule #1. No one says
that you have to agree with anyone here, but so long as they
remain within the rules, you must be TOLERANT of their beliefs.
3: This conference is devoted to discussing almost every aspect of the
Star Trek phenomenon. This includes (but is not limited to) the
original series (TOS), the animated series (TAS), the motion pictures,
Star Trek:
The Next Generation (TNG), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), Star
Trek:Voyager (ST:VOY) and the aftermarket novels.
These areas of discussion are OFF-TOPIC in the TREK echo:
Role-playing: Please see the various RPG echoes devoted to
Star Trek (STARTREK, STARTREK_RPG and KLINGON_RPG echoes).
General gaming discussion, however, is allowed provided it
relates to Star Trek, and does not exceed reasonable amounts.
Sales or trading: Please see the TREK_PROMENADE or
TREK_FOR_SALE echoes. Commercial activity is *prohibited*
in TREK without moderator permission. (See Rule #8)
Tech Fandom: Please see the TREKTECH echo for this
discussion arena. NOTE: General discussion is allowed and
encouraged, but not to the point where it becomes detailed
or engenders disharmony.
Fan-fic or Writing: Please take to TREK_CREATIVE or to
TREK_STORY/TREK_STY_DISC. You may ask for input on
story ideas, but posting your writings or discussing
these extensively in TREK is excluded.
Discussions of OTHER conferences, their rules, moderator actions, or
users, or conflicts arising from these is strictly off topic.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ON THE RULES, ASK THE MODERATOR. FAILURE
TO ASK DOES NOT EXCUSE OFF-TOPIC BEHAVIOR OR POSTINGS IN THE ECHO.
4. STAY ON TOPIC!
We are here to talk about Star Trek, old and new! If you
can't stay topical, please move your conversation to another
conference, or to NetMail. Minor deviations from the Trek universe
are tolerated, but frowned upon. Please moderate yourselves in this
regard and avoid abusing the privilege.
5. Cross-posting of ON-TOPIC materials between conferences is permitted
with *ADVANCE* moderator approval only. Currently, there are
authorized cross-postings from the STTNG, STDSN and TREK_VOYAGER
conferences, as well as the Usenet rec.arts.startrek.* newsgroups.
6. Messages posted here are, BY DEFINITION, public. If you want to chat
with someone privately, use NetMail. If you post it here, it's
fair game to anyone who wishes to answer.
Complaints that a message is answered by someone it isn't
addressed to shall be considered a nuisance and impolite by the
moderator.
If you feel that something "just has to be said" about another
person's message, RE-READ THE RULES. Responses to messages such
as "STAR TREK SUCKS!" or similar 'trolls' for responses are the
province of the Moderator. Replying to such messages may be
considered actionable by the Moderator.
7. If you have some "inside" information which may be controversial,
STATE YOUR SOURCES OR STOP YOUR FINGERS! It's hard to keep
everything running smoothly if there is a rumor-war going on. If you
can't or won't state your sources for your information, then don't
say anything at all.
There are those here who _do_ have inside sources of information;
these people may be approved by the moderator to post *in advance*.
8. Don't post ads here! This conference costs SysOps money to move all
over the world. You probably wouldn't want to involuntarily pay for
someone ELSE's ads, so please give the SysOps here the same
consideration! The same prohibition goes for commercial publicity,
fan groups, or any person or group wishing to exploit the
distribution of this conference.
If you would like your Star Trek related group or product mentioned
in this echo, send the information VIA NETMAIL to the moderator, who
will determine if it is appropriate for inclusion in the Star Trek
Source Guide posting.)
9. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't call for votes on which series is better,
or which Enterprise is better, or what episode is the most popular,
or which character is better, etc... it only wastes bandwidth in the
conference and is a non-representative sample at the very best!
It is also annoying to the members of this echo and the moderators.
10. Please use the spoiler protocol for shows until one week after
satellite uplink time. Spoiler protocol calls for the words
"SPOILER ALERT" (in caps) to be the first word in the subject line
along with what it spoils, for example: "SPOILER: Season Finale".
The text of the message should have at least 25 lines of NON-spoiler
data (or just blank lines) before any spoiler information.
11. When an exceptional movie or episode is scheduled to air (such as the
resolution of a season-ending cliffhanger), the moderators may
request a "news blackout" for the episode or movie until a certain
date. This means that NO information about the episode or movie may
be posted until the date has passed (not even via spoiler protocol).
PLEASE comply when this happens, as some people don't WANT to know
what's going to happen ahead of time!
12. READ all the rules again (especially #1)!
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Special topics to watch out for...
* Religion
* Abortion
* Politics
* Homosexuality
These hot-button topics almost universally degenerate into a posturing and
preaching match (especially the last, possibly THE MOST inflammatory topic
ever encountered in the TREK conference). As such, these topics should
*ONLY* be addressed as they DIRECTLY pertain to Star Trek episodes or
ovies.
Any statements, posturing, preaching, or flaming should be taken to a more
appropriate area (such as NetMail).
Without moderator sanction, these topics are OFF-TOPIC.
If any of these subjects comes into discussion as a result of it being
an issue in a particular episode, the discussion will be limited, upon
moderator sanction, to the issue:
* As presented in the episode, or as rationally related to it.
* As represented in the episode, or as rationally related to it.
* As it pertains to the episode, or as rationally related to it.
Any discussion which leaves these boundaries, AS DEFINED BY THE
MODERATOR, shall be deemed immediately OFF-TOPIC. A failure to comply
with the Moderator ruling will result in an AUTOMATIC 30-DAY
SUSPENSION from participating in the TREK echo.
*** The BE TOLERANT guideline will be STRICTLY ENFORCED in these threads!
*
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Problem resolution steps:
If you have a problem on this conference, please do send NetMail (preferred)
or EchoMail to the moderator at the address below. The moderator and vice-
moderators are here to help, as well as maintain a sembalance of order here.
Our rules are few, considering the scope of the conference, and are here to
make your conference experience more pleasant.
If you are violating any of the guidelines of this conference, the following
steps will occur:
1. You will be notified by either the moderator (or one of the vice-
moderators) that you have violated one or more of the conference
guidelines, and that you should correct the problem. At this point, the
moderator notifying you will begin a log of all messages from you which
violate the conference guidelines.
2. If the problem does not cease within a reasonable time frame (allowing
for EchoMail traffic delays, etc.), you will be warned again, and the
moderator (if he is not the one warning you) will be notified.
3. If the problem persists after the second warning, punitive action will
e
taken by the moderator, up to and including removing your access to this
conference.
Note that the moderator reserves the right to supersede these guidelines
when necessary, in order to handle extreme situations, and may take
whatever action is appropriate to the situation, in the sole judgment of
the moderator.
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Persona non grata:
Indefinite suspension: Arthur Werner
James Dixon
Jack Porter
L. J. Brunel
Persons on indefinite suspension may request access to the conference by
NetMail to the moderator.
Cross- or re-posting of messages from persons on indefinite suspension is
*NOT* allowed! Discussions of persons declared PERSONA NON GRATA is, in
general, prohibited, unless prior moderator consent has been given.
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Please direct questions and/or comments to the moderators at the addresses
listed below. This message is posted on or about the 1st of each month,
or when it changes. Thank you for your attention.
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Bob Kohl 1:102/861
Rosemary Ighel 1:205/1701.2 rosemary.ighel@205-0.mx1.fidonet.org
Zorch Frezberg 1:205/1701 zorch.frezberg@205-0.mx1.fidonet.org
Michael Marek 1:205/1701.6 michael.marek@205-0.mx1.fidonet.org
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* Origin: Fido Bites It's Masters...What Next? 209-251-7529 (1:205/1701)
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