The following are the official rules of the ASKACOP conference.
The rules of this conference are a living document.  They will change as
we change and grow as we grow.  I will always remain open to ideas echo
participants have regarding the rules of this conference.  These should
be submitted to me via NETMAIL only at my FidoNet address 1:2630/221 or
via one of my two Internet address, pharney@cjbbs.com  or
pharney@metronj.org.
The moderators of this conference are:
Paul Harney   1:2630/221  Moderator
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1.  REAL names are preferred in this echo.  If your BBS software will not
    allow you to change your name, then think about signing your real name
    to your messages.   If you are using an pseudonym and a problem
    arises and I attempt to reach out for you but can not contact you
    due to the use of the pseudonym, your access may be forfeit.  Please
    make sure your SysOp knows how to find you by your pseudonym.
2.  No profanity.  It is not required to make your point known.
3.  No flames or inflammatory posts.  Being topically controversial is
    one thing but when the line is crossed and controversial becomes
    a deliberate attempt to raise the sensitivity of others, warnings will
    be forth coming.  Continued violations will get the violator's
    conference privileges revoked for a period of time suitable for the
    violation.  This at the discretion of the Moderator.   Personal
    attacks on fellow conference members are neither needed, sought, nor
    tolerated.
4.  Personal disagreements will be taken to Netmail by participants.  If
    Netmail is unavailable to the participants, the argument will be dropped.
5.  Violations of conference rules will generate a polite response in
    the echo for a first offense.  A second offense will, where
    possible, result in a NetMail warning being issued to the violator
    and the SysOp of the originating system.  Further violations will
    result in potential loss of conference privileges, as determined by
    the moderator.  System turn around, where applicable and recognizable,
    will be considered in such cases.
    Please be advised that there are certain Red Flag violations that
    fall under common sense guidelines that can get a user's access
    cut immediately, for instance the use of this echo to promote
    illegal activity, ie, the pandering of contraband like kiddie porn, etc.
6.  Discussions are to remain within the topic of the conference.  The
    moderator will be the sole judge of what is and is not on topic.
    Subjects that easily fall outside the realm of the topic, ie drug
    laws and fire arms topics WILL be kept to how they are DIRECTLY
    effected by ENFORCEMENT of the law.  Please remember, LEO's are law
    enforcers, not law makers.   The moderator will make all attempts to
    keep the conference open but if a string is declared off topic, all
    conference members are expected to concede the issue and take all
    additional commentary to NETMAIL.
7.  Response to Moderators' messages will be made by NETMAIL only,
    response will not be made in the echo.  Discussions dealing with the
    moderation of this conference are off topic within the conference
    itself.  As stated above, I am open to discussions on the
    conference's rules [when done in netmail] and have already changed them
    more then once due to input from the conference's users, for
    instance, pseudonyms didn't use to be allowed in the conference. If
    you disagree with the rules in some way, and I find your presentation
    and reasons to be sound, it may very well happen again.
TO ALL ASKACOP PARTICIPANTS:
This conference is dedicated to the exchange of information between law
enforcement professionals and the public they protect and serve.
The current moderator of this conference is Paul Harney. I can be reached
at 1:2630/221.  Policy is to try and maintain as open a conference as
possible so as to allow for maximum exchange of information, while still
maintaining the conference's topical integrity.
Please assist in this endeavor by keeping your posts on topic and valuing
the right of your fellow conference members to have an opinion, if not
the opinion itself.
If you have questions I am always available via Netmail to be of any
assistance I can.  If you want to introduce a topic you think is
important but aren't sure as to its topicity, then NETMAIL me with
your idea and we'll work on it together.
I am also open to well thought out suggestions regarding the conference
and how it might be improved.  Rants though are appended to file >NULL.
I very much consider this experiment in mutually beneficial communication
to be a partnership we all have a stake in.
Yours in that partnership,
Paul H.
Moderator
--- Rise and be counted
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