HuskerOnline.com - Message Board Rules

Forum Rules

No profanity, racist or sexist comments. This includes using abbreviations or changing one letter of a swear word such that the word(s) are still interpreted by most as profane.
No pornographic, obscene or scatological material of any kind. Any user posting pornographic pictures, or links to such material will be blacklisted. This includes materials within a signature file or avatar.
No name calling and attacking other posters individually or generally. If you feel the need to harass another poster or call out those you disagree with and categorize them negative terms, don't do it. There will be no tolerance for those who attack other members or try to belittle them. This board will not be used as a forum for anyone to carry out personal vendettas against any other member, no matter what has happened in the past. Genuine disagreement, when posted in a respectful and tasteful manner is allowed; however, any argument that the staff determines to cross the line of appropriate discourse will be immediately deleted, and members involved will be subject to the penalties laid out below. What is considered attacking other posters?
- Bringing up their name in posts that they did not start or were not involved in, just to get a reaction from them.
- Consistently responding to their posts and responding with no merit other than to belittle them.
- In short, making a poster a target.
Keep in mind these are just examples of what the staff considers attacking, but this is not an exhaustive list. If any moderator feels that one member is attacking another member, your post will be deleted and you will be subject to penalty. This may occur with or without notice to you.
Do not post unsubstantiated rumors about players, coaches, etc. If you have a link to a news story, that is one thing. But if you have heard something 'from a friend of a friend,' this is not the website to post innuendo and rumor. Those posts will be removed. Again, do not ask if why your post was removed. If you believe you have a reliable source to substantiate a post that was deleted, then you may email a moderator and explain. However, this does not necessarily mean your post will be brought back.
No repetitive negative posting. What makes a repetitive post? If you come to the forum and consistently say the exact same thing about the exact same topic day in and day out, that is being repetitive. Be sure to understand that no one is saying that you can not be critical. But this site will not be overrun by the same people coming on the site day after day saying the same negative things.
No flaming: If a poster come onto the board with the intent only to flame, and continues to post nothing but flames or engages in no substantive discussion, the poster's posts will be deleted and the poster will be banned at the monitor's discretion.
No hijacking of threads: Any reply deemed by our mods to be not on topic in a thread will be treated as a 'thread-jack'. Everyone has the right to start their own topics, but a reply in a thread that only serves to derail it, start a fight, or get it locked will be deleted. If a member is thought to be 'thread-jacking' on a consistent basis they will have their posting privileges suspended for a set period determined by our monitors.
No attacks on players or coaches. Criticism is allowed, and encouraged if the shoe fits. But that does NOT mean you have free range to bash or alienate a player or coach with your comments. If you disagree with how they played or the effort they put forward, please voice your opinion and state why you hold that opinion.
No attacking recruits: Just because a player may choose another school does not give you the right to blast them, in any circumstance. There will be zero tolerance on this issue.
No posting of commercial offers, competing websites or spamming of the board will be permitted. All threads will be deleted at the discretion of the board monitor.
No posting or or distribution any material that infringes and/or violates any right of a third party or any law. Post will be deleted and member can be banned at the monitors' discretion. This means no posting of premium information from other web sites.
Do not give out personal information on the message board or chat room. Please keep in mind that whenever you give out personal information (such as your email, phone number etc.) online --- for example, via message boards or chat --- that information can be collected and used by people you don't know. You give out your personal information at your own risk. We are not responsible for any actions that occur if you give out your personal information. In addition, revealing the personal information of other members is strictly forbidden and could result in a perma-ban.
No fishing. Do not attempt to trick fellow posters into posting their email address by promising the inside scoop on a situation. These poor attempts at humor are very disruptive to the board.
No dominating the conversation. Do not dominate the conversation, whether it is a single thread, or the overall conversation on the board for the day. A successful message board community involves give and take. If one poster contributes too much, to the point of disrupting the community, he or she may be banned.
Treatment of Moderators, HOL staff and contributors: Any disrespect towards moderators, staff and longtime contributors is strictly prohibited. This staff does its best to bring you valuable, insightful, and accurate information regarding Nebraska Athletics. If any monitor or staff member feels that you are being disrespectful to any of the aforementioned, then you are subjecting yourself to harsh penalty.
No bringing of personal fights and feuds onto HOL/RSS whatever their origin. If we believe you are trying to settle scores on our site by deliberately attacking or belittling another member you will be dealt with accordingly.
Trolling: This site is not the place to carry-out any Internet trolls. You may think you are able to get away with these trolls by being subtle, but you will not. Rivals.com and HOL staff members are extremely connected and aware that trolling takes place on a regular basis. The staff is not naive to such trolling practices and will not tolerate the continued attempts to start such trolls. If any thread is thought to be a troll, the original post is subject to deletion along with all subsequent replies. Members believed to be participating in the troll will be dealt with on a swift and harsh basis.
Terms of service. By subscribing, registering or using the sites, you agree that Rivals and or the publisher(s) and board moderators of the sites have the right, in addition to other rights, to delete your posts or blacklist you or any other user at any time, if they believe that action is in the best interest of the sites, for whatever reason, and the reason need not be disclosed. For more information, you can read the Terms of Service for subscribers HERE

HUSKER ONLINE ADDENDUM TO PRIMARY RULES

Rivals.com and Yahoo, Inc. have uniform rules regarding posting on message boards. We are allowed wide latitude to institute additional posting guidelines and rules as we see fit. Due to the shear volume of membership on Husker Online, the staff feels it is necessary to institute additional rules and guidelines that pertain to ALL Husker Online Message Boards. These rules are intended to provide a positive environment that allows members to express their opinions, engage in dialogue with other members, and obtain information pertaining to Nebraska Athletics. The penalties which follow these rules and guidelines are subject to use by any moderator at his/her discretion without notice or explanation. These additional rules and guidelines are hereby incorporated by reference with the Terms of Service that you agreed to when you first subscribed.

DELETING OF POSTS & THREADS/ LOCKING THREADS:If any moderator determines that an individual post is inappropriate or is not in the best interest of board, then it is subject to deletion without notification or explanation. Additionally, if a thread that is appropriate when posted, but begins to elicit responses which any moderator determines are in appropriate, or not in the best interest of the board, then such post(s) or the entire threads are subject to deletion without notification or explanation.

PLEASE NOTE: that HOL staff regularly monitors the content of posts by all members. Members who are observed to be continually "testing the rules" may be monitored with more scrutiny based on their past conduct Those members who are being closely monitored will not necessarily be informed of this fact, so please be mindful of this policy at all times when posting in order to avoid such additional scrutiny.

IMPORTANT: Do not start a post asking why a thread was locked or deleted. It is difficult for moderators to do their jobs if they are subjected to public debates and moratoriums on the things that they decide. Please e-mail mike@huskeronline.com if you have a question regarding anything that has taken place on the boards. Again, we also encourage you to email us when you see an objectionable thread or post, or have a concern with something that we may have moderated. Again, moderators do not read nearly every thread and we need your assistance in finding things that could be objectionable to you and other posters.

PENALTIES

INITIAL WARNING: If a post is deleted or edited based on content, you may receive a warning from HOL staff after such post is deleted. Whether you do or do not receive such a warning, you should be extremely careful with future posts. Your future posts will be closely monitored and any of these future posts which are deemed inappropriate, then more severe penalties may be leveled against you.

BLACKLISTING: Blacklisting (banned from posting) may occur at any time with or without warning. You may be blacklisted, even if you have not had any previous violations, if it is determined that your conduct is so egregious that blacklisting is appropriate. We are instituting a "Three strikes and you are out" policy as it pertains to blacklisting. It is as follows:

1st offense - 1 month suspension of posting privileges.

2nd offense - 6 month suspension of posting privileges.

3rd offense (3 strikes and you're out) - permanent suspension of posting privileges and also reading rights.

*Please be mindful that this policy as with all other policies is subject to change on a case by case basis without prior notice.

What do I do if I get blacklisted?

First, you must recognize and admit there was a problem with something you posted. Then, if you want to get your handle cleared from the blacklist, you must email mjmatya@cox.net and tell Mike your side of the story. It might be as simple as: "the 12-ouncers won", "I had just failed a test and was not in the best mood", or, complex like: "my uncle was visiting from out of town and he used my computer to post those nasty messages". Either way, if you email Mike about the situation, you may be let back in if the staff feels you are genuine in your apology and will not make the same mistake again. If you do not want to contact Mike and instead choose to go underground and register for a new account, have at it, but our staff and moderators know who you are, and you will be monitored with increased scrutiny.

WHY ARE POLITICAL & RELIGIOUS POSTS/THREADS NOT ALLOWED?

When it is during the football off-season months, RSS will typically have more Off Topic posts. We have been asked to clarify what is allowed and not allowed as OT posts on RSS which we have spelled out below.

What is not allowed:

Any and all overt partisan political posts or polls are forbidden. If you desire to debate the relative merits or failings of the Bush or Obama administrations, or any other politician or party, do it elsewhere. If you have a political ax of any persuasion to grind, again, do it some place else, please.

Also, all religious and theological debates are off limits. The one exception, due to long standing custom, is prayer requests for the board. The reason politics and religion are not allowed is due to past experiences of how these two topics quickly devolve into heated and repeated personal attacks. This policy will not change in the future.

What is allowed:

Posts and threads pertaining to current economic, financial and investing events and developments will be allowed as long as they remain topical and substantive. We understand these are difficult and challenging times for our members individually and our nation as a whole. It is only natural to want to discuss these issues, especially during the off-season.

However, the very second the leeway we allow with these topics takes a partisan or nasty political turn, the offending replies or posts will be deleted. If they continue, the thread in question will be locked. And the member(s) going beyond the general guidelines and spirit of the board rules will be given a vacation from posting for a time determined by our monitors. The duration of the penalty will be contingent upon the frequency and severity of the infractions.

All other OT posts of an informational or entertainment nature are allowed. We appreciate your cooperation and self restraint in these matters.

A FINAL NOTE FROM THE STAFF

We have continued to try and provide an environment that fosters useful dialogue and allows Husker fans to be as informed as possible. As a result of dramatic membership increases and certain factions of rouge members, that goal has become virtually impossible to attain without severe and adverse effects on members, monitors, staff, and their families. When someone has their personal life compromised due to the actions of certain members, then the proverbial line has been crossed. Due to these circumstances, the HOL.com staff has determined it had no choice but to implement the strictest of policies regarding posting and penalties. It is our desire to serve you, the customer, in the best possible way, but paying a monthly fee does not allow you denigrate the site, staff, or its members as you see fit. If you have issue with these terms or find them to be unacceptable, then you may cancel your membership. If conduct yourself with the civility and decorum that is generally accepted in society today, then you will not have a problem on this site. We thank all of you for your continued business and contributions to Husker Online. It is our sincere hope that these policies will not only increase the value of the content and information you receive, but also help provide an enjoyable forum in which to obtain such content.

PLEASE ENJOY!
THE STAFF OF HUSKER ONLINE

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