Encyc:Proposed rules for Encyc

This is a project page for proposed rules for Encyc.

First off, I believe that rules should be simple and to the point, no more than 10 rules, each rule being 1 line or less. We can have discussion about them but ultimately should be able to summarise them as such.

Here are my initial proposals (in a separate section I will justify the rules):

Initial proposals

1. Have fun
2. Do not ruin the fun of others
3. Do not do anything illegal or borderline illegal - if in doubt, don't
4. Do not spam, hack, advertise or disrupt
5. Generally support the owner of the site (Emperor) and the general aims of the site
6. Do not deliberately lie about any topic
7. Anything that is an opinion should be obvious that it is an opinion
8. If any facts are disputed, evidence should be given to prove / disprove it
9. If any evidence is disputed, this should be justified too
10. All final decisions are made by the owner of the site (Emperor) or someone acting on his behalf

Justifications

Have fun

While this is not a game, nonetheless the same principles apply. Why on earth would anyone want to come to a place that they are not being paid to go to if it isn't fun? If you find that this isn't fun for you, it is simple - either make it fun or else leave! If you come here grumpy then not only will you make it bad for yourself but you will also make it bad for everyone else coming here too.

Do not ruin the fun of others

Similarly with rule 1, if you are having fun, it shouldn't be at the expense of others. You may well find it fun to ruin someone's life, but that then forces them to break rule 1 and to not have fun. There are ways to have fun without ruining it for everyone else.

Nothing illegal

We all know that Encyc is in one place, Emperor probably lives somewhere else, you probably live somewhere else and whoever you are in dispute with lives somewhere else. All good and fine. But Emperor I am sure doesn't want to run even the hypothetical risk of legal prosecution. It is fair enough to accidentally do something illegal, but if you are told about it, stop doing it. Err on the side of caution. Legal threats aren't there to disrupt, they are there to protect Emperor. If in doubt, don't do it. Laws, for the most part, are there to protect, not to harm, and they help things to run more smoothly. Even when they are dumb laws, nobody wants to go to jail or face prosecution over a site. Where possible, when referring to non-public figures, refer to them by screen names to avoid accidental slandering and defamation. Important statements that may not be 100% proven should be listed as an opinion not as fact. Take note of libel, defamation and slander for some guidelines to see if what you are doing is okay. Also avoid any other laws, such as discrimination and such, or whatever might be applicable.

No spam, hack etc

It might seem funny to people over at Encyclopaedia Dramatica to move all of the pages to HAGGER??? (moving is disabled now) but it is not funny to Emperor or anyone who comes here. Wiping pages, replacing them with nonsense, adding in stupid things, or anything like that don't help. It just annoys people. We don't want to go to your online casino, invest in a Nigerian pyramid scheme or buy viagra either thank you. Nor do we want to see huge rude images or large text or links to hacking sites that stuff up your computer.

Generally support the owner and aims of the site

It may seem to be pretty obvious, but if you are here, it should be because you love the site not because you hate it. By all means criticise Encyc, but if you generally dislike the place, you don't belong here. Go set up EncycReview or some such to complain about it. You can complain here within limits of course, but if you are generally hating the site, you are going to end up being disruptive and damaging to the site, whether you mean to or not. Either change the attitude or get out. Shape up or ship out.

Do not deliberately lie

We all have our own opinions, interpretations and memories about a topic. It is quite possible that from time to time we will be wrong about something. Someone else might correct us, and then we can go ahead and change things based on this. This is what being a part of a collaborative project is all about. The problem happens when someone deliberately lies, especially when there is established proven referenced fact somewhere and in opposition you have someone simply saying something. This hurts everything.

Anything that is an opinion should be obvious

If something is an opinion, it does not have to be 100% proven fact, as it is an opinion, and it is immune from any defamation cases. The problem is when something that is an opinion can be interpreted as fact (it is also a problem when something that is fact is suggested to be only an opinion). To avoid such issues, when saying something which is an opinion, the tone should make it obvious that this is an opinion. It doesn't need to say whose opinion it is, of course. Opinions are very valuable to understanding a topic, and biases can be accounted for easily, to still be valid input.

Disputed facts should be backed up with evidence

If two people disagree about the facts of a topic, evidence wins. If both sides have equal evidence, then both should be introduced as alternatives of each other. If one side has evidence that appears to disprove the other side, then the one with evidence should win out, unless there is a reason to dispute that evidence. The higher form of evidence, the more it wins. Arguments should ultimately be based on fact and logic, rather than on who is the most popular.

Disputed evidence should have reason to it

Sometimes evidence is presented that seems compelling but is actually false. For example, some quotes could appear to mean one thing but actually be completely out of context. Some forum quotes may have actually been modified by someone else, or have had surrounding forum posts deleted. Not all evidence is accurate, and where evidence is disputed a clear reason should be given as to why.

All final decisions should be made by Emperor

Emperor is the owner of the site, and, no matter what rules are here, they ultimately do not matter. This is a private site, and Emperor can choose to allow or to disallow anyone he likes for any reason he likes, regardless of any rules. Therefore, any rules should be there to help to reflect Emperor's general idea as to why he would ban or not ban someone and how he likes to do things. It is pointless to make things look like a pseudo legal system when ultimately you can be banned for any reason. Anti-discrimination laws are about the only thing stopping Emperor from banning someone, and certain laws about appropriate content are the only reason forcing Emperor to ban someone, and even then only if he has been given appropriate legal notice.

List of contributors and changes to this proposal

• Proposal made with 10 proposed rules. Blissyu2 14:16, 15 September 2008 (EDT)