Rules for Posting

On behalf of the whole Friends of Fulham (FoF) team, welcome aboard! Please remember, all are welcome to join and enjoy this little piece of cyber bliss. Look after it, meet the locals and discover what’s involved in the Fulham experience.

The following rules are not written in stone, but they are what we expect of our members.

SECTION 1

A - POLITICS
B - RACIST REMARKS
C - SEXIST REMARKS
D - HOMOPHOBIC REMARKS
E - SECTARIAN / RELIGIOUS ABUSE
F - TERMINAL ILLNESS
G - PERSONAL ABUSE / BULLYING / SLANDER
H - POSITIVE REMARKS ABOUT ERNIE CLAY

It is understood that from time to time, especially on a football forum, subjects such as Hillsborough, Heysel, Bradford, Ibrox, the Munich air crash etc. will arise. We ask that any discussion is to remain respectful at all times due to the sensitive nature of the topic.

Please remember this is a public domain, an opinion or the re-emergence of such sensitive topics can open old wounds for so many friends, relatives, and loved ones.

The Fulham philosophy is to always adopt a common sense approach when addressing any issues.

SECTION 2 – SUGGESTED GUIDELINESS FOR POSTING
DEALING WITH CONFLICT

Whilst we have Fulham in common, it is inevitable that there will be disagreements between members over certain topics. This can be healthy, leading to a rich debate. However it can also end up in tears...

In such situations, common sense should apply. For example:

• Be respectful of other people’s opinions, even when they differ from yours.
• Refrain from getting personal. Stick to debating points, providing facts, influencing others through logical arguments, etc.
• Think before you post... Read your intended message, put yourself in the recipient’s shoes and anticipate their reaction, and remember that it is far easier to misinterpret the written word compared to if you were talking with someone over a pint of Pride. If it passes these simple tests, then press Send.
• You can always choose to agree to disagree, and move on...

Where you are getting wound up by another poster, or a particular topic, then you can do one or a combination of the following:

• Send a PM to the person concerned to see if you can reach agreement privately rather than waging war with each other publically.
• Send a PM to one of the moderators, who will investigate the issue, and try and ensure a speedy and amicable resolution.
  • Pass over the thread.
• Ignore the member, by either moving over anything they post, or using the functionality within FoF that enables you to block posts from that user.

Note that abuse, bullying or harassment will not be tolerated. In such situations, depending on the circumstances, the moderators have the right to warn, suspend or ultimately ban the member concerned.

TEXT TALK - Whilst not banned, text talk is frowned upon in some quarters, its confusing for some users. Please apply common sense, some abbreviations are understandable whilst others are not. Always try to refrain from replying to posts in text language.

CAPITALS - Please refrain from using them constantly, again in some quarters this is frowned upon. Some people consider it to be "SHOUTlNG". You wouldnt shout your opinion in a conversation so please dont do it on here. We dont mind members posting in Capitals for emphasis however.

OVERSIZE SIGNATURES - We ask you to keep them to a reasonable size.

MULTIPLE THREADS - We ask members not to start multiple threads on the same subject.

SMILEY FACES - We have no objections to their use but please dont go overboard.

RIVAL SUPPORTERS - Whilst FoF is predominantly a Fulham community, the views and opinions from supporters of rival clubs are both welcomed and appreciated (the exception being Alan Green - no one should take any notice of him). Of course, banter has always been a key theme of FoF but if we find it to be abusive, the offenders will be dealt with swiftly.

SWEARING - Please try to avoid swearing, trying to disguise the words is also not acceptable either. We are aware that a degree of mild swearing will crop up from time to time, and left on or removed at the moderators discretion given the context.

SECTION 3 – THE MOD SQUAD
Whilst some may think we possess super-hero powers, we are actually only human... Indeed I believe we all wear our underpants inside our trousers.

So whilst we like to think FoF is well moderated relative to other football forums, we actually do have day-jobs to do, social lives to lead, pubs to go to and we may also be seen at the occasional football match too.

So it may well be that there will be times when the board is mod-free, and something happens during our absence.

We can still be reached – by reporting abuse on a thread, or sending one (or more) of us a PM, then a mod will pick it up, and look to get stuck in as soon as possible.

Of course, the hope is that in following the above guidelines there will also be an element of self-moderation and the need for intervention by one of the mods will be kept to a minimum.

As mentioned already, depending on what has happened, we reserve the right lock threads, remove threads, merge threads, suspend members, ban members, etc. Naturally, being sociable types, we will try and sort things out amicably in the first instance, make posters aware of the standards expected, warn people, etc. so any measure taken shouldn’t be a total surprise.

SECTION 4 – THE END
Enjoy FoF... And that’s an order!