Mod Note - Purple Pain Expectations

Purple Pain was created by and created for a community of Vikings fans who wanted a good place to go for Vikings and football conversation and was fair to its members. To be good and fair, we have to follow some basic rules and guidelines. That is not much to ask, but we must insist.

Note here that these policies have been in place since this board was started. All members must follow the same rules of conduct. It is not negotiable. This topic was not created because of one specific member or one specific action; it was created because there have been a multitude of members and many actions that needed to be moderated, and it has been getting worse over time.

A member can provide information, insight, or critical opinion of the message of a post if he or she wants, but a member may not make personal attacks on other members of Purple Pain. Attacking a moderator personally, in public or private, for moderating will not be tolerated. Just pointing out that others have not been moderated or that a policy is unequally administered is not a violation, in my opinion, if evidence suggest this to be a valid point, but "he did it first" is is not a valid excuse to violate the basic rules of conduct on this board. I understand the frustration a member may have when being attacked or when waiting for moderators to step in. I've been there, but your response must remain within the rules of this board. To take offense and go personal against another member or a moderator is stepping over the line. Note it, stay on track, and move on.

If one wishes to send a PM, expect a response in private. If a member chooses to make a public comment, expectations are that a response may come either in private or in public. In the past month, many actions by moderators have been private, and some have become conversations in public. I believe it is sometimes a good idea to allow the members to see moderation as it happens and what the policy of response is. Moderators actively edit or delete posts major violations, but often this does not allow other members to see what had been done to violating posts or any PMs made. Recently, a member became upset because he could not see any efforts done on his behalf even though there had been. His anger was misplaced, but he was none the wiser.

Personally, I often use friendly reminders. I try not to single people out, but I can only moderate what I read. As far as positive or negative posts about the Minnesota Vikings front office, coaches, or players, I could care less as long as members remain civil and target the information in the posts rather than each other. If people want to use "homers" or "negative Nancy" as general terms occasionally about a general populous, I don't have much problem with that either. Using those terms to attack individuals constantly is a different matter. Ad hominem attacks are ruinous to enlightened discourse and debate.

As a moderator, I do not believe it is my place to censor topical comments. It is my place to maintain an atmosphere that is open and safe for discourse, opinion, analysis, conversation, arguments, and counterarguments. I have moderated several communities at several levels. In every case, there needed to be a solid set of rules and a policy of action for violation of said rules. The rules of conduct are not open to negotiation.

This board is open to the public, but it is not a public board. The board owner retains the right to create and interpret the rules and policies as she sees fit and to empower moderators to implement and maintain those policies. The rules here are pretty straightforward. Most members understand when and where they are stepping over the line. For those who do not, a little conversation about rules and expectations is often a good thing. I hope you would all agree.