Policy Issue (Re-Post from Admin Contact)

Okay, I posted this in admin contact a while ago, and I've received no response. It's a serious issue that needs addressing soon, so I'm re-posting it here.

Originally Posted by My message

The whole of the hive lacks a concrete policy, it's current one isn't clear enough and it doesn't cover pre-existing laws regarding forums.

For example, there's Iristle. I've got no issue with her, however without parental consent it is illegal for her to access the hive, with it's current policy. Now, you'd need to either ban iristle -- and all other under 13's -- from accessing policy-covered areas, or adapt the policy to let under 13's in. Otherwise, Ralle is legally viable.

That isn't the only point, though. There are grammatical errors in the current rules, we lack a privacy policy and the chat, too, lacks defined rules. The latter has more issues, as forum rules (see posting) can easily be ignored as you're not, technically, posting a message within the chat, more so broadcasting it.

I'd be happy to help draft up a full policy with the help of other admins, of course, if you think it'd be a good idea. What do you guys think?

I agree.

Here we go with you and your policies again, like you did in the mod lobby a while ago. :P

Elenai facepalms.

I think it would be prudent to have left this in admin contact...This can only go so badly before the end is reached...and we all know it.

No, as long as we keep on the subject of policies and stray away from any other shitstorm subjects, this discussion can be useful.


Seriously, you don't have to keep stuff like this private. We like to know that new rules are in the works or ar at least thought of.

I don't know what policy you are talking about....

That's because it doesn't exist, Ghan. The hive has a set of below-par rules and that's it.

Edit:

Originally Posted by WILLTHEALMIGHTY

No, as long as we keep on the subject of policies and stray away from any other shitstorm subjects, this discussion can be useful.


Seriously, you don't have to keep stuff like this private. We like to know that new rules are in the works or ar at least thought of.

Are they? First I've heard of new rules.

I meant the illegality of under 13s.

Well, I looked it up, and it is part of United States Code, and therefore would not apply to this site since it is operated from Denmark, where the United States has no jurisdiction.
I do not know of a similar law in Denmark, though it is possible such a law exists.

Just a quick bump as I edited my post when ghan replied.

Basically, the hives rules don't cover anything. It lacks a ToS and Privacy Policy, among other things.

Well, when anyone registers, they must agree with this:

Originally Posted by Registration Agreement

Forum Rules

Registration to this forum is free! We do insist that you abide by the rules and policies detailed below. If you agree to the terms, please check the 'I agree' checkbox and press the 'Register' button below. If you would like to cancel the registration, click here to return to the forums index.

Although the administrators and moderators of The Hive Workshop - A Warcraft III Modding Site will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and neither the owners of The Hive Workshop - A Warcraft III Modding Site, nor Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. (developers of vBulletin) will be held responsible for the content of any message.

By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws.

The owners of The Hive Workshop - A Warcraft III Modding Site reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason.

And the forum rules include information about what is shown publicly to other members:

Originally Posted by The Rules

What is the Public Profile Page?

Every member has a publicly viewable profile page. This page includes information provided by the member, either during the registration process or later on via the User Control Panel.

There are a number of ways to view a member's profile. Whenever you see a member's name, clicking on it will usually take you to view their profile page.

The members list allows you to browse all registered members, and quickly click through to public profiles.

When logged in, you can also view your own public profile by logging into the forums and clicking on your username shown in the header at the top of the page.

You can also go straight to a profile if you know the username of the member by typing in the following into your web browser: http://www.example.com/member.php?username=<username of the member>

What's on the Public Profile Page?

The public profile lists information about the member under the 'About Me' tab. It also includes statistical information, such as the number of posts they have made and their registration date. This information is shown under the 'Statistics' tab.

Other information includes a list of Friends (?), their profile picture (if set by the member), and a list of members who have recently visited the profile page.

A list of the members' albums (?) and social group (?) memberships are also shown.

What are Visitor Messages?

Visitor messages are publicly viewable messages posted on member profile pages. To post a message, click on the 'Visitor messages' tab, and use the form at the top of the section. You will only be able to use certain formatting in these messages, as described underneath the edit box. This message will be viewable by all visitors to this profile, including guest users and search engine robots if the administrator has allowed this. To communicate privately with a member, send a Private Message instead.

Visitor messages can be edited or deleted by site moderators or the member who owns the profile. If you see a visitor message that is not appropriate, you can alert the moderators by clicking on the 'Report' link. The 'View Conversation' link allows you to view all visitor messages between the member and the owner of the profile.

However it doesn't go on to state about the sites use of cookies, personal information or any of the other things generally considered to be in a privacy policy.

The age restriction makes no sense at all. On the net you can lie about your age anything you want. Noone will bother checking it. Also, Iristle is the least to worry about of the under 13 category. I agree that the chat needs a better defined rules section, and site rules must be read by all new users. Maybe you should make a T/F test system that tests users knowledge of the rules after registration. Ghan, noone actually reads the agreement of registration. Everyone just scrolls down and ticks the box.

And what does that mean in English, please? :P

It means that 'cool' boys don't read nor care about the rules and true it is.

Yawn. Just because someone knows the rules doesn't mean they will follow them. The rules are obvious and apply to almost any site.