MOD POST: Community Rules, Now With Revisions
First and foremost: The rules apply to everyone, even if they haven't read them. Your failure to read the rules, which are listed in the community userinfo, is not our problem. Also, if you make a post and within the first half-hour, half a dozen community members have posted telling you that it's off-topic or violates community rules, you probably ought to take the hint. If you delete a rules-violating post on your own, no harm done, but if I have to do it for you even though it's already been pointed out to you that it violates the rules, you'll probably get a warning for it. Also, if you feel the need to add a disclaimer to your post about why you don't think it's breaking a rule, it probably is in fact breaking a rule, and will get deleted, earning you a warning to boot.
hip_domestics operates on a three-strikes-you're-out system: Your third warning gets you permanently banned from the community. We DO keep track of warnings, when they were given, by whom and why. We also don't delete posts without leaving a comment explaining why. We are usually pretty lenient with first warnings - however, after you've had one post deleted for rules violations, we expect that you have read the rules and are no longer as lenient.
The details:
*NO SPAM*
Original rule: Spam is forbidden, and will be deleted without warning. "Spam" includes community ads, pyramid schemes, chain emails, referral links, and any notice designed to attract patronage. Such posts will be deleted immediately and reported as spam.
Revised Rule: Spam is forbidden, and will be deleted without warning. "Spam" includes pyramid schemes, chain emails, referral links, and any notice designed to attract patronage. Such posts will be deleted immediately and reported to LJ as spam. Community promos are permitted PROVIDED that the mods are consulted first. If the community being promoted is not related to hip_domestics, we reserve the right to deny the promo. Community promos that do not have mod permission will be deleted and reported to LJ as spam.
*USE DESCRIPTIVE SUBJECT LINES*
Original rule: Descriptive subject lines are required. If you forget, the memory maintainers will remind you, but we'd prefer you simply didn't forget.
No revisions.
Please note: I can't think of a single incidence in the last three years where this has been a warning-worthy offense. Nobody is going to get banned for not having a subject line on their post. It just makes it way easier for people looking through the community memories or calendar. The worst you're going to get is a "Hey, subject line please?"
Sample comments from your fellow community members:
"I think this is ABSOLUTELY necessary. The emphasis needs to be on informative/clear titles as well - I hate seeing posts named 'oops re: floor' or 'laundry woes' that is totally unhelpful - say 'bathroom floor cleaning' or 'kitchen tile grout stain'."
"I find subject lines to be really helpful when I'm browsing memories"
"the more descriptive, the better."
*NO OFF-TOPIC POSTS*
Original rule: If you have to preface your post with "this may not be hip or domestic, but..." or some variation thereof, it probably isn't, and it doesn't belong here. If you finish it up with "Mods, feel free to delete..." or some variation thereof, we probably will, and it probably doesn't belong here.
No revisions at this time.
*USE LJ-CUTS*
Original rule: If you wouldn't discuss a topic over the dinner table or around the water cooler at work, put it behind an lj-cut. The cut description must make the reader aware of what they're getting into. (As a side note: Please use common sense. This is not sextips or vaginapagina. If you have a sexually explicit question, this is not the place for it.) The mods will do the best we can to stay on top of this, but if you see something that should be behind a cut, it is ok to politely request such if no one else has already done so. All photos must be behind an lj-cut. Posts longer than a paragraph or two should also be cut; use common sense. Again, the mods will do the best we can to stay on top of this, but if you see something that should be behind a cut, it is ok to politely request such if no one else has already done so.
Revised rule: If you wouldn't discuss a topic over the dinner table or around the water cooler at work, put it behind an lj-cut. The cut description must make the reader aware of what they're getting into. (As a side note: Please use common sense. This is not sextips or vaginapagina. If you have a sexually explicit question, this is not the place for it.) The mods will do the best we can to stay on top of this, but if you see something that should be behind a cut, it is ok to politely request such if no one else has already done so. All photos over 200x200 pixels must be behind an lj-cut; if the post contains more than one or two of these, please put the rest behind a cut as well. Posts longer than a page or so should also be cut; use common sense. Again, the mods will do the best we can to stay on top of this, but if you see something that should be behind a cut, it is ok to politely request such if no one else has already done so.
Sample comments from your fellow community members:
"cut tags usually don't describe well what's behind it, which just makes them useless." True! Please use a descriptive cut tag.
"I agree with the photos and explicit content (I'd also add cat pee), but if it's simply a lot of text, I don't think a cut should be required."
*NO SOLICITING PROFESSIONAL OPINIONS*
Original rule: There is liability involved when people dispense medical, legal, real estate, financial, and veterinary advice. Asking for things such as budget tips, pet stain removal, and home remedies for headaches is appropriate. However, if you would normally pay someone money to gain an answer to your question, it doesn't belong here, and such posts will be deleted without warning.
No revisions.
*NO POLLS*
Original rule: "What is everyone's favorite perfume"-type posts don't really add anything of value to the community, and will be deleted posthaste.
Lots of varying responses on this one, running the gamut from NO NO NO to YES YES YES and things in-between, such as "Only with moderator permission", "only on-topic", and "only behind LJ-cuts".
Revision: This one's going to be a little harder than a simple yes/no. The rule will stand as it is for now, and in the next week or two, I'll offer one with more options to see if we can narrow down what people really want to see.
Sample comments from your fellow community members:
"While I agree that a poll on perfume is not needed some polls might be useful. Maybe if someone wants to do a poll they have to ask a mod first who will deem it appropriate or not?"
"DEFINITELY a keeper. That crap gets annoying fast."
"What if someone wants to poll people's favorite cleaning supplies, etc? Is there a dif. between posting a poll and just writing the question in a post?" Note: The "poll" doesn't reference specifically using the LJ-poll feature - a post consisting simply of "What's your favorite ______?" would qualify as violating the rule as it currently stands.
"Polls are sometimes the best way to get answers to some things. Typically "yes" or "no" type questions will also get 30 different "maybes". A poll would be ideal for these types of questions."
"some people may just want to know what is most common, or what people find most effective, so this rule really isn't fair. Just put polls behind a cut."
"I like polls/surveys if they're useful. There are posts about vaccuums all the time... I don't see how those aren't helpful."
"Can "What's everyone's favorite Dyson" be added to this ban please?" That one does come up a lot, doesn't it.
*DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU POST*
Original rule: The memory maintainers are working hard to expand the memories section, and pointing posters in that direction is not out of line. Posting a Google link to a question that obviously should have been Googled isn't entirely out of line, either, we just ask that you use discretion.
Revisions: None, really. Again, this isn't something that people get banned or warned for - just a reminder that sometimes the question you've asked has been done three or four million times, so it's worth taking a quick peek around before you hit the post button.
Sample comments from your fellow community members:
"Homework is A+, but the community is a nice primary resource too. It'd be cool if folks could be comfy asking ?s and not get rude responses. :)" Absolutely.
"I scream everytime I see a post regarding vacuum cleaners and pet messes!"
"My real answer to this is "sorta" - we sometimes fail at google-fu and sometimes need a quick answer. This is an extremely active community that often has the answers we need."
*POST AND COMMENT WITH RESPECT*
Original rule: As long as a comment is helpful, we've no problem with it. Everyone here has different personalities and different manners of speaking, and some are simply more blunt than others. Things such as name-calling and downright rude and unhelpful comments are off-limits and will be deleted.
Revisions: None, really.
Please note: I fully admit, I do not always read every comment of every post on this community. If you feel you are being attacked, PLEASE let me know. I have my own email address on my userinfo, and the community userinfo page has an email address that will get to all three mods. Please don't delete the offending comments (screening/freezing is fine) - if you delete them, I can't see them, and then I can't DO anything about them.
*KEEP THE DRAMA WHERE IT BELONGS*
Original rule: There are communities that like drama. Keep your drama there. Drama here gets deleted.
Revisions: None.
Please note: If you are wandering around snark/drama communities and you find someone snarking on you, there is absolutely nothing that I can or will do about it. What happens in other communities SHOULD stay in other communities. It's when the drama gets brought FROM those other communities into hip_domestics that I start swinging the warning hammer. If you really don't know where to find a snark community and that's your thing, email me, I'm sure we can find you one. Most of the time, when this happens, the entire post does not get deleted. However, when the comment thread has turned into three pages of wangst and melodrama and personal attacks with two useful comments out of 150, I make exceptions.
*KEEP UPDATES IN THE ORIGINAL POST*
Original rule: Every once in a while, we like to share how we solved a problem we posted about. However, we request that these updates be added as an amendment to the original post, rather than a new post on their own. To edit your post, go to the comment view page and click the blue pencil icon.
Revision: If you found a particularly excellent solution to your problem, and your post was more than a few hours ago, an update is acceptable AS LONG AS it includes what that particularly excellent solution was AND a link to your previous post. If the original post was in the last few hours, please simply update the original. If all you wish to add is a "Thank you!", please update the original, regardless of how long ago the post was.
*DO NOT POST COMMUNITY BUSINESS IN MODS' PERSONAL JOURNALS*
While we never figured this needed to be said, it apparently does. Do not follow the community mods into their personal journals if you have an issue. Send an email to the address on the community info page or a message to one of the mods - we all have some sort of contact info listed publicly on our userinfo pages. (For reference, that's me, tappanga, and missmalice. Harassing the memory maintainers will do you no good, as they'll simply tell you to talk to one of us anyway.) Away from this community, we are ordinary LJ journalers, and have the right to respond as such to unwelcome commentary in our personal journals.
Sorry, folks, this is something the mods decided on that you don't get any say in.
*NO GIFT-GIVING ADVICE QUESTIONS*
Original rule: Seriously, you KNOW the person you are giving the gift to, what makes you think perfect strangers will know the taste of your loved one better than you? The mods have agreed that the gift-giving advice posts are usually non-productive and we don't want to clutter friends lists with them. So please refrain from asking questions like "What should I get (relative/friend/space alien) for (holiday/occasion/no particular reason)?" Note: While this rule was originally a preemptive strike against holiday shopping woes, it IS in effect year round.
Revisions: None.
Clarifications: This post prohibits a very specific type of question. If the question can be rephrased as "What should I get _________ for __________?" it violates the rule. Questions about gift-giving ettiquette are not violations. Questions about when you should or shouldn't give a gift are not violations. Questions about gift wrapping are not violations. Questions like "My uncle Joe really likes red wine, but I'm a beer kind of girl. What do I need to know to be able to pick him out a nice bottle of wine for his birthday?" are not violations. Even GENERAL questions are usually okay, such as "What is traditionally given as a hostess gift?" or "What kinds of gifts are appropriate to give a coworker/supervisor/manager?" Because the answer does not depend on us knowing your recipient. The problem comes up when you want the community to tell you specifically what YOU should get YOUR whoever for THIS PARTICULAR OCCASION, and you feel have to give us details about that person in order to get an answer.
Sample commentary from your fellow community members:
"I think this could better be defined." I hope I just did that?
"Oh yes yes yes, do not remove this rule, hate being asked what to get someone we know nothing about, and when we know nothing about your relationship."
"I'd like to see this modified. Hip and Domestic gifts for hostesses and such I think would be appropriate, but specific-people (i.e. my mom is crafty and likes to bake, what should I buy her) should not be allowed."
"I do think that asking what appropriate gifts are for situations where the poster is not familiar (eg. gift for a bereaved jewish family sitting shiva, and the OP is not jewish/familiar with jewish traditions)"
hip_domestics operates on a three-strikes-you're-out system: Your third warning gets you permanently banned from the community. We DO keep track of warnings, when they were given, by whom and why. We also don't delete posts without leaving a comment explaining why. We are usually pretty lenient with first warnings - however, after you've had one post deleted for rules violations, we expect that you have read the rules and are no longer as lenient.
The details:
*NO SPAM*
Original rule: Spam is forbidden, and will be deleted without warning. "Spam" includes community ads, pyramid schemes, chain emails, referral links, and any notice designed to attract patronage. Such posts will be deleted immediately and reported as spam.
Revised Rule: Spam is forbidden, and will be deleted without warning. "Spam" includes pyramid schemes, chain emails, referral links, and any notice designed to attract patronage. Such posts will be deleted immediately and reported to LJ as spam. Community promos are permitted PROVIDED that the mods are consulted first. If the community being promoted is not related to hip_domestics, we reserve the right to deny the promo. Community promos that do not have mod permission will be deleted and reported to LJ as spam.
*USE DESCRIPTIVE SUBJECT LINES*
Original rule: Descriptive subject lines are required. If you forget, the memory maintainers will remind you, but we'd prefer you simply didn't forget.
No revisions.
Please note: I can't think of a single incidence in the last three years where this has been a warning-worthy offense. Nobody is going to get banned for not having a subject line on their post. It just makes it way easier for people looking through the community memories or calendar. The worst you're going to get is a "Hey, subject line please?"
Sample comments from your fellow community members:
"I think this is ABSOLUTELY necessary. The emphasis needs to be on informative/clear titles as well - I hate seeing posts named 'oops re: floor' or 'laundry woes' that is totally unhelpful - say 'bathroom floor cleaning' or 'kitchen tile grout stain'."
"I find subject lines to be really helpful when I'm browsing memories"
"the more descriptive, the better."
*NO OFF-TOPIC POSTS*
Original rule: If you have to preface your post with "this may not be hip or domestic, but..." or some variation thereof, it probably isn't, and it doesn't belong here. If you finish it up with "Mods, feel free to delete..." or some variation thereof, we probably will, and it probably doesn't belong here.
No revisions at this time.
*USE LJ-CUTS*
Original rule: If you wouldn't discuss a topic over the dinner table or around the water cooler at work, put it behind an lj-cut. The cut description must make the reader aware of what they're getting into. (As a side note: Please use common sense. This is not sextips or vaginapagina. If you have a sexually explicit question, this is not the place for it.) The mods will do the best we can to stay on top of this, but if you see something that should be behind a cut, it is ok to politely request such if no one else has already done so. All photos must be behind an lj-cut. Posts longer than a paragraph or two should also be cut; use common sense. Again, the mods will do the best we can to stay on top of this, but if you see something that should be behind a cut, it is ok to politely request such if no one else has already done so.
Revised rule: If you wouldn't discuss a topic over the dinner table or around the water cooler at work, put it behind an lj-cut. The cut description must make the reader aware of what they're getting into. (As a side note: Please use common sense. This is not sextips or vaginapagina. If you have a sexually explicit question, this is not the place for it.) The mods will do the best we can to stay on top of this, but if you see something that should be behind a cut, it is ok to politely request such if no one else has already done so. All photos over 200x200 pixels must be behind an lj-cut; if the post contains more than one or two of these, please put the rest behind a cut as well. Posts longer than a page or so should also be cut; use common sense. Again, the mods will do the best we can to stay on top of this, but if you see something that should be behind a cut, it is ok to politely request such if no one else has already done so.
Sample comments from your fellow community members:
"cut tags usually don't describe well what's behind it, which just makes them useless." True! Please use a descriptive cut tag.
"I agree with the photos and explicit content (I'd also add cat pee), but if it's simply a lot of text, I don't think a cut should be required."
*NO SOLICITING PROFESSIONAL OPINIONS*
Original rule: There is liability involved when people dispense medical, legal, real estate, financial, and veterinary advice. Asking for things such as budget tips, pet stain removal, and home remedies for headaches is appropriate. However, if you would normally pay someone money to gain an answer to your question, it doesn't belong here, and such posts will be deleted without warning.
No revisions.
*NO POLLS*
Original rule: "What is everyone's favorite perfume"-type posts don't really add anything of value to the community, and will be deleted posthaste.
Lots of varying responses on this one, running the gamut from NO NO NO to YES YES YES and things in-between, such as "Only with moderator permission", "only on-topic", and "only behind LJ-cuts".
Revision: This one's going to be a little harder than a simple yes/no. The rule will stand as it is for now, and in the next week or two, I'll offer one with more options to see if we can narrow down what people really want to see.
Sample comments from your fellow community members:
"While I agree that a poll on perfume is not needed some polls might be useful. Maybe if someone wants to do a poll they have to ask a mod first who will deem it appropriate or not?"
"DEFINITELY a keeper. That crap gets annoying fast."
"What if someone wants to poll people's favorite cleaning supplies, etc? Is there a dif. between posting a poll and just writing the question in a post?" Note: The "poll" doesn't reference specifically using the LJ-poll feature - a post consisting simply of "What's your favorite ______?" would qualify as violating the rule as it currently stands.
"Polls are sometimes the best way to get answers to some things. Typically "yes" or "no" type questions will also get 30 different "maybes". A poll would be ideal for these types of questions."
"some people may just want to know what is most common, or what people find most effective, so this rule really isn't fair. Just put polls behind a cut."
"I like polls/surveys if they're useful. There are posts about vaccuums all the time... I don't see how those aren't helpful."
"Can "What's everyone's favorite Dyson" be added to this ban please?" That one does come up a lot, doesn't it.
*DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU POST*
Original rule: The memory maintainers are working hard to expand the memories section, and pointing posters in that direction is not out of line. Posting a Google link to a question that obviously should have been Googled isn't entirely out of line, either, we just ask that you use discretion.
Revisions: None, really. Again, this isn't something that people get banned or warned for - just a reminder that sometimes the question you've asked has been done three or four million times, so it's worth taking a quick peek around before you hit the post button.
Sample comments from your fellow community members:
"Homework is A+, but the community is a nice primary resource too. It'd be cool if folks could be comfy asking ?s and not get rude responses. :)" Absolutely.
"I scream everytime I see a post regarding vacuum cleaners and pet messes!"
"My real answer to this is "sorta" - we sometimes fail at google-fu and sometimes need a quick answer. This is an extremely active community that often has the answers we need."
*POST AND COMMENT WITH RESPECT*
Original rule: As long as a comment is helpful, we've no problem with it. Everyone here has different personalities and different manners of speaking, and some are simply more blunt than others. Things such as name-calling and downright rude and unhelpful comments are off-limits and will be deleted.
Revisions: None, really.
Please note: I fully admit, I do not always read every comment of every post on this community. If you feel you are being attacked, PLEASE let me know. I have my own email address on my userinfo, and the community userinfo page has an email address that will get to all three mods. Please don't delete the offending comments (screening/freezing is fine) - if you delete them, I can't see them, and then I can't DO anything about them.
*KEEP THE DRAMA WHERE IT BELONGS*
Original rule: There are communities that like drama. Keep your drama there. Drama here gets deleted.
Revisions: None.
Please note: If you are wandering around snark/drama communities and you find someone snarking on you, there is absolutely nothing that I can or will do about it. What happens in other communities SHOULD stay in other communities. It's when the drama gets brought FROM those other communities into hip_domestics that I start swinging the warning hammer. If you really don't know where to find a snark community and that's your thing, email me, I'm sure we can find you one. Most of the time, when this happens, the entire post does not get deleted. However, when the comment thread has turned into three pages of wangst and melodrama and personal attacks with two useful comments out of 150, I make exceptions.
*KEEP UPDATES IN THE ORIGINAL POST*
Original rule: Every once in a while, we like to share how we solved a problem we posted about. However, we request that these updates be added as an amendment to the original post, rather than a new post on their own. To edit your post, go to the comment view page and click the blue pencil icon.
Revision: If you found a particularly excellent solution to your problem, and your post was more than a few hours ago, an update is acceptable AS LONG AS it includes what that particularly excellent solution was AND a link to your previous post. If the original post was in the last few hours, please simply update the original. If all you wish to add is a "Thank you!", please update the original, regardless of how long ago the post was.
*DO NOT POST COMMUNITY BUSINESS IN MODS' PERSONAL JOURNALS*
While we never figured this needed to be said, it apparently does. Do not follow the community mods into their personal journals if you have an issue. Send an email to the address on the community info page or a message to one of the mods - we all have some sort of contact info listed publicly on our userinfo pages. (For reference, that's me, tappanga, and missmalice. Harassing the memory maintainers will do you no good, as they'll simply tell you to talk to one of us anyway.) Away from this community, we are ordinary LJ journalers, and have the right to respond as such to unwelcome commentary in our personal journals.
Sorry, folks, this is something the mods decided on that you don't get any say in.
*NO GIFT-GIVING ADVICE QUESTIONS*
Original rule: Seriously, you KNOW the person you are giving the gift to, what makes you think perfect strangers will know the taste of your loved one better than you? The mods have agreed that the gift-giving advice posts are usually non-productive and we don't want to clutter friends lists with them. So please refrain from asking questions like "What should I get (relative/friend/space alien) for (holiday/occasion/no particular reason)?" Note: While this rule was originally a preemptive strike against holiday shopping woes, it IS in effect year round.
Revisions: None.
Clarifications: This post prohibits a very specific type of question. If the question can be rephrased as "What should I get _________ for __________?" it violates the rule. Questions about gift-giving ettiquette are not violations. Questions about when you should or shouldn't give a gift are not violations. Questions about gift wrapping are not violations. Questions like "My uncle Joe really likes red wine, but I'm a beer kind of girl. What do I need to know to be able to pick him out a nice bottle of wine for his birthday?" are not violations. Even GENERAL questions are usually okay, such as "What is traditionally given as a hostess gift?" or "What kinds of gifts are appropriate to give a coworker/supervisor/manager?" Because the answer does not depend on us knowing your recipient. The problem comes up when you want the community to tell you specifically what YOU should get YOUR whoever for THIS PARTICULAR OCCASION, and you feel have to give us details about that person in order to get an answer.
Sample commentary from your fellow community members:
"I think this could better be defined." I hope I just did that?
"Oh yes yes yes, do not remove this rule, hate being asked what to get someone we know nothing about, and when we know nothing about your relationship."
"I'd like to see this modified. Hip and Domestic gifts for hostesses and such I think would be appropriate, but specific-people (i.e. my mom is crafty and likes to bake, what should I buy her) should not be allowed."
"I do think that asking what appropriate gifts are for situations where the poster is not familiar (eg. gift for a bereaved jewish family sitting shiva, and the OP is not jewish/familiar with jewish traditions)"