Attention all Offtopic Users...Project Offtopic is Underway

[Turtlefemm]

It has been decided that the Offtopic forum is due for a cleaning. This forum was was designed so that users can create topics that are not about Runescape, not one in which an "anything goes" type atmosphere could be created. Offtopic is still bound by the same rules as the rest of tip.it forums. We allowed a small amount of leeway with the rules and some users have abused that in a big way. Tip.it forums is not the place for any discussion of sexual practices. It is certainly not the place for posting pictures that contain things not allowed on our forums in other places. Some of you will cry "censorship!" and you are correct. We do censor to a certain extent, because this is a family friendly forum. That does not mean that discussions of a serious nature cannot take place, but it does mean that discussing sexual activities may not take place, religious intolerance, racial intolerance and many other rule breaks that you can see in below where I have pasted the most often broken rule:

 

 

 

1.5 - Flaming, Violence, Harassment & Pointless Vulgarity

 

Mild, intelligent flaming is allowable. However, pointless harassment aimed at a specific individual or group of people is unacceptable. It is not our intention to limit the poster's option to use occasional curse words to demonstrate a point. However pointless, excessive, or obscene cursing will be edited or deleted. There is a chat filter in operation, which will disguise certain inappropriate words. Forum infractions may result in immediate actions being taken that can range from written warnings, temporary suspension or permanent suspension from this site, depending on the severity and frequency of the offense. User names (and profile information) may not be offensive, vulgar, profane, or abusive.

 

 

 

Intentionally posting false arguments, intentionally misquoting other users, flames or personal attacks for no other purpose than to incite a negative reaction, annoy others or disrupt a discussion is also prohibited. Posts that are disparaging toward any religion, race, nation, social status, gender, or sexual orientation are strictly forbidden. No personal threats or harassment. This includes posting pictures representing an attack. Debate opinions - not the people behind them. This also applies to all forums, threads, posts, private messages, profiles, avatars and signatures. Any post using excessive vulgarity, threatening or harassing, obscene or hateful, deliberately inaccurate or misleading, explicitly sexual in nature, an invasion of a person's privacy, abusing our censor, or in any other way violates the law, may be edited or removed and the user may be banned (at the discretion of the Administrators).

 

 

 

Offtopic has become a place into which many of our most loyal offtopic posters do not want to set foot. That is pretty sad. It should not be that way. They should be comfortable going in and making posts without having to wade through miles of spam, negative comments, troll nastiness, hate and disturbing sexual conversation. We have a lot of new users who don't seem to understand the rules and at this time, we're going to have to crack down on the rules hard. The gray area of rulebending in Offtopic is finished, because too many users are unable to handle any relaxation of rules and step far over the line we allowed from G into light PG and right into R and sometimes X ...

 

 

 

Any threads that have been created for the sole purpose of describing sexuality, such as the 'have you ever caught them' thread, will be removed from public view. The funny pics thread that currently exists will be removed from public view, because it is full of images that are against our forum rules.

 

 

 

All topics will be checked over carefully from this point forward.

 

 

 

Censorship? Yes.. you bet... because this is not an open adult forum. It is part of a gaming forum whose rules are not geared for adults.

 

 

 

Let's get Offtopic back to what it should be...

 

 

 

~Turtlefemm--on behalf of The Tip.It Administrative Team

 

 

 

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--->Your Guide to Posting in Offtopic<---

[anonymous1234]

Man, my 2 favorite threads gone now. I only have one objection: This has NEVER been a G rated forum. Lets see: breastfeeding, I want a girlfriend advice, racism, homosexuality, what happens when you expose a kid to sex and violence, first kiss, 4chan, zombie breakout weapon choices and escape plans, Scientology, marijuana and other drugs, intense religious, moral, and social beliefs debates. Otherwise though, you made a wise decision for the future of off-topic. Thank God I saved all the pics from the funny pictures thread! :

[Adam007]

Nicely put. I think this thread should also be a place of discussion for what is and isn't allowed too. The policy is most mature topics are still allowed, right? We can still have G-rated conversation about most mature topics without getting explicit. What's important right now though is getting the boards cleaner feeling it seems.

[RichieMcD]

I think keep it the way it was. But take a much more serious approach to rule breakers. Let there be topics with the mature tag IMO. The mature tag provides a warning to users that the topic contains mature conversations, if they look at the topic and are offended then that is their fault for entering the topic since it was clearly shown it contains mature content.

 

 

 

I agree with you that some posts are just nasty and should be censored while topics like "have you ever caught them" should be allowed since the mature tag is in place and as long as posts aren't to graphic I think they're ok.

 

 

 

In a nutshell, allow mature topics, but take a much more serious approach to trolls / spammers / rule-breakers etc etc.

[Lenticular_J]

Okay, I guess, not my place to really argue or anything. But can't we try to keep nearly every single topic from turning to country versus country, or pointless arguing about the war in Iraq as well? :/

[1_man_army]

I don't think a mature tag would work, it would likely attract more younger readers to those topics as it would make them more obvious.

[Furah]

while I did like some of the pictures in the funny pictures thread, some of them were just inappropriate, and I guess it was neccessary to delete it. IMO the have you ever caught them? thread should never have been allowed, it was just asking to abuse the forum rules

[Agunimon979]

How many little kids actually stray into the offtopic section? IMO they all stay in the runescape parts.

[Da Pirates]

The Breastfeeding thread sure is G-Rated :roll:

[ThurinEthir]

Sure, any way to reduce rulebreakers, trolls and the like is good.

 

Though one thing I don't entirely agree with...Why G? Why not PG? Is the age requirement for this forum not 13? I would even push for PG-13, but I realize that there are those who are not 13 yet, but have gotten parental consent. To be honest, PG isn't even that much harsher than G, I actually don't understand the difference...Some mild language (Which should be allowed? Not full out swearing but some...), maybe a bit of violence (Come on...If RuneScape were a movie it would probably be rated PG...), and maybe some small references to more mature topics. However, I agree that content that could be rated R shouldn't be allowed at all, while most thirteen year olds these days have probably seen a good handful of R rated movies, morally, that stuff shouldn't be allowed.

 

But yes. While some threads could controversially be seen as PG-R borderline topics, some have gone too far over the line...Though they could be funny, they were inappropriate as well. While I don't mind, I'm sure there are some who do.

 

 

 

And maybe sticky this?

[Lenin64]

Bravissimo! Censorship is necessary in almost every environment unless it's one to be designed without it, and that's not what OT is. The forum is slipping, hopefully this will bring it around. I never understood the difference between G and PG, though....and yea, violence. When I'm around, there's sure to be plenty, that's already apparant. And sticky's a good idea, or maybe even an announcement?

[Adam007]

I think keep it the way it was. But take a much more serious approach to rule breakers. Let there be topics with the mature tag IMO. The mature tag provides a warning to users that the topic contains mature conversations, if they look at the topic and are offended then that is their fault for entering the topic since it was clearly shown it contains mature content.

 

 

 

I agree with you that some posts are just nasty and should be censored while topics like "have you ever caught them" should be allowed since the mature tag is in place and as long as posts aren't to graphic I think they're ok.

 

 

 

In a nutshell, allow mature topics, but take a much more serious approach to trolls / spammers / rule-breakers etc etc.

 

The mature obviously wasn't working when the "caught them" thread was the most popular thread for weeks. Putting up "mature" in the title can't suddenly mean anything goes. I think that's the lesson learned, and the reason for this. The board was given that leeway, but it just didn't work. Things got too explicit and out of hand.

 

 

 

@penguin: I think G-rating is more of a message they're trying to get across. PG content is obviously allowed, but we'd just be getting into semantics if we started analyzing what's G, what's PG, what's PG-13. G basically means parents are fine with the content.

[Abyssalwhip]

2 best OT threads are gone and now this, god these forums are going to SUCK now. You have to be 13+ to play this game (not like anyone listens) yet we can't go past PG on these forums? The older part of tipit is usually here anyway which is usually 16+. All the good topics are gone now, funny pictures, ever caught them etc, LOTS of people who are only here for OT, including probably me are going to quit

 

Most of the topics here were pg-13 anyway which is the age limit for RS so technically being under 13 and on these forums is breaking runescape rules also. Those threads were popular for a reason, they were interesting unlike oil price threads that no one could give 2 craps about. Yes, topics about "LOL I DID MY SISTER" should be deleted, we should at least be able to take a vote on it.

 

 

 

TLDR version: the forums are going to suck now.

 

 

 

Goodbye OT.

 

 

 

Everyone welcome the Hello Kitty Online forums.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come to think of it I'll stick around anyway just for the tards cheering I'm going.

[rushrock]

Those mature tags kind of take away what Off-Topic is supposed to be like. It's become a cesspool lately. Nothing is interesting anymore. I no longer have the desire to check on this place as much as I did. Perhaps this enforcement plan can bring back more quality posts from new and old users alike. If the community cooperates, we can revive the Off-Topic forums.

[rushrock]

2 best OT threads are gone and now this, god these forums are going to SUCK now. You have to be 13+ to play this game (not like anyone listens) yet we can't go past PG on these forums? The older part of tipit is usually here anyway which is usually 16+

 

Shut your mouth and stop pretending like you know OT's capabilities.

[Bac_Talan]

2 best OT threads are gone and now this, god these forums are going to SUCK now. You have to be 13+ to play this game (not like anyone listens) yet we can't go past PG on these forums? The older part of tipit is usually here anyway which is usually 16+

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye OT.

 

 

 

Everyone welcome the Hello Kitty Online forums.

 

 

 

Just go back to /b/. :roll:

[Abyssalwhip]

2 best OT threads are gone and now this, god these forums are going to SUCK now. You have to be 13+ to play this game (not like anyone listens) yet we can't go past PG on these forums? The older part of tipit is usually here anyway which is usually 16+

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye OT.

 

 

 

Everyone welcome the Hello Kitty Online forums.

 

 

 

Just go back to /b/. :roll:

 

And now we have to protect it for the 8 year olds like you who have nothing better to do than flame.

[limpbizkit]

To join this forum it says you need to be 13.

 

Most the content was fine in that area.

 

But tbh the forums going down the drain its just waiting for rock bottom.

 

I mean ... What is most of ot these days? News threads.

[Bac_Talan]

2 best OT threads are gone and now this, god these forums are going to SUCK now. You have to be 13+ to play this game (not like anyone listens) yet we can't go past PG on these forums? The older part of tipit is usually here anyway which is usually 16+

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye OT.

 

 

 

Everyone welcome the Hello Kitty Online forums.

 

 

 

Just go back to /b/. :roll:

 

And now we have to protect it for the 8 year olds like you who have nothing better to do than flame.

 

 

 

That was an honest suggestion. If you want content like what was on those threads, go to somewhere that allows it. Sure, a lot of users here are 16+, but there are also definitely quite a few who are under 12. If you want mature content, go to a mature forum.

 

 

 

Back on topic: It was probably time to get those restrictions implemented. Those rules had definitely been bent too far...

 

 

 

...By posts such as that X-rated post you made near the end of the first mature thread, Abyssalwhip. :-#

[Abyssalwhip]

 

 

 

Just go back to /b/. :roll:

 

And now we have to protect it for the 8 year olds like you who have nothing better to do than flame.

 

 

 

That was an honest suggestion. If you want content like what was on those threads, go to somewhere that allows it. Sure, a lot of users here are 16+, but there are also definitely quite a few who are under 12. If you want mature content, go to a mature forum.

 

 

 

1. 12 and under shouldn't even be here

 

2. /b/ is basically "LOLZ MY SISTER IS HOT".

[limpbizkit]

Omg abyssal's making sense. Oo

[Adam007]

 

Goodbye OT.

 

 

Am I taking this out of context? Goodbye Abyssal?

 

It's always been clear what you want from these forums. And I just don't think this is the place for you. The forum isn't becoming kiddie or anything. In fact, it should get more mature. Because when you're immature and you're talking about mature stuff, you just come off as being even more immature. This forum has always been family friendly but mature. Admins are just trying to keep it that way.

[Abyssalwhip]

Omg abyssal's making sense. Oo

 

Weird isn't it? Also Adam, I'm not saying this should be like /b/, but not saying it should be like this either:

 

http://forumus.sanriotown.com/

[____]

2 best OT threads are gone and now this, god these forums are going to SUCK now. You have to be 13+ to play this game (not like anyone listens) yet we can't go past PG on these forums? The older part of tipit is usually here anyway which is usually 16+. All the good topics are gone now, funny pictures, ever caught them etc, LOTS of people who are only here for OT, including probably me are going to quit

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye OT.

 

 

 

Everyone welcome the Hello Kitty Online forums.

 

Let the door hit you on the way out. Those two thread were absolute crap and brought more tards into OT than I have ever seen over the last 7 years.

 

I was only here for OT and it were those threads which made me not want to stay.

[Nadril]

Please tell me abyssal is leaving.

 

 

 

And the "ever caught them thread" brought in more [cabbage]ty users.