Rules of play - please read

[Danzar]

Hi folks

Please keep in mind these RWO community rules that have stood the test of time for 14 years: Announcements - RWO Swans Chat

From time-to-time I need to ban members when they regularly breach these rules. I honestly hate doing it, so PLEASE take a few minutes and read this thread and the rules above. Come back to it when you need to double check anything, and PM me if you don't like anything.

Some additional points I'd like to make:

RWO is a community of diverse minds united under a common purpose
You're obviously here to discuss the Sydney Swans Football Club, AFL football and local NSW/ACT football, and so is the rest of the community. Not everyone will align with your football or world views. Embrace that diversity - ask questions, follow lines of inquiry and if you hit a dead end, agree to disagree. As Frog says in the rules above - play the ball, not the man.

Arguments are totally cool, we're not a nanny forum
I don't want you to think that you cannot challenge another member's position, in fact, I encourage it. Just do it with respect, no matter how strong your feelings. It's easy to get pissed off, hard to get yourself out of it, so please take a breath and wait before responding. You're not alone on this, I need to heed my own advice sometimes.

Not one person on this forum knows another person's life story
If someone is pissing you off, consider this point because it's important. Everyone on here is notionally anonymous - I can't see you, you can't see me, so it's natural to personify. I guarantee you that the real person behind the keyboard is completely different to what you imagine.

Our mods are volunteers who work hard to maintain RWO's community standards
If you have an issue with any decision made by a moderator, please consider this first - mods are only maintaining the standards that have been set by the RWO community. Mods have normal jobs outside RWO, they have family, they have lives. The mods would love to spend less time modding and more time participating, so please respect that.

If you actively choose to hurt, snipe or troll other RWO members with enough consistency, you won't last one more minute on this forum. You will be banned.

Despite appearances, RWO is highly respected by the Bigfooty community
Yes, they don't like us much, but they do respect us. I've seen plenty of BF comments about how we're 'snobs', we're a 'talkfest', we're 'wankers' etc etc. While I completely disagree, this is the highest compliment they can give us because it means that we rise above the petty bickering, sniping, trolling and abuse that you'll see on other forums. It will be a sad day - and possibly the end of RWO - if we ever got to that point. Plus, RWO is Australian owned , unlike some footy forums

Lastly, no one on RWO is bigger than RWO.
This includes me, you, mods or anyone else. RWO is a community. Be wary of getting ahead of yourself. It doesn't matter how small or large, what you say has an impact on the community. Please keep that in mind and have respect for people's feelings.

Thank you for being part of the RWO community - it's nothing without you.

Dan