“The Rules...”

[HotWhiteThirties]

So, I have read the forum for several years and started contributing more in the last year or so. I am very thankful for reading the insights of so many and I’d like to take the opportunity to express that, sincerely. I also recognize that discussion boards have rules. Many times I will read experienced and long-time posters reference the “rules”’of the forum. I’ve sorta picked up on several of them - some are common sense. And then some seem to be handed down. I am inherently a rule follower. The other day I was searching for these “rules” - clicking all over the forum links to discover them. Forgive me if I am inept in some way, but can someone point me to where they are written? I want to respect everyone and do my best to abide by them. Just imagined they would be assembled in one place and readily accessible. Perhaps they are hiding in plain sight - which I suspect. I finally decided to ask and risk the embarrassment of being pointed in the obvious direction assuming my folly might help others. Cheers!

[+ nycman]

https://www.companyofmen.org/help/terms

[HotWhiteThirties]

Thanks so much! I knew it was there somewhere, and I would feel like an idiot when it was posted. They certainly didn’t jump out at me. Nevertheless...one of those burning questions. Hope it is helpful for someone else as well.

[+ Tarte Gogo]

There is a link also at the very bottom right of every page.

 

Please note the admins/moderators have their own interpretation of these rules.

 

For example:

“1. Attacks against members will only be acted upon at the request of the member being attacked.”

Their interpretation of this sentence is “you will be banned if you report an attack against a member who is not you”.

 

Also, this one:

“Posters who violate a rule will receive a warning from the moderators via their private inbox or by email. Second and third violations will result in a suspension of posting privileges for 30 days.”

 

... is interpreted by the (or some only? Idk) moderators as “you will sometimes get a 7-day ban for violating a rule without any warning whatsoever”.

[HotWhiteThirties]

I wasn't aware of all the rules, but I do like the attack ban rule. As much of a posting hoar I've been, the attacks at me are very minimal, primarily because all one has to do is see who posted a message to know if they want to read the content or not. Some bitch about everything, others write small novels, but most fall somewhere in-between. I love it here.[/Q

 

Well, apparently they were hiding in plain sight to my blind eyes! Ha! I am thankful to have had them pointed out. I enjoy reading and learning. For the most part no one takes themselves too serious and can take a joke. Humor can be hard to convey in words. Most forum members seem to have a good handle on it. When they don’t, my approach so far is to keep my mouth shut....errr....I mean, fingers still. ;-)

[+ nycman]

Overall the rules aren’t that hard to abide by and for the most

part management seems to side with “freedom of speech”,

which being an occasional wisecracking loud mouth....

I appreciate.

 

Open discourse is the crux of any civilized society.

 

Nonetheless, we have to remember this isn’t our house and

we are all “guests” here. None of us has an unalienable

“right” to anything in these forums. Not even free speech.

Not even a “fair” application of the “rules”. Not even

a voice in how things are done.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I prefer the ol' tried and true 'Don't Be An Asshole' rule of thumb

Edited February 26, 2018 by Benjamin_Nicholas

[rogerG]

I prefer the ol' tried and true 'Don't Be An Asshole' rule of thumb

For some, that's easier said than done.

[rvwnsd]

I prefer the ol' tried and true 'Don't Be An Asshole' rule of thumb

 

For some, that's easier said than done.

It is like practicing (un)common sense.

[Aquarionsol]

There also seems to be the rule of not posting an escort or masseur’s Instagram page but posting their escorting and/or masseur pages are okay.

[hornytwells]

There also seems to be the rule of not posting an escort or masseur’s Instagram page but posting their escorting and/or masseur pages are okay.

Well isn't that because their escort ads are advertising their profession but their Instagram can be personal and is often under their real name?

[Aquarionsol]

Well isn't that because their escort ads are advertising their profession but their Instagram can be personal and is often under their real name?

I am assuming so but often their professional page contains their personal telephone number which is also sensitive personal identifiable information. The images some would be considered non-sensitive PII but a majority I would say would be sensitive PII because you could find their Instagram, Twitter, and in some case Facebook account.

[+ Tarte Gogo]

I am assuming so but often their professional page contains their personal telephone number which is also sensitive personal identifiable information. The images some would be considered non-sensitive PII but a majority I would say would be sensitive PII because you could find their Instagram, Twitter, and in some case Facebook account.

Yeah, there is a general principle (not explicit in the rules, but you can infer it) that if an escort has put some publicly available info (phone or image) that can help you identify them in their non-escort life, then that could just be a mistake and not voluntary, and so you shouldn’t make it worse by linking directly to their non-escort identity.

 

I am ok with that (we should add it to the rules explicitly) but only if we cannot be sure whether it is a mistake, not when the escort clearly has put his name out there voluntarily.

[rvwnsd]

Here is the rule:

 

"2. No personal information may be posted about other posters. This includes all information that could identify a person, including photographs and other images. Personal information that an individual has publicly provided may be allowed in some cases. But we ask you to always err on the side of respecting the others who come here and those who are the subject of discussion here. "

 

What isn't clear? Don't post the member's personal information. As the rule states, personal information that an individual has publicly posted may be allowed. An escort's ad is publicly posted and the information he puts in that ad is public information. If you have a question about whether posting a link to an ad is permissible, then ask an admin. What is so hard about this?

[+ Tarte Gogo]

What isn't clear? Don't post the member's personal information.

Nope, because your Instagram public information is 100% public, so no, claiming that it is clear, in the rules as stated now, that posting a link to an Instagram public account will get you banned without warning is just ... well, that is just silly.

 

Plus, apparently the admins don’t have time to send warnings as stated in the rules, so I don’t think they would have time for questions like this.

[Nvr2Thick]

Nope, because your Instagram public information is 100% public, so no, claiming that it is clear, in the rules as stated now, that posting a link to an Instagram public account will get you banned without warning is just ... well, that is just silly.

 

Plus, apparently the admins don’t have time to send warnings as stated in the rules, so I don’t think they would have time for questions like this.

 

If you choose your own interpretation of the rules it can get you into trouble. If you take a common sense approach things will go better. The escort's ad is what the escort chose to post publicly, including the phone number. The phone number may or may not be personally identifiable information, depending on whether that phone number ties back to the escort's real name, or whether he chose to create a number for escort business through an alias or Google Voice or something similar. If you discover the escort's public social media pages through simple searches or exhaustive research this forum owner does not want you to expose that information. At that point you're making the direct connection to personal information that the escort has not chosen to directly associate with his ad or his business. Similarly, if I meet an escort at his home, that address is "public information" but it would be stupid to propose that I can post that address to the forum because it seems to fit the rules.

 

I've discovered real names, Facebook and Instagram pages, names and pictures of spouses and boyfriends and relatives, addresses, places of business, arrest records... for dozens of escorts. All of this is publicly available but I'm smart enough to know that it all crosses the personal information line laid out in the forum rules. Pretending not to understand the intent of this rule won't earn you much respect or sympathy.

[+ Tarte Gogo]

Pretending not to understand the intent of this rule won't earn you much respect or sympathy.

 

I had a strike for posting a name that was publicly visible inside an escort’s rentmen ad (description section) I think I know what I am talking and I have no problem repeating that the admin’s interpretation is not always what you describe as the common sense approach.

And I’d love it if they could apply their own rules to themselves, too.

[+ FreshFluff]

Don't stare at men or talk too much.

Never accept a Saturday night date after Wednesday.

Don't live with a man before marriage.

 

Oh, right. You were asking about the rules, not The Rules.

[Nvr2Thick]

I had a strike for posting a name that was publicly visible inside an escort’s rentmen ad (description section) I think I know what I am talking and I have no problem repeating that the admin’s interpretation is not always what you describe as the common sense approach.

And I’d love it if they could apply their own rules to themselves, too.

 

Perhaps you could ask for a refund.

[+ Tarte Gogo]

Perhaps you could ask for a refund.

No, but I am not giving any more money.

[rvwnsd]

...If you take a common sense approach things will go better. ... I'm smart enough to know that it all crosses the personal information line laid out in the forum rules. Pretending not to understand the intent of this rule won't earn you much respect or sympathy.

And there you have it, folks.