All members please read on…

Over the past 24 hours many of you have witnessed a couple of situations that have taken place on the copywritersboard.

In order to clear the air and circumvent any rumors that may appear, I wanted to pass along some information that needs to be said.

Yesterday, Michel and the moderators got information that someone on the board was creating and using new identities to trump themselves up.

Just so you know, creating different identities is not really the problem, here. If you wish to create more than one identity, then you won't be in violation of the rules.

The big problem is when you use these fake identities to:

1) Send/receive private messages to non-suspecting fellow members.

In other words, you pretend to be someone you're not. This can be used to act as though you are a different gender or to get personal information that would not have been given if the unsuspecting person didn't know your true identity.

2) Impersonating somone else in regular thread discussions.

Some people post articles for others. This is perfectly acceptable. What is not acceptable is when the second identity is clearly a means to mislead or post false information -- rather than attempting to post anonymously.

3) Impersonating somone else to post congratulatory messages about yourself.

Number 1 and 2 are gray areas, and are sometimes acceptable depending on the situation. But number 3 clearly isn't. The praise is not only misleading, it's false. To me, that falls under "questionable" posts under forum rules -- akin to "spam" or posting false information.

Plus, the forums rules are clear: moderators have the right to edit, delete, move, ban, at their discretion. This forum is a privilege, not a right.

Please read the newly updated rules:

http://www.copywritersboard.com/spec...30-2007-a.html

This was one particular person that has violated rule regarding "questionable" and "false" posts, and somewhat the rules on "replying to threads" and "spam" (posts with no real content, such as "thank you" only, etc).

If you are unsure about the rules, please read them again.

On another note:

Today there was a rash of name-calling and personal attacks on the board.

This will not be tolerated.

We as moderators have been a bit relaxed lately as we know some of these are done in good fun, but when it starts getting nasty and personal, it will come to a screaching halt.

We want this place to be a peaceful, enjoyable learning experience for all.

You can disagree, and we can debate on substance. But please try and have respect for other member's opinions (we all have our own, but it doesn't always mean we're right, does it?) and it doesn't mean you have the right to publically humiliate someone else.

1. Report The Abusive/Questionable Post

If you feel abused or hurt in some way, rather than confront the poster publicly, send them a private message to ask them to clarify their position before jumping to conclusions.

Or if you feel someone has violated the rules, simply use the reporting feature -- the button on the top, righthand corner of the post.

2. Show Your Apprecitation By Rewarding Others

Similarly, if you wish to congratulate or thank someone for the content of their post, and your reply is simply a short "thank you" or whatever, please refrain from posting, and use the "add to user's reputation" button -- again, in the upper righthand corner of the post.

Adding to a user's reputation increases goodwill, increases their standing (on the board and in the search engines), and reduces the perception of favoritism, suspicion, and/or the possibility of breaking the above-mentioned rules.

(You can also rate threads by clicking on the vote link -- see "rating" link at the top of the thread.)

I want to thank each of you for keeping us mods informed when things look like their going in the tank.

Thankfully, over the past couple of years, this board hasn't had too many of these problems and our goal is to keep it this way.

Don't hesitate to PM us or contact us in the future with any questions or concerns you might have...

We're here to help and to serve all.

Stephen,

Thanks for the clarification. I think you guys are doing a fantastic job. I'd love to see this place and it's participants evolve into a forum where we can have healthy, thought-provoking discussions, where every dissenting post isn't interpreted as a personal attack, and where we can share and learn from each other.

Bruce

Ditto what Bruce said!