Over the past months we've received a lot of feedback around the way the site is being administered, moderated, and used by all posters.

It's clear from a cross section of feedback received that one of the more significant challenges all parties face is knowing and understanding why TalkingCarlton exists, and moreover how it can continue to do so productively for all of its nearly 2,500 members. Extending from this is knowing what is, and is not, acceptable as a member of Talking Carlton.

The guidelines as they existed admittedly caused some confusion to posters and moderators alike. In an effort to address this, the Site Guidelines have been, we feel, simplified and condensed into a more concise set of Site Rules. We see these rules as the starting point for a number of positive changes suggested by members of this site.

In addition, we've hired 3 PR firms, at a cost of $150,000 each, to come up with a TalkingCarlton Mission Statement. As soon as they got back to us with their suggestions we nicked off to the Bahamas, changed our addresses and refused to pay, choosing the best of them free of charge.

Now as with any rules applied by a group of different people, there will be challenges in interpretation. Unfortunately having a single moderator, who doesn't post, looking after the site of 2,500 members 24x7 isn't feasible. We are humans, not robots, and we are not naïve enough to think that the issue of 'consistency', perceived or otherwise, is solved with a batch of revised rules.

However, we do feel that these rules better equip the team to make shades of grey a bit closer to black - or rather, navy blue - and white than the previous guidelines.

Free Speech - a hot topic over the past week - was and remains a key factor of making and keeping this site successful. 'Free speech' though does not mean open slather on your fellow posters, players, coaches or club administrators.

Finally, the feedback from a number of posters and particularly the Senior Members Group has been invaluable in helping to compile these rules. Rules, however, mean nothing if they are not enforced. Admins & Moderators can and will enforce these rules, but there's only a handful of us.

When it comes to enforcing the posting rules of TalkingCarlton, the best equipped person is the one reading this post. Think. Then Post.


Update: All forms of posting on the site (including PMs) are able to be officially reported using the report button ( ) at the bottom right corner of every message.

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Congratulations CK95

Welcome to TalkingCarlton, please take a moment to familiarise yourself with our site rules.

We hope that everyone who visits this site has a good time, has a great discussion, picks up some good info, maybe meets some new friends.

TalkingCarlton is open to everyone, but naturally it will be most suited to all those who love the Navy Blue!

Please adhere to the following rules, and your time spent here should be an enjoyable one.

TalkingCarlton Mission Statement & Posting Rules

1.0 - TalkingCarlton.com is an independent, family-friendly website that provides a forum for fans to respectfully chat about the club 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
To fulfill this mission, the site has three major attributes:

1.1 - The membership and participation of responsible contributors
1.2 - The maintenance of strict legal compliance
1.3 - The presence of active and respected moderators

These are defined as follows:

2.0 - Responsible Contributors - A responsible contributor will maintain ONE account only and will not allow a second party to use that account. He / she is core to the website’s success and its mission, and will adhere to the following rules and standards:

2.1 - No bullying or personal attacks, where bullying is defined as “persistent acts intended to make life unpleasant for another person or persons”;
2.2 - No circular arguments, cross posting, off-topic posts, duplicates, or pointless posting sprees;
2.3 - No foul language or foreign language;
2.4 - No inappropriate content or offensive websites - in keeping with our Mission Statement;
2.5 - No trolling, where trolling is defined as “A person who posts to a newsgroup, bulletin board, etc., in a way intended to anger other posters and to cause drama, or otherwise disrupt the group's intended purpose; A deliberately inflammatory post to a newsgroup, etc.”;
2.6 - No personal details or unsolicited use of personal information;
2.7 - No offensive signatures / avatars.

3.0 - Strict Legal Compliance – The following will not be tolerated under any circumstances:

3.1 - Defamation;
3.2 - Racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, or religious intolerance;
3.3 - Posting of rumours or innuendo. This will be enforced at the Moderators discretion, keeping in mind the owner of the site is liable for the views expressed here. If in doubt regarding a rumour, send a Private Message to a Moderator for guidance first;
3.4 - Posting of illegal content or activities, in keeping with our Mission Statement;
3.5 - Failure to attribute sources in quoting and referencing, particularly from commercial sites (quoting a sentence or a single paragraph with a URL like or other reference is acceptable; quoting an entire article is not permitted);
3.6 - Use of this website for commercial advertising, which includes for sale posts and posting links to other commercial websites or offers;

4.0 - Active and Respected Moderators – Active moderation is also core to the website’s success and its mission. It is a task undertaken through goodwill and on a voluntary basis. Therefore:

4.1 - Moderators should be treated with respect. Disagreement with a Moderator is fine, but is only to be expressed via a Private Message (PM) or respectfully in the TalkingIssues forum. Disagreement with Moderators or the decisions of moderators is not to be posted on other message boards.
4.2 - Breaches of the above rules are at the discretion of the Moderator team. Moderators have the following enforceable actions at their disposal should any of the above rules be breached:

- Deletion or editing of the post to remove breach of Rules
- Bans in duration from 1 day to 1 month at the discretion of moderators
- Permanent bans for serious offences

New Guidelines - Version 4: 26/9/2012

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Congratulations CK95

If you wish to discuss these new rules, please follow this link:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=25087

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The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect

#DopeThenStash