Moderators, guidelines and how they are enforced.
 

Ok - Time to openly clarify our guidelines, who enforces them and how they enforce them.

Who are we?
Our team of moderators, super-moderators and administrators can be found here:
Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - List of moderators
We are a friendly Ford-Truck owning bunch, so feel free to contact any of us, we are happy to help.
If you have a problem with your truck, try using the search function or post your question in the forum that covers your problem. As much as we would like to think we are experts on everything... we might struggle diagnosing your electrical issue on your 76 highboy in the Appearance Forum. :-X07 )
You will see us posting around the site (our names are highlighted in red) and your forum moderator can be found in the top left corner of each forum.

What are we here to do?
Hopefully give you a fun, enjoyable and informative place to chat with others of similar interests. We welcome everyone and we try our best to encourage a polite, friendly and informative atmosphere. To maintain all of this, we have a few rules, the lastest of which can be found here:
Ford Truck Enthusiasts - Discussion Forum Guidelines

How do we enforce these guidelines?
The million dollar question. We have a system just like your frequent flyer miles.
Earn some miles, earn a vacation!
Here are some of the things you can spend your posts on to earn miles, how many miles it gets you, and how long the miles are valid for!

• Site Troll
  Points: 1
  Lasts: 3 Months
  
  
• Signature Rule Violation
  Points: 1
  Lasts: 2 Months
  
  
• Insulted Other Member(s)
  Points: 2
  Lasts: 12 Months
  
  
• Inappropriate Language
  Points: 2
  Lasts: 12 Months
  
  
• User Posting Classified Ad In Forums
  Points: 2
  Lasts: 6 Months
  
  
• Contravened Guidelines
  Points: 2
  Lasts: 6 Months
  
  
• Negative Racial/prejudicial comments
  Points: 5
  Lasts: 6 Months
  
  
• Minor Spammed Advertisements - Commercial Advertiser
  Points: 5
  Lasts: 12 Months
  
  
• Major Spammed Advertisements - Commercial Advertiser
  Points: 30
  Lasts forever and ever and ever

How far can I go with all these points?
We have a bonus program here at FTE, you can earn vacations by points, or by the number of trips you make!
Points based vacations:

• 5 Points - 3 Days
• 7 Points - 7 Days
• 10 Points - 10 Days
• 12 Points - 2 Weeks
• 14 Points - Permanent

Trip based vacations (a/k/a Infractions):

• 3 Infractions - 3 Days
• 5 Infractions - 7 Days
• 7 Infractions - 10 Days
• 8 Infractions - 2 Weeks
• 9 Infractions - Permanent

In lieu to issuing you frequent flyer points, moderators can elect to give you a warning. They are allowed to do this at their own discretion, if you are fortunate enough to be bestowed with one of these esteemed warnings, we suggest you heed it. FTE vacations aren't as pleasant as they are made out to be.
Super moderators are bestowed with the additional ability to give you "custom" infractions. Think of this as a tailor made holiday fit to your specific requirements.
Administrators in addition to all of these wonderful travel tools have the ability to send you on a permanent vacation with no points whatsoever! Consider yourself special if you are the recipient of one of these wonderful life long vacations.

I got a vacation, and I didn't earn it?
All appeals to warnings/points/vacations/brownies that are issued should go via PM to a moderator or super moderator. If PM coverage is difficult in your vacation location, you may e-mail info@ford-trucks.com.
This advice also goes for any friends that are found to be on a surprise vacation.

Vacations are non-refundable. They do not allow a return flight until your designated return date. :)

Awesome post, Ade.....

This stuff comes up now and again. Question....

If you get an infraction, or a point, or whatever......Is it so obvious that you cannot log onto FTE without KNOWING that you received one?

In other words....A message pops up.......Or there's a 'message' in your 'inbox' telling you......or whatever........This is an honest question. I can't remember ever having gotten one, although I've broken nearly every rule (except for advertising), and I know I've PO'd a couple of moderators........Not on purpose, of course......:-innocent

Just wondering.

If you get a Warning or Infraction, you receive a PM from whomever hit you up. Unfortunately, if you are so bad as to get banned for however long, you won't know it until your allowed back on FTE. I've asked about this before and they have no way of changing it from a PM to email.

Also, just an FYI, you know that Warm & Fuzzy feeling you get now & then that only you can feel and only you know its there unless YOU tell others, thats how Warnings/Infractions work - they are not visable to other users so no one knows you got one unless you tell them.

Steve, good question.
A notification will appear at the top of the page as soon as you are the recipient of one, you will receive a PM from a moderator explaining why you received an infraction.
A list of all of your infractions will appear in your User CP (both expired infractions and ones with points still outstanding).
Essentially if you are a recipient of an infraction, you won't miss it ;)

It is quite rare that moderators hand out infractions Steve, despite getting well over 5,000 posts a day, and having over 1/2 a million members we probably average one infraction a day, we entrust our users to be self policing, and the team will typically reach out to people via PM to clarify our guidelines or possibly post in a thread to let someone know that they have violated the rules, it is also distinctly possible on occasions we will ignore some violations.
If our warnings are not heeded, then we typically follow up with issuing infractions on further violations.
You (and 99.9% of our other members) don't have an infraction Steve.

Great post and very informative.

Thanks for posting this .... Good advice ..... So does GMC and Chevy adds on this site get points and infractions ?? :eek::-X04

Well. Thanks to you and the rest of the Staff for being patient and abiding....:-X22

I would be banned :-X14 - they help keep the lights on, and if nothing else, I see it as a compliment that they are that envious of our nice Fords :p

Which of course is what makes FTE what it is.

Then again there is also the "Rule of Nine"
Avoid posting anything at FTE that you would not want your nine year old son, daughter, or grandkids to see you writing... :-X22

Great info Adrian and thanks for posting it. Clarifies some lingering questions that have been asked before.

Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. Hope it is for now and into the future.

Adrian, this is a great post and a long time coming.

GOOD JOB! and I like your approach.

Transparency is a wonderful thing.

Keith - our moderation practices and the guidelines we enforce are both in constant evolution as both the needs of our users change and as we (as moderators) learn how to serve those needs better.

If you were not the recipient of a PM upon receiving an infraction in the past - my apologies, it is a practice our moderators heed and my experience is that our moderators communicate very effectively with our users when they notice an issue/concern.
I note that the one infraction you received (some time ago - and has long since expired) which I assume you are referring to was issued when the infraction system was in its infancy, and frankly we failed to understand its use/effectiveness like we do today.
Given your infraction has expired - it will play no bearing on your account status now, nor in the future.
Adrian

It was a frivolous infraction anyway and I know the reasons it was assigned...as do you. :D I have no fear of it impacting my status here.

To apply a phrase: "I wasn't looking for work when I found this job" ;)

And no need to apologize, my friend, as it was not your doing. But, I certainly appreciate the overture.

BTW: Where the heck is my XXL "T" shirt......:-X09


:-missingt

Shoot Keith, you just let everyone know that you had that warm & fuzzy feeling. (it wasn't me :D )

Sorry, couldn't resist.

BTW, long time no chat...........:-wink

And I miss you, too, Darlin'. We did have some fun...pushing buttons and all...way back then.

I bet you guys miss me there...on the dark side. Ha, ha. :-X14