Posting Guidelines

( Excerpting from the old guidelines )

What makes a bad post to Toledo Talk?

Posting a link to your homepage and asking for feedback is a bad post. Self-promotion isn't what this site is about. Self promotion can be "earned." If you consistently post thought-provoking comments or topics on the site, people will click on your name to know you better. On the profile page, you can put your own URL and people can check that out.

If your topic or comment is better served by referring to information on your personal website, that's okay.

What about making posts to the front page to sell things? No.

Flagrant self-promotion by pretending to be someone else will result in the account being deactivated.

A new front page posting that is a negative attack against another Toledo Talk user will not be tolerated. We get enough of that in comments. But making the attack on another user the main subject of a new thread will result in the poster's account being deactivated.

Creating multiple accounts and pretending to be different people will result in all of the user's known accounts being deactivated.

And lastly, don't troll, which means posting inflammatory messages for the sole purpose of baiting others to argue the points until blue in the face. People "troll" for kicks and to destroy conversations and communites. Intelligent discussion and debate is preferred.

Follow the golden rule, treat others' opinions with the same respect that you would like to be treated.

Failure to follow these guidelines may result in your posts being deleted, your posting rights revoked, or your account banned. If you have any questions, contact the admin.

ToledoTalk.com is NOT a free speech zone.

Some people think they should be allowed to post whatever they want on a message board that's owned and funded by someone else. And if these users are denied the ability to post whatever and however they want, then they believe the site owner is engaged in censorship. That's all wrong thinking.

I'll let other Toledo Talk users explain how it works.

photodan said in April 2005:

"jr has every right to make this site as closed or even as censored as he wants it to be. If he decided that the word, "it" was not allowed to be posted then that is his right. This is not free speech. We are only allowed to post here at jr's whim since he's the one paying for it. He owns the space we are scrawling upon."

psyche777 said in June 2005:

"There is no such thing as free speech on message boards -- they are controlled by those who own them. So unless you own your own? pretty much have to play by whatever rules exist."

ToledoTalk.com is NOT an equal rights zone.

September 2009 comment in a thread that technically violated these posting guidelines:

I'll admit to a favorable bias toward long-time, active contributors. More leeway exists for those gold members. If a new user had made a similar post, the thread probably would been removed.

Posting anonymously.

I have no problem with it. More thoughts on the subject.