*new* Forum Rules & Guidelines

[Sewadar]

Moderation Rules

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The SikhSangat.com Team has had a discussion about the moderation rules of the forum over the past few weeks. We have all agreed to the following moderation system/rules and have committed to follow this system for the betterment of the sangat and to provide more clarity and reasoning for giving warnings and putting members under moderation. We want to make this available for all the members so there's no confusion as to why they were given a warning or placed under moderation. Remember, we don't have enmity towards anyone we all seek one purpose and all have a common goal. We want to make this site as best as possible according to gurmat and want to bring forth the qualities of gursikhi like peace, love and compassion in the topics being discussed, the only thing we request is for all members post with love and humility.

Please review the following moderation rules before posting:

Not following the forum rules will result in putting the member on moderation. The mod must direct the user to the rule which the user violated when putting him under moderation.

A member will be given a warning for:

1. Insulting, name-calling and labeling other members; this includes both the initiating person and the person retaliating.
   
2. Writing derogatory comments about different jathas of the Sikh panth. Any particular practice of a jatha can be questioned but must be done so in a respectful and non-offensive manner.
   
3. Insulting the Sikh Shaheeds and those of the Khalistan movement and criticizing Sikh fighters without any concrete evidence.
   
   
4. Indirect personal attacks, sarcasm towards another member's posts and a negative tone of speech are also liable for a warning.
   

Two warnings will be given to a user to modify his/her behavior and adhere to the forum rules. Two warning within the same week will result in moderation for 15 days. The third warning will result user being placed under moderation for 30 days or until 40 qualitative posts (whichever occurs later) have been posted showing improvement in behavior and language according to the forum rules.

Upon receiving 3 warnings, if the user continues to violate forum rules the fourth time, it will result in the user being banned from the forum indefinitely.

Admin/Mod who issues the third warning will be assigned to that user and will be responsible for keeping track, proving/unapproving and monitoring the quality of all the posts of that member.

After the requirement has been met, the user must write to the Admin or Moderator stating why he/she should be taken off of moderation and how they will strive to make better posts. The user will stay under moderation if no improvements are shown in their posts. If any user disagrees with the decision he/she can contact the mod via PM and try to resolve the dispute. If that doesn’t work then he/she can open a ticket and appeal to the Admin to re-consider the case.

Here are the list of rules that will result in the user being placed directly under moderation, skipping the moderation system.

• Death threats, soliciting and private messaging bibis on the forum.
  
• Supporting the Indian government for attacking Darbar Sahib and justifying the 1984 massacre.
  
• Supporting excommunicated people like Kala afghana and spokespersons.
  
• Supporting Anti-Sikh organizations/sects/cults and their affiliated websites.
  
• Posting adult or obscene audio/visual content on the site.
  
• Posting topics/links against the basic principles of Sikhi.
  

**Asking questions for educational reasons is allowed but all posts must be approved by the moderator in that topic.

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