I've worked with phpBB in a couple of incarnations; one of which (as popularized by the IPB) Have a report button above every post; where people have the option of reporting a post (or a thread) to a moderator for disciplinary action. Can that be implemented? It might streamline activity down to where threads and posts can be effectively weeded out quickly and mercifully.
Additionally, I think that the FAQ might need a bit of brush-up; let me give examples:
Phade wrote:Hey All,
Here is the collection of site forum rules. This list will be modified as rules are added and/or changed.
The AnimeMusicVideos.org Code of Ethics:
<ol><li> <b>Thou shalt be courteous at all times</b> including visiting conventions, forum posts, opinions given, and opinions received. Respect other's judgment though you may disagree with it. <b>If you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all.</b></li><li>Thou shalt not use downloaded video footage to make AMVs.</li><li> Thou shalt not use downloaded music to make AMVs.</li><li> Thou shalt not use pirated software: No warez, No serialz, No crackz.</li><li> Thou shalt only have one user account.</li><li>Thou shalt not put false information into the video catalog. </li><li>There shalt be only one catalog entry per video. </li><li>Thou shalt enter only the videos you created.</li><li>Thou shalt not steal other video creator's ideas.</li><li>Thou shalt not try to impersonate other video creators.</li></ol>The forum-specific rules:<ol><li>Do not abuse your site and forum privileges. Abuse will have them taken away.</li><li> Forum signature images shall not be larger than 40 pixels tall or 600 pixels wide; any sig image exceeding these limits will be removed from the sig file without warning. </li><li><b><i>NEW RULE:</i></b> Forum signatures shall have no greater total dimensions than 600 pixels wide and 80 pixels high or four lines of normal-sized text (font size 12). You may have multiple images in your signature, but no single image may exceed 600 pixels in length or 40 pixels in height. Any signature exceeding these total dimensions or any single image that goes beyond the aforementioned limits may be removed or altered without warning.</li><li> Linked forum avatars shall not be larger than 80 pixels tall or 80 pixels wide; any avatar image exceeding these limits will be removed from the sig file without warning. </li><li> If a member (most likely a newbie) posts to the wrong forum, you as a knowing member must 1) answer the question they posted and then 2) point out which forum is the most approprate one to post to about such items. The forum moderator will (most likely) soon move the thread. </li><li>If you post images in forum threads, you should own the bandwidth that is providing those images. If you steal bandwidth by linking to images you do not have server control over, those images will be removed from the post. </li><li> There shall be no posts containing or on how to obtain warez, crackz, serialz, porn/hentai, bootlegs, or downloadable anime episodes, music or any other sort of copyrighted material. You will be banned <b>without warning</b> for such posts.</li><li> The forum will not be used for any kind of personal attacks. </li></ol>Phade.
These are somewhat dependant on people having 'common sense' and the fact is, not a lot of people are internet savvy to HAVE common sense. A more direct approach would be beneficial. "How can you tell the difference between a flame and constructive criticism?"
The FAQ isn't very visible; perhaps putting copies of the FAQ thread into each forum, with forum-specific addendums added later would also provide an inscrutible layer for the staff to act and operate from; If someone posts pointlessly, then you can casually tell them- "The FAQ is at the top of the page, read it and weep."
And while it seems as though I'm asking you to cater to their stupidity, I'm not; I'm really asking for a stronger stance from which the administration can act from; in that if everything is identified from the get-go, then you have a stronger position from which to operate from, thus resulting in a decreased amount of stupidity.