Carowinds Connection Code of Conduct

[Jonathan]

Revised June 3, 2009

Registration to the site now requires acceptance of the following Code of Conduct. Previously registered users should read the latest version of the rules, and by continuing to post on the forum your acceptance of the rules is assumed.

Moderators: Jonathan, JamminJ, montumax

If you see a post that violates the rules of the site, do not reply to it. Click the blue report post icon (it looks like an exclamation point “!”) within the post and give a brief description of the problem. This is the only way to report posts; it will alert the moderators who will decide what action is necessary, if any.

Federal Law requires that you be 13 years of age or older to register here. If you do not meet the age requirement, do not proceed with registration. If you are already registered and it is determined that you are under age 13, your account will be deleted. Although Carowinds Connection is suitable for all ages we are not permitted to collect personal data required for registration such as email addresses, IP numbers, etc, on individuals under age 13.

Code of Conduct:

1. Flaming: Do not post messages that harass, insult, belittle, threaten, or mock other members. Debates are fine and even encouraged, but you must critique the opinion, not the person.

2. Trolling: Do not post topics with the sole purpose of starting a dispute. Disagreeing with an opinion is not trolling. Even if a person has an opinion that seems illogical or senseless to you, they have the right to express that opinion, and you must respect it even if you disagree.

3. Spamming: Private messaging or emailing multiple members of this site the same message is not allowed. Double posting is also not allowed; there is an Edit button on your post that will allow you to modify its contents at any time. Posting solely to increase your post count is frowned upon, and an easy way to lose the respect of fellow board members. Before you post, consider whether your post will contribute to the discussion. Short responses that do not add anything of value are considered spam.

4. Offensive Posts: Any content that would generally be considered NSFW (Not Safe For Work) is not allowed on the boards. It is important to remember that you will be interacting on these boards with people of many different ages, sexes, races, religions, sexual orientations, etc. Always be considerate of others and remember that just because something is not offensive to you does not necessarily mean it will not be to others. Swearing is not allowed on the forum.

5. Grammar and Spelling: You are expected to make a concerted effort to use correct spelling and grammar on this website. This include proper capitalization and punctuation. Many browsers have built-in functionality that will check this for you. Firefox is the recommended browser of this site, and has such functionality. Internet chat shorthand (“r u going 2 the park today?”) is not permitted here, nor is slang.

6. Advertising: While links to other websites are permitted in your signature and profile, posting for the sole purpose of advertising for another website is not allowed. Links to external sites must provide some contribution to the topic being discussed.

7. Disclosure of Personal Information: Do not disclose information about another member including email, real name, address, phone number, IP address, or other personal information. This includes the posting contents of emails, private messages, warnings, infractions, and bans. Keep personal disputes personal.

8. Copyrighted Material: Generally you can assume that anything you find online is copyrighted. If you wish to post something you found online, you may quote a segment of it (but not the entire article or page), and provide a link for others to access it.

9. Outlandish claims of inside information: This is subjective and will be at the discretion of the moderator after consulting with other posters and other administrators. Deference will be given to veteran members who have established credibility.

10. Carowinds Employee Conduct: If you are an employee of Carowinds, Cedar Fair, or another park, do not assume you are anonymous here. You should abide on this forum by any code of conduct or non-disclosure agreements you signed or verbally agreed to for your job. Carowinds Connection has always had a positive relationship with the park; sharing inside information without permission here could impact your account here as well as your employment.

11. Playing the Role of Moderator: You are not a moderator so do not correct posters like one. If a thread or post violates the rules use the post reporting functionality mentioned above. Editorial comments such as “useless thread”, “in before the lock”, “this thread should be closed”, etc. on the value of a thread or post are not welcome. This may also be considered spam as it adds nothing to the discussion.

12. Moderator Abuse (Attacking/Disobeying the moderators): If you disagree with something the moderators did, fine, disagree and let us know (we welcome feedback), but do it politely through PM or email ONLY. Complaining on the forums is not permitted. If your thread or post was moved/closed/removed there was a good reason for it. Do not start a new one.

13. One Account Per User: You may not register a second account. This includes banned users.

14. Thread Hijacking: Leading a thread off topic to pursue a personal agenda or a discussion not relevant to the thread is not allowed.

15. Political and Religious Discussions: This forum does have an Off Topic section, but this does not extend to discussions surrounding political or religious issues. The prime purpose of this site is to discuss Carowinds, and controversial topics such as these bring out the worst in everyone on the Internet. This rule includes usernames, avatars, signatures, and profiles; these fields cannot be used to make political or religious statements.

16. Forum Signatures: Signatures may contain up to 5 lines of text. Images in signatures are limited to 60 pixels tall (accompanied by a maximum of 1 line of text), 50 pixels (with 2 lines of text), 35 pixels (3 lines of text), or 20 (4 lines).


At this point, there are no set punishment standards. The moderators will address all violations on a case by case basis. You can expect that minor offenses will be met first with a warning, and subsequent violations could be met with a temporary or permanent ban. Major violations could result in a ban without prior warning.

Do not plead the first amendment and cite your right to free speech. This is a privately owned website.

Furthermore, as every scenario cannot be anticipated, we reserve the right to remove any user at any time for any reason, even if it is not listed on this page.