Welcome to #mensa. Our channel guidelines are given below. There is also a general introduction to #mensa on our home page at http://alamo.satexas.com/~dizzy/mensa.html.
Topics of conversation
Almost any topic can be discussed, e.g. computers, travel, food, politics, music, philosophy or current events. But often the chat is just witty banter.
Any channel member may introduce a new topic.
Please do not persist with a new topic if there is little or no evidence of interest from others. Similarly, please do not drone on about a topic in which interest from others seems to have died. In either case, you can always attempt to start the topic again later, when others who have an interest may be present.
We do not welcome people who come to the the channel with the principal purpose of preaching to us some particular point of view or creed.
That would include people who enter the channel then immediately post political opinions or URLs, or who wish to give us religious or moral instruction, or who continually try to bend the conversation around to some particular political view.
Monologues are discouraged.
Please do not overwhelm us with a series of new topics in quick succession. There are many fine channels where such quick successions are the norm, e.g. by the rapid posting of series of URLs. But #mensa is not of that nature.
Restrictions
The chat cannot be of interest to all channel members at all times. Therefore, there are no restrictions on idling. If the topic of conversation is of no interest to you, you can safely leave your nick in the channel while you chat in another channel or get on with something in real life. That way, you are able to check on the #mensa chat at any time, then join in if it has become interesting to you.
We expect the chat to be kept civil. Chatters do poke fun at each other when they know each other well, and that is fine. But deliberately hurtful insults, name calling or verbal harassment are not permitted.
Insults or pejorative language targeting the members of a particular race, religion, nationality, gender or sexual orientation are not permitted.
The chat must be kept respectable. We may have minors present. Offensive nicks or user identities are not permitted. Foul language is not permitted. URLs of pornographic sites may not be posted.
Please respect each other's privacy by not quizzing other channel members about their private lives. Other people will share with you their personal information in their own time, as they wish.
Please do not bring arguments that you are having in private chat, or in other channels, into #mensa.
We do not permit people to recommend illegal activities, e.g. the taking of recreational drugs that in most countries are illegal.
The channel is international, but we converse in English so that all present can understand what is said.
Operation of the channel
Except for egregious cases, kicks, bans and devoicings will always be preceded by an adequate warning in the channel, so that all present will know what the action was for.
Chatters may politely question an action taken by an op as long as the matter does not progress into disruption.
Anyone asking for information about a ban may be told the reason for the ban, which op has set it, and for how for long the ban is expected to last.
Private chat
The channel management has no interest in what is said in private chat, even private chat with other channel members or ops.
If you do not like what someone says to you in private chat, a good solution is often to put them on ignore.
Anything said to you in private chat by an op has no official standing and can be ignored if you so wish. Of course, it is very likely that the op is trying to help you.
The p flag of mIRC can be useful for when putting people on ignore, since it blocks private chat yet still allows you to see what the person says in the channel. That is particularly useful if you wish to block private chat from an op, since ignoring what they say in the channel will cause you to miss any warnings that they give there.
Advice
People are far more likely to visit URLs that you post, particularly if they are of videos, if you give some indication of what they are about.
Although channel members may introduce new topics at any time, you will be more popular if you also take an interest in others and join in their conversations and discussions.
You don’t like our channel?
The ops are open to reasonable comments about the way that we run our channel, but using a lot of channel time complaining will earn a warning, kick, or ban, as appropriate.
A chat-room is in some ways like a person’s home into which they invite guests. The ops are under no obligation to provide a venue that suits everyone. If you don't like our channel, please depart and find a channel that suits you better.
If you cannot find one, why not get together with some friends and start a channel of your own? Then you can run it along whatever lines you wish. There is no cost involved.
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