Welcome.
OMNI is a vibrant dialogue on FlyerTalk of perspectives on world events, personal advice, and more (Politics and Religion is in the OMNI/PR forum). But even more, it is fascinating reading and provides quite a bit of humor and entertainment in a casual and fun environment that fosters friendships among members. Respect for the opinions and feelings of others is required. THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: Civilized debate only - no personal attacks, no insults, no advertising, no spam and no obscenity.
OMNI often draws individuals with diverse and passionate viewpoints. With this in mind, we recommend the following proverbial wisdom when using this forum:
A fool finds no pleasure in understanding,
but delights in airing his own opinions.
OMNI Expectations: As a member of this forum, you are expected to abide by the rules, guidelines and community values set forth on this page. You are also expected to practice common "netiquette" while participating on OMNI. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable or violates our community values is encouraged to use the "report post" feature at the lower left of every post when you are signed in.
There are a couple of sections of the TOS that we'd like to emphasize (these are critical to OMNI):
Quote:
Personal attacks
We invite and encourage a healthy exchange of opinions. If you disagree with an opinion or idea expressed by another member, by all means, challenge the opinion or idea – not the person. Personal attacks on individuals, insults and "flaming" will not be tolerated and will be removed. You may challenge others' points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully.
Do not retaliate or respond in any way to a personal attack that you perceive to be directed at yourself or another FlyerTalk member. All too often, when an initial attack is levied, others join the fray and instead of becoming part of the solution, they become part of the problem. If you feel that you have been the recipient of a personal attack, contact a "Report Bad Post" immediately.
We can't emphasize this rule enough. If you feel that you've been attacked, you need to get the moderators involved. Retaliating to the attack will likely get you the same punishment as the attacker, due to the fact that by retaliating you've taken a bad situation and made it worse. Think Gandhi. Don't take the bait. Don't feed the trolls.
Quote:
Offensive Language/Material
Any posts containing communications that are knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, obscene, profane, threatening, harassing, offensive, vulgar, abusive, hateful or bashing – especially those aimed at sexual orientation, gender, race, color, religious views, national origin, or disability - will not be tolerated and will be removed. Individuals who do not abide by these rules are subject to having their FlyerTalk account permanently deleted.
Posts that contain explicit, obscene or vulgar images, or links to such images, will be removed without notice and accounts subject to deletion! Remember, posting to FlyerTalk is a privilege, not a right.
This rule is pretty self explanatory. If you aren't comfortable with emailing a post to your mother, grandmother, or to a co-worker, then maybe you shouldn't post it here. Using offensive words in other languages is not acceptable either.
What happens if I break the rules?
Depending on the rule, the severity of the break, and the poster's history with rule breaking, the following actions can and will be taken:
Email warning (we will always try to resolve issues here first)
1 Week suspension of FlyerTalk posting privileges
30 day suspension of FlyerTalk posting privileges
Lifetime suspension of FlyerTalk posting privileges
If the rule break is egregious, the FlyerTalk Host reserves the right to skip suspension levels (he/she may decide to send you right to 30 days, or permanently delete your account).
Please keep in mind that OMNI is a part of FlyerTalk, you're always subject to FlyerTalk rules. The principle mission of FlyerTalk is Miles, Points and Travel. This forum is a place for people that are into travel to discuss things not related to travel. If your misbehave here, you are subject to having your FlyerTalk account permanently deleted.
On behalf of the OMNI moderators, Thanks!
Last edited by Randy Petersen; Oct 17, 08 at 5:15 pm.
The first question you should ask yourself is "should I avoid 'feeding the troll' and just ignore the message?" A Troll is a user that takes great pleasure in posting things that they may or may not believe in just to see the reaction. It is highly unlikely that you are going to change someone's mind on politics, religion, or sexual orientation with a post on the Internet no matter how well written that post may be. But if you like to argue for the sake of arguing, please feel free to have at it, as long as you stay within the confines of the TOS.
If you decide you cannot live with ignoring the post, the first appropriate venue is to take it up with the poster that's annoying (or offending) you via email or private message.
If you feel that you are not getting anywhere using this route, please escalate it to the moderators by clicking on the "Report Bad Post" icon at the bottom left hand corner of the message. The moderators will then take appropriate action.
Please keep in mind that the moderators are not here to act as censors, and there is nothing in the TOS that prevents people from posting controversial subjects (or acting in a consistently annoying manner).
"Taking the law into your own hands", "Setting the record straight", or disrupting the "OMNI experience" by posting a flame in retaliation to something someone else has posted will not be tolerated. The moderators are here with member assistance in mind, and that includes enforcing the TOS. Please refer to this post if you have any questions about FlyerTalk rules
Please remember that our member values would like at least a "PG" environment on OMNI, and the moderators will take action if posts do not live up to that standard.
I'm consistently having a problem with another poster
If there are other FlyerTalkers out there that you just can't stand, that annoy you no matter what they post, you have two solutions. The first is to employ your internal "ignore" feature and skip over that person's post. The second solution is to use the "Ignore User" feature of MyFlyertalk and have the tool ignore that poster for you.
Thanks very much in advance for your cooperation.
Last edited by Randy Petersen; Oct 17, 08 at 5:16 pm.
At times, a member's overzealous practice of engaging another member's point-of-view or other violations of the TOS may lead to a temporary or even permanent "mask" of the privilege of posting in OMNI.
Last edited by Mikel at Webflyer; Oct 17, 08 at 5:17 pm.
Are FlyerTalkers names permitted on threads on OMNI?
It is acceptable to use a FlyerTalker's handle on threads, especially when using a handle makes it clear that you're responding to another FlyerTalker's post.
It is not acceptable to start a thread about another FlyerTalker. Threads of this nature are typically reserved for the Community Buzz! forum.
As always, personal attacks will not be tolerated at any time and it is never proper to use a members actual name, we all have rights to our personal privacy.
Last edited by Mikel at Webflyer; Oct 17, 08 at 5:17 pm.
Board policy changed in August 2004, and OMNI posts no longer count towards your post count total. After a few years of lax enforcement of this policy change, it was re-instituted in Feb. 2008.
