Board culture
FAQs index


Is there a set of rules for the bulletin boards?

Yes... our house rules are called the 10 Commandments. Click here to remind yourself what they say. Everyone posting on the boards agreed to keep these rules when they registered. The rules in Hell are a bit different – you can read them here.

Who are the board hosts?

Each of our boards is run by a team of hosts. The hosts are listed at the top of each board's index page (just below the board heading) and also in the guideline pages for each board. The link to the board guidelines can be found in the introductory paragraph at the top of each board. For more details and the roster of current hosts and other ship personnel, click here.

Who are the board admins?

The admins are the overall leaders of the Ship of Fools community. They look after the hosts and the day to day running of the boards. Their work includes dealing with any gremlins in the system, safeguarding the boards against vandalism, making the difficult decisions when individual members break the rules, and hosting the Styx (the board for ship-related questions and discussion). For more details and the roster of current admins and other ship personnel, click here.

How do I get started?

The best place to jump in is All Saints, where the kind hostesses maintain an introduction thread for people new to the boards. Sometimes it drops to page two, but look around, you'll find it.

What is the Hell board?

Hell is a special board, where the rules are a little different. Hell is an aggressive board, designed for heated debate about anything. It's also the place where personal arguments are sent if they erupt on any of the other boards. Click here to visit Hell, and click here to see the guidelines for Hell.

How do I take an argument to Hell?

If you find yourself grievously offended by a message on another board, Hell is the place to sort it out. We do ask, though, that you request clarification or explain to the offending party exactly why it bothers you before you drag them into Hell. Lots of times it's just a misunderstanding. If you can't resolve it to your satisfaction, by all means invite them to Hell. But read the guidelines of Hell first. There are certain non-negotiable things required of those who bring arguments into Hell. If you ignore them, you will almost immediately earn the attention of the hosts, and the spotlight in Hell is a very uncomfortable place to be.

Which board should I choose to post a new thread on?

Each board has a specific purpose, and is unique in its style, tone, and content. If you're unsure of where to post, read the guidelines for the boards, which explain what each board is about. The guideline pages are linked from the introductory paragraph at the top of each board. If you post a thread on the wrong board, one of the hosts will move your thread to the place where it belongs. If you're not sure where a thread belongs, email a host and they will let you know.

How long do threads stay on the boards?

For as long as they're active. Once a thread has been dormant for more than 14 days, it is eligible either to be deleted or archived, depending on the quality of the thread. Deserving threads are sent to Limbo for long-term storage.

Is anyone ever banned from the boards?

Members who repeatedly break the 10 Commandments or cause excessive disruption on the boards may have their posting access suspended for a while, or have their membership closed. We dislike having this rule, but sometimes it is the only solution.

Can my messages be re-used by Ship of Fools?

All messages posted on the public boards can be re-used by Ship of Fools freely. This enables us to produce books, booklets and other media which quote from the discussion threads without the labour of seeking permission for each post quoted. This does not include...

> your personal data, which is covered in any case by the provisions of data protection.

> material posted on boards which are privately run by shipmates, and which have closed membership lists. What is posted on the private boards will remain private and confidential and Ship of Fools will not re-publish this material.

Here is the legal notice applying to all members of these boards:

By posting on the public boards you grant ship-of-fools.com and its successors and assigns a non-exclusive irrevocable right to re-use your posting in any manner it or they see fit without notice or compensation to you. No material contained in this site may be republished or reposted without express written consent of ship-of-fools.com, except that board members retain the right to republish or re-post their own work.

Can I quote material from the boards?

As noted above, you are entirely free to quote your own material, which belongs to you. If you want to quote in public (such as on your own website) discussion that has taken place on one of these boards, you need to do the following...

> Gain permission from the authors of the posts you're quoting.

> Gain permission to quote from Ship of Fools and make sure that you publish the appropriate credit and link to this site.

Please contact the editor if you would like permission to quote discussion publicly.

What do ETA, YMMV and the other abbreviations mean?

Yeah, WTF is that all about? For a guide to Ship of Fools shorthand, go to the perpetually updating ETA and other Ship slang thread.