Reference Thread Prefix Guide

[Kyng]

I've added a new section called 'Rules of Precedence', for those rare cases where a thread could reasonably take more than one prefix:

Rules of Precedence

While these prefixes have been selected in such a way that they (mostly) won't overlap, there are a few cases where they will (for example: a "What If?" thread about a subject controversial enough to merit the "Srs Bsns" prefix, or an old "Happy News" thread that gets revived). Therefore, there are a couple of rules of precedence in place, to determine which prefix gets priority:

1. 'Srs Bsns' takes priority over any other prefix. This is because it has special rules associated with it, whereas no other prefixes do.
   
2. 'Old News' takes priority over 'Happy News'. This is because the 'Old News' prefix has a more useful function (i.e. preventing people from being confused into thinking old news is new again).

Of course, I want such cases to remain rare - and therefore, I won't be adding any new prefixes that overlap substantially with existing prefixes. However, we have this section for when we need it!

[Kyng]

Since this has come up a few times now, I've modified the description of the 'Srs Bsns' prefix to note that members are allowed to ask for the prefix to be applied (however, we'll only accept those requests if we believe the prefix is actually needed):

Srs Bsns
This prefix denotes threads which, in the opinion of the staff, cover particularly controversial issues. In the interests of maintaining decorum, these threads will be somewhat more tightly moderated than usual - particularly with regards to incivility and trolling. Furthermore, any low-effort one-liners and sarcastic replies are to be avoided if they can easily be misconstrued as personal attacks. (Jokes and lighter tones in general are still allowed; however, they mustn't target an individual or group's ideas, or otherwise be provocative in nature)

[NOTE: Members are allowed to ask for this prefix to be applied - in which case, the associated rules will apply provisionally until the request has been reviewed by the staff. However, it's ultimately up to us to decide whether or not the prefix is required - and we'll only accept the request if we believe the prefix is actually needed!]

Essentially, we want to keep it reserved for the most controversial threads: we are aware that, if we're not careful, then it'll end up gradually being applied to more and more threads, until it ends up being slapped onto any thread that has even the slightest chance of causing controversy. That's something we want to avoid - so, we are going to be pretty selective with how it's applied!

[Kyng]

As another update, the 'NSFW' prefix has been re-named to '13+':

13+
The 'Jokes, Memes, and Shorts' section has a greater tolerance for family-unfriendly content than the rest of the board. Therefore, this prefix exists to mark material that would not be considered family-friendly - whether due to profanity, sexual references, or otherwise. (However, nudity and other similarly sexually-explicit material is still forbidden.)
This prefix is only available in the 'Jokes, Memes, and Shorts' sub-forum.

[Kyng]

I have made three changes to the prefix system. One new prefix has been added; one existing prefix has been changed; and one has been retired:

• A new 'Concept' prefix has been added. This exists within the 'Recreation and Media' category (Entertainment; Sports and Physical Activities; The Gaming Table), and it is used for topics about hypothetical films, games, and other media that don't actually exist (e.g. a crossover between Star Wars and Jurassic Park, or a 'fixed' version of an unsuccessful film).
  
  
• The 'What If' prefix has been narrowed in scope. It now only applies to alternate history, and to alternate-history-style hypothetical scenarios (e.g. "What if humans had tails?"). It no longer applies to other types of hypothetical threads, such as the film proposals (which now have the 'Concept' prefix), or the 'Which Country?' threads (which no longer have a prefix).
  
  
• The 'Favourite Version' prefix has been retired. We haven't had very many of these threads lately, and the few we have had haven't done well. And since I don't want to overwhelm people with too many prefixes, this seemed like an easy one to get rid of.

I hope this all makes sense - but, let me know if you have any questions !

[Kyng]

A minor update:

The Old News is now a Member Prefix, instead of a Staff Prefix. This means members are now able to apply it themselves .

Thanks to @ Cool Cory for the suggestion!

[Kyng]

I realised the 'Srs Bsns' rules quoted here were still the old, outdated ones . So, I've updated them, to bring them more into line with the revised Current Events and Politics guidelines (although I have removed or re-written a couple of bits that only really applied to political threads):

Srs Bsns
If a staff member thinks a thread is particularly likely to cause controversy, they may apply the prefix at their discretion. Alternatively, members can ask for it to be applied: it's ultimately up to the staff to determine whether or not the prefix is necessary, but where the prefix is asked for, the associated standards will provisionally apply until a staff member processes the request.

When posting in a 'Srs Bsns' thread, keep the following in mind:

• In the interests of maintaining decorum, the Board Guidelines are a bit more tightly enforced in these threads - particularly those surrounding flaming and abuse.
  
• Memes and one-liners are discouraged. Instead, we encourage people to make replies that show that they've thought about and engaged with the issues.
  
• Joking around in these threads is fine - but keep it respectful, and make sure it doesn't derail the discussion.

[Kyng]

Two new additions, as part of Anniversary Week:

April Fools
Sometimes, we'll start joke news articles for April Fools' Day . On the day itself, these will be unmarked; however, on 2nd April, they will be given this prefix, and moved to "Jokes, Memes, and Shorts".

Tier List
These threads contain tier lists, where people group members of a category into tiers, according to their preferences.