Welcome to the Linux channel on FreeNode. Because FreeNode is dedicated to open source projects, and the Linux channel is one of the first channels many people see when when they joing the network, we want this channel to be as acceptable and welcoming to as many people as possible. This includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, religious people and small children. Because of this desire to be acceptable to the widest possible range of visitors this channel has a language policy and the behavior policy in place.
The language policy is: "family friendly language only". This means that certain words and certain topics are forbidden. If you use those words or engage in those topics you will be banned from the channel.
The behavior policy is: "be nice". If you are trolling, or deliberately nasty or any other unpleasant behavior you may be asked to stop, or leave the channel.
The full set of channel rules and guidelines are available at this URL: http://tinyurl.com/2khdve
If you break the rules, it may result in being banned from the channel. The duration of the ban is set by the operator who makes it. There are no set rules for ban duration, although in general the bans get longer each time a person gets banned. At some point after multiple bannings, the length of the ban will begin to grow exponentially.
If you wish to talk to someone about the language guideline policy or about a banning you may do so in the Linux Ops channel. Please do not attempt to debate the policy or harass the operator in the Linux channel or by private message. If an operator contacts you by private message to tell you that you are not following channel guidelines the best response is to acknowledge the message and begin following the policy. If you feel the need to engage the operator in discussion go to the Linux Ops channel and do it there.
Re: Enforcement: Coverage by the channel operators is variable and not 24x7. They are here when they can be. If you are upset that someone else got "away with it" we're sorry, it happens. Life goes on anyway.
Forbidden words: There is no list of forbidden words. Nor is there a list of forbidden topics. Since any List would quickly be exposed and people would create alternatives with the same meaning and then cry that their alternatives aren't on the forbidden list. Any context which is non family friendly can be acted on.
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