<![CDATA[World War II Forum - Announcements]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/ Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:51:23 +0000 MyBB <![CDATA[Short announcement about platform services]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=58 Wed, 06 Nov 2024 19:12:17 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=58
I have various services on the platform that are available to the public.  They're intended for me and maybe a small group of people to use.  In theory they're accessible to anyone but that's not really the intent.  As long as they don't get abused then I'll leave them open to the public.  My only request for anyone wanting to operate a blog or something on this platform is that it be related to this site with the majority of its content.]]>
I have various services on the platform that are available to the public.  They're intended for me and maybe a small group of people to use.  In theory they're accessible to anyone but that's not really the intent.  As long as they don't get abused then I'll leave them open to the public.  My only request for anyone wanting to operate a blog or something on this platform is that it be related to this site with the majority of its content.]]> <![CDATA[I changed the forum branding]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=56 Thu, 03 Oct 2024 13:55:20 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=56
I changed forum header and the short branding for the site.  I created this forum a few years ago in high school and used the domain with my reenactor name.  We usually just call it "The WWII Forum" or something because I don't like branding it to myself but there was no real way to reference it quickly so I created the W2F branding.]]>
I changed forum header and the short branding for the site.  I created this forum a few years ago in high school and used the domain with my reenactor name.  We usually just call it "The WWII Forum" or something because I don't like branding it to myself but there was no real way to reference it quickly so I created the W2F branding.]]> <![CDATA[We now have a private board for forum regulars in the off topic section]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=55 Sat, 14 Sep 2024 14:23:23 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=55
We now have a board for forum regulars.  It's only accessible to approve users.  Generally I'll give membership to users who have been Red Star members for at least two years, but membership is discretionary and I might add users who don't meet that requirement or choose not to add certain users.

It's a place where forum regulars can unwind and discuss internal affairs without the baggage that would come from discussing such things publicaly.

What happens on the board stays on the board, but don't post anything that would cause trouble if it got leaked or if a user discussed were invited to it one day.]]>
We now have a board for forum regulars.  It's only accessible to approve users.  Generally I'll give membership to users who have been Red Star members for at least two years, but membership is discretionary and I might add users who don't meet that requirement or choose not to add certain users.

It's a place where forum regulars can unwind and discuss internal affairs without the baggage that would come from discussing such things publicaly.

What happens on the board stays on the board, but don't post anything that would cause trouble if it got leaked or if a user discussed were invited to it one day.]]> <![CDATA[We recently had to ban a moderator]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=32 Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:30:49 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=32
I made the decision to share this to show that we take this extremely seriously.  Normally we don't allow public discussion of private forum business, but considering the severity of what happened, I think it's important to share our decision with the community and let them know that this type of thing won't be tolerated.  We have moderators come and go, so please do not speculate on who was responsible or try to harass them.  Speculation or harassment will have consequences.  I'm simply posting this to let everyone who may have been effected know that this moderator has been dealt with.

I recently made the difficult decision to remove a moderator from our staff and ban them permanently due to reports from previously banned users that this moderator was sending them low key threats containing personal information off-site.  This has been going on for a few years but I hadn't removed the moderator because they didn't admit to it and it's nearly impossible to verify the type of "evidence" being collected.  Since most of the users were banned or were on bad terms with the community, they had plenty of motive to fabricate evidence against the moderators.  Stuff like that does happen on a moderately regular basis.  Usually it's something silly like they send a fake screenshot of the moderator sending a racial slur in a PM that's on the forum and I can easily debunk it with a database query.

This moderator had multiple accusations of a similar nature that came from seemingly unconnected users over a period of years.  There was also consistency in the accounts that the threats were coming from.  They never denied the accusations either.  They simply questioned me for even considering the accusations as valid.

At this point, I don't think the accusations are fabricated and baseless and I have made the decision to remove the moderator permanently from the community.]]>
I made the decision to share this to show that we take this extremely seriously.  Normally we don't allow public discussion of private forum business, but considering the severity of what happened, I think it's important to share our decision with the community and let them know that this type of thing won't be tolerated.  We have moderators come and go, so please do not speculate on who was responsible or try to harass them.  Speculation or harassment will have consequences.  I'm simply posting this to let everyone who may have been effected know that this moderator has been dealt with.

I recently made the difficult decision to remove a moderator from our staff and ban them permanently due to reports from previously banned users that this moderator was sending them low key threats containing personal information off-site.  This has been going on for a few years but I hadn't removed the moderator because they didn't admit to it and it's nearly impossible to verify the type of "evidence" being collected.  Since most of the users were banned or were on bad terms with the community, they had plenty of motive to fabricate evidence against the moderators.  Stuff like that does happen on a moderately regular basis.  Usually it's something silly like they send a fake screenshot of the moderator sending a racial slur in a PM that's on the forum and I can easily debunk it with a database query.

This moderator had multiple accusations of a similar nature that came from seemingly unconnected users over a period of years.  There was also consistency in the accounts that the threats were coming from.  They never denied the accusations either.  They simply questioned me for even considering the accusations as valid.

At this point, I don't think the accusations are fabricated and baseless and I have made the decision to remove the moderator permanently from the community.]]> <![CDATA[The warning point expiration has been increased from two to three years]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=36 Sat, 25 May 2024 14:38:51 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=36
I made the decision to increase the length of time that warning points will remain in effect.  Two years was an absolute eternity when I implemented the system when I was 15.  Since the final two ban lengths are six months and one year, it's rare for anyone to actually get banned by warnings alone since old warnings are likely to end up expiring during the ban period.  I considered extending it to four or five years with this in mind, but I simply don't think that it's fair to permanently ban someone over incidents that happened that long ago if they've mostly been on good behavior since then.


A lot of our permanent bans came down to moderator discretion, which is valid for users who show unwillingness to contribute to the forum.]]>
I made the decision to increase the length of time that warning points will remain in effect.  Two years was an absolute eternity when I implemented the system when I was 15.  Since the final two ban lengths are six months and one year, it's rare for anyone to actually get banned by warnings alone since old warnings are likely to end up expiring during the ban period.  I considered extending it to four or five years with this in mind, but I simply don't think that it's fair to permanently ban someone over incidents that happened that long ago if they've mostly been on good behavior since then.


A lot of our permanent bans came down to moderator discretion, which is valid for users who show unwillingness to contribute to the forum.]]> <![CDATA[Red Star memberships are donations, not a guarantee of service]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=30 Mon, 13 May 2024 14:20:03 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=30
Buying a membership does not make you immune to being banned, and it would be extremely dumb to make it work that way.  There are no refunds if you get banned.  Anyone who isn't an obvious troll has to work hard at getting permanently banned.

Don't bother donating if you think you can use it as leverage.  If you're going to ruin the forum for everyone else, I don't want your money.]]>
Buying a membership does not make you immune to being banned, and it would be extremely dumb to make it work that way.  There are no refunds if you get banned.  Anyone who isn't an obvious troll has to work hard at getting permanently banned.

Don't bother donating if you think you can use it as leverage.  If you're going to ruin the forum for everyone else, I don't want your money.]]> <![CDATA[Special group membership for annual donors]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=26 Sat, 11 May 2024 05:23:28 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=26
I created a new group called Red Star for annual donors.  The group will be displayed by your name, similar to how moderators have their title displayed.  You can also buy the membership for other users as a gift.

Send the money on Paypal to Vanya since he's over 18.  Include your username or the username of anyone you want to donate for and send it as a gift.

Paypal email: redstar@tanyachernova.org

Membership cost: $25 per user per year.

You can donate more if you want and can specify a user for each $25 that you donate. All users need to be specified with the donation.]]>
I created a new group called Red Star for annual donors.  The group will be displayed by your name, similar to how moderators have their title displayed.  You can also buy the membership for other users as a gift.

Send the money on Paypal to Vanya since he's over 18.  Include your username or the username of anyone you want to donate for and send it as a gift.

Paypal email: redstar@tanyachernova.org

Membership cost: $25 per user per year.

You can donate more if you want and can specify a user for each $25 that you donate. All users need to be specified with the donation.]]> <![CDATA[Email domain requirement: New policy]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=23 Sat, 11 May 2024 01:29:58 +0000 Vanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=23

We've been seeing use of sketchy email services with certain accounts.  There's no reason anyone should be using "throw away" addresses.  If you're concerned about privacy, register an email account to use for your online accounts.  We will be requiring a mainstream, US based or a .edu domain.  This is an important step in order to mitigate trolling and agenda pushing without requiring an approval process for new accounts.]]>

We've been seeing use of sketchy email services with certain accounts.  There's no reason anyone should be using "throw away" addresses.  If you're concerned about privacy, register an email account to use for your online accounts.  We will be requiring a mainstream, US based or a .edu domain.  This is an important step in order to mitigate trolling and agenda pushing without requiring an approval process for new accounts.]]> <![CDATA[Guideline on post to thread ratios]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=16 Sun, 05 May 2024 13:32:11 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=16
If you're a long-standing respected user, this doesn't apply to you.  This is an observation that I've made about many users who don't contribute to the forum.

Almost all users should have more posts then threads if they're active regularly.  Most users have several times as many posts as threads.

"Violating" this rule (It's not a rule.) isn't going to lead to getting banned, but it's something we check for when deciding whether bans should be considered or if we're on the fence about issuing a warning or how severe it should be.

In most cases your post to thread ratio should be at least 3:1, meaning that you have twice as many posts as threads. 3:1 is effectively a 2:1 ratio because each thread counts as a post. If you have less than a 3:1 post ratio, it's a sign that you're provocative and not contributing to discussions. Many of the long time users on the forum have ratios of 10:1 and some of them are as high as 40:1.]]>
If you're a long-standing respected user, this doesn't apply to you.  This is an observation that I've made about many users who don't contribute to the forum.

Almost all users should have more posts then threads if they're active regularly.  Most users have several times as many posts as threads.

"Violating" this rule (It's not a rule.) isn't going to lead to getting banned, but it's something we check for when deciding whether bans should be considered or if we're on the fence about issuing a warning or how severe it should be.

In most cases your post to thread ratio should be at least 3:1, meaning that you have twice as many posts as threads. 3:1 is effectively a 2:1 ratio because each thread counts as a post. If you have less than a 3:1 post ratio, it's a sign that you're provocative and not contributing to discussions. Many of the long time users on the forum have ratios of 10:1 and some of them are as high as 40:1.]]> <![CDATA[An indefinite moratorium on sexual violence is now in effect]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=14 Wed, 17 Apr 2024 03:35:50 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=14
I've been giving this thought over the past few weeks and I've discussed it privately online with Vanya.  I don't take this decision lightly.  In relevance to prior issues going back years on the forum and in my private life, I have made the decision to put an indefinite moratorium on all discussions of sexual violence on this forum.

I don't want to end discussion of this tragic subject matter, but considering past flame wars and revisionist concern trolling that happened here, this forum simply is not the place.  I encourage anyone wanting to discuss this subject to go to forums where it is allowed.  This subject is simply makes people too emotional and things get too heated and users have ended up arguing in circles covering the same facts over and over.

I'm also tired of the rape threats from white knights of all people who have said that I deserve to be raped because I wouldn't let them present false information to push an agenda.

I don't want to shut down discussion of such serious events but enough is enough.]]>
I've been giving this thought over the past few weeks and I've discussed it privately online with Vanya.  I don't take this decision lightly.  In relevance to prior issues going back years on the forum and in my private life, I have made the decision to put an indefinite moratorium on all discussions of sexual violence on this forum.

I don't want to end discussion of this tragic subject matter, but considering past flame wars and revisionist concern trolling that happened here, this forum simply is not the place.  I encourage anyone wanting to discuss this subject to go to forums where it is allowed.  This subject is simply makes people too emotional and things get too heated and users have ended up arguing in circles covering the same facts over and over.

I'm also tired of the rape threats from white knights of all people who have said that I deserve to be raped because I wouldn't let them present false information to push an agenda.

I don't want to shut down discussion of such serious events but enough is enough.]]> <![CDATA[Warnings and bans]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=11 Mon, 01 Apr 2024 19:53:18 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=11
This is how the warning and ban system will work.

Users will be issued warning points for rule violations from 0 to 100.  Any user who accumulates 100 points will be permanently banned.  Warning points will disappear after two years since they were issued.

Bans will start at 30 warning points.

Warning levels:
  1. Notification: 1 point.  This warning level is assigned any time a moderator has to take action regarding one of your posts.
  2. Minor Warning: 5 points.  If a rule violation is minor or a moderator feels like they don't need to issue a full warning.
  3. Warning: 10 points.  This is the standard warning.  Four warnings will result in bans of increasing duration and 10 warnings will result in a permanent ban.
  4. Serious Warning: 20 points. 
  5. Severe Warning: 25 points.  This is the most severe warning.  Having any additional warning or at least five moderator interventions will result in an immediate ban.

Penalties for warnings:
  1. Up to 29: No penalty other then the warnings on record.
  2. 30: Two day ban.
  3. 35: Three day ban.
  4. 40: Four day ban.
  5. 50: One week ban.
  6. 55: Two week ban.
  7. 60: One month ban.
  8. 70: Two month ban.
  9. 80: Three month ban.
  10. 90: Six month ban.
  11. 95: One year ban.
  12. 100: Permanent ban.

Automatic bans:

Moderators may ban users automatically without accumulation of warning points under certain conditions.  These bans can be temporary or permanent.
  • Bans for users who register accounts just to troll.
  • Spam accounts
  • Extremely offensive personal attacks
  • Posting obscene material
  • Linking to malware or other illegal sites
Permanent or long bans may be issued upon moderator consensus to users who have accumulated at least a 50% warning level.]]>
This is how the warning and ban system will work.

Users will be issued warning points for rule violations from 0 to 100.  Any user who accumulates 100 points will be permanently banned.  Warning points will disappear after two years since they were issued.

Bans will start at 30 warning points.

Warning levels:
  1. Notification: 1 point.  This warning level is assigned any time a moderator has to take action regarding one of your posts.
  2. Minor Warning: 5 points.  If a rule violation is minor or a moderator feels like they don't need to issue a full warning.
  3. Warning: 10 points.  This is the standard warning.  Four warnings will result in bans of increasing duration and 10 warnings will result in a permanent ban.
  4. Serious Warning: 20 points. 
  5. Severe Warning: 25 points.  This is the most severe warning.  Having any additional warning or at least five moderator interventions will result in an immediate ban.

Penalties for warnings:
  1. Up to 29: No penalty other then the warnings on record.
  2. 30: Two day ban.
  3. 35: Three day ban.
  4. 40: Four day ban.
  5. 50: One week ban.
  6. 55: Two week ban.
  7. 60: One month ban.
  8. 70: Two month ban.
  9. 80: Three month ban.
  10. 90: Six month ban.
  11. 95: One year ban.
  12. 100: Permanent ban.

Automatic bans:

Moderators may ban users automatically without accumulation of warning points under certain conditions.  These bans can be temporary or permanent.
  • Bans for users who register accounts just to troll.
  • Spam accounts
  • Extremely offensive personal attacks
  • Posting obscene material
  • Linking to malware or other illegal sites
Permanent or long bans may be issued upon moderator consensus to users who have accumulated at least a 50% warning level.]]> <![CDATA[Forum theme CSS]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=9 Sat, 30 Mar 2024 12:29:05 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=9
Here's a link to the forum CSS page for anyone who wants to use it on their own forum:
https://forum.tanyachernova.org/cache/th..._theme.css

This stylesheet is intended to be applied on top of the default theme.



Here's the stylesheet for the wiki:
https://www.tanyachernova.org/wiki/index...nobook.css

You can use it by adding it to the Monobook.css page on your wiki.



Neither one of these is fully complete right now but you can check back here occasionally for updates.  These are the live stylesheets so they will be updated.  They should both be usable now.]]>
Here's a link to the forum CSS page for anyone who wants to use it on their own forum:
https://forum.tanyachernova.org/cache/th..._theme.css

This stylesheet is intended to be applied on top of the default theme.



Here's the stylesheet for the wiki:
https://www.tanyachernova.org/wiki/index...nobook.css

You can use it by adding it to the Monobook.css page on your wiki.



Neither one of these is fully complete right now but you can check back here occasionally for updates.  These are the live stylesheets so they will be updated.  They should both be usable now.]]> <![CDATA[Moderator text colors]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=8 Fri, 29 Mar 2024 04:08:52 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=8
Regular users are required to use the default text color.  If you need to distinguish text, please use bold, underline, or italics.

Blue text indicates that a moderator is speaking officially.

Red, orange, and yellow indicate severity.

Yellow indicates an official cautionary tone.

Orange indicates a more severe or urgent tone.

Red indicates a serious statement.  If red text is used in a post, it's likely that at least one user has received an official warning.]]>
Regular users are required to use the default text color.  If you need to distinguish text, please use bold, underline, or italics.

Blue text indicates that a moderator is speaking officially.

Red, orange, and yellow indicate severity.

Yellow indicates an official cautionary tone.

Orange indicates a more severe or urgent tone.

Red indicates a serious statement.  If red text is used in a post, it's likely that at least one user has received an official warning.]]> <![CDATA[I changed the forum to allow larger avatars in addition to displaying them larger]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=5 Thu, 28 Mar 2024 23:27:15 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=5
The default size for avatar uploads is very small and the display size on the page is way too tiny.

Avatar settings can be changed under: Admin CP > Configuration > Board Settings > Profile Options

I created a CSS file under the forum theme control panel and applied the following code to make avatars display larger:

Code:
div.author_avatar img {
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
}

The current avatar size limit is 1024x1024.]]>
The default size for avatar uploads is very small and the display size on the page is way too tiny.

Avatar settings can be changed under: Admin CP > Configuration > Board Settings > Profile Options

I created a CSS file under the forum theme control panel and applied the following code to make avatars display larger:

Code:
div.author_avatar img {
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
}

The current avatar size limit is 1024x1024.]]> <![CDATA[Test thread]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=2 Sat, 23 Mar 2024 14:42:05 +0000 Tanya]]> https://forum.tanyachernova.org/showthread.php?tid=2