The Conflicts That Came in from The Cold: New board rules & format.

[Arlequín]

Recent global events have created an environment where war has returned to the forefront of the public consciousness once more and while it is perhaps natural to some of you to have an interest in contemporary conflicts, to others it is both offensive and indeed in some cases ‘too close to home’; given the international nature of LAF’s membership. This has resulted in complaints being received by the moderation team and the forum owner with regard to recent threads relating to contemporary conflicts.

Apart from ethical considerations, there are potential legal issues in that ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, aka the Da'ish) was recently declared an illegal organisation in Germany, which effectively puts activities involving said organisation in a similar legal ball-park as advertising membership in Nazi/Neo-Nazi organisations. Mainly, this involves recruiting and support, but also touches on the use of their imagery, and since there is no definitive legal ruling on the legality of said imagery, we must err on the side of caution.

Similar things have happened ever since the board was initially created, but has now reached the point where consideration has had to be given regarding the very survival of the board. The decision has therefore been made to alter the scope of the board and to now cover only the Post-WWII and ‘Cold War Era’, with a cut-off year of 2000. Adventures and wargames based on historic or reasonable facsimiles of historic conflicts (i.e. they are based on, or appear to be based on real conflicts) set after this year will no longer have a place within LAF’s otherwise broad spectrum of topics.

We realise that such a change will be quite unpopular with some of you and indeed disappointing into the bargain, however we have to consider the membership as a whole, as well as potential legal difficulties which may arise now or in the future, which could indeed jeopardise LAF’s very survival. Westfalia Chris’s post below outlines the amended forum rules in relation to these changes.

Thanks

Jim  

[Westfalia Chris]

The Conflicts that came in from the Cold - 1945 to 2000

So, what will go on the new '45-'00 board?

• Basically, anything that happened between those years, ranging from Korea, Indochina, Algeria, Vietnam, Post-colonial Africa and all those other theatres where the superpowers' (and others') ideologies clashed.
  
• Apart from military conflicts, this also includes Spy Fiction set in an ostensibly "realistic setting" (as opposed to Sci-Fi themes).
• Fictional conflicts like "Cold War gone Hot" and cold-war "ImagiNations" are acceptable, too, provided people exercise good taste, moderation and a sensible approach.
• Furthermore, threads which focus exclusively on the presentation of models and miniatures and do not discuss the political and social aspects may also cover subjects after the year 2000, provided it is done in a way that is not distasteful.

What is out of scope for the new board?

• Simply put, anything after the turn of the millenium (actually 2000). Immediately, this covers the War on Terror, Afghanistan/Iraq and most recently Ukraine, but also the current Israeli-Palestinian clashes.

For all other topics set before the year 2000, we strongly ask our members to conduct themselves in as reasonable and polite a manner as is possible for such topics. Topics in obvious poor taste will be subject to moderation, but reasonable discussion and a sensible approach is appropriate and encouraged. This is not to impose any kind of PC dictatorship, but rather to ask people to use common sense and moderation with regard to how a topic that may strongly affect people should be handled.

Product Releases

Manufacturers may continue to post releases for the Modern Era. In this case, the threads will be treated like the "presentation of models and miniatures" threads above, and we ask people to only use the threads to discuss the items in question and inquire on release dates and potential future releases.

Apart from that, the usual LAF rules regarding content and etiquette apply.

Grandfather clause

Since a great number of interesting topics have been posted here in the past, it would be a pity to lose all that. For that reason, existing threads that fall out of the timescope will be locked, but may be kept available for reading on the new board.

These changes will be effective immediately.

[Arlequín]

What About Twilight 2000?

Twilight 2000 although set in "the present", is a Cold War Conflict; a 'Retro-Future' if you like. As such it potentially falls both inside and outside the scope of the board. Posts and threads dealing with more or less standard Warpac versus NATO encounters, or other factions present in the setting's world are fine, others will be accepted at the discretion of the Moderating Team.

In other words if you try to pass off a modern/contemporary conflict as 'Twilight 2000' it's almost certainly likely to be deleted.

So James Bond, what about him?

Well we all know they stopped making good Bond movies when they replaced Sean Connery in the lead role, but should you wish to use the settings from the inferior films in the series which followed, that is acceptable as they are typically 'generic' and 'timeless' in their setting. Common sense is called for here; 'Bond supports the brave Afghans against the Soviets and their lackeys' fits the bill, 'Bond takes on the Taliban' is not.

'Lost', 'Pulp Fiction', 'Once Upon A Time in Mexico' and Other Film & TV Type Settings.

Anything which is effectively 'timeless' in its content (i.e. there are no discernible 'political' entities involved, or where the setting has no comparable contemporary 'political' elements) are fine. So if you went for any of the above you would be on safe ground, as would one based on 'The Beach' for example. Those based on 'City of God', 'Elite Squad', 'Alarma!', 'Johnny Mad Dog' or similar themes and specifically "Narcos vs Carteles" and similar themes are not.

Imagi-Nations

The short answer is that if it is set after 2000, whether real or imagined, it is not acceptable. What constitutes 'Near Future' I would not like to say as I am not the Mod for that forum, but I imagine that it would probably be somewhat beyond 2020 and would not involve current political entities, at least in their present recognisable form.

Contrary to what you might think given recent events, neither Alex, Chris or I (I do support the changes btw, this isn't something that has been imposed on me) want to spoil anyone's fun, further than is necessary at least. As far as 'Imagi-Nations', 'what ifs' and such things go, I do not intend to rigidly enforce the "2000 Rule" unless I am left with no alternative. Rules and laws are supposed to be for the benefit or safeguarding of a community, not a means to restrict activity for the sake of it.  

How far I do enforce the rules will depend on the content of the posts and pictures, on a case by case basis. As always I am happy to provide guidance on what is acceptable and what is not, and of course I will work with anyone to ensure what they post keeps within the forum rules.

Real conflicts Post-2000 and fictionalised conflicts that are clearly a just a case of names being changed, so as to present a real conflict, are out completely. Likewise anything which I (or Alex, or Chris) construe as being an attempt to 'beat the system' in some form, is also out. While there are some legal restrictions which cannot be avoided, how far I choose to enforce the actual forum rules themselves is somewhat elastic.

So as far as contemporary imaginations go, somewhat generic African, Middle-Eastern and settings in any other part of the world you can think of, are fine, just so long as they do not mimic real settings too closely (which will be at the forum's moderation team's discretion). Symbology that breaches German law (which at this point in time is restricted to ISIS), or that which closely resembles it, is also unacceptable (if you follow the same rules as for Nazi symbology, i.e. 'blank out' those images on photos etc., all should be well).

End note.
 
A common theme in PMs I have received over the last few weeks is the general sensible and common sense attitude of the majority of people who use this board. I can only agree that this is indeed the case, which is what makes it fun for me to moderate it. So the ball is in your court... keep it sensible, tasteful (as much as war can be in 'good taste'), avoid 'current affairs' (even if they are dressed up as something else) and all should be well.

If in doubt about anything above, feel free to drop myself or Westfalia Chris a PM.

[Westfalia Chris]

After considering numerous enquiries phrased in a polite fashion by concerned forum members (and disregarding nonproductive mud-slinging by others), we have decided to modify the new rules as per the above modifications.

Summarily, the new cut-off year is the year 2000. This means the 1990s are back in, but extremely contentious subjects like the Yugoslav Civil War and Chechnya will be subject to close scrutiny and liable to be moderated.

Also, you may open presentation threads for subjects after the year 2000s, provided these threads are only used to present and discuss actual models and miniatures. Note that political and social aspects are not to be part of these threads, including the discussion in detail of scenarios, rules etc. Keep it to the models, plain and simple.

Finally, manufacturers may continue to present new products on the 1945-2000 board even if the items fall out of this period. These releases are to be treated like model presentation threads, i.e. limited to the display and discussion of actual miniatures and models, and possibly release schedules, but not to devolve into discussion of the socio-political aspects.

[Arlequín]

I have now edited the 'FAQ' post in line with the revised position in regard to this board.   

[Westfalia Chris]

Hi all,

a quick update in that I created a sub-board to collect the various reference threads, which started to take up a bit of space in the main board. You should all be able to post new items in there - if you wish to add a new manufacturer or range, just reply to the appropriate topic.

If there are any posting issues, please PM me or post a topic on the main board.

I've left the less product-oriented threads, i.e. the Wishlists and the ImagiNations Directory on the main board.

Also, I would like to ask all users, especially new ones, to take a little refresher re: this specific board theme's limitations (first and second posts in this thread). No specific reason, but I would like to remind everyone that some current conflicts are "models & miniatures only", and respective threads should keep focusing on that aspect and not delve into the political side of things.