#Defocus

...is a channel full of pretty okay ^{[citation needed]} guys and girls (as well as the occasional anthropomorphic life form or animal). Sometimes we talk about random things.

The subject of #defocus can change quite quickly. Depending on the time of day, there may also be multiple rowdy discussions going on at once, so pay attention.

1. The ops will always try to make reasonable decisions with the goal of preventing the channel from sucking. The reason we're ops is that we've been judged to be good at this, and most of the time we are. If you have an issue with the way the channel is being moderated, see the last section of this page for what to do about it.
2. Follow the spirit of the rules, not the letter. If you aren't sure if something is okay, ask.
3. All rules have an implicit “unless it's funny” after them. If you think it's funny and the rest of the channel doesn't, you're wrong.
4. These rules will change if a change is called for.
5. Saying something “ironically” is still saying it. You think you're funny. Everyone else thinks you're an ass.
6. The ops can and will break all of these rules and get away with it.

You get a ban. Keep doing it, you get a kline.

1. Clear-cut spam: sending the same line, meaningless lines, advertising lines, et cetera over and over to the channel. There is no possible valid reason to ever do this.
2. Statements which are completely hurtful and have no other value. Offensive jokes can be fine (assuming they're funny), but being genuinely hateful is not.
3. Auto-joining after a kick: if you are kicked for a non-joke reason and automatically re-join the channel, you will very likely line yourself up for a short temporary ban to make the kick stick.
4. Ban evasion. It's a network rule, and it bears repeating: if you've been banned from a channel, avoiding the ban with proxies, shells, or other 1337 |-|4X, results in a network-wide ban. Simply don't do it, if you have a disagreement with a ban, talk to the op who banned you. If they are unavailable, talk to another op. If you talk to the ops in a reasonable manner, accommodations will usually be made.

You get a kick. Keep doing it, you get a ban.

1. Making a big deal about the presence of women in the channel. It isn't offensive; we're just really tired of it. Same with demanding pics, making a big deal about someone being female, specifically looking for women to talk to, etc. Doing this “ironically” or as a “reference” does not pardon you.
2. Failing the Turing test. No new bots are allowed, and people whose output is so inane that they can't be distinguished from bots are not wanted. This also includes any client script whose output is visible in the channel.
3. Conceivably accidental or non-malicious spam: pasting something into channel which is long enough that you have time to get kicked before it finishes pasting. If it's longer than two lines, use a pastebin.
4. Misleading other users into thinking you're someone else by means you could reasonably have predicted - that is, either it's on purpose or you should have known better.
5. Getting on a soapbox in the channel about your disagreement with an op's decisions. We're happy to explain and discuss our choices in private message; don't air your dirty laundry in public.
6. CAPS LOCK IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. HOLDING DOWN THE SHIFT KEY IS EVEN WORSE. Shouting does not help prove your point; it only makes you really annoying.

Our collective hate is selective and predictable. Avoid doing any of these things.

1. Borderline spam: for example, rambling for a long time when no one is responding or participating. For that, use Livejournal.
2. Advertising other IRC networks/channels. Naming other networks/channels is totally fine if they happen to come up, but it's obvious when you're just namedropping to try and draw traffic.
3. Being rude without being funny. You don't have to stay family-friendly or politically correct when just chatting normally or making jokes, but if you're sincerely rude you'll be asked to leave and cool off.
4. Posting NSFW links without marking them as such. Yes, even when it seems obvious from the URL.
5. Using chatspeak: “how r u” and teh liek. ur mbrysng urslf n evry 1 arnd u.
6. Similarly, don't censor yourself with asterisks. Either swear or don't.
7. Forcing everyone to notice when you're away and back. Using a script which announces this in channel will get you kicked or knocked out (like any other visible script). If you're going to use your nick for status, do it only for long term changes (e.g. foobar|onvacation but not foobar|takingapiss), and do not talk in the channel while your nick says you're not here.
8. In general, if someone asks you not to do something because it bothers them, stop.

1. No discussion of how to forcibly ground planes safely. If you want to use a net to catch an F16, you have to sew it and deploy it yourself. We will not help you.

1. If you want to discuss a decision made by one of the ops, private message the op in question. If that person isn't available, you can message another op, but don't be surprised if the response is “you'll need to wait for so-and-so to come back.” We don't like to undermine each other.
2. If you have a problem with a specific op which you don't feel you can resolve directly with that person, private message another op about your concerns. We might be able to solve the problem or at least clarify the other side.
3. Most of the time, we confer before making major decisions for the channel. You should assume that anything you say in a private message with an op will be seen by the other ops. This has a couple of corollaries:
   1. If you get on one op's case about something, we'll all take it into account when dealing with you in the future. This is especially true when you bug one op about removing another one's ban.
   2. If one of us says no, don't turn around and ask someone else. It's obvious you're just looking for someone to say yes, and it's no more effective than bothering the same op over and over. The difference is that you annoy a lot more of us this way.
4. Conference notwithstanding, the ops are not automata. Two different ops will not necessarily make the same choices or have the same opinions. We do our best to be clear and consistent, but sometimes a judgment call has to be made.
5. The important thing in getting what you want is not to make sure we understand just how outraged, important, or even obsequious you are. Those things are irritating, and irritated people are less helpful. You stand a better chance of getting what you want when you stay calm and use courtesy. If you don't believe me, try it. It works in real life, too.