Rules for Cruising Spots and Discussion Forums - OhMojo.com

1. No personal attacks and no hate messages! While discussing any topic, if you disagree with someone feel free to air your view without personally attacking them. Harsh rebuttals are ok but personally attacking someone is not! This includes name calling. If someone attacks you personally please report to the admin. If you reply with your own personal attacks (even if you didn't start it), you will also be considered as a violator.

2. Strictly no naming and shaming: Any person trying to defame someone with personally identifiable information (or even general information slandering others) is strictly not allowed as there is no way of verifying information even if that information might be potentially true.

3. No off-topic comments. Stick to the topic being discussed. Any comment not aligned to the topic being discussed will be deleted.

4. No Meta Discussions: What is a Meta discussion? It is discussion about the discussion. Stick to the topic being discussed. If you feel the discussion is veering away from the topic or someone is violating any rule, report it to the admin (me!). But going on a rant, even if justified, is not ok! Your post will be deleted. This includes rants about the website or the admin. Send a private message to me instead.

5. Strictly no phone numbers or any other personal contact details. Any post that includes your or anyone else' contact details in any form will be immediately deleted. This includes phone numbers, email addresses, Google hangout or kik IDs or IDs for any IM platform.

6. Same post/comment in multiple threads are strictly not allowed. If you see the same topics being discussed in multiple threads, post only on the one which is the most active. Posting same comment on multiple threads will be considered as forum spam. Your post will be deleted and it may even result in a ban on your profile. If you see multiple threads with the same topic you may bring it to the admin's attention so that they can be merged.

7. Multiple/Repeated messages for hook-ups is strictly not allowed. While comments soliciting hook-ups are allowed in certain threads (like thread for cruising in specific areas), posting such comments in multiple threads will be considered as spamming. Your comments will get deleted and it may even result in a ban on your profile.

8. All threads must be either related to cruising spots or must be subjects related to the gay community. General discussions that do not pertain to the gay community are not allowed.

9. While all kinds of topics are allowed as long as they either relate to gay cruising or to subjects related to the gay community, certain topics that might be deemed illegal or might be considered too inflammatory or sensitive may not be allowed. The admin will decide on these on a case by case basis.

10. Posting ads for specific services that you may offer is strictly not allowed. Posting ads repeatedly in multiple threads or doing so via private messages to members of the website will not only get those ads deleted, but your profile may also get banned.

11. Many posts related to hookups, travel plans, ads for services, review of services provided by individuals etc get marked as temporary by the admin. What this means is that while the post is allowed as it might help other members, they automatically get deleted after a few days (3 to 10 days). This is done because the post may become irrelevant after some time or it may not add much value to the thread after some time. We do this to keep the number of posts (specially on the service review threads like massage parlours) to a manageable limit and to avoid proxy promotions (where the masseurs/spa owners post good reviews about themselves with fake profiles).

12. Use your own judgement! If you see a post or comment that seems fake/untrue or incorrect, it may very well be. That does not mean that the website or the admin is colluding with those people! The website or the admin does not accept any compensation from any individual or entity for posting or allowing or promoting reviews. I have no way of verifying any information that is posted. So read all the comments and arrive at your own conclusion. For example, a lot of reviews for services provided by establishments or individuals get posted on the website on a daily basis. Just because you may have had a different experience does not necessarily mean that the review is fake! It may or may not be. However ranting about reviews just because they do not meet your views or experience does add any value to the conversation. Post your reviews or opinions in a fair, objective and reasonable way if you disagree with someone else' post. Attacking them for having different views or for sharing experiences is not allowed!

13. Only English and Hindi languages are allowed on the forums. If you use any other language or script to post, it will be immediately deleted. Repeat posts will result in a ban on your profile.

14. All new threads are moderated before they become visible on the website. If you have posted a new thread and it has not become visible, chances are you have not have adhered to one or multiple rules mentioned above. Some more reasons why your thread may not get approved:

- Incorrect Area/Subject line: Don't just mention the name of the city or a single word or phrase as the subject.

- Low effort posts, posts with SMS language, posts with lots of grammatical errors to the point where they do not make any sense at all will not get approved. Instead of trying to get people to discuss/respond or share their experiences, if you add just a one-liner it may not get approved.

- The opening post of a thread must properly explain the purpose of the thread and should be generic in nature. Sharing personal experiences in the opening post is not allowed. If you would also like to share your opinion or experience pertaining to that topic, you may do so as a comment after the thread is approved.

- Personal threads: Threads asking for hookups or personal meets are not allowed.

- Ads or reviews for Individual services or Establishments are not allowed as opening posts

- Duplicate topics are not allowed. A thread with the same topic may already exist. If so, you may revive it by simply commenting on that thread instead of starting a new one.

While the admin tries to be as objective in allowing or disallowing any thread or post, I'm human too so if you feel your thread should have been allowed you may send a private message for this (include the text that you posted for reference) and I'll take cognizance of it. However any private message making "demands" in any manner will not be responded to. I will also not be able to respond to messages asking for the reasons why certain topics were not allowed. Use the rules above to find out the reason.

All India Discussion Threads

The latest feature related to the forums is the All India Dicussion Threads! This feature allows users across multiple cities to have common discussions with each other. These All India discussion threads will be visible to users of all cities across India.

If you would like to create an "All India" discussion thread, select "All India" as the State and City while creating the thread (after you select "India" as the country). This will make the thread visible to all users across the country.

Do remember that this feature must be used for only discussions that are relevant irrespective of location. Local cruising and other discussions must be posted in city specific forums.

FAQs related to All India Discussion Forums:

1. Where do these "All India" threads and posts appear?

The "All India" threads appear on the homepage of the website along with the city centric threads. These threads get added to the homepage regardless of which city your profile is set to. No extra steps are needed for you to view these.

2. Local Threads are getting less visibility!

Some people have raised concerns that Local Threads are getting lost because of the "All India" threads. The reality is quite the opposite. When the "All India" option was added, the number of new threads as well as number of "latest posts" were increased. The former was increased from 10 to 15 and the latter was increased from 20 to 50! This overall has actually resulted in more local posts becoming visible even though they are mixed with "All India" posts. For e.g if today 35 local posts and 15 "All India" posts happened, the homepage will show all of these. So where earlier only 20 local posts were visible, now you will actually see more of the local posts. This is the typical trend we have seen since the introduction of "All India" threads. Although technically it is possible that you might see more "All India" posts too which will happen in case there are more "All India" posts and less "Local" posts.

3. Why not option for universal threads ("All Countries")?

OhMojo right now is very India centric. More than 95% of the traffic we get is from India. So a universal option would hardly be any different from "All India". In case this changes in the future, we will definitely look at providing this option.

4. Why don't you increase the limit on private messages? (unrelated but the most frequently asked question!)

Unfortunately, the amount of messages sent privately on OhMojo is just too big. If we do not keep this limit the entire server space will get utilized in no time and the website will slow down a lot or will stop functioning altogether. So this is a compromise we have to keep using. We were considering introducing a paid option for unlimited messages but I feel that it will not really give us enough volumes to be able to actually upgrade our servers. Not many guys in India sign up for such paid services.

5. Why are general discussion threads appearing in the "Cruising" section?

The OhMojo forums was originally designed only for Cruising Spots and related discussions. However there have always been demands for allowing general discussions. After many years of resisting, we started allowing general discussions on the website a few years ago. Now with the latest All India Discussion forums, we hope to take the generic discussions to the next level with more participation from users across multiple cities.

FAQs about Forums, Threads and Posts

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about forums, threads and posts:

1. Why am I seeing non-cruising discussions on the cruising forums?

The website started allowing topics other than cruising spots about 4 years ago based on user demand. However as adding option for "new categories" will take additional effort, currently the cruising forum section is being utilized for it.

The non-cruising topics are also moderated so that they are still discussions pertaining to only subjects related to the gay community. No general topics are allowed.

Additionally, the website has increased the number of topics displayed on the homepage so that the cruising topics also get due visibility.

2. I posted a new cruising spot/forum discussion topic. It never appeared!

Please see the point number 13 in the post above for possible reasons.

3. I made a few posts but these seem to have disappeared. Why?

Comments get deleted if they violate any of the rules mentioned above. Alternatively some comments may automatically get deleted after a few days. Please see point no 11 above for an explanation.

4. Why am I suddenly seeing so much censorship on OhMojo?

OhMojo does not believe in censorship. I do not delete any post for the views expressed even if I personally do not agree with them. However any post violating the rules mentioned above are deleted. This has always been happening on the website, however now I have started showing the deleted message indicator so that people become aware that a violating comment has been deleted.

5. I feel very strongly about a subject matter. May I start a discussion on it?

As long as the subject matter is pertaining to the gay community or is discussed in the context of the gay community, it will be allowed. Unfortunately general topics are not allowed.

6. Why am I seeing "All India" discussion threads on the homepage?

Any topic that gets posted at the "All India" level becomes visible to everyone in India. That is the purpose of the "All India" location marker! These do not replace your local discussions. They also get equal visibility (as long as they have active on-going discussions).

7. I am interested only in seeing cruising spot threads and not the other discussions:

Unfortunately this is not currently possible. I may provide additional filters/settings in the future. However it may take some time.

8. I see lots of nonsense/low effort comments taking the space on the homepage. This reduces the number genuine comments on the homepage.

The admin moderates and deletes a lot of posts on a daily basis. What you see are comments that may be low effort but are still relevant to the thread. Quite a few of them get marked as temporary for automatic deletion after a few days. Please read the point no 11 above for an explanation.

If you see comments that should not be allowed or may have missed by the admin, please report them and due cognizance will be taken.

9. I see a lot of old posts or thread violating the rules. What gives?

The website was not as strictly moderated earlier so there are many old posts and threads that do not fit the rules. Considering the number of such posts and threads, it is not possible for me to review all of them retrospectively.

If you notice any post that you feel should not have been allowed, kindly report and I shall take due cognizance of it.

10. Who gave you the right to decide what should or should not be allowed here?

I am the one who created this website and am responsible for everything that gets posted here. That gives me the right to run it the way I see fit. I try to be very objective in my moderation so if you feel I have missed something or have made a mistake I'm open to discussing them via private message. However ranting about the website, the admin or the moderation policy on the public forums is not allowed.

If you have any more queries related to the cruising spot and other discussion forums that have not been covered in the above sections, please send a private message to me on this profile and I shall respond. If they are generic in nature I shall add them here so that others can also reference them.

OhMojo.com Admin