Honesty

[Thundersnow]

Most of us who are active on this forum are here because we have an interest and passion for weather and the amazing power we see in nature on God's earth.  But, this is also a public service, since awareness of hazardous weather is the best protection anyone can have to take measures to protect life and property during dangerous weather.  With that said, while we all share an ethusiasm for watching, reporting, and forecasting weather, it is something we take very seriously.  And, when lives and property are under threat, it is a very serious matter.

There are some, in their excitement, that enjoy the sensationalism of it all and will even sensationalize things at the expense of spreading misinformation.  This is a very dangerous thing since when things are falsely reported or when inaccurate information is spread, that only serves to damage the credibility of those in the field who serve to warn the public of hazardous weather.  People such as forecasters and storm spotters are very important to relaying the information needed to protect lives in the short term and do studies in the long term that help experts in the field better understand the science.

With that said, the staff and management of this forum will not tolerate the deliberate spread and reporting of misleading and false information.  This is not the forum for playing games, when it comes to serious weather situations.  This includes but is not limited to...

* Deliberate reporting of false local weather observations
* Misrepresentation of official forecasts
* False reports from storm chases or even "fake" storm chases (believe it or not, this has happened)

Showing integrity and honesty is not much to ask for.  Some people out there are insecure enough with themselves that they feel like they can use the Internet to pretend to be someone they're not or pretend to be doing something they're not, in order to attract attention to themselves.  Many people out there do engage in trolling and role-playing games, deliberately deceiving others in the process.

But, just to reiterate... this forum is not the place for that.

By all means, we encourage folks to laugh and have a good time during their stay on this forum.  Yet, there is a serious side to the subject of this forum.  And, there is a time and a place for playing games.  But, deceiving the public (since this is an internet site accessible to the public) with regard to serious weather is neither the time nor the place for playing these kinds of games.

I believe the vast majority of members on this site don't need to be told any of this.  It is all common sense.  But, you might be surprised to learn that common sense isn't as common as you might think. 

[msdawg911]

In addition, the NWS has put the following notice on their storm report submission page:

*NOTICE:* Information provided on this form may be used by the
National Weather Service (NWS) for official purposes in any way,
including public release and publication in NWS products. False
statements on this form may be subject to prosecution under the False
Statement Accountability Act of 1996 (18 U.S.C. ? 1001) or other
statutes.

An excerpt of the FSAA:

    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any
matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or
judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and
willfully--
        (1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or
    device a material fact;
        (2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent
    statement or representation; or
        (3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same
    to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement
    or entry;

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or
both.