Basic Message Board Rules & Guidelines

Please keep in mind that this board is read and used by posters of all ages.

Basic Message Board Rules & Guidelines

The following rules are your guide to behavior on these boards. They address the general case, while moderators and administrators address the specific case. When a rule and a moderator appear to be saying different things, the moderator is always right. Avoid arguing with them - if you feel you've been wronged or misrepresented, you're welcome to contact me by EMail. Voicing your grievances on the message board itself is ill advised.

There will be no childish arguments, there is a fine difference between a debate and bickering. I like to pick and I generally only pick in a fairly harmless joking way .... bickering will not be tolerated ... and will result in temporary ban from the board. 1st time: a warning. 2nd time: one week ban. 3rd time: something just short of a permanent ban.

No harassing will be tolerated, no bigotry, racism, or any kind of defamatory, libel behavior will be accepted ... This is your first and only warning, I don't want to see it or hear about it, or you could be banned.

Rules

1. No swearing. Avoid using bad language. Mild cursing is tolerated in moderation but be careful of your tone, especially against fellow posters.

2. No offensive content. This includes, but is not limited to :

Gore and excessive violence (both photographic and animated) including 'stick death' and violent Flash animations

Pornography and strongly sexually suggestive material (both photographic and animated)

Racist and hate speech material

Other material generally considered rude, vulgar or crass (including bodily functions)

Posting written material or inline images containing the above is unacceptable. Links to gratuitous examples of the above is prohibited. It is sometimes reasonable to link to an external resource that contains borderline material because of it's redeeming attributes (an article about a breakthrough in medical science with graphic pictures of surgery for instance) and it is polite to warn people about what they might see. Please note this is simply netiquette and not a license to break this rule. If you have concerns about material you wish to post, you can contact me first.

3. No illegal content. This includes, but is not limited to :

Material concerned with illegal drugs and drug use

Material concerned with making weapons and explosives or committing crimes

Pirated software, music, or other media, including modern commercial game emulation, file sharing networks and ways of circumventing copy protection

Discussing the implications, ethics and other theoretical aspects of these subjects is acceptable, but promoting, advocating or providing specific details is not.

4. No advertising, spamming or scams. This includes, but is not limited to :

Pyramid and other MLM schemes, referral programs and money scams

Passing through the board to advertise your services, event, competition or personal website - even if your link seems to correspond to the theme of the message board.

This has more to do with the safety of the posters than me being concerned about someone promoting their sites or sevices.

Sharing your website or message board with the other forum dwellers is something reserved for people who become part of the community, as this is not a public noticeboard for you to advertise on. Avoid promoting your website in your first post as it makes it difficult to tell if you intend to stick around or not.

I will not discuss my store business on this board and any posts that does will be edited or deleted.

Not all behavior is so simple, these tips can help you fit in better with the exiting community.

Guidelines

1. Make your signature a reasonable size. Large, ugly and slow loading signatures visually pollute the board, enlarge threads and slow down modem users. Show respect for your fellow posters by ensuring your signature, if used, is somewhat discreet, space efficient (avoid using vertical content) and quick loading. If you use other message boards and don't want to change it for this one, then disable your signature when you post by unchecking the box below your message body. You will be warned if your signature is unacceptable.

While I am not against the practice of using your signature to list your site URL's, EMail addresses and IM accounts (as everyone has a perfectly good profile for this), it is permissible to include them, assuming it's not a blatant advert.

2. Don't post nonsense and gibberish. Don't waste people's time by spieling off nonsense prose or other forms of brainless rambling. While we all have a sense of humor, material that's completely devoid of intelligence, thought or wit, does not belong need to be on these boards.

3. Make use of the preview function and the Bible Answers, Bible Search, Google Search ,Spellcheck and Webster's links I have placed on top of the boards. The preview checkbox that sits next to the post button is a powerful tool that will show you exactly how your post, profile picture and signature will look before you add it to the board. You can use it to check your spelling and other formatting, as well as seeing how your profile and signature looks without making 'test' threads, and save yourself from having to fix blatant mistakes with edits.

4. If you have a large picture to display, either in filesize or dimensions, link it. Stretching threads is a no-no, and if it occurs your post maybe edited to fix it.

5. If you post an external link, please be discerning. We do not need to be inundated with Flash animations and quirky sites. You can share sites with the rest of the board that make you laugh or think, but just try not to make a habit of it, and consequently be sure to only pick the best of the bunch, as mediocre Flash animations are not rare treasures that the world must be notified about. If you're going to post trivial and silly content, it *must* be all ages.

6. Avoid provocative subject matter. Challenging people's religious convictions are ultimately unproductive and breed bad will. They are not a good way to 'entertain' or 'liven up' the board.

7. If you're not a moderator, don't feel compelled to act like one. If someone is breaking a rule in a way that annoys you or makes you feel uncomfortable, feel free to tell them that you don't think they should be doing that. Do not travel the boards looking for people who you feel are breaking rules so you can tell them off. Do not copy-paste quote sections of the rules at people. Do not warn people of the rules when they first arrive - that can be insulting. If someone is being a nuisance on the board, and a moderator is aware of the situation, consider backing off. Goading and provoking troublemakers takes control of the situation away from the moderator and makes their role more difficult.

8. If you're new to the boards, you can simply join in on existing threads, or start one of your own to announce your presence. If you do start an introduction thread, please take the time to tell us about yourself, because while we're generally friendly and interesting people it's difficult to respond to "Hi I'm new. Bye."

Some good icebreakers include what some of your interests are,music, politics, classic cars or maybe how you found this board, if you know anyone who already posts here or even what part of the world you hail from. If you're going to use a new thread to announce yourself, be sure to give us something to go on.

But most of all, just try and be yourself, use your common sense, treat others with understanding and respect and have fun!

Friend's of mine.
Conservative's Comment Board

(you don't have to sign up to post on this one)