Why, would you like me to do it again..... Act like a moderator, or if it is different here...the rules of engagement, tell me.
And I am not laughing
The rules are quite simple. Of special note is rule #1:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/faq.php
Forum Rules to Live By
While we loathe to define ourselves by a list of "DONTs" there seems to be a need for some simple clarification on what we consider to be very common sense rules and matters of etiquette on our forums. In no particular order, here are some very basic guidelines new and existing forum users need to follow:
1. No Disparaging any of the moderators or the administrator. You may disagree with mods or the admin all you want, but if you bring their status into it with such statements as "you'll ban me if I disagree with you," you're probably right. DON'T DARE THE MODS TO BAN YOU. YOU'LL LOSE. Additionally, little cutesy posts with double meanings designed to tweak a mod or an admin but attempting to skate along the edge of banning will cause the same result.
2. No constantly attacking other posters rather than disagreeing with the message. It doesn't matter to us whether or not what your viewpoints are; if you can't keep a civil tongue in your head or civil fingers on a keyboard, your value to discussion is limited and possibly nil.
3. No trolling, spamming or flooding the board with post after post just to annoy people or rack up your post count.
4. No sucking up to mods and the admin on this board and then trashing them on every other board on the net. If I hear about a bunch of Audioholics-stabbing on other forums by posters whom we have let in here in good faith, those posters will cease to exist. I think it's fair enough. Every time you log in here, it costs Audioholics money, and the admin and the mods try their best to do a good job. By costing us money and then using little things you dig up here, or things that we say that offend you (sorry, you have no Constitutional right not to be offended) to run off and trash the place -- well, let's just say we're not going to put up with it. Find another hobby.
5. No comments or slurs of a racial nature will not be allowed on the forum. If you can't control your biases or prejudices, then perhaps you should post those quotes on a board other than this one.
6. No posting posts accusing or screaming at Audioholics, admins or the moderators UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES OR ABOUT ANY SUBJECT or, as another example, demanding answers if a "most favored poster" is banned. If you have a question, PM a moderator. If you start demanding to know "WHY???" on the forum where everyone on the Internet can see it, you'll get one opportunity to shut up, and then you will follow the "most favored poster." We are here to keep the forum running smoothly, not to play favorites, explain ourselves, or to exempt certain people from behavior that, if a newbie did it, would elicit screams of "Ban him!" from half the membership. If we do something, it's for a reason. If we make a mistake, we'll rectify it, but demanding answers in public will almost invariably make the entire moderator team annoyed at you and more determined NEVER to change the decision, so think before you do this.
7. Do NOT immediately start a new thread on a subject after a moderator just locked one on the same subject. We don't care if you had something else to say. If the mods say the thread's dead, stupid, infantile, ridiculous, or absolutely useless to waste time on, it's done. If you start a new thread in defiance of this, you're history.
8. Long-time posters who think they are indispensable and decide to start hassling moderators to see how far they can take it will find they are not indispensable after all if it gets out of hand. Our advice -- don't push the envelope.
9. If you try to get around the non-ISP e-mail address when registering by just making up one with comcast.net , etc., on it, it will bounce back to us as fake. We immediately ban such addresses. Our advice: be honest. And also -- TURN OFF SPAM BLOCKERS AND SPELL YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS CORRECTLY. MISSPELLED ONES GET BOUNCED AS INVALID, i.e.
blahblah@verison.net instead of verizon.net . If you aren't careful when typing, it isn't our fault.
10. Because there are a lot of forum members (and on slim occasion,
manufacturers) who like to doggedly bring up their favorite products (it seems) in each and every forum thread, we have had to instate a new rule for PRODUCT REVIEW threads. In a PRODUCT REVIEW thread started by an Audioholics staff member or Admin discussion of competing products will not be allowed. This is not to stifle discussion, but to help keep the REVIEW thread on topic - namely, to keep it about the product being
reviewed. Members are welcome to start other comparison threads or discussions elsewhere, but off-topic posts within REVIEW threads will simply be deleted.
NOTE: LENGTH OF TIME YOU'VE BEEN HERE DOES NOT GIVE YOU IMMUNITY FROM BANNING IF YOU ARE TRASHING THE SITE OR MODERATORS OR HELPING PEOPLE TARGET MODERATORS ON THIS FORUM. IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS WHO HAVE BEEN BANNED HERE, TELL THEM TO E-MAIL YOU. IF THEY MAKE NEW ACCOUNTS HERE AND WE FIND OUT YOU KNOW ABOUT IT, A FEW PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN.
In short, if you want to discuss AV, software, or even politics, we're all ears. If you were looking for a typical Internet flame forum, you're in the wrong place, and it's probably best if you not waste either your time or ours by applying to post. When you realize that we can ban you for any reason at all, and decide to not whine about the First Amendment when you post something objectionable and the mods don't appreciate it, you'll be on the road to being a successful poster here. No one wants to ban anyone. Don't force the issue, unless that's the result you want to achieve.
Thanks
Audioholics
Additional Rules:
1) No slandering of manufacturers or forum members, including Audioholics Staff and moderators
2) No bashing our site, ethics, motives, etc. If you have criticisms about us, send us a PM or email (info@audioholics.com)
3) No foul language
4) No posting under multiple monikers/logins
Violation of these rules will result in a ban - the length of which is up to the discretion of the Admins and moderators and is not up for debate.
Just because we offer a ton of leeway in the "Steam Vent" forum doesn't mean that it is a "rules free" zone. Basic etiquette and decency still apply.
IMPORTANT: All posts made in the Audioholics Forums become and remain the property of Audioholics (previously copyrighted works notwithstanding - which are illegal to post in the forums). Membership is optional and we reserve the right to keep, delete, modify or otherwise manipulate and/or publish any photos, text or data submitted to these forums. If you want something kept private, don't publish it in a public forum!
These rules are easy to follow and aren't hard to obey. We pretty much have a zero tolerance policy on the above and, like the real world, ignorance of the law is no excuse...
Please see the links below for a more exhaustive list of policies and Frequently Asked Questions and, as always, have a great day!
