Here is the first iteration of the forum netiquette
Oh, to which I might add, if you have nothing positive to contribute, perhaps contribute nothing at all.
Forum Netiquette
When you signed up, you agreed to the Terms of Service (TOS). These Terms of Service are there to protect members and are not just some irrelevant doodlings by the moderators and admin. History has shown that forums collapse because of the lack of a TOS. Do not challenge the TOS. You will be banned faster than you registered. These are not cast in stone however, and will be amended from time to time.
Who are you?
- Introduce yourself, and let us know who you are and what makes you tick.
- Spend some time browsing and get to know what makes the forum tick.
- Be positive, be relaxed, and most of all retain a sense of humour (but remember something that is humorous to you might not be to someone else).
- Don't remain anonymous. Put your picture in your avatar, and let us know about your wheels in your signature.
- Get involved in forum outings and get-togethers. There's usually something happening in your area within a month or so of joining.
This forum is generally language agnostic, being dominated by English and Afrikaans, and we must recognise that some people are not comfortable posting in their second language. Try however, to post in English when posts are of a detailed technical nature, or may be of significant value to foreign tourists.
There is a forum help section. This is where you post your questions, suggestions etc about the forum itself. There are a couple of "How To's" there.
When making a post, consider whether it is in the right place. All the forums have clear titles and purposes. If in doubt, post it in The Pub and explain you don't know where it must go. A mod will gladly then move it to the right place. However repeat offenders cause a sense of humour failure in the mods. Do not make the same post in multiple sections. This is know as "crossposting" and is not only considered spam, but also dilutes the usefulness of your post, as answers may be spread across the posts. Crossposts WILL be deleted.
When making posts consider your audience. You will probably not know most of them.
When asking a question, consider someone may have already asked the question before. The search is a powerful tool. Take note of the stickies in each forum. These usually contain posts of questions which repeatedly come up.
Consider this forum is a family forum, so swearing and dirty jokes are frowned upon and will probably be edited or deleted. What might be fine for your kids might not be fine for others.
If something someone else has said angers you, carefully think about your response before you hit "post reply". A cup of coffee will generally result in you editing your post or not posting at all.
Brand bashing is unacceptable and not necessary. If you have personal experience of problems with a specific brand, you can discuss these in an adult manner without resorting to abuse of the brand or its owners. Remember friendly brand-bashing can be easily misconstrued.
It is not considered good manners to join immediately for the sole purpose of selling something. At least introduce yourself.
Any attempt at a commercial posting without contacting a moderator will be deleted. Commercial postings are those where you are pushing your own line of business or products. Take note we have "commercial member" status for those members who wish to advertise or promote their products. This also helps finance the maintenance of the forum (an expensive business).
Consider that the moderators are human, and don't have all-seeing eyes. They make mistakes. They are also holding down jobs and have families, so can't always respond to various things immediately. Their time is freely given to the forum to help run it. Acknowledge this commitment.
The things new members do which generally annoy forum members include:
- people who complain most of the time.
- challenging other members. Make some positive contributions to the community before you get the latitude to do that.
- griping about the government. If you don't like it, make a contribution to doing something about it.
- griping about many aspects of the forum (interface, software, performance etc etc).
The forum is like most things in life - what you put in is what you get out. We trust you enjoy your visits here.
Last edited by SimonB; 2009/08/18 at 09:10 AM.
Reason: Spelling
Carpe Diem Scrotum
Give a man a beer, waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and waste a lifetime!
Bookmarks