[barrage_assaultA-5]

This thread has been created to inform new members to the SpecialOps forums what should and shouldn't be done, and to teach a little forum etiquette. I may not be a moderator, but I'm getting tired of flaming and spam on this forum. Keep in mind this is not your personal web page where you can do whatever you want, this is a forum with many members that allows free speech (within the set rules) so paintball players can commerce with like minded peoples. Follow the rules or repercussions from the mods/admins will be inevitable.

Now, in order to eradicate these forum problems you need to know what you should and shouldn’t do:


Spam
Spamming is posting useless topics like, "what is the weather going to be like?" or "what’s your favorite type of water brand?" Any other topics that do not contribute in any way towards the goal of advancing the knowledge of the populace can also be considered spam. Other types of spam include multiple posts. This would be posting more than one of the same topic on the same section of the forum, or another section, or posting the same thing twice in the same thread. I have noted that this usually happens because when people try to post the forum will tell you, "mail error, did not send" if this message appears it did go through, check the board and it will be there. Keep in mind that creating a topic to apologize for spam, is spam. If you feel the need to apologize, please pm a mod. If you notice posts that fall under the topic of "spam" you should politely notify a mod by way of a pm and bring it to their attention. If you notice that you accidentally posted twice (double post), or posted something you realized later is useless, please take it upon yourself and do the responsible and mature thing by notifying a mod and having it deleted.


Flaming
Flaming is when one member starts inappropriately arguing with another member on the forum, or insulting someone on the forum. Don't do this. If you have a problem with another member, please pm them. If you have a problem with a members topic and don't believe that the topic is appropriate for the forum (either the poster is spamming or flaming or has posted something that offends you) pm a mod/admin or click the little button on the bottom left side of the members post, labeled "! REPORT" and notify a mod of the innapropriate post and they will respond as soon as they can.

Please do not start the topic "which is better, woodsball or speedball?" or "which one is best, airsoft or paintball?" These only start flame wars on the forum and can be deemed instigation. Always keep a cool head while posting, and try not to instigate a flame or stoke the fire on an ongoing one because it’s immature and inappropriate. Also do not start any topic saying that a member of the brigade lied on his/her stats. You cannot prove this and it doesn't affect you; just let it go.


Sections
Before creating a new topic, or thread, look around the forum for the section most appropriate for your topic. Threads like, "join my team in Arkansas," do not belong in Newbies Corner and a thread about "problems with my 98c," do not belong in the Lounge. Those are just examples but please make sure whatever topic you are starting is in the right section to achieve the best response. If it is posted in the wrong area it can be closed. There are sections in the forum for almost any paintball question, so make sure you post your topic in the right area. Mods will move your threads but it gets annoying when people continually post topics in the wrong area, and if that happens they can and will delete threads/posts. So remember to always look around the forum for the appropriate section and post your thread there. If you realize you have posted in the wrong area, PM a mod and ask if they can move it to the right section.


Knowledge
Before posting a new thread, do not post information that you are not sure about. It has become all too common for people to post misinformation or opinions of bias rather than the facts and it hurts the people who are looking for good info. Remember that no information is better than bad information; so think before you start a new thread or reply to someone’s question. If you don't know the answer, don't say anything, and don't profess that you do know what you’re talking about and that you’re an expert on the subject when in fact you are not. Also, if you are replying to someone’s question and you do know what you are talking about, do not just give him or her a "yes" or "no" answer. When giving answers explain your reasoning for saying what you said, people are more inclined to listen to you that way, and it will look like you know what your talking about and not just throwing in some random opinion.


Search
Also, for any questions such as "what position should I play, what marker should I get" or any question involving HPA info, do a search. The search button is located on the top of any board. These topics are done all the time and are of no need to post over and over. I know that many of you did not know this or could not find what you are looking for or want fresh answers. If so then I can’t blame you but do a search anyway, maybe you'll find what you’re looking for. Also, if you post a common topic and can't find an answer after searching, you can at least say you did in fact search before posting.


Mods/Admins
If anyone is thinking of arguing with a mod or admin, don't do it. If you feel that you have to do it, which is ill advised, at least have the courtesy not to do it publicly and to do it politely. You can PM them about it and be nice about it, mods/admins are humans too, they have a thankless job to keep you happy and are more inclined to hear you out if you don't start out your pm with accusations and insults. They will read your message and give you their reasons for doing what upset you. Keep in mind though that a mod or admin has the final say and the decisions they make are 99.9% of the time not going to be changed. They keep our forum clean, organized and set the rules, if you did something and they took authorative action, there are extremely good chances that you were in the wrong. They are the police of the forum; they have been here awhile and got to where they are because they know what they are doing. They keep the forum running and preserve its integrity, so remember to give them a little respect when your using their forum.

Mods/admins also do not delete posts or ban members because they have personal problems with you. They do it because you broke the rules, so they punished you, simple as that. So if they do take punitive action against you, do not get mad and consider it a great personal insult, you did something wrong. If you didn't know what you did was wrong, read the rules. Also don't beg the mods/admins to reverse their decision and reopen you’re closed post (usually the case) or un ban you etc. What they did was for a good reason and no amount of begging will get them to reverse their decision, unless you use that polite thing I spoke of earlier and have a very good reason as to why.


Spelling/Language
Please when you are using this forum do not swear, cuss, etc., this is a family forum, and we do not need youngsters reading that type of garbage. Also, do not attempt to bypass the language filter. Another note, this is a forum and not an AIM conversation with your school buddies, so proper English is a must. To achieve forum professionalism, use proper spelling and grammar. Proper use of the English language prevents you and the entire forum from looking like illiterate hicks (no offense to any rednecks/hillbillies out there).


Signatures/Avatars
There are rules on signatures, such as size and content. Read the rules on signatures or mods/admins will either delete or edit your signature. Same thing goes with avatars, your avatar has to be under a certain size limit and should not contain any offensive images, and neither should your sig.


Official Rules
For a complete set of rules look on the pinned section above any section in the forum. I did this because so many people are spamming and flaming probably because they do not read those rules. However, it is your responsibility to keep informed on all of the forum rules, ignorance is no excuse.
For a complete set of official forum rules, which everyone should read, use the link below. Rules and Regs do get updated, so remember to check in on them every once and awhile.
Official Forum Rules and Regs



*A Note: This was simply created to inform our new members and refresh the memory of older members on forum etiquette, not scold anyone. Please try to keep this forum spam and flame free, so it will be one of the few forums that are still clean and appropriate.


Related Links
Signature Guidlines
Avatar Guidlines
B/S/T Rules and Regs
Forum pay it foward pledge
All of the above links are within the Forum Rules and Regs section of the forum which can be found here.

Other Related Links
The FAQ files
Forum News
Forum Etiquette
Tyger's take on forum etiqutte
The Official forum spam thread (This is the only place on the forum where you are allowed to spam!)


Thank you,
-barrage

This post has been edited by barrage_assaultA-5: 15 March 2006 - 05:51 PM