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Forum Guidelines

Started by Alex, May 21, 2009, 10:34:10 PM

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Alex

By posting in our forum, you automatically agree to the following:

What's not allowed:
  • Duplicate posts/topics. Please use the search feature before you post!
  • Posts that have no discernible meaning, only random text, or lack sufficient context to form the basis of or contribute to a discussion.
  • Posting harassing or insulting remarks towards another member. Later editing or deleting your post does not absolve you from punishment. Learn respect.
  • Posting discriminatory comments, images or links, i.e. any disparaging or offensive content (directed at forum members or others) pertaining to race, religion, creed, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, or other protected classes as deemed necessary by forum staff. Moderators may edit/remove such content at their discretion and deal with the initiating poster as appropriate.
  • Posting private information about another member.
  • Posting graphic/inappropriate pictures or news that other members find offensive.
  • Posting topics and debates related to religion. These kind of topics almost always start a heated debate.
  • Political discussion is discouraged. Since discussion of roads will always involve politics to some degree, it is not outright banned, but members are instructed to remember that this forum is frequented by many people with diverse political beliefs, and strive to avoid protracted debate on the subject. The staff reserves the right to limit debate on political topics if a moderator judges the topic to be too divisive.
  • Political content of any kind (statements of political affiliation, endorsement of or opposition to any candidate, content demeaning or attacking a political ideology, etc.) in your forum profile (signatures, user titles, avatars, et al.) is not allowed. The staff reserves the right to remove or edit content that an administrator judges to be political in nature.
  • POSTING IN ALL CAPS! It looks like you're shouting. Don't do it.
  • Opening topics that have nothing to do with the forum's main topic.
  • Advertising commercial products or web sites, unless they are related to a forum's main topic. Discretion should apply.
  • Any questions about other websites. If you have a question about another website or forum, post it on their forum or contact them directly.
  • Any insulting remarks towards the admin team. Constructive criticism is welcome. Slanderous remarks are not.
  • Posting in a topic that someone broke such-and-such rule. This isn't necessary. Please use the "report a post" feature.
  • Using the "report a post" feature to ask an admin something or to report posts that don't break the forum guidelines. Please do not report the same thread more than once.
  • Posting an article without citing your source (i.e. URL, author name, and print date).
  • Using large signature images. These take up a lot of room and are obnoxious. Small ones work just as well (500 Width by 100 Height is the limit - in pixels).
  • Displaying videos in your signatures. While all of us sometimes like a good laugh, it's impractical to have videos displayed in your signature as they always display larger than our limits on signature images.
  • Photos and images posted in forum threads should not exceed 800 pixels in width or 600 pixels in height. Everyone is not using the same monitor. To reference larger images, just add a link from the 800×600 sized image to the larger file in question.
  • When posting larges quantities of photos, please limit individual posts to include no more than ten, and to spread out larger batches with subsequent posts. This cuts down on the amount of scrolling and load time needed by users to browse photo threads.
  • Opening a thread announcing that you're leaving. Sorry, but no one really cares.
  • Bumping topics (responding to a post older than 120 days) is highly discouraged. Topics should only be bumped if there is new and relevant information to add (such as a old topic on a proposed construction project, where construction has recently begun). Simply posting the word "Bump"  (or something similar) to force a topic to the top of a page will force a newer and potentially more relevant topic to drop from the first page of the forum. Continued abuse can lead to your posting privileges being curtailed or suspended.
  • Posting IM conversations, e-mails, or PMs. These conversations are meant to be private. Posting them is rude and isn't anybody's business.
  • Demanding that someone reply to your topic or post. Sorry, but you can't force people to be interested in commenting on what you said.
  • Sock-puppeting. This is cloning yourself with a second username; one per member will suffice.
  • Excessive use of formatting. Use formatting sparingly. When formatting is used, it should be done for a reason, not simply to make your posts stand out. (As an example, posting a list of Interstates you traveled on with the ones you clinched marked in green is acceptable, but coloring your entire post teal just because you like the way it looks is not.)
  • Excessive posting. Users posting messages at a high frequency (such as more than 8 posts in an hour or 32 posts over a 24-hour period) may be subject to a temporary cool-down ban if the moderation team judges that a user is making a high rate of low-quality posts.
  • Avoid posting multiple times in a row. Posts may be edited by the original author at any time. Multiple posts may be merged into one by the moderators at their discretion.
  • When replying to other posters, messages should focus on the content of the post being replied to, and not its presentation (spelling, grammar, usage, etc.) If clarification is necessary, it should be requested politely and explicitly, instead of with rude or demeaning comments, or with one-word comments such as "What?" or "Huh?"

Terms & Conditions:
  • By posting to this forum, you agree to grant AARoads a permanent, irrevocable, royalty-free license to the content of each of your posts, for the purposes of storing and displaying that content as part of the AARoads Forum in perpetuity. This license remains in effect even if you resign, withdraw, or are removed from the forum.
  • Due to the fact that the private messages people send to other members are, well, private, we will not do anything about harassing messages via PMs. The good thing is that you can block people from sending PMs to you, see this help topic for details.
  • The admin team has the right to add to or update these rules at any time with little or no advance notice.
  • Please remember that we are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message.
  • The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this bulletin board. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary.
  • You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this bulletin board to post any material which is knowingly
    false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law.
  • You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this bulletin board. When hotlinking from other web sites, users should use discretion.
  • Any member found to be in violation of the preceding rules will be sanctioned, with punishment ranging from a warning to a suspension to an all-out permanent ban, at the discretion of the AARoads administrative staff.

The AARoads Forum Team reserves the right to alter the above rules, terms and regulations at our own discretion, with or without member notice. You agree, through your use of this service, to all of the aforementioned guidelines. Failure to comply with such rules of this board will result in immediate disciplinary action, as deemed fit. Both your understanding and cooperation are always appreciated.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.