FORUM ETIQUETTE GUIDE

[Nicole]

As new situations come to our attention we may find it necessary to alter or expand upon the policies stated here with little or no notification and any such changes may be enforced in full against previously existing submissions or behavior.
Alterations of policy may be announced through the News & Updates forum.

PERSONAL DISPUTES
Please do not use these threads for personal disputes, heated debates, flame wars etc. You are expected to treat each other with respect in the forums. If you should find that your discussion is becoming too heated or someone is becoming far too passionate about their argument, please take the discussion to private message or email. If you continue to have a problem with someone then utilize the foes function in your profile.

Should you receive a private message that is harrassing in nature, please notify the administrator or a moderator immediately. Should you be the creator of a harrassing private message, email or post, you will be subsequently removed from the board & all future access will be denied. We will not tolerate unnecessary drama on this board.

RESPECT OTHER USERS
Sometimes people can write something that you may find offensive. Before launching into a public condemnation though, please consider that the person may not have intended to cause offense. It is very easy to misinterpret a post on forums, especially when dealing with multinational citizens. Aussies have a unique sense of humour and we are often "having fun with each other" and it is NOT taken as it may sound to others.

LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE
It's tempting to revisit controversial decisions you disagree with, but it's rarely productive to do so, since it almost always results in the same heated, lengthy, and time/energy draining discussions leading to the same conclusion that was reached in the last round.

Therefore, for issues already raised, discussed, and decided upon, re-open the discussion only if you have significant new information that would reasonably prompt reconsideration of the original decision.

HOW TO POST
Choose clear, informative subjects. This is more likely to elicit response from experienced users who have knowledge about that particular topic. It also makes the topic easy to reference and find in forum searches by future users with similar problems.

When asking questions, provide as much information as possible.

All posts are required to be constructive and on topic. We will delete, split or merge any post or thread we deem as necessary to do so.

IDENTIFY YOUR SUBJECT MATTER
Not everyone has time to read all forum postings. To ensure that your message reach the right people at timely manner, identify your subject matter clearly in the subject line.

STAY ON TOPIC
Many of the people reading the threads on this forum are busy people, so please pay attention to the topic of your messages, and check that it still relates to the charter of the original message to which you are posting.

Off-topic discussion not taken to the Off-topic area provided, email, pm, msn, or any place where it is not considered off-topic, may be moved or simply deleted.

When responding to an existing thread, attempt to focus on the original topic. If something comes up and you're inclined to post "that reminds me," or "we also need to consider..." determine whether it might be better to start a new thread, or if your statement even needs to be said at all.

TRIM YOUR FOLLOW-UPS
Do not quote the entire content of the message to which you are replying. Include only as much as is necessary for context. Remember that if someone wants to read the original message, they can; it is easily accessible. A good rule of thumb is, don't include more quoted text than new text.

There is always a need for some trimming - either a salutation, a signature, some blank lines or whatever. If you are doing no trimming whatsoever of the quoted text, then you aren't trimming enough.

MISPLACED POSTS
Try to place your posts in the correct forum for the topic. Our forums have been organised so that most topics fit in one logical location. Any post that is deemed by the staff to be in the wrong forum will be moved to the correct location without warning. Most users can find these on your own but if you lose your thread, it is acceptable to contact one of the administrator or a moderator asking where it has been moved.

BE KIND TO NEWCOMERS
Newcomers may be annoying. They ask the wrong questions, including ones that seem obvious (or whose answers seem easy to find). But lots of valued contributors started out this way, and treating newcomers kindly makes them more likely to turn into the valuable community members we all know and love (and cut some slack when they mess up).

So while you don't have to humour them or suffer them gladly, IT IS fine to point out when they make mistakes, point newcomers in the right direction in addition to turning them away from the wrong ones, and be kind to them in the process of correcting their transgressions.

In turn, newcomers or even longer term members should not take offence to this direction and do not need to post an apology that they didn’t know something, that’s why they are being pointed in the right direction.

NO TROLLING
What is a troll? It's a person who posts something which is bound to stir people up and then sits back and watches as dozens of people jump in and start arguing. Sometimes trolls get their friends to join in or post under different names. Generally they will do anything it takes to get attention. If you see a message like this, please try and refrain from replying to it - it may well be locked/deleted anyway.

Trolls are generally deceitful and may use ambivalence as a method of covertly insulting, intimidating, or inciting a person or persons for their own sadistic pleasure. They often pick their words very carefully and are therefore able to defend their masked attempts at creating unrest, often redirecting the blame onto the community and its failure to understand them properly.

Trolling is further considered one of two things; Either running a topic into the ground incessantly, or dragging up old arguments against a specific user/group/etc. long after the original discussion gas been put to rest and then targeting them/it specifically and needlessly. Trolling is the first step toward outright harassment of other members. This is the a no-no in this community. Letting every argument drop isn't always a possibility, but learning when to let things go is a valuable tool, and not just in this community.

POWER-POSTING
Power-posting is when board members post 'empty' messages to the board, in order to simply increase their number of posts more quickly. Examples of power-posting are replying to a message with only 'Me too', 'LOL' or 'I agree', but failing to contribute anything further to the discussion. If you reply to a message, make sure you have something to say. Power posting clutters up the forums, clutters up the 'new posts' function, and uses extra bandwidth and server space. While we don't mind people using bandwidth to chat usefully on the board, we do mind people using it just because they want a more impressive 'post counter'. If you're not sure if you're power-posting, take a moment and think it over before you post. If all your post contains is an emoticon, it's a power-post. If it adds something to the discussion, it isn't.

THREAD HIJACKING
Thread hijacking is the process of replying to an existing thread with a different topic. This is discouraged. It is better to start a new thread if you have a problem that is related to an existing posted issue but clearly different. On the other hand, it is better to respond to the existing thread with additional information if you have what appears to be the same problem.

Posts that hijack a serious thread with off-topic discussion are strongly discouraged and will often be deleted or edited by the administrator or a moderator.

IGNORE SPAMMERS
Spam is a blight upon the face of the net. Nobody likes it. However, it is hard to avoid. Despite our best efforts, you will very occasionally see spam on the forums. Complaining about spam in public increases noise, but not signal. It may make you feel better, but it doesn't help. PM a moderator and they will review it for removal.

Repetitive posts by one user, or posting a new thread when one is already easily accessible can be considered spam. It's hard enough to let community members easily track this forum as days go on, they don't need to wade through two dozen threads about the same thing every day. Try searching first.

WARNINGS, USER LOCKING, BANNING
If the Forum Staff feels that a user has "crossed the line" one too many times, they will issue the user a private warning. This warning will not be discussed on the Forums.

If the warning goes unheeded, further action will be taken. This can be anything from locking the offending user account, to deletion and banning of the user. Action is generally on a case by case basis.

If a user is apologetic, interested in a peaceful solution and wishes to have their account reinstated, a general consensus will be formed by the administrators and moderators for or against such a request.

DO NOT FLAME THE 'STAFF'
They have the final say. We try to involve the forum members as much as possible but sometimes your vote doesn't count. The administrators and moderators try to please everyone they can, but in the end, we are charged with making this community as safe and enjoyable for as many people as we possibly can. We can not always be right, nor can we please everyone with the decisions made, but we are doing our "jobs" (for which they volunteer their free time and do not get paid for) and hopefully we can all agree that we are doing our best to ensure a good community here.

If you feel that an oversight has been made, then PM the Administrator or a Moderator. Do not post complaints on the forum. We do encourage Suggestions and you may post those in the Suggestions forum.

FINAL WORD
Anyone deemed to be disrupting the Forum for whatever reason will be dealt with accordingly. The administrators will try their best to maintain the platform for sincere discussions and will prevent any attempts to degrade or devalue the quality of the forum.