Author Topic: Rules of the Forum  (Read 39142 times)

Offline GTX_Admin

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Rules of the Forum
« on: December 10, 2011, 04:00:34 PM »
The primary purpose of this forum is to provide an online community where members can display their models, profiles and other imaginative creations, share and discuss ideas and modeling techniques with like minded colleagues and most importantly, to have fun.  We generally like to assume everyone as an adult but in return expect you to act like one.
 
Being a community, we recognise that like all civilised communities, there is a need for some guidelines of what is deemed acceptable behaviour. As such, the following rules are drafted to help provide some guidelines for your posting and behaviour.  Please try to follow them.  If you aren’t prepared to, then maybe this forum isn’t for you.
 
1.   Remember why you are here
– Remember what this forum is about and why you joined.

2.   Be courteous to others – The old adage about “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” goes a long way here.  This means that you should always think before posting.  If you wouldn’t like having someone say something to you, then chances are that other people won’t like the same said to them.  Personal attacks on others are always inappropriate. Disagree all you like with their ideas or opinions, but don't resort to name-calling or flaming.

3.   Overtly political, religious and nationalistic posts are discouraged
– We recognise that certain topics will draw passionate responses from members.  We respect that.  We also respect that not everyone has the same viewpoint.  It is far easier therefore to simply agree to disagree and thus get back to the real reason why we’re all members here, i.e. to have fun and discuss modeling.

4.   Avoid sniping – We know that some posts can generate a negative reaction resulting in a snipe or a slap down at the member who posted it. This is very bad form and can lead to serious disagreements, the same goes for putting down other forums or people, whilst you may or even we may disagree with what’s occurring elsewhere on the net it’s not our place to be hostile. This can lead to serious problems to the forum and members should it get out of hand.

5.   No Sponging – We know you are keen to benefit from the knowledge and experience of others, but please try to do your own research first (Google is a wonderful resource).  Also remember that other members are not there just to answer your questions.  That doesn’t mean you can’t ask questions.  However, endless requests for information without contribution is not encouraged. If you need some information on a project, why not start by sharing what you found already, and see if others join in with additional material. This also means if moderators or other members give you links to relevant materials, please READ them before coming back to the topic with more questions.

6.   Use the “Report Post” Option – If you feel that a post is in the wrong section, is inappropriate, or otherwise objectionable, do not respond in the thread in question – that only compounds the problem.  Instead, report it using the "Report to Moderator" link found in each post and explain what the problem is. Your complaint will be reviewed by a moderator as soon as practicable and you will be provided a response as soon as possible.

7.   Signatures – These are supposed to be a couple of lines long with possibly a quote, info about yourself or a link to your own/others websites that may be of interest to other members. We would appreciate it you would leave out graphics, whilst initially looking good they soon get boring and they also take up valuable space and bandwidth, not everybody has broadband and these can serious slow page loading. Plus the space they take up on the page soon pushes other posts on to other pages too quickly.

8.   Quoting other posts – Please do not re-quote long posts with graphics, its one thing to mention a line from another post or reply to a previous post but completely copying a post is a waste of time and space again.

9.   Posting images – Posting of images of your work is strongly encouraged.  There are a number of ways to post images on the forum.  Please see here and here on some of the common techniques.  That said, make sure you also respect Copyright laws. NEVER post images or whole pages from currently available books or magazines without the permission of the copyright holder. This harms revenues and may jeopardise the production of future books and magazines and is akin to stealing from the photographers, artists, authors, publishers and manufacturers. Posting a summary in your own words is acceptable.

10.   Be willing to contribute to the forum – The forum only as good as its membership.  We rely on your active participation.  This also means that if you have suggestions for improving the forum, we want to hear about them.  Of course, please also recognise that not all suggestions will be viewed equally by others, so be prepared that not all suggestions will be acted upon.  Part of contributing includes inviting any likeminded people you know to join us here – the more, the merrier.

11.   Respect the Administrators and Moderators – Treat these people like a Referee or Umpire on the Sporting Ground.  These people are there to help ensure the forum runs smoothly and that all members can enjoy themselves.  Staff can and will move split or delete posts and topics if they are posted in an inappropriate section.  They will also take action to deal with breaches of the rules.  In all cases though, people will be notified of the reasons behind decisions.  Please also be patient – the Staff also have lives.

12.   Login Accounts – Only one login per user is allowed on the forum. Users creating duplicate logins may face temporary or permanent ban. If you have a genuine reason to create an additional logon, for example a problem with your account, contact one of the staff and they will sort it out.

Minor breaches of the rules will result in a friendly warning; further breaches or a blatant breach will result in a suspension of posting rights. Continued breaches in the guideline will result in membership being revoked and a permanent ban.
 
Remember that Membership of this forum is a privilege not a right. The site administrator and moderators reserve the right to delete accounts, edit posts as appropriate, and ban users if abuse of this privilege takes place.
 
Most of all though, HAVE FUN!!!!
« Last Edit: December 11, 2011, 03:07:36 PM by GTX_Admin »
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Tophe

  • He sees things in double...
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Re: Rules of the Forum
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2011, 05:47:26 PM »
where members can display their models, profiles and other imaginative creations
I do appreciate these words while... registering, I had to agree with (almost) "shocking" words - so much unpleasant I copy them and paste them, I can repeat: "You agree, through your use of this forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive"...
Hey, realists prosecutors classify imaginative creations as "false, inaccurate, abusive", so what?

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: Rules of the Forum
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2011, 12:05:42 AM »
You always have a great sense of humor, Tophe, and I can't tell you how pleased I am too see you here.

Just in case clarification is needed on this, that bit relates mostly to posting things that would be considered libel or making false accusations against another member, etc.

Of course, all our work is indeed "false and inaccurate" and thank goodness for that!

All the best,
Brian da Basher

Offline sotoolslinger

  • A World Champion Blackbelt in Putty-Foo…the man means business (just look at his photo!)
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Re: Rules of the Forum
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2011, 01:47:53 AM »
Well who ever built that plane in the banner must be a freaking genius ;)

GET IT.  :D (It was me based off a drawing of GTX's)

Offline Tophe

  • He sees things in double...
  • twin-boom & asymmetric fan
    • my models
Re: Rules of the Forum
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2011, 02:26:21 AM »
Thanks, my first word was a joke, yes. But there is a less smiling thing:
Another mystery from the rules we had to agree : « You also agree not to post any copyrighted material unless you own the copyright or have written consent from the owner of the copyrighted material. » Does that mean, if I find and transform a profile on the Web (on ferriere or Russian site) that « I have investigated and I own the proof that it was on the Web with full approval of the copyrighted source (author or manufacturer) that may be written elsewhere »? Impossible it seems, anyway I have agreed, I don’t know why – maybe I ignored as well this rule on the other forums. It would be wise to define what is a derivative work escaping copyright law, for instance colouring? twinning?

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: Rules of the Forum
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2011, 04:00:50 AM »
Well who ever built that plane in the banner must be a freaking genius ;)

GET IT.  :D (It was me based off a drawing of GTX's)

Well I had to drag up some low life's work to show there...

Regards,

Greg
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: Rules of the Forum
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2011, 04:04:45 AM »
I will put together a more definitive definition re the use of images etc shortly - Litvyak has given me some that I completely forgot to include.

Re the words at registration, it is simply part of the software and also the hosting companies stuff. 

Nothing should prevent you from posting as normal though.

Regards,

Greg
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline GTX_Admin

  • Evil Administrator bent on taking over the Universe!
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Re: Rules of the Forum
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2012, 03:55:55 PM »
Hi folks,

In addition to the formal rules listed above (which are always open to suggestions for improvement should members request it), I thought I would also highlight the following.

One rule I am trying to follow and have asked the other Moderators to follow is that we should always be prepared to explain any decision/action.  In many cases this should be done automatically or up front.  For instance, if a topic/post is removed or moved, a simple PM to the members involved explaining the decision/action will occur.  Similarly, if we are going to make any significant changes affecting the forum or significant parts of the forum (e.g. remove a section or feature), then this should be communicated well in advance, along with the reasons why, and where appropriate, members will be asked to vote on something beforehand.

Some of you will have already seen this rule in action.  It is a part of the open, democratic style of management we are trying to establish here on Beyond The Sprues.

Regards,

Greg
 
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline GTX_Admin

  • Evil Administrator bent on taking over the Universe!
  • Administrator - Yep, I'm the one to blame for this place.
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Re: Rules of the Forum
« Reply #8 on: August 08, 2012, 02:47:25 AM »
Folks,

I would just like to re-emphasise the rules above and ask that everyone familiarise themselves with them.  I especially ask that people take note of Rule No. 6:

"6.   Use the “Report Post” Option – If you feel that a post is in the wrong section, is inappropriate, or otherwise objectionable, do not respond in the thread in question – that only compounds the problem.  Instead, report it using the "Report to Moderator" link found in each post and explain what the problem is. Your complaint will be reviewed by a moderator as soon as practicable and you will be provided a response as soon as possible."

Regards,

Greg
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline GTX_Admin

  • Evil Administrator bent on taking over the Universe!
  • Administrator - Yep, I'm the one to blame for this place.
  • Whiffing Demi-God!
    • Beyond the Sprues
Re: Rules of the Forum
« Reply #9 on: September 28, 2013, 12:52:21 PM »
Folks,

It has been a year since these were last highlighted so I think it is time to re-highlight the rules so as to ensure all are familiar with them.

Kind regards,

Greg
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline GTX_Admin

  • Evil Administrator bent on taking over the Universe!
  • Administrator - Yep, I'm the one to blame for this place.
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    • Beyond the Sprues
Re: Rules of the Forum
« Reply #10 on: January 04, 2014, 03:25:03 PM »
Addendum regarding nudity:

Whilst we have set an age limit of 15yrs old (we did consider setting it at 18) and greater as being the limit for joining the forum, we also recognise that most here are adults and thus will be treated as such.  For this reason, nudity is ok so long as it is not gratuitous or unwarranted.  In other words, a model is ok but simply posting Playboy (or similar) centrefolds is not.  Likewise, a risqué joke image is ok but open hard core pornography is not.

If in any doubt, please contact one of the moderators before posting.
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.