Friday, April 5, 2002
Some Forum Guidelines
Posted by Jason Dunn in "UPDATE" @ 12:37 PM
I wanted to publicly state a few policies that we use on this site. By nature I'm not a very legalistic person, and I prefer to let ideas and discussions flow where they may, but there are some exceptions to this and I'm forced to address because of a few people. So, for the record, here are some guidelines for this site so everyone knows where we stand:
Spamming - If you have a product, site, or service, please use the announcement forum for your advertisements. You don't need to be registered to use that forum. Posts deemed to be of a commercial nature will be moved to this forum. Spamming can be of a more subtle variety - if you're a web site owner and you decide to post content from your site (photos, articles, etc.) to a discussion thread, that's spamming. You're welcome to express your opinions on the thread, and include an URL with your thoughts, but posting an URL and nothing else is also spamming. Your job is to provide content on your own site, not on ours. If it's an article or something interesting, send it to us and we'll consider it for front-page posting. Posts that cross the line will be deleted.
Signatures - Related to spamming, sigs are provided as a way for people to learn more about you, for you to make a statement with a quote, etc. I have zero problem with people putting URLs in their sig - in fact I encourage it - but there's a fine line between giving people an URL to click on and turning your sig into an advertisement. Mazingo subscription URLs, affiliate shopping links, and any sort of commercial content simply shouldn't be there. I really don't want to become a "sig cop", policing signatures. I'd ask that you respect this guideline. I don't want to turn into a USENET rule-thumper and say "three lines only", so just use your good judgment. Is your sig longer than most of your posts? Time to trim it. Are you putting graphics in your sig that are distracting others from the content of the discussion? Re-think using graphics. Are you listing off every PDA you've ever owned? Ask yourself why. In many cases, it makes more sense to simply link to a personal home page that has all of the information you're trying to cram into your sig. Remember that sigs support HTML, so don't put full URLs in your sign - make them into hyperlinks. Keep your sigs tidy and minimal, and we'll all be happy. :D
Language - this is a PG-rated site. If you can't say it on regular television (HBO doesn't count folks!), don't say it here. There are other, more eloquent ways to express yourself. :-)
Flaming - as someone who has flamed and been flamed, many, many times, I can very easily see the difference between some good-natured smackdowns and messages that are simply mean. The heat of passion can make you say stupid things. If you don't have the sense to go delete your own post, one of us may do it for you. If you disagree with someone, explain why without attacking them. Disagreements are fine - insulting behaviour is not. There's also an element of off-topic-ness here - the worst thing that can happen to a great, useful discussion thread is when people (myself included) drag it down to a slug-fest. That thread quickly becomes ruined and useless to readers - I don't want to see that happen. Use the private messaging feature if you want to communicate directly with another person - why does the whole board need to see you vent your spleen? Also, you can't hide behind smiley-face emoticons - if you're saying something mean to another person, a smiley face doesn't hide your attack. If you have something to say about a TOPIC, do so without attacking the PERSON.
Topic Choice - Remember that is a Pocket PC site, not a generic "PDA Neutral" site. PDA neutral sites are fine and good, but this is not one of them. :D We're pro-Pocket PC, pro-Smartphone 2002, and more or less supportive of what Microsoft is doing in this space. You want to discuss the new Handspring Treo? This isn't your site. You want to talk about weight loss pills? Use the Off Topic forum. You want to wallow in the glory of everything that is the Pocket PC? This is your site. :wink:
Again, I can't express this strongly enough, I don't want to police this site. I don't want to feel like I have to comb through every post looking for "bad stuff". Today I had to delete my first real post by another reader, and I really disliked doing it. For the most part, every one of you is great - I love reading your thoughts on things, even if they don't always jive with mine. I want to give you all a forum to express your thoughts on everything Pocket PC, but there's no joy in this for me if this community turns into something I don't want to be a part of. Please respect the guidelines I've outlined above - thank you. If you don't want to, please go start your own site and run it the way you want to.
I thought this quote was quite apt: "Shout your hatred for all things "me" from the rooftops, but don't do it on my damn roof." I've had some people say to me "If you're going to provide a public forum for discussion, expect people to disagree with you." That's all well and good, but the guy who owns a coffee shop where people sit and chat probably doesn't expect to have people come up and yell at him...who wants to do that for a living? There's no perfect way to "run" a community, but I'm doing my best and I hope you'll stick around for a long time to come.
Spamming - If you have a product, site, or service, please use the announcement forum for your advertisements. You don't need to be registered to use that forum. Posts deemed to be of a commercial nature will be moved to this forum. Spamming can be of a more subtle variety - if you're a web site owner and you decide to post content from your site (photos, articles, etc.) to a discussion thread, that's spamming. You're welcome to express your opinions on the thread, and include an URL with your thoughts, but posting an URL and nothing else is also spamming. Your job is to provide content on your own site, not on ours. If it's an article or something interesting, send it to us and we'll consider it for front-page posting. Posts that cross the line will be deleted.
Signatures - Related to spamming, sigs are provided as a way for people to learn more about you, for you to make a statement with a quote, etc. I have zero problem with people putting URLs in their sig - in fact I encourage it - but there's a fine line between giving people an URL to click on and turning your sig into an advertisement. Mazingo subscription URLs, affiliate shopping links, and any sort of commercial content simply shouldn't be there. I really don't want to become a "sig cop", policing signatures. I'd ask that you respect this guideline. I don't want to turn into a USENET rule-thumper and say "three lines only", so just use your good judgment. Is your sig longer than most of your posts? Time to trim it. Are you putting graphics in your sig that are distracting others from the content of the discussion? Re-think using graphics. Are you listing off every PDA you've ever owned? Ask yourself why. In many cases, it makes more sense to simply link to a personal home page that has all of the information you're trying to cram into your sig. Remember that sigs support HTML, so don't put full URLs in your sign - make them into hyperlinks. Keep your sigs tidy and minimal, and we'll all be happy. :D
Language - this is a PG-rated site. If you can't say it on regular television (HBO doesn't count folks!), don't say it here. There are other, more eloquent ways to express yourself. :-)
Flaming - as someone who has flamed and been flamed, many, many times, I can very easily see the difference between some good-natured smackdowns and messages that are simply mean. The heat of passion can make you say stupid things. If you don't have the sense to go delete your own post, one of us may do it for you. If you disagree with someone, explain why without attacking them. Disagreements are fine - insulting behaviour is not. There's also an element of off-topic-ness here - the worst thing that can happen to a great, useful discussion thread is when people (myself included) drag it down to a slug-fest. That thread quickly becomes ruined and useless to readers - I don't want to see that happen. Use the private messaging feature if you want to communicate directly with another person - why does the whole board need to see you vent your spleen? Also, you can't hide behind smiley-face emoticons - if you're saying something mean to another person, a smiley face doesn't hide your attack. If you have something to say about a TOPIC, do so without attacking the PERSON.
Topic Choice - Remember that is a Pocket PC site, not a generic "PDA Neutral" site. PDA neutral sites are fine and good, but this is not one of them. :D We're pro-Pocket PC, pro-Smartphone 2002, and more or less supportive of what Microsoft is doing in this space. You want to discuss the new Handspring Treo? This isn't your site. You want to talk about weight loss pills? Use the Off Topic forum. You want to wallow in the glory of everything that is the Pocket PC? This is your site. :wink:
Again, I can't express this strongly enough, I don't want to police this site. I don't want to feel like I have to comb through every post looking for "bad stuff". Today I had to delete my first real post by another reader, and I really disliked doing it. For the most part, every one of you is great - I love reading your thoughts on things, even if they don't always jive with mine. I want to give you all a forum to express your thoughts on everything Pocket PC, but there's no joy in this for me if this community turns into something I don't want to be a part of. Please respect the guidelines I've outlined above - thank you. If you don't want to, please go start your own site and run it the way you want to.
I thought this quote was quite apt: "Shout your hatred for all things "me" from the rooftops, but don't do it on my damn roof." I've had some people say to me "If you're going to provide a public forum for discussion, expect people to disagree with you." That's all well and good, but the guy who owns a coffee shop where people sit and chat probably doesn't expect to have people come up and yell at him...who wants to do that for a living? There's no perfect way to "run" a community, but I'm doing my best and I hope you'll stick around for a long time to come.
