Forum Rules

[ian]

Forum Rules

1. Posting/discussion about software cracks, serial no's, and illegal downloading and duplication of software is prohibited.
2. Discussions which actively encourage illegal hacking/malicious harm to computers/networks is prohibited.
3. Rude, offensive or threatening comments as well as posting of adult material will not be tolerated. Use of bad language is not allowed, some words are censored and will appear as ****. Just because **** appears instead of the banned word, that does not make it alright, you will still receive an infraction/possible ban. If you insult any of the moderator or administrator team, your account will be instantly banned.
4. Spam, multiple posting of same topic, promoting your own site/forum and posting of sites with affiliate ID's is not allowed.
5. In case #4 wasnt clear enough, anything along the lines of free/cheap Ipod, Vaio, Computer, etc is a no-no. Also posts or signatures saying come and join my new computer forum will be considered as spam and will be promptly deleted.
6. If you've got questions about user ranks and other pseudo-administrative type questions, check FAQ and Ranks before posting a question about it. Also, feel free to drop in an introduce yourself here!
7. Policy regarding software can be found here
8. No more than 10 lines allowed in signature, 2 different colors and font size 2 is the maximum font size allowed in signatures.
9. Posting about ANY illegal activities is forbidden.
10. Only members with 100 posts are able to send Private messages and post in the computer equipment for sale section. Members are not allowed to pm other users and attempt to sell them anything. Any member who sends you a pm trying to sell you something should be reported directly to an admin and/or moderator. Their account will be banned immediately.
** Please note that in most cases, posts will simply be deleted and you will be directed to these set of forum rules. However repetitive breaching of the forum rules will result in termination of your account and deletion of all associated posts. **

[ian]

Other Points of Interest

Welcome, this is the new first point of call for all new members (and maybe a few old ones too )

When you have read this post and are ready to introduce yourself pop by the Official welcome thread (Click Here)

Contents

Site Rules
What is expected of me?
I want to become an expert, where can I start?
Should I create a new thread?
What can I do if I see someone breaking the rules / or have a problem with another member of the site?
What is an infraction?
What should I do if I want to appeal an infraction?
How do I progress through the site?
Any further progress I can make?
Who are the moderating team and how do I join?
What can we talk about in Off-topic?
Are there any other bad habits I should know about?
Any other matters?


Site rules
While we want to create a relaxed atmosphere for sharing of IT questions and informations, but we of course have rules. If you break them you will reprimanded, if you keep breaking them you will be banned. This applies to all members regardless of post count.

What is expected of me?

We don’t expect anything of our members except to be polite, courteous, and helpful. Oh and of course to adhere to the rules.
On a special note, you are expected to respect the decisions made by moderators. They are highly experienced in there chosen field and have been picked because they show maturity and professionalism. We endeavour to be as fair as possible. Any arguing or harassment of moderators with regards to infractions or other matters will result in account termination.

If your primary purpose is to spread repeated negative comments which are not deemed constructive about the site and create an atmosphere of bad will, your account may be terminated.

I want to become an expert where can I start?
Glad to hear you are on the voyage of knowledge, please check out all the 101’s written by our resident experts:

Should I create a new thread?
We welcome new threads, but we ask that you check out the search facility provided (as available here), and see if someone has already asked your question. Also look at our off-topic policy below for starting threads in off-topic (click here)

What can I do if I see someone breaking the rules / or have a problem with another member of the site?

The best thing to do is report them to a moderator or a super-moderator (see here for a list of moderators) via a PM, or a “report bad post icon”. The mod team will take any action appropriate in consultation with the remaining mod team.
Please avoid overly hostile direct confrontation with other users on the site, as it is hardly the atmosphere we want to promote
If you see any spam within the site, please report it using the “Report Post” button. DO NOT respond within the thread. The mod team will delete the thread shortly.

What is an infraction?
An infraction is a point based system, designed to track members who repeat offend by breaking the rules in a manner that would not warrant an outright ban. Infractions expire after 1 year, and if a user collects 3 active infractions at one time they will be temporarily banned. They are usually issued for something like, being offensive, spamming your own forum, swearing etc…
If your return after a temporary ban and get a fourth infraction, your account will most likely be permanently banned.
We will also often issue infraction warnings (yellow cards) which are not full infractions and hence do not count towards to 3. But these warnings will be looked at during infraction appeals and future decisions.

Note: This doesn’t mean you are free to be offensive 3 times; the mod team will discuss each case and may conclude that an immediate ban is required, regardless of any absence of previous infractions.

What should I do if I want to appeal an infraction?
If your infraction was given my a moderator then contact a Supermod (See HERE for a list), if your infraction was given by a Supermod then contact an administrator. You will be contacted shortly afterwards with the result of your appeal, Supermods/Admin will often downgrade and infraction to a warning, or may reverse it all together.

How do I progress through the site?

There are various stages and user groups available to our user base.
Once you have passed the 100 post mark you will be considered a regular member and as such will be given access to the following sections:
For-Sale: An area where you can sell or buy computer parts from other members
Photos: Our new photo section, where you can post pictures, look at other members pictures, and post comments.

The posts ranks can be viewed HERE

Any further progress I can make?
I addition, high valued users who show maturity, good knowledge, and are supporting the philosophy of the site may be elected to VIP status. While this is not dependent on your post count, it will normally take some time to collect sufficient posts to be noticed for consideration, and it is by appointment only. Requests to become VIP will be ignored.

Who are the moderating team and how do I join?
The current mod team can be seen by looking at the groups page HERE, in addition there are several Supermods, who as an extension of normal moderating powers have the ability to ban users (used to enforce the forum rules), and reverse infractions.

If you wish to become a moderator there are several criteria regarding post count, time active as a user, activity, expertise in chosen area, which must be met and further details can be found in HERE. However meeting the criteria will not guarantee acceptance as a mod, the most important factors we consider are:
Maturity, and
Attitude towards other members

All mod applications are taken to a poll between all the moderators/super-moderators/admin team. User must earn a majority on this poll to be accepted. It may take a while for a positive response, but unsuccessful candidate will not be contacted.

What can we talk about in Off-topic?

Well pretty much anything, within reason. So long as it doesn’t break any of the rules. We want this area to be a place where members relax and talk about non-IT topics.

With that in minds we do implore our members to treat this site with a little respect; so outright silly topics may detract from the atmosphere somewhat

Are there any other bad habits I should know about?

As we’ve made clear the site should be relaxed, but also have a professional atmosphere; after all we want the site to grow into a respected computer forum. As such there are a few faux pas’ that it would be good to let known
1. Obviously anything that breaks the rules
2. Any thread is of a specific topic, and as such any post you make in a thread should be consistent with that topic. Discussing something else is often called “going off topic” and is generally frowned upon, this is of course within reason
3. Hijacking a thread by adding your own separate unrelated problems once a thread has started. If you have a question; feel free to start a new thread.
4. Posting your thread in the wrong section. Please look through the forum sections and choose the one most appropriate to your question when posting a new thread.
5. CF has many highly experienced users who may correct any errors in information you give. You should never take this personally, a correction may feel like a “slap down” or a “burn” but this is rarely the case. Remember our philosophy demands quality advice and as such the occasional error must be corrected, it’s never personal.


Any other matters?

You will see that we often run varous 'for-fun' competitions, check out the off-topic section for more