Forum Guidelines
(See also forum rules.) This page covers guidelines for posting on the forum. They are based on suggestions from forum members and are intended to keep the forum useful and enjoyable for the majority of members.
- For new topics please start the thread in the appropriate section. You'll be the thread owner.
- Before posting a new thread please do a search – it's possible your question has been asked before and you might find the answer more quickly with a search.
- Replies to posts should be interesting and useful to the thread owner. They can sometimes go off-topic, but bear in mind that if the thread wasn't properly answered then other members might not answer it after it has gone off-topic.
- The quality of posts here is what attracts new members to the site and keep existing members returning. Before submitting a reply have a read through. If it's not going to be helpful to the thread owner or the majority of other members who view the thread then please don't post the reply.
- Please don't flood the forum with posts. Try to limit your contribution to under 20 posts per day. Many more than that will fill the new posts list for other members with a large number of your short posts which can be annoying. Go for quality over quantity.
- If you started a thread about a problem and you fixed it, please let us know what the solution was. It'll make the members who helped feel good, and will also help other members who have a similar problem in the future.
- This is a discussion forum not an argument forum. Other members will be trying to help you with their posts, so please don't belittle their contribution.
- Please add any pictures as forum attachments rather than using photobucket. The forum will automatically resize the photos to fit the page, and they will be quick to load. We don't delete photos from the forum, so they will be there to help members researching in the future.
- Avoid chatter and jokes outside the members forums. If you can't resist posting a witty insight please also include a couple of lines related to the original topic.
- Don't overdo the smileys. They are intended to add expression that might otherwise be lost in the written word. Please don't use them for decoration – that can be distracting.
Social Section
It's good to get to know other members on the forum. The members' section is open to all topics allowed within the forum rules. The intention is to encourage a social side to the forum while keeping the more technical sections free from off-topic discussion.
The section is focused on people rather than any particular subject matter. It should be a place that all members might want to visit.
Feedback System
If you find a post offensive please use the report post icon. This is the red triangle to the top right of each post. Private messages have a similar report icon.
If you have a problem with a specific member feel free to PM one of the moderators.
If the forum seems to be moving in the wrong direction, or if you have ideas to improve the forum, then rather than up sticks and leave please make a suggestion in the Suggestion and Feedback section of the forum. We can discuss such things as a group. Nothing will change if you keep it to yourself.
Enforcing the Guidelines
Moderators might sometimes give you helpful hints if you don't follow the guidelines. If you post in the wrong place we'll move your post and try to redirect you to the new location. Off-topic comments spread around he forum, argumentitive behaviour, or flooding the forum with rubbish will often end with an infraction.
Infractions are sent by moderators as private messages. They are a bit like the points you'd get for speeding, but on here there's no ban after so many points. We do count the points and will have a word if you continue to notch them up. If that doesn't work we might moderate your posts before they appear on the forum, but that's a last resort as it relies on mods being on line when you post, otherwise things can go out of sync.