[sirdarksol]

Welcome to our little martial artists’ corner of the web.

In order for us all to know what to expect of each other, and so that we may all gain the most from our experience here, I ask that you read the following post. Hopefully, most of this will be common sense to you, but I still ask that you take a moment to read it, if for no other reason than to validate the work that I put into it.

The first and most important rule that we have on this forum is as follows: Treat each other with respect.
Honestly, if you follow this rule, anything else in this post should follow automatically. I would hope that this rule requires no explanation, but I shall spell it out anyway. That’s how important this is.
It is possible to treat others with respect, even if your opinion differs from theirs. It takes work, especially with difficult topics, but it can be done. However, once a name has been flung, or a belittling phrase has been typed, little can be done to stem the following tide of angry posts from both sides of an argument.
To make this as clear as possible, any form of name-calling, belittlement, or belligerent posting will not be tolerated. The active admin and moderators at the time of writing have had all too much experience with people who claim that belligerence and name-calling is “being free and honest with speech.” I say again, this will not be tolerated here. It is possible to disagree and argue with another and still remain polite.

Please try to have some point to your posts. Not every post has to be worthy of Hemingway, Poe, or Carver, but we also don’t want a plethora of posts whose point can be whittled down to “Yeah” or “No way.” Particularly when disagreeing with someone, try to qualify your stance. This goes back to rule number one. If all you do is disagree with someone, without explaining why, it often will come off as seeming like you’re being a jerk, even if you have no intention of being so. A well-written, polite explanation of your stance, however, can go a long way toward building true dialogue.

If Admin or a Moderator suggest that a post (or posts) that you made was out of line, please do not continue the direction you were going or argue the point in public. We are not ogres, and we are not heavy-handed in our moderation, so if we’re bringing up a point, it’s likely that someone found it offensive. If an apology is in order, offer one graciously (any “I’m sorry” that’s followed by a “but” isn’t gracious, and neither is “I’m sorry you interpreted…”), and carry on. If you disagree with the point of contention, PM both the Moderator involved and Disgruntled, and things can be worked out in private.

No porn, swearing, racist, sexist, or religious slurs, extremely violent content, or anything that the majority of society would consider objectionable. Remember that much of this will be determined by those seeing your posts. It’s ok to make tongue-in-cheek comments, as long as these comments don’t offend a typical reader. Some comments, no matter how much they aren’t truly meant, will not be funny.

We are not a free advertisement board. If you register for the sole purpose of advertising your website, school, or whatever, the very least that will happen is that the offending post will be deleted. If you wish to let others know about whatever it is, post it in the appropriate area, and participate in posts in other areas of the forum. Please do not turn your regular posts into additional ads. If we like the content of your posts, we’re more likely to check out the content of your website.

The results of not following these rules will depend on just how bad an infraction is. Posting porn, downright mean name-calling, purposefully bypassing vBulletin’s censors in order to swear profusely, and any bad slurs will likely result in immediate banishment, as well as a severe case of Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
More minor infractions will result in a warning or some other appropriate measure, although too many minor infractions will also result in banishment to the far realms of the ‘Net.

On top of all this, I’d just like to take a moment to cover a few points of netiquette for those of you who might be new to cyberspace.

We can’t see your face. Our expressions make a lot of difference in how we interpret a statement. What was meant to be a joke can become an insult if we can’t see your face. If you’re in doubt as to whether or not a post will come across as the joke it was meant to be, put a smiley in so we know the intent.
A smiley is not, however, an excuse for a truly offensive post.

Trolls are people who purposefully try to start non-productive arguments. I do not like trolls, Disgruntled does not like trolls. Trolls result in the floccinaucinihilipilification of a forum, and will summarily be put to death.

Post Farming is making posts for the purpose of racking up a larger number of posts and getting prettier belts. While not as bad as trolling, post farming does not build an enlightening forum. Please do not do it. You will be much more appreciated if you take longer to get your black belt while making useful posts.

Necroing is bringing a long-dead thread back to life. In a few cases, this may be necessary, as there may be information in many posts throughout the thread that you are making reference to. However, please do not necro an old thread just to answer a question that was asked and answered two months ago. Most of the time, if there is a topic you would like to revisit, please start a new thread on the matter.

We are all peers here. Age takes a back seat to thoughtfulness and personal experience.