Announcement: Posting Guidelines Revised Version Options

[Geo]

As we approach the end of the fourth year of the existence of the VAGdrivers community, the forum continues to grow in size and stature. In fact the post count on the site has doubled in each year of our existence so far and long may this growth continue. As you are no doubt aware we are the largest and most successful VAG enthusiasts site in the country.

Due to the sheer volume of activity on the site it is not possible for the moderator group to read every post of every thread on the forum. The moderator and admin team have felt for some time that it would be a good idea to summarise our posting guidelines into one thread for all members, new and old to refer to. These guidelines will allow the site's members to regulate themselves to as large an extent as possible. The site is quite lightly moderated in general compared to most other large forums and we would like to keep it that way.

Please help us with this and take the time to read the following summary of posting guidelines for all VAGdrivers members. We appreciate your help and co-operation on this matter.

Guidelines

1. Before posting, please use the search facility and read the guidelines or pinned topics, where they exist, at the top of that forum as your question may be answered already.
2. Posts, nicknames, signatures, avatars, and general content that are inflammatory, vulgar, sexually explicit, inappropriate, rude or otherwise will not be tolerated and will be removed.
3. Signature picture sizes are to be limited to 400x125 pixels. The text only equivalent of this is 6 lines in font size 2. A combination of pictures and text is also possible providing the combination does not exceed the maximum size.
4. Please be respectful of all other forum users. Be civil, clean, and decent in all posts. Open discussions of varying points of view are encouraged but only if they remain constructive and not inflammatory. Flaming or personal attacks are not allowed or tolerated. Anyone using/ posting inappropriate content, language, starting personal attacks, engaging in hate speeches and rants, or being disruptive to the community's positive environment may be barred from all further discussions and/or the forums completely.
5. Please try to post groups of complete words in fully formed sentences. Obviously we don't want to be too formal. We all make the odd grammar and spelling mistake but there is a line that needs to be drawn. Entire posts consisting of lines of illegible txt spk without any punctuation in sight may be deleted without warning.
6. The forum system is not a venue for personal or private vendettas or causes. If you become involved in a dispute or have a problem with another forum member please contact a moderator or a member of the admin team.
7. Links to inappropriate content or otherwise illegal activity describing anything inconsistent with VAGdrivers.net forum guidelines will be removed.
8. Do not post copyrighted material (e.g. articles, software etc) that is the property of others without their permission.
9. Keep thread discussions on topic, and within the subject of the forum. Please do not "hijack" or "bump" the thread in order to gain additional exposure to a post or yourself.
10. Please do not post the same thread in multiple sections. Pick the most relevant area and post there. Misplaced topics can be moved by the mods if required.
11. Anyone posting another member's personal or website details, without permission, will be banned. Please do not, nor is it advised, to post sensitive or confidential information to the forum about yourself or other members . If such information is needed please use the PM function.
    
    How to report a breach of guidelines
    If you feel a post or thread is in breach of the above set of guidelines, please use the 'report' button at the bottom left hand side of the post box. This function sends a PM to every member of the Moderator team and any Mods online or the next mod to come on line will be instantly informed of the situation.
    
    It is essential you use this function rather than posting a comment in the offensive thread or starting a new thread about it,as this might go unnoticed by the moderators and will only serve to inflame the situation.
    
    What Happens if I Break the Rules?
    Many times members don't realize that they have gone against guidelines. That is why it your responsibility to always remain up to date with all Forum rules and guidelines. In general, we follow a three strikes policy. Please keep in mind that all infractions are different, and will be handled on an individual basis. Depending on the severity The VAGdrivers.net team reserves the right to follow a different course of action.

[Declan]

All

With the welcome arrival of new members I just wanted to bump up the rules for all to see again.
Please pay particluar attention to item 5 in the guidelines with regards to language and format of posts. THere seems to be a flood of text speak again that needs to stop please

CHeers
Declan

[Shane]

Just bumping these to give members new and old a chance to familiarise themselves with our posting guidelines.

I would like to draw peoples attention in particular to the note on personal abuse,there have been one or two outbursts lately and these can't be tolerated,Mods/Admin will be taking a tough approach on this from here on in.

Shane.