- Do use common sense
- Do be polite and respectful of other members
- Do make the title of topics descriptive
- Do post any code using the syntax buttons
- Do post in English only (for now at least)
- Do write in full sentences (no text speak)
- Do post in the appropriate sections
- Do Keep signatures below 100px height in total (this is about 5 lines of text at the default size).
- Don't spam (see below for more details)
- Don't write in all caps
- Don't post in topics that have not had replies for a long time
- Don't post off-topic things (this rule is less strict in the General Chat section, see below)
- Don't bump topics
- Don't demand that people do things for you
- Don't post the same thing in more than one place on the forum
- Don't ask people for help in PMs
- Don't use flashing of sparkling images in your signature
- Don't post anything 18+
Consequences of Breaking the Rules
Everyone will get only one chance, if you break the same rule after being warned by a mod or admin you will be given a ban for a period of time. After this any further rule breaking will result in a permanent ban.
More Details
Do use common sense
Use common sense, this list of rules is not all-inclusive. If you think something is not likely to be allowed but is it not stated here, we probably forgot about it when writing the rules, so don't do whatever it is.
Do be polite and respectful of other members
This is a fairly obvious one (or at least it should be). We are a small community or developers who give up our free time to help other people, if you post anything rude or that could cause offence to anyone you will be banned.
Do make the title of topics descriptive
The title of your topic should be as descriptive as possible, more importantly it should not just be something generic like “Help me” or “PHP Problem”. People will be less likely to look at your topic since this gives the impression that you do not want to learn and just want the problem fixed.
Do post any code using the syntax buttons
When posting code on the forum use the appropriate syntax buttons, these are above the text area and will wrap the syntax tags around what ever text you have selected. Using these will make your code appear in a much neater way in the post, meaning people will be more likely to take the time to read it. Also, please do not use the standard code tag.
Do post in English only (for now at least)
This might seem a little unfair, but the forum is English only. This applies to signatures and anything that is publicly visible (you are free to use whatever language you like in PMs). The reason for this is that we want everyone to be able to understand everything, this meant that one language had to be picked and English was chosen since it's the only one I know.
Do write in full sentences (no text speak)
When posting in any of the public areas (ie no PMs) make sure to use full sentences and try to avoid using abbreviations that are not commonly known. The aim of this rule is to make everything on the forum as understandable as possible for all members.
Do post in the appropriate sections
When creating a topic, make sure to post it in the correct section. For example any php problems should go in the help section for php. If you are unsure of which section to post in, General Chat is probably best.
Do Keep signatures below 100px height in total
A lot of large signatures in a topic can double the pages scroll length, trying to read a topic like this and follow the discussion can become very frustrating. If you signature is excessively large, we will remove it.
Don't spam (see below for more details)
The forum should be free from any spam, this means you cannot create a post with the sole purpose of advertising something. This does not apply to things which may be useful to the community, if you have created a tutorial or similar it's fine to post that. An exception is also made for signatures, feel free to put a link to your site there. Spamming also includes creating an excessive number of posts or even using an excessive number of smilies.
Don't write in all caps
Another simple one, writing in all caps means you are shouting. Nobody likes to be shouted at, so don't do it. Also, if you make a topic title in all caps it draws the eye of people looking at the page and while this may seems like a great thing to you, it detracts from other people who follow the rules.
Don't post in topics that have not had replies for a long time
Unless you have something exceptionally useful to add, please do not create a post in a topic that has not had any replies for a long time (you can use 3 weeks as a guide for a long time). This does not always apply, it should be obvious form reading the posts in the topic if the natural conclusion to the discussion has been reached, if it has, do not post. The reason for this is to try and stop people feeling the need to bump their topics, by brining a topic that everyone has seen before to the front page you push newer topics down.
Don't post off-topic things
Do not post totally off-topic things in somebody's topic, this applies more strongly to help topics since you may actually prevent the question being answered. In the General Chat section this rule does not apply to strongly, this does not mean that it is okay to post random things in topics. The reason being that it is in the nature of conversation for the topic to wander and the General Chat section is for conversations.
Don't bump topics
Bumping a topic is when you post in that topic with the sole purpose of getting it back to the front page. When you do this you are essentially asking the exact same thing again because you did not get an answer the first time around, frankly, it's just irritating. Instead of demanding more attention, you should try to address why nobody has replied, perhaps you need to give more information. This does not mean that you cannot post in a topic you created that is not on the front page, as long as you have something useful to add it's fine.
Don't demand that people do things for you
As stated earlier we are a community of volunteers, and we do not work for you. This means that you can't just tell us to do things. If you post a topic that does not show any interest in learning or understanding the problem you probably won't get a reply and your post may even be removed. Generally we will try not to just hand out fixed code, since nobody learns by copy and pasting.
Don't post the same thing in more than one place on the forum
Do not create more than one post with the same topic, this is know as double posting and people often do it to try and get more people to look at their post. We are a small community and I can't speak for everyone, but I read all of the topics posted. The reason for this is that creating two topics fragments the discussion and actually means that a solution will be reached slower than If it was posted once.
Don't ask people for help in PMs
The PM system is not meant to be used to ask people for help, if you have a problem you should post a topic in the main forum. This rule is really to help people who find the forum via search engines, others might have the same problem and want to know the solution. This also means that you should not send PMs asking people to look at your topic, demanding more attention like that is just rude and will not get you a quicker response.
Don't use flashing of sparkling images in your signature
Any images that flash rapidly or are designed to catch the eye of someone viewing the page are not allowed in profiles. This is to prevent people's signatures from taking attention away from the topic. Animated images are allowed, but please use common sense.
Don't post anything 18+
This include pornographic or violent content as well as other things, not everyone here is over 18 and not everyone wants to see that kind of thing.
