Forum Goals, rules and guidelines
A. Goals of the Forums
B. Rules
C. Moderation
D. Warnings and Bans
E. Forum Rules and Offences
F. Things Not to Do
G. Minor Problems
H. Reporting Posts
A. Goals of the Forums:
These are the goals of our forum, in order of importance:
1. Have fun around Table Tennis Manager
2. Provide a friendly and social community for TTM Players to discuss table tennis and other associated topics
B. Rules:
These rules are made to protect the integrity of the forum and goals stated above, and also the site owner and members of the forum. Use of this forum implies that you accept these rules and wil abide by the decisions made by those looking after the forum. Members should observe both the letter and spirit of these rules.
Each member is responsible for only his or her own posts. If another member breaks rules, you may ignore them or report the problem to the moderators, but you may not use it as an excuse to break rules yourself.
C. Moderation:
The forums are loosely moderated by the site-owner with help from a group of moderators This can be a busy forum at times, so the moderators cannot always read everything, so they rely on members to report problem posts that they encounter.
The point of moderation is not to limit discussion, promote or suppress points of view. The goal of moderation is make sure discussion remain aligned with the forum goals, and to keep the forums enjoyable and free from problems that detract from the experiences of our users.
The moderators understand that anyone can make a mistake now and then, and they are generally forgiving of minor problems. The most common moderator actions are to correct posts or threads, issue reminders or warnings, and answer questions. They make a lot of judgment calls on behalf of our membership and they strive to treat all members fairly and equally under the forum rules.
D. Warnings and Bans:
Warnings may be issued in a Private Message or in the form of a reply within the thread that you have posted. Warnings may also be sent as automated "infraction" messages, notifying you of a rules violation. If you get a warning, make note of the rules violation and don't repeat it.
If rules violations are more serious, or a majority of your posts are rule violations, or you repeatedly violate even minor rules, you may be permanently banned from the forums. If you are banned, we suggest that you find another discussion website with rules that better suit you, since your continued presence would be a detriment to our other forum members.
You can contact the moderators/administrators if you have questions about specific cases of moderation. When contacting us about moderation, please identify the posts or threads in question; the moderators deal with many every day.
E. Forum Rules and Offences:
These offences (listed in no particular order) will generally get you at least a warning, but can be one-time bannable offenses for which you will not get a warning.
1. Insults. Direct personal insult of another member, i.e., "You are an idiot." and all the variations. Why? Because this isn't a school playground. People should be able to discuss or even dispute other's posts without insulting people. And the only purpose of a post like this is to incite other people. You may dispute somebody's opinion, but not attack/flame the person who stated it. There are a lot of other non-direct-personal insults that won't necessary get you banned instantly, but depending on the context/nature may lead to post editing, post deletion, warnings, or time-outs. They include telling people to shut up, or being extremely or repeatedly rude or sarcastic. Bottom line -- don't try to tick off others. Although we do not read Private Messages sent between forum members, the rules for appropriate and inappropriate content apply to them as well.
2. Spam and overposting. Not just being a prolific poster, but posting the same exact post many times, posting multiple pointless posts in the same thread, making numerous posts with no real content, or posting for the purpose of gaining a higher post count. This will generally get you a warning, but when continued can get you banned.
3. Harassment. Purposely intimidating a particular member, harassing them, sending them rude or unwanted private messages, etc. This includes personal attacks on moderators for doing their jobs.
4. Registration rules. Violation of the rules you agreed to when registering for the site: that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, discriminating or otherwise violates of any laws.
5. Multiple registration. You may register only one account, and if you were banned or given a temporary forum time-out, you may not re-register. Reinstatement can come only from an administrator.
6. Account details. Your account details and password must remain private, and must not be disclosed to others. Similarly using other people's account details and logging into their account to post, PM or perform any other action are not allowed and are likely to result in an instant ban.
F. Things Not to Do:
These will likely get you edited and/or a warning and repeated warning can result in a ban.
1. "Trolling". Do not post in order to anger other members or intentionally cause negative reactions. For a given post, this can be a subjective call, but a pattern of such posting or an especially egregious case will get you banned. Basically, don't try to pick fights. Knowingly posting false information is also prohibited.
2. Any ongoing actions that make more work for the moderators and administrators or regularly annoy other members and require moderator action. If banning you is easier than dealing with the problems you are causing on a continuous basis, you may be banned.
G. Minor Problems / Guidelines:
1. Chattiness. Use the forums to discuss the topic of the thread, not as a substitute for Instant Messaging.
2. Thread titles. Use thread titles that indicate the subject of the thread, not generic titles such as "Need help". Moderators may change thread titles that have no specifics, usually by adding something more specific in parentheses.
3. One thread. Do not post a thread more than once. Post a new thread in the proper forum. If the topic is relevant to more than one forum, pick the best fit or most specific forum and post it only once.
4. One post. Do not post multiple messages with the same content. One post in the most appropriate thread is sufficient.
5. Sequential posts. Combine your comments into one post rather than making many consecutive posts to a thread within a short period of time.
6. Avatar and signature content. Avatars and signatures, as well as other profile fields, must comply with all forum rules, including those against profanity, explicit sexual content, and insults against groups or individuals, and cannot be in other ways offensive. Members will be required to change avatars or signatures that are deemed too controversial or that are particularly annoying to other members.
7. Corrections. There is no need to point out another poster's spelling or grammatical errors unless you think it is causing confusion. Remember that not all members are native English speakers. Communication, not correctness, is our goal.
8. Failing to search. If you have a question, it may already have been asked and answered in the forums. If you have an issue to discuss, there may already be a discussion about it. Set a good example by searching for existing threads before starting a new thread. When other people (especially new members) fail to search and start new threads on old topics, don't scold them or make them feel unwelcome. The best way to be helpful is by posting a link to a previous relevant thread.
9. Common sense. In the end, use common sense. When you are about to post messages just to increase your post count, or post something you think is funny at someone else's expense, or just to make the first post in a news thread, think to yourself "Is this annoying?" If the answer is yes, don't do it.
H. Reporting Posts:
Posts that violate any of the forum rules should be reported to the forum moderators by clicking the Report Post icon (Exclamation mark on the bottom left of the offending post). You will be given a form in which to describe the problem.
Tips for reporting posts:
1. To report a problem with a thread, report any post in the thread.
2. If you are unsure whether a post should be reported, report it anyway; the moderators will decide whether action needs to be taken.
3. If you are reporting a duplicate thread, please provide a link to the previous thread.
4. You will not receive a reply to a Post Report, but every report is reviewed. If you require a reply, use the Contact form.
5. After reporting an offending post, avoid replying to it, so you don't give it more exposure or make more work for the moderators.
Thank you to those who report posts needing moderator attention. Your work improves the quality of the forums.
