BKF Admin
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2008
- Messages
- 6,344
- Reaction score
- 12
- Location
- Hampshire uk
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 6
BEEKEEPING FORUM 2009 UPDATE TO FORUM RULES:
KEEP CONTENT FAMILY FRIENDLY
This is a FAMILY FRIENDLY FORUM – if you have no idea what that means; I'll explain. You are expected to keep your language and content so that the youngest member of a family can read your posts WITHOUT the need of supervision by a parent or elder. This does not mean that parents should allow their kids to run free here or on any website on the Internet, but it is YOUR responsibility to be FRIENDLY to members of all ages, both in the wording and the meaning of your posts.
Some posts or replies can have wording that can easily go over the heads of younger members, be careful in this fact and do not use it as a tool in creating your posts. Keep in mind at all times that just because you intend a certain member to read and reply to your post, doesn't mean that EVERY member can also read that post: you need to understand, light adult content occurs and is acceptable, generally speaking we are adults to the most parts - but even adults are often offended by off-color remarks and any member at any age has equal protection against offensive content.
BE KIND and INTERACT, NOT REACT. AGREE TO DISAGREE EVEN IF ATTACKED BY ANOTHER MEMBER - WE WILL HANDLE THE OTHER MEMBER.
If you don't agree with someone's view, EXPRESS your views rather than tear down theirs. You have the option on EVERY POST to report that post to admin, use this to quickly make us aware of a possible problem, we will take it from there.
Be kind to other members, do not put them down, bait them into fighting or do anything to create a fight whether in open forum or private messaging. Trashing another member will surely lead you toward the banishment door quickly. New members are expected to abide by the same rules as seasoned members. We believe that Ignorance of a rule is NO excuse to break it – you are expected to read the bylaws and strictly abide by them.
*A good forum adage is to always kick the ball not the player when replying to a thread that has a topic you feel strongly about
DO NOT TRY TO ADVERTISE HERE, WE ARE COMMERCIAL FREE
We do NOT allow Commercial Advertising,We strongly believe that our forums shall always be FREE of commercials, we do not promote any Google ads, Beekeeping Supply Companies, etc.. There is a difference if you are asked about a product and reply because you have used it and either like it or don't "compared to" bragging about how wonderful a product is and then we find out you work for the company who makes or sells it. Just use common sense here, your endorsement of such a product is advertising and again advertising is NOT allowed.
Do not post links if asked to do so by a company-other forum member,our software can detect this and you will risk a ban of your account.
If you have a product to sell and beekeeping is not your main business but a hobby you may advertise your items,if you are unsure then it may be best to contact admin before submitting your advert.
Adverts may be removed at any time by admin and the decision will be final.
When we started the forum members were asked of the best ways to generate income for server/hosting costs, members decided they would rather have the chance to donate to keep the forum clean of advertising, this has worked very well in the past and the forum is now able to support itself on a month to month bases regards costs due to member donations.
The decision to remove any post or advert that is felt to be a commercial post is at the discresion of admin.
A note to commercial.companies:
We have not in the past and will not in the future accept any revenue or gifts of any kind to help promote your products.
We will from time to time allow you to forward to our members any product you may wish to have evaluated by the forum,please contact us to make arrangements if you wish to have our members evaluate your product/products.
POSTING LINKS:
Purposely posting links to objectionable material likely to offend will lead to immediate banishment here in the forums. Exact details of what is and is not appropriate can not be covered here due to forum security reasons, but if we believe you have "unintentionally" committed an offense, you will be notified and an explanation may be given - at the very least each case is handled by the Admin and whatever is best for the forum is the deciding factor.
We recently found while optimizing the forum that a member had over 500 links to his commercial website.
This will no longer be tolerated as it not only drags down the forum in the search engine ratings but also goes against our commercial selling rules.
If you find a particular website has been blocked and you receive a warning message during your posting, again do not try going around any word filters, they are in place for a reason. We reserve the right to block any website we find to be offensive to the members here. This is an administrative decision that likely is in place due to security reasons. If you knowing break up a websites address so that it gets past our filters, you will be caught and banned with no prior warning given.
Posting links to your own website will get you banned.
SIGNATURES:
Due to the amount of search engine page rank we are losing with forum url postings we no longer allow links to external websites in members signatures,please do not try to circumvent this policy by continuing to drop links in your posts to the same websites as it could lead to a ban of your account.
CONCLUSION:
Rule Breaking can result from a warning, to immediate banishment from the forum– each case is independently weighed by the Admin and is final. All you need to do is treat the forum as a place your children and grandparents BOTH could easily enjoy without being subjected to the wicked things the Internet often fills our screens with.
I hope this simplified Bylaws is easier to follow. The bylaws are subject to modification as spammers or troublesome violators find new and harmful ways to attack our forums. But it all comes down to one sentence: be kind to everyone, make friends not enemies,A good adage is to always kick the ball not the player when replying to a thread that has a topic you feel strongly about, and always remember that your children and grandparents alike could be reading what you have written.
FEATURE UPDATE and Rules
In late August we added a chatroom to our forum this is a fully featured chat program accessable through the forum tool bar,you can see who is chatting in real time by viewing “members in chat” at the bottom of the forum homepage.
The chat facility is not moderated but members online are asked to behave themselves as they do in any other part of the forum.
Only members can see this chatroom - it is invisible to guests and you must be logged in to use it.
Log files are kept automatically, if someone is found to abuse the feature by using severe language, fighting or putting down other members, there is a fully documented log with timestamp of every post - please just do the right thing and be friendly to each other as you are in the rest of the forum. This Chat feature is already becoming quite popular and it is something we want to have around a long time.
KEEP CONTENT FAMILY FRIENDLY
This is a FAMILY FRIENDLY FORUM – if you have no idea what that means; I'll explain. You are expected to keep your language and content so that the youngest member of a family can read your posts WITHOUT the need of supervision by a parent or elder. This does not mean that parents should allow their kids to run free here or on any website on the Internet, but it is YOUR responsibility to be FRIENDLY to members of all ages, both in the wording and the meaning of your posts.
Some posts or replies can have wording that can easily go over the heads of younger members, be careful in this fact and do not use it as a tool in creating your posts. Keep in mind at all times that just because you intend a certain member to read and reply to your post, doesn't mean that EVERY member can also read that post: you need to understand, light adult content occurs and is acceptable, generally speaking we are adults to the most parts - but even adults are often offended by off-color remarks and any member at any age has equal protection against offensive content.
BE KIND and INTERACT, NOT REACT. AGREE TO DISAGREE EVEN IF ATTACKED BY ANOTHER MEMBER - WE WILL HANDLE THE OTHER MEMBER.
If you don't agree with someone's view, EXPRESS your views rather than tear down theirs. You have the option on EVERY POST to report that post to admin, use this to quickly make us aware of a possible problem, we will take it from there.
Be kind to other members, do not put them down, bait them into fighting or do anything to create a fight whether in open forum or private messaging. Trashing another member will surely lead you toward the banishment door quickly. New members are expected to abide by the same rules as seasoned members. We believe that Ignorance of a rule is NO excuse to break it – you are expected to read the bylaws and strictly abide by them.
*A good forum adage is to always kick the ball not the player when replying to a thread that has a topic you feel strongly about
DO NOT TRY TO ADVERTISE HERE, WE ARE COMMERCIAL FREE
We do NOT allow Commercial Advertising,We strongly believe that our forums shall always be FREE of commercials, we do not promote any Google ads, Beekeeping Supply Companies, etc.. There is a difference if you are asked about a product and reply because you have used it and either like it or don't "compared to" bragging about how wonderful a product is and then we find out you work for the company who makes or sells it. Just use common sense here, your endorsement of such a product is advertising and again advertising is NOT allowed.
Do not post links if asked to do so by a company-other forum member,our software can detect this and you will risk a ban of your account.
If you have a product to sell and beekeeping is not your main business but a hobby you may advertise your items,if you are unsure then it may be best to contact admin before submitting your advert.
Adverts may be removed at any time by admin and the decision will be final.
When we started the forum members were asked of the best ways to generate income for server/hosting costs, members decided they would rather have the chance to donate to keep the forum clean of advertising, this has worked very well in the past and the forum is now able to support itself on a month to month bases regards costs due to member donations.
The decision to remove any post or advert that is felt to be a commercial post is at the discresion of admin.
A note to commercial.companies:
We have not in the past and will not in the future accept any revenue or gifts of any kind to help promote your products.
We will from time to time allow you to forward to our members any product you may wish to have evaluated by the forum,please contact us to make arrangements if you wish to have our members evaluate your product/products.
POSTING LINKS:
Purposely posting links to objectionable material likely to offend will lead to immediate banishment here in the forums. Exact details of what is and is not appropriate can not be covered here due to forum security reasons, but if we believe you have "unintentionally" committed an offense, you will be notified and an explanation may be given - at the very least each case is handled by the Admin and whatever is best for the forum is the deciding factor.
We recently found while optimizing the forum that a member had over 500 links to his commercial website.
This will no longer be tolerated as it not only drags down the forum in the search engine ratings but also goes against our commercial selling rules.
If you find a particular website has been blocked and you receive a warning message during your posting, again do not try going around any word filters, they are in place for a reason. We reserve the right to block any website we find to be offensive to the members here. This is an administrative decision that likely is in place due to security reasons. If you knowing break up a websites address so that it gets past our filters, you will be caught and banned with no prior warning given.
Posting links to your own website will get you banned.
SIGNATURES:
Due to the amount of search engine page rank we are losing with forum url postings we no longer allow links to external websites in members signatures,please do not try to circumvent this policy by continuing to drop links in your posts to the same websites as it could lead to a ban of your account.
CONCLUSION:
Rule Breaking can result from a warning, to immediate banishment from the forum– each case is independently weighed by the Admin and is final. All you need to do is treat the forum as a place your children and grandparents BOTH could easily enjoy without being subjected to the wicked things the Internet often fills our screens with.
I hope this simplified Bylaws is easier to follow. The bylaws are subject to modification as spammers or troublesome violators find new and harmful ways to attack our forums. But it all comes down to one sentence: be kind to everyone, make friends not enemies,A good adage is to always kick the ball not the player when replying to a thread that has a topic you feel strongly about, and always remember that your children and grandparents alike could be reading what you have written.
FEATURE UPDATE and Rules
In late August we added a chatroom to our forum this is a fully featured chat program accessable through the forum tool bar,you can see who is chatting in real time by viewing “members in chat” at the bottom of the forum homepage.
The chat facility is not moderated but members online are asked to behave themselves as they do in any other part of the forum.
Only members can see this chatroom - it is invisible to guests and you must be logged in to use it.
Log files are kept automatically, if someone is found to abuse the feature by using severe language, fighting or putting down other members, there is a fully documented log with timestamp of every post - please just do the right thing and be friendly to each other as you are in the rest of the forum. This Chat feature is already becoming quite popular and it is something we want to have around a long time.
