ADVENTURE CYCLING FORUM ETIQUETTE
Adventure Cycling Association maintains this user-to-user forum for the
benefit of all. There are some common-sense rules to follow that help
make using the forum a pleasant experience for everyone.
1) Be gentle with newbies.
2) Read before you post.
3) Stay on topic.
4) Be professional; avoid flames or profanity.
5) When answering, quote sparingly.
6) Please don't cross-post.
7) Please don't create multiple threads.
8) Please don't post attachments.
9) Posting of pirating information is prohibited.
10) No advertising or solicitation, please.
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1: BE GENTLE WITH NEWBIES!
Remember, everyone was a beginner at one time! We don't want people
to feel intimidated. Some may appear on the forum before having read
these guidelines, so give people a break if they don't yet know the
intricacies of online etiquette.
If you don't have the patience to point them politely toward the
posting guidelines, please ignore them and let somebody who does have
patience answer them.
If posters get seriously out-of-hand with regard to consideration of
the forum community, it will usually get the attention of an Adventure
Cycling administrator. The administrator can take appropriate measures
for chronically abusive people.
2: READ BEFORE YOU POST
Please make an effort to scan the last few days' posts to see if your
question has already been asked and answered. Much of the traffic on
the forum consists of the same questions asked frequently. You're
very likely to find your answer quickly, and it is a courtesy to
others on the forum.
3: STAY ON TOPIC
We don't want to be so stuffy that we frown on every humorous or side
comment, but let's try to keep the traffic reasonable.
Adding OT: or Off-topic to the subject is the standard, accepted way
of posting side comments. That way people in a hurry may avoid the
post if they wish.
It's preferable to avoid perpetuating off-topic threads.
4: BE PROFESSIONAL -- AVOID FLAMES OR PROFANITY.
If you do feel the need to be critical, make it constructive criticism.
If you're addressing the behavior in the forum, do address
the behavior, not the person. Personal attacks (flame wars) are bad
form. Ask yourself: would you say the same thing if you were
face-to-face in person?
Avoid profanity: you know what the words are. If most people wouldn't
say it in front of their mothers, it doesn't belong in this forum.
Even posts which are not flames and which may contain great technical
information may be removed because of offensive language.
Remember: you can have a sense of humor, but maintain a professional
tone. Your friends may be reading the forum, and there's no sense in
giving them the impression you're too temperamental to ride with!
5: WHEN ANSWERING, QUOTE SPARINGLY
When replying to a post, it is often advantageous to quote sections of
the original post. However, quoting an entire message can be
excessive. Save other people time and bandwidth by quoting only
enough to make clear what you are responding to.
6: PLEASE DON'T CROSS-POST
Most people read more than one forum. Please don't make them read
your post more than once.
7: PLEASE DON'T CREATE MULIPLE THREADS
Asking the same question in the same forum in a short time can
actually work against you. The thread can't be tracked as easily, and
some forum members will be so annoyed that they may use their
newsreader's filter so they won't see your future posts.
Keep in mind that folks in the forum answer questions out of their own
goodwill, so an immediate answer may not be forthcoming.
Urgent technical questions may be directed to Adventure Cycling
8: PLEASE DON'T POST ATTACHMENTS
Please be courteous and do not post attachments. Not everyone's
browser is equipped to handle attachments, and not everyone has
unlimited usage, high-speed internet connections. Some people even
have to pay a per-minute connection fee, often for low-bandwidth
connections!
If you want people to see your images, it is better to post a
URL where others can download them at their leisure. Most ISPs
provide a small amount of space for a personal web site, and there are
even a few free web hosting sites available.
While you're at it, please try to post in plain test (ASCII) rather
than HTML or rich text.
9:POSTING OF PIRATING INFORMATION IS PROHIBITED
Adventure Cycling Association neither condones nor supports copyright
infringement. Posts containing copyright information, whether belonging
to Adventure Cycling or not, will be removed.
10:NO ADVERTISING OR SOLICITATION PLEASE!
Adventure Cycling Association reserves the right to remove any posts.
Posts identified as SPAM will be deleted without notice.
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