the Rules

[skitzzo]

Well we've got some rules written up now (Thanks RMC!). I just would like to say that this is a flexible document and may change from time to time. Also, common sense should be applied to every situation. If you are acting up, the mods will warn you privately. If the offending action continues, you will be banned. This list is not all inclusive (just because we don't mention it, doesn't mean its automatically allowed) and each situation will be dealt with as best we can. As the first rule says, please be professional and we will all have a great time and this will be a great place.
Some rules:

1. In general, What the mods say goes. If you feel the mod is wrong, please take up any disagreements with them first, then the other mods, then the admins. Be professional.

2. Treat others as you want to be treated. This also means that you can hardly complain about people reacting in a grumpy fashion to your original grumpiness. In return, members are urged to treat unpleasant comments with a smile - and maybe with a click on the report button (

) or a PM to a mod of choice. Prickly members may be treated with cold showers at will, by any of the mods.

3. No ****ing cussing.

4. No spamming.

5. No live links unless they contribute to the post and no affiliate links in your posts at any time (this is up to the mod's discretion).

6. Signatures should contain no more than 4 live links and not use any font larger than size 2. You will earn the right to add a signature to your posts as you contribute to the forum in a positive way. Users who add a "fake" (as in: manual) signature, especially one containing live links, will likely be removed as a member.

7. Stay on topic.

8. No flaming. A healthy debate is welcome but lets try to keep it from getting personal.

9. No hate speech of any kind you ****, ****, ****, **** and **** (In all seriousness this one is a pet peeve of mine. Racial slurs etc will light a fire under me that you do not want to see.)

10. Keep it "PG13".

11. This is a place to learn and teach. Post what you know. If it is something you *think* you *might* know and are *probably* correct, mention that you aren't 100%.

12. Enjoy yourself!

13. Any sockpuppets (multiple accounts) or bots must first be approved by a mod. Keeping us informed keeps you out of trouble. The same goes for people who were previously banned and are keen to re-join with a clean(ish) slate.

14. Do not deliberately give any member bad advice. Telling a new member that kw stuff is the way to go might be funny but would hurt the site's credibility.

15. Don't mess with skitzzos_pop. This isn't a rule so much as a guideline for survival. The guy is a bad-ass. Just don't go there. Remember Dunkin' Donuts? You don't? I wonder why... (LOL RMC you are nuts...)

16. Discussion of hot button issues like politics, religion, etc. must be within the context of SEO (no partisan politics allowed). This site is always about SEO first, there are plenty of other places to have those discussions.

17. Don't post a live link in your first five posts. Even after that, don't overdo it and keep things in line with the general topic of these forums (i.e. SEO). If you want to post a URL thats fine, but when your first posts have live links in em, that sort of makes our spam senses tingle...

18. You may offer to sell or trade a service or product once in your first five posts as long as it is closely related to SEO and web development. Offers to sell or trade products or services that are posted outside the Buy/Sell/Trade section will be deleted (often along with the 'member' who posted it).

19. Forums are for posting and sharing, not for promoting your service, nor for solliciting personal advice through Personal Messages. While you are welcome to PM specific members with specific questions and remarks in time, or to contact mods or admins via a single PM, we need you to post first and become a contributing member before you send out more than one personal message. Please know that if you PM unsuspecting people from the get-go -- however innocent your message may appear -- you will be banned on the spot from now on.

20. While this is considered normal forum etiquette, it seems to be overlooked quite a bit by (well-meaning?) new members: do NOT bring an old thread back to life unless you have something noteworthy to add to it.

21. Do not copy/paste stuff from other websites without linking to the source. This implies that new members cannot copy/paste stuff at all, since they are not allowed to post links. Remember that SEORefugee is a forum, not a dumping ground for spammed articles. People suspected of downright plagiarism will be banned immediately.

22. If you're from India, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, WHEREVER, then there is no need to pretend that you're from the USA. We judge people on what they post, not on where they're from. In fact: deceiving us by pretending you're from somewhere else is NOT a good thing when you're planning on staying a member here for longer than 15 minutes.

We want to encourage discussion of events in our government and culture that have an effect on SEO. However we will not allow those issues to become an excuse for breaking other rules or offending members and guests with different viewpoints. This applies to the General Chat forum as well. (January 22, 2006)
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If for any reason you feel that one or more of these rules is limiting your use of this site, please discuss the issue with an admin or mod and we will try to work something out. Also, I will always try to discuss the changes not only with the mods but with the members as well. Now that we've got that out of the way -- enjoy the forums!


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