This is a civilized place for open discussion

Please treat this forum like a park. We are also a shared community resource where skills, knowledge and interests can be shared through ongoing dialogue.

These are not hard and fast rules, but guidelines to help people make judgments about our community and make it a friendly, civil place for public discourse.

Improve discussion

No matter how small, always add something positive to the discussion and help us keep this a great place for discussion. If you’re not sure whether your post will add to the conversation, think about what you want to say and try again.

One way to improve discussions is to identify problems that have occurred. Take the time to browse the threads here before replying or starting your own thread, and you’ll have a better chance of meeting someone with similar interests.

The topics discussed here are important to us, and we want you to show that they are important to you, too. Respect topics and the people discussing them, even if you don’t agree with their views.

Even if you disagree, be calm

You may wish to give a contrary opinion. This is good. But remember, “do it right, not the person.” Please avoid:

  • Abuse
  • Personal attack
  • Respond to the tone of the post rather than the actual content
    *Retort without thinking

Instead, you should provide thoughtful insights that improve the conversation.

Your participation is important

The conversations we have here set the tone for every new visitor. Help us influence the future of this community by choosing to engage in discussions that make this forum a fun place — and avoid discussions that don’t make the forum a good place.

Discourse provides tools that allow the community to identify the best (and worst) contributions as a whole: bookmarks, likes, reports, replies, edits, follows, DNDs, etc. Please use these tools to improve your experience and the experience of others.

Make our community a better place.

If you find a problem, please report it

Moderators have special authority; they are responsible for this forum. So do you. With your help, moderators can become community facilitators rather than just gatekeepers or watchdogs.

When you see bad behavior, don’t reply. Replying is an admission of bad behavior and encourages it, draining your energy and wasting everyone’s time. Just report it. If enough reports accumulate, action will be taken automatically, or with the intervention of a moderator.

In order to maintain our community, moderators reserve the right to remove any content and any user account at any time and for any reason. Moderators do not preview new posts; moderators and website operators are not responsible for any content posted by the community.

Always be civil

Nothing ruins a healthy conversation more than rudeness:

  • Be civilized. Do not post anything that a reasonable person would find offensive, abusive or hateful.
  • Keep it clean. Do not post any obscene or sexually explicit content.
  • Respect each other. Don’t harass or accuse anyone, impersonate someone else, or expose their private information.
  • Respect our forum. Do not spam or otherwise disrupt the forum.

These are not specific terms with precise definitions, please avoid any such content. If you’re not sure, ask yourself how you would feel if your post appeared on the front page of a major news site.

This is a public forum and search engines will index these discussions. Please make sure your language, links and images do not compromise the safety of your family and friends.

Keep tidy

Trying to put content in the right place so we can spend more time talking instead of cleaning up. therefore:

  • Don’t start a topic in the wrong category; read the category definitions.
  • Don’t post the same content repeatedly in multiple threads.
  • Don’t post replies without content.
  • Don’t change the topic midway.
  • Don’t sign your posts — your profile is attached to every post.

Instead of posting a “+1” or “agree,” use the “like” button. Rather than discussing an existing topic in a completely different direction, use “Reply as linked topic.”

Only post your own content

You may not post any digital content belonging to others without permission. You may not post descriptions, links or methods that steal the intellectual property (software, video, audio, images) of others or violate any other laws.

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This site is run by you a team of friendly moderators and you (the community). If you have any other questions about how things work, please start a new topic in # and let’s discuss it together! If you have a serious or urgent issue that cannot be resolved through meta-topics or reporting, please contact a moderator.