General Forum Rules/Guidelines

[beerandfuel]

98OG.NET is run by a small team of dedicated volunteers with the aim of giving a haven for good natured discussion, debates and fun on the internet. It is the Individual Members reponsibility to aware of all current forum Rules/Guidelines. Ignorance isn't a justifiable excuse, so if you aren't certain then ask first.

Moderation

We moderate the forum on a common sense basis and would ask that each of our visitors obeys simple general good manners when posting on the forum.

We have a very wide range of user groups represented on the forum so please don't post excessive swearing, pornographic pictures or anything that you wouldnt want your own kids accessing !

The moderators can and will move topics which are posted in the wrong area, and they will also close/edit topics that they deem unfit.

Warning System

The mods will issue warnings for wrongful behaviour and their decision is not up for debate!

Users may also be banned without notice or explanation from the team if we feel it is in the best interests of the community

Code Of Conduct

In the interest of creating a discussion forum environment that encourages active posting by both new and long-term members, we have created a "Code of Conduct" that all posters must adhere to.

• All Buy/Sell/Trade threads are restricted to the B/S/T section. If they are posted anywhere other than that section, it will be deleted.
• This forum makes use of a Language Filter. Any use of Symbols, Letters, or Numbers to avoid the filter is prohibited.
• Read up before asking!
• Use the search function before posting. Chances are your question has already been answered.
• Respect the netiquette: Lurk and get to know the forum before you post.
• Keep the focus: Questions outside the scope of a certain forum will either be moved, locked or simply be deleted.
• Be nice to each other and respect the moderator. Profanity and insults will not be tolerated. If you have a problem with another member turn to the respective moderator and if the moderator can't help you send a private message to the administrator.
• This forum is about Paintball, so please, don't post topics of a political or religious nature without moderator approval.
• Do not spam. No blatant advertising.
• No warez, cracks, serials or illegally obtained copyrighted content! Links to content of a questionable nature, asking for, offering, or asking for help/helping to process such content in any way or form is not tolerated.
• Keep the size of personal images down.
• No cross posting. Post your message once, to the appropriate forum and nowhere else or it will be locked or deleted without warning.
• Use a title that describes the content of your post. Don't use all caps or special characters to draw attention.
• All questions pertaining to sections or use of this forum should be posted in the appropriate areas, and not sent as PM's or Email's to the Admin or Mods.
• Don't post just to increase your number of posts. If you have nothing to say on a certain matter then don't post. The number of posts on this board has no direct relation to the experience of a member.
• All posts are required to be in English unless prior approval is given
• Multiple registrations are prohibited and are grounds for immediate account deletion. One account per person.
• Creating a second account to attempt to circumvent an account ban is not allowed and will result in an immediate IP Ban and your IP being notified.
• Instructions by the moderator team are to be followed.

• You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use the Forums to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, rude, disrespectful, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law.
• You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or you post the url to the original source giving them credit.
• Advertisements of any type, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are not permitted
• Absolutely NO flaming. Posts containing hostile language or rudeness directed at staff or other members will not be tolerated. All flames will be immediately deleted and posters who engage in flaming will be issued an official warning from staff.
• Adult content is prohibited. Because the forums are family friendly, discussion or linking of adult sites is prohibited by the TOS. Links to adult content and/or posting of jokes or comments of an adult nature in either forum posts or user profile are prohibited. All links to adult content, within forum posts will be immediately deleted and the posters will be issued an official warning from staff. Adult links located within your user profile will be deleted by the administrator.
• Self promotion is prohibited. The forums are designed to be an educational environment. Posters who solicit work within threads, or who make posts for the sole purpose of linking to their own content will be issued an official warning from staff.
• Thread hi-jacking will not be tolerated. All posters must respect the rights of other members to post questions, comments and ideas that do not agree with their own. Please keep your posts "on topic" i.e. relevant to the subject(s) of the thread.
• The forums have provided a "general area" for more casual and social chat. Please keep items of interest to the community that are not related to the forum topics to this area. Any poster who makes posts or comments designed at hi-jacking or derailing any user thread will be issued an official warning from staff.
• When you post asking for help, allow other members time to respond. Repeatedly "bumping" your post without allowing sufficient time for someone to respond constitutes spamming and will result in the post being locked.
• Do not ask "what's best" because this question cannot be answered objectively. Each and everyone has their own view about what's best in a certain area. The best is what works best for you!

This Code of Conduct enforces both a "three strikes you're out" policy for repeated violation of TOS and an immediate banning policy for extreme infractions. When necessary, posters who have broken forum rules will receive an official warning from staff via the forums' "private message" feature. After two warnings, a third infraction will result in immediate termination of the account without further notice. (It is the responsibility of each forum member to check their PMs on a regular basis.)

Grounds for Immediate Banning from the Forums. The following infractions are grounds for immediate, no-questions-asked banning from the Forums.

Drive-by Spamming. Users who register and post for the sole purpose of linking to their own sites will be immediately banned from the forums.

Threatening Posters. Users who make physical threats against staff or members via forum posts, private messages or e-mail will be immediately banned from the forums. Posters who receive such threats should immediately contact a staff member and should save the original copy of the threat.

Terms of Service

Considering the real-time nature of these forums, it is impossible for us to review messages as they happen or confirm the validity of information posted. Please remember that while we do actively monitor the contents of the Forums, we are not responsible for any messages posted.

We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of the owners of these forums. Before taking action as a result of information posted in the forums, take the time to research and evaluate the accuracy of that information.

Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact a Staff member immediately by e-mail or private message. We have the ability and right to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please realize that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately.

You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages.

The owners of the Forums reserve the right to reveal your identity (or whatever information we know about you) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any message posted by you.

By registering and making posts in the Forums you agree to abide by the Forum rules, both stated and unstated. Further you agree that any messages and their complete contents, become the sole and exclusive property of the operators of the Forums. We have the sole and exclusive rights to modify, delete, or make any use whatsoever both in the Forums and in any other location and medium, of all content posted to these Forums.

[sectionate]

Added 10/1/2008: While we recognize that many of our members are involved in specific historical military recreation, we cannot allow members to post Nazi-specific images. These images include, but are not limited to: the Nazi swastika, the SS lightning bolts or Death's Head, or any image which appears to glorify Nazi leadership, policies or any current iteration of Nazism or racial supremacy. This policy is not meant to discourage members from displaying period-authentic German Army/Wehrmacht uniforms, weapons or insignia. This policy is open to interpretation by A5OG staff and members are encouraged to contact a moderator with any questions.