Forum Rules and Guidelines
The Design Best Practice Forum consists of a like minded group of individuals from within the construction, design and management fields.
However, there have to be some rules and we would ask contributors to act in a responsible and respectful fashion.
Posting on the forum signals that you have read and understand the rules and agree to be bound by them. Any member found to abuse those rules could have their membership revoked.
Although generally a serious discussion forum, a little laughter goes a long way.
Thank you for reading this document. If you have any problems with these rules/guidelines please feel free to email webmaster @dbp.org.uk
Contents
· Starting Topics
· Be Kind to the Server
· Linking to Other Sites
· Signatures
· Star Posting
· Shouting and Crazy Text
· Obscenity
· Attacks on Other Contributors
· Trolls
· Anonymity
Starting Topics
Before you start a thread, check to see if a similar thread has already been started. Duplicate threads will be closed. Please make your title descriptive, reflecting the topic you're addressing, rather than a generic title such as "Question" or "I Need Help." Please do not post thread titles in ALL CAPS (the only exception to this rule is for moderators or admin who need to draw attention to an urgent site issue).
Be Kind to the Server
Please help keep forum server bandwidth limits down by exercising some restraint with quoting, posting images, and using smiles. Please don't quote a whole post to simply add "I agree" or "Lol," or a smile. Please don't "quote" images when you reply to a post, which makes the image appear over and over again on the same page.
Show restraint in the number of images you use; pages with many images are very slow to load for some users, particularly those with dial-up modems, and are a strain on forum server. Do not post very large images that exceed the width of the page; this makes viewing the page difficult for everyone.
Please do not use more than a few smiles per post; excessive smiles are a drain on the server and can be an eyesore for many posters. Likewise, show restraint with the number of animations you post per page.
Linking to Other Sites
Please do not use the forum to advertise your own websites and do not link to competing message boards. There is a facility to put a websites on your profile.
Signatures
One Image maximum, which must be no bigger than 300 x 60 and does not exceed 4k in file size.
Please do not use avatar images located on this server in your signatures. Text line should be no more that 4 lines long and should not use the normal size font. Please do not advertise any website in your signature lines.
Star Posting
Please do not post when you have nothing to contribute to a discussion, but simply want to increase your number of posts. Do not post twice in a row; if you have something to add, edit your last post to add your new comments.
Please do not "bump" a thread up on the board, or simply post to say, "Good morning," "Goodnight," "I sent you a email etc., without adding anything new to the discussion.
Shouting and Crazy Text
Please do not post in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS; this is the Internet version of shouting, and is irritating to many posters. PlEAsE dO nOt PoSt LiKe ThIs (it makes posts extremely hard to read), and don't get carried away with excessive punctuation (posting dozens of exclamation points, etc.). It's also a good idea to run long posts through a spell check; doing so demonstrates respect for your fellow posters, which will make them more willing to listen to what you have to say. Please post in plain language avoiding the use of text abbreviations.
Obscenity
Contributors are prohibited from posting obscene language including swearing or images on the forum. Please use polite alternative words. Admin have an obligation to prevent obscenities from appearing on the site, and moderators will remove any obscene language or images that the board filters do not catch. Links to websites that contain pornography of any kind will also be removed. If you find a posting offensive then please report it to a moderator by email.
Attacks on Other Contributors
Vicious attacks on other contributors will not be tolerated. Disagreements between contributors are fine, but personal attacks on character, intelligence, etc. are not. Attack the post, not the contributor. Any personal disputes between contributors should be taken to private email messages. If you are attacked by another contributor, please do not retaliate; make a moderator aware of the posting , and let him/her handle the problem. If you have a problem with a moderator, do not air your concerns on the boards; send an email to webmaster @dbp.org.uk.
Trolls
A troll is a contributor whose sole intent in posting is to be a disturbance to the community. Trolls may post excessively inflammatory or offensive messages with the intention of upsetting people, "flame" or insult, crash an appreciation thread to attack the subject being appreciated, or post the same message repeatedly on multiple boards to take up space and disrupt the forums. Posters engaging in this type of behavior lose their rights of membership and will be removed.
Anonymity
Public forums are often abused by users who post behind a veil of anonymity. It is commonly thought that if you do not leave your email address, nobody knows who you are, and therefore (by some people's logic) you can say whatever you want. However, this sense of anonymity is misguided. All posts in this forum are branded with the IP address (Internet identification) of the originating computer. This provides recourse for tracking down those who consistently choose to misuse this service.
Thankyou for reading
Webmaster @dbp.org.uk