Forum Rules

[roddy]

I want to have a more detailed listing of what is and isn't meant to be happening on here, so I had a look round a couple of other forums I frequent and came up with the following. Comments welcome, and if I get round to it I'll put the (adjusted) version in its proper place and add it to the registration process shortly.

The Rules:

Or Friendly Guidelines, if you prefer . . .

Please take the time to read this. If you can't, please read the sections in bold.

Abstract

Be friendly. Write informative posts that will be of value to those reading them now and in the future. Put in at least as much as you get out. Make an effort to inform yourself before asking a question.

Starting and Replying to Threads

• Before asking a question, attempt to answer it yourself – Google, the site search, dictionaries (online or on paper) are good places to start. If you still need help, explain what you have found and why you need more assistance.

• Be specific and detailed. Recommending "A good school in China" is very difficult. Recommending "A good school in Beijing or Shanghai for someone with two years of Chinese, who wants to improve their reading," is a lot easier.

• Be friendly and polite – people are more likely to help you, and they'll appreciate your help more. "You've made some errors with . . ." beats "You've really messed that up."

• Use a meaningful title. "Help" or "Newbie Questions" are not meaningful.

• Background to your question makes your post more interesting, and more likely to be answered. If you are asking for a textbook recommendation, tell us your level and how long you've been studying. If you don't understand a word, show us the sentence or paragraph you found it in. Don't just tell us what you want to know. Tell us why you want to know.

• Put your topic in the most appropriate forum, not the first one you see. If you aren't sure which is the more appropriate forum, guess. We won't ban you if you get it wrong.

• Keep to the topic of the discussion as much as possible, particularly if the original question has not been answered. If related discussions are arising, consider starting a new thread or asking for it to be split.

• Messages for other members which will not be of interest to others should be sent privately.

• Keep quoting of other members or off-site sources to a minimum. Quote only what is relevant, and address it. If you want to draw attention to a news article, copy and paste only the most relevant sections and provide a similar amount of background or reaction yourself. Link to your sources.

• Follow up. If you got useful information, say thanks. If you didn't, say where you did find it.

• Posts on certain issues - Chinese politics, etc - are not encouraged. If you have something you wish to post please contact us first for approval.

• Extremely brief or trivial posts are not allowed. Make it useful.

Etiquette

• Refrain from obscenities and insults. This includes masked swearing (ie f%*k) because we all know what it means and so it isn't really masked.

• This is an English-language forum about Chinese. Posts and their titles should be mostly in English, except in sections specifically for practicing Chinese. Obviously the use of some Chinese is necessary for examples, etc, but a non-speaker of Chinese should still be able to understand the purpose of your post.

• Use standard English – ie, "I see what you mean", not "ic wot U mean", put capitals in the right place not the WrOnG pLAce. Isn't one exclamation mark / question mark per sentence more than enough!?

• Many non-native speakers of English will read your post. Avoid uncommon slang or idioms.

• If possible use your real name as your username. If not possible, use something that at least looks like a name.

• Remember that this is a multi-cultural forum. Try to avoid saying anything that may be offensive.

• Requests or offers of information off-site, ie: "I can help you with that, my MSN is . . .", are not permitted.

• Pirated / Cracked material: Discussion of or links to pirated Chinese-learning material or cracked software is not permitted. Discussion of how to obtain general Chinese material (ie music, TV shows) for educational purposes is permitted, but not encouraged.

Advertisements and Warnings

• If you are signing up to promote your site, business or service, don't. Contact us first and we will decide if an informational post is justified.

• If you are an active member and have a site, business or service you wish to promote, you are welcome to add a link to your signature. However, users who appear to be posting solely to increase views of their signature will have said signatures removed. You are advised to become an active member first and then add your signature.

• Linking to commercial sites is permitted, when relevant. If you have any commercial relationship with the site, say so. If you link to the same site repeatedly you will appear to be promoting it and action may be taken.

• If you wish to warn other members about a company or individual you believe presents a risk (ie a study-aboard company you believe is incompetent, or an employer that did not pay you) please include facts, not opinions - "X didn't pay us for three months", rather than "X is evil." Bear in mind we may contact those you are writing about to offer them the right of reply.

Signatures, Avatars and Profiles

• Please complete your profile and keep it up to date – people are interested.

• Signatures should be no more than two lines of standard-sized text. Do not use fonts or colors to make them more visible. Links are welcome, but only to appropriate sites, and please also see the section above on advertising.

• There are size and filesize requirements for avatars. Please also ensure they are neither offensive or distracting.

Moderation

• Moderators and administrators edit, merge, move, split and delete posts in order to keep forums and discussions on topic, remove inappropriate content and to ensure the site continues to be a valuable ongoing source of information and discussion.

• Users may or may not be informed of any changes made to their posts, depending on the circumstances. A new thread started in the wrong forum may simply be moved, while repeated posting of off-topic material may result in requests to desist, warnings or removal of access as seen fit.

• Staff can be contacted via private message, the contact form or by reporting a post. If you wish to query a decision, please do so. However, ultimately staff decisions are final.

• Public discussion of specific decisions is not permitted. Discussion of the rules in general is.

• Failure to follow these rules may result in access being limited or removed. Registration of a second or further account is not permitted. Persistent attempts to gain access will result in abuse reports to your Internet service providers.

• Pre-moderation: Posts from new members are delayed for vetting. If your post does not appear within 24 hours and you believe there has been an error, contact us with the details of your post.

Legal & Privacy

• You are responsible for your own posts. Any legal issues arising will be referred to you.

• Posting of a message here grants the site the right to use that message in perpetuity. To protect the integrity of discussions we do not remove posts at users' request (although we will on occasion remove information such as contact details, etc).

• While we attempt to prevent large-scale use of material from this forum elsewhere, we cannot always do so. If you see your or others' posts elsewhere, contact us.

• Privacy: We will not transmit or make available your contact details or other personal information that we hold. However, we are not responsible for information which you place in public view.

[zhwj]

Etiquette:

- point 2 should have a note about the Chinese-language section of the forum

- I'm apparently in violation of point 5

- will you merge in the comment about "sensitive topics" and Chinese law?

[gato]

Probably should put the rules in the FAQ at some point.

http://www.chinese-forums.com/faq.php

[roddy]

It would make more sense to move the faq into the forum proper, as that way I can edit it slightly easier. But can link them back and forth. This'll also get a link in the header or footer, plus from posting pages. I fully realize that many won't read it but it means they can at least be expected to have read it.

Will edit in something about Chinese-language sections, and also rewrite the bit about names. I was thinking more about people with names like ✍ ✎ ✏ or i___AM_teh_REAPA!!!, which does happen on occasion. I'm not about to start a 实名制度. Or maybe . . .

Yes, there'll need to be a bit about "Chinese law" in there - although that's as much because anything 'controversial' tends to generate more heat than light.