Posting Guidelines

This page describes the general expectations on posting. They are intended to ensure that everybody is "on the same page." Remember, the overall principle is that you are expected to treat other people in a friendly manner and with some respect. If you disagree with someone, don't resort to insults.

Sections

General posting guidelines

What can I post?

Your opinions, thoughts, and experience about anything related to audio, and related topics as encouraged by the circles (i.e. "forums") on this site. For non-audio topics, please use the Non-audio hobbies and interests circles.

What can't I post?

Everybody on this site is expected to behave like an adult and to take responsibility for the words they post. You are expected to adhere to the standards of the community, and to listen to the opinions of others about what You post. Here are some specific items that are not allowed:

Politics, public policy and religion
We've tried it, it doesn't work. Please go somewhere else to talk about these topics.
Guns and weapons
This is a contentious and sensitive area, and the difficulties in finding a suitable compromise position have led to it now being a banned topic on this site.
Adult and suggestive images
We'd like to keep this a family friendly site. Please do not post any images (or text) that is not in accordance with this ideal. Remember that people may be browsing the site at work or at home with the kids around.
Defamatory remarks
Do not use this site to make defamatory remarks about people or organisations. Apart from potentially causing damage to this site, it's cheap and nasty behavior. If you say something negative, ensure that it is factual and not speculative.
Threats and abuse
Any form of threatening or abusive language is taken seriously. Action will be taken against any account that threatens another member of this site in any way, whether posted in threads or sent via PM (Personal Message).
Obscene or racist remarks or images, or links to such
The account responsible will be disabled immediately.

Posting no-no's

Here are some things not related to topic but behavior that you are not allowed to do.

Trashing theads

Sometimes people decide to systematically delete (or remove all content from) all of their posts in a thread. Or sometimes just all, until they get worn out or we stop them. This creates unnecessary work for the Admins in cleaning up the mess and we don't like it. It's also rude. So if you do this, we may stop you by disabling your account. The Trading Post is included in this - trashing your Trading Post threads may get your account disabled.

Please note that a thread can effectively be trashed if it contains a lot of images and you delete all those, so that is also included in this rule.

Multi-posting

Sometimes people think that it's OK to make the same post in multiple places on the site. Since a lot of people read the site very regularly using the updated thread list on the home page, this sort of attention-getting exercise is quite annoying. Duplicates will be removed, and if it continues we might disable your account.

Bumping

"Bumping" means to add a content-free post to a thread just so that it goes to the top of the various post/thread listings especially the main one on the home page. This is an attention-getting tactic that is annoying to regular readers if done frequently. Generally "bumps" are therefore permitted no more than weekly. If you "bump" a lot, we might disable your account.

Links

Links to other websites are encouraged provided that they provide information to readers that is relevant to the thread/discussion. We do not mind where the link is (e.g. another forum) provided that it meets the above criteria.

The following type of links are considered poor etiquette and may eventually result in a request to do otherwise:

  • Posting just a link without providing any explanation of what it links to or your thoughts on it
  • Posting a generic link to another website without pointing to a specific thread or post

The following types of links are not allowed without specific approval of the Site Owner. These links will be removed or changed. Repeated occurrences may result in your account being disabled or restricted:

  • Links to ads, posted outside designated areas
  • Links that are posted specifically for the purpose of directing traffic to another website (i.e. do not add to the discussion)
  • Affiliate links, where the purpose of the link is to generate commission revenue or similar for an entity other than AudioCircle
  • Links to a commercial or vendor site by the owner or affiliate of that site, even under the pretense of being informative, outside of an appropriate designated commercial area.

Interaction with sponsors and industry members

All members are requested to observe some consideration for sponsors and industry members in general.

In the case of site sponsors, remember that their circle is effectively an extension of their business, and you need to respect that fact. In case it's not obvious, if enough members show a sponsor disrespect, the sponsor will eventually leave, and that isn't helpful to the site. So please, be mindful of which part of the site you are posting in. There are lots of places to post if a sponsored circle is not suitable.

Note that Sponsors can, if they wish, ask you to stop posting in their circle. (All Facilitators can.) See Moderating a thread.

Members should not instruct other members on whether they should or should not join the industry participants group, be associates, sponsors, etc. Please leave that to the Site Owner.

Responsible site usage

Site members should use the site facilities responsibly. We do not have a billion members to generate advertising revenue, so it helps greatly if members make responsible use of the site. You don't have to hold back on making posts or adding images, but observing some of the following would be helpful:

  • Please, don't copy large amounts of text from other websites. Just post a link! This is firstly a copyright issue, and it also saves putting unnecessary load on our database and backup system.

  • Use the Gallery in a reasonable way. The Gallery is to for you to use to share your system and get-togethers with other members. Some use of other images is OK, but don't go overboard.

  • When using the "quote" button, please edit the quote to remove unnecessary text. Try to avoid quoting 20 lines of text just to add one of your own.

  • Please resize images to a reasonable size before uploading. Your images will load quicker and it saves processing time to not have to resize gigantic images on the server.

Responsible use of administrative time

AudioCircle is run by unpaid volunteers who are trying to help make this an enjoyable community. All funding raised goes towards running costs and site/feature development. It is not fair on the volunteers to have to deal with difficult people or be dragged into issues that you can solve yourself. So please:

  • If you are having an argument with someone, take a step back and ask yourself, "Is this really important?" Consider taking a couple of days off from the site - walk the dog, make love to your wife, listen to your stereo.

  • Don't restart threads that have been locked, moved, or put into Quarantine. This is a huge waste of administrative time. If a thread is locked or moved, there's a reason for it, please just accept that it's necessary.

  • Please do not send PMs to Facilitators, Admins or the Site Owner complaining about someone else on the site. It's just as likely to flag you as a source of trouble as any other effect. Remember: it takes two to tango.

  • If you have been asked to modify your posting or to stop posting in a particular circle, you can be sure that there is a good reason for it. Please take heed of the request, and don't respond with aggression. The volunteers are just trying to make this a good place.

  • If you disagree with an action by Facilitators or Admin, don't try and start fights or make snide remarks about it in other areas of the site. As stated, this is run on a volunteer basis, so attacking a volunteer for something that you do not agree with is stupid and selfish.

The long and the short of it is that nobody deserves to be treated poorly or have their time wasted for trying to help. If you're unable to respond in a reasonable manner to requests or actions taken by volunteers, then Admin may give your account a timeout to give you time to settle down. It's not punishment, it's just that we need to protect the site and the scarce resources that we have.

The "no dirty laundry" policy

The home page of the About/Help section states:

Please note that we have a no dirty laundry policy here. That means that you cannot use this site to launch attacks against or to further disputes you have with other people or businesses. If you have a disagreement with someone else on a thread on this site, that is normal, just keep it reasonably civil. If you have a disagreement that originated somewhere else, don't bring it here and make it our problem.

This policy does not prevent active site members from posting "negative" information about a product, provided that it is factual and dispassionate. It does, however, prevent this site from being abused for the purposes of revenge and defamation. Provided that a site member is active (i.e. posts at least once per 30 days) and is discussing a product that is being promoted on or is in active discussion on the site, then factual commentary (and images) that are provided only for the purpose of informing other site members about a product are not subject to this policy. The following types of behavior or content, however, may get a thread or posts flagged as "dirty laundry":

  • The thread starter or poster has just registered on the site or has a low number of posts on this site.
  • The purchase or events in question took place prior to joining this site or while the poster has not been active on this site.
  • The first comment that a person makes about a particular product is negative.
  • Statements made are emotional in tone, defamatory, or speculative (rather then merely factual).
  • The same information or claim is posted on other websites.
  • Requests for further information by established/active site members are not met with a reasonable response (or any response at all).
  • The poster reveals a specific intention to harm or damage someone's reputation.
  • One-to-one correspondence is publically posted.
  • The poster is attempting to conceal their identity from the other party.
  • No attempt has been made to calmly resolve the matter with the vendor.
  • The poster "eggs on" other people to post similar negative comments.

If content is flagged as "dirty laundry," it will be moved to Quarantine for consideration and processing by Admin. Please note that a Facilitator is entitled to move any content to Quarantine if they feel that it is not in keeping with the goals they have for their circle.

NOTE: AudioCircle is not the place to resolve a disagreement you may have with a vendor, nor does it take any responsibility for the outcome or consequences of any purchase you may make. You are also, as per the statement on the top of the About/Help section, responsible (that means liable) for any content that you post on this site. If you are unable to resolve a difference with a vendor, use the resources of your payment company (Paypal, credit card, bank, etc) and relevant local authorities.

Special rules for Quarantine

Be warned! The rules are different when a thread is in Quarantine.

If a thread has been moved to Quarantine, it means that

  1. There is something wrong with it, and
  2. Admin are going to be processing it.

If you are involved in the issue that got the thread moved to Quarantine, then it is now time to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Please endeavour to help get the thread back on track, so that Admin can see that it's worth the effort to clean it up and restore it. If you continue to post in the same manner that got the thread moved, you may become a candidate for a timeout.

Note also: you cannot edit posts in Quarantine. So be careful to review what you write before pressing the Post button..