Guidelines
A Message to Newcomers
Welcome to the simFlight Network Forums, and thank you for taking the time to read our forum guidelines. By doing so, you’re already helping us keep things consistent, organized, and entertaining.
We pride ourselves on running some of the most informative and troll-free forums in the flight simulation arena. Read the rules, use common sense, and enjoy interacting with thousands of simflight Forum readers and sim enthusiasts!
General Conduct
Be Courteous. We expect all members to uphold basic standards of civility.
Look Before Posting! Check the listing of current discussions to make sure there isn’t already an identical discussion in progress. Now that our forum search technology is more powerful, perform a search to make sure somebody hasn’t already posted your question or comment.
We try to focus the majority of discussions on flight simulation related issues. If you're hard set on discussing something else, please use the General Talk forum.
Posting Rules
Post with a Point. Before posting, ask yourself the following question: “Am I making a post which is informative, entertaining, or interesting in some way?” If the answer is no, your post won’t be very useful, and may even be deleted.
Stay on Target. Try not to deviate wildly from the theme of an established thread or article discussion. This keeps our forums more user friendly, and cuts down on the amount of time moderators spend pruning ongoing discussions and moving posts.
No Double-posting. If your first post doesn't generate the response you're looking for, try another angle or strategy. Replicated posts will be deleted.
Decorum, Decorum! Knock-down, drag-out arguments, especially those involving insulting or hostile language, are nonproductive and can easily overwhelm a discussion that might otherwise be fruitful or informative. If you remember the following ground rules, you should have no issues:
Be respectful of other members (including moderators), even if you disagree with them. When necessary, criticize the idea, not the person posting it.
No harassing, violent, discriminatory, hateful, or profane language.
Take personal disputes to e-mail or private message, please.
Got a Problem? Be Specific.When frustrated by a problem, it’s all too easy to issue a broad and ambiguous complaint (“Developer X just destroyed my system with his installment”). Try being specific by answering the following questions:
What is the main issue? Specify which part(s) are exhibiting an problem
How is it messed up? Describe the activity it is exhibiting.
When did it start? Explain how you first detected the problem, and what you’ve tried in the meantime to fix it.
If you can provide the What, Where, and When, forum users will have a higher success rate at helping you understand the Why.
Personal Profiles and Multimedia
HTML Is Not Allowed. You can add style to your profile and posts using BBCode.
Use Discretion When Posting Images. Too many images can be disruptive to the flow of information on a forum thread. Try to keep images purposeful (e.g., a screen shot exemplifying a problem or demonstrating a solution), and be conscious of image size.
Keep all Images Work Safe. If your employer or mother wouldn’t be comfortable viewing an image, it probably doesn’t belong here.
Signatures.Your signature file must be under 10K in size and no more than the equivalent of three lines of text. Keep in mind that everybody on the forums will be viewing your signature each time you post.
Do Not Post or Link to Illegal Software. No warez, cracks, CD codes, ROMs, illegal programs, .mp3s or similar files.
External Links. We welcome and share your enthusiasm about other websites, blogs, products, and services, but do not tolerate unexplained external links. Below is the appropriate way to reference external information:
In your own words, provide some context explain why the external information is relevant or useful.
Copy relevant passages of information directly into your post using block quotes.
Cite the source of quoted information in parentheses. E.g.: (Source: http://www.simflight.com)
We have a zero tolerance policy for links posted for the sole purpose of driving traffic or self-promotion. Any such links will be edited or removed by the moderator team, and serve as grounds for you to be warned or temporarily banned. We are serious about this rule, and the failure to comply will result in a permanent ban.
Moderation and Banning
If you violate a minor rule, you will most likely receive a friendly warning from a moderator or administrator. We aren’t looking to make enemies, and only issue bans when users repeatedly and intentionally ignore our guidelines.
If you feel you have been banned unjustly, you will be given a chance to state your case to a forum administrator, who may decide to revoke the ban or allow you to re-register your account. Permanent bans by email or IP address are only issued in serious circumstances when users cause true harm to the simFlight community.
What if I Disagree with a Moderator Decision? We welcome your comments or questions about moderator or administrator decisions via private messages. You may question any decision as long as you do so with civility.