Last updated: Jan 31st, 2010

1 Posting rules

• 1.1) Always be respectful and polite when posting- There is absolutely no excuse to be rude, confrontational, or hostile when posting on CodingForums.com. This is a place where web programmers come together to solve problems, not create them. Flaming can get you banned.
• 1.2) Do not crosspost- CodingForums.com is divided into various categories. When initiating a thread, always locate the most appropriate category, and post your question only ONCE, in that category. Do not post the same question in multiple categories.
• 1.3) No advertisements- CodingForums.com is not the classified ads. Do not post advertisements/ self promotion/ spam of any kind. Doing so will get you banned.
• 1.4) No illegal requests- Do not post requests that are illegal or break the usage terms of the service in question, such as where to download warez, disable pop up ads on your free host etc.
• 1.5) No homework assignments - Do not post your entire homework assignment and request that other members do it for you. This is considered cheating, and your thread may even be used by your school to prove your guilt. Now, you may ask for advice or help on a specific aspect of your assignment that you're having trouble with. Use common sense as far as what's acceptable in terms of soliciting help with homework assignments.
• 1.6) No objectionable content- Do not post content/subject/links that may not be appropriate to everybody, including minors. Examples include adult links, hateful/ distasteful content, vulgar language etc.
• 1.7) Stay on topic when initiating a thread or posting a reply- When replying to a thread, try and stay true to the topic. This guideline is needed to prevent CodingForums.com from becoming a chat room, and to maintain the quality of information flowing through and stored. When future members stumble across your post looking for answers, they will not appreciate chit chat.
• 1.8) Do not empty your own thread unless for good reason - Some members like to go back and empty their own posts for whatever reason. This is highly frowned upon and should not to done unless it's a matter of removing sensitive or potentially harmful information (ie: to yourself). Emptying your posts often destroys the rest of the thread, by creating discontinuity and causing the rest of the conversation to become out of context.

2 Miscellaneous Rules

• 2.1) Signature- Signatures are allowed for registered users who have signed up for 1 week or longer plus made 5+ posts, by defining one within the "User Profile" section of the user CP. Before then you may NOT manually add a sig to your posts, which is considered sig spamming. Signatures should be 4 lines or less, and can contain link(s). Images are NOT allowed. See "Usergroups Explained" for details on the various permissions depending on your usergroup.
• 2.2) User identify- Your identity on CodingForums.com is formed based on your username, past posts, an avatar (once you reach x number of posts), a signature etc. It is against the rules to manipulate any of these to mislead people as to your identity, such as choose a username or avatar that suggests you are a moderator of CF when you're not. Clear and malicious deception may get your account suspended.
• 2.3) PM (Private messaging)- This forum allows you to send private messages to individual members. This allows you to communicate with a member one-to-one. PM posting follows the same guidelines as above (1.x). If you are the recipient of a PM that breaks our guidelines, please email the admin ASAP with a copy of the message. Note that your PM box can only hold a maximum of 70 messages. Be sure to periodically clear out your inbox/sent folders to ensure PMs to you don't bounce.

3 Penalty

• Penalty for abusing/breaking the above guidelines will result in action taken either by a moderator or admin. Sometimes it's as simple as your post being edited out (which does not always equate to a penalty, rather, just a reminder), other times, you will be contacted and warned. In more severe cases, you will be banned immedately and without notice. However banned, it is permanent.

By participating in our forums you agree to comply to all of the above usage terms. Do not come to us after you've suddenly found your posting privileges permanently revoked due to violating them.