Ahoy folks,
I decided to write down some further guidelines to the forum usage and the Netiquette now that the activity in the international forum has risen a bit (something similar will most likely be posted in the german forums, too). Please check this thread every once in a while for further updates and amendments:
Do not hesitate to ask if you have questions or suggestions.
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General
- The designated language for the international forum is english. While the overwhelming majority of the members are german speakers, german should not be used here to avoid confusion. If you're not comfortable writing in english, you can contact me via pm and I'll translate it for you. If you're simply too lazy to answer in english, use the private message system instead.
- Moderators have the privilege of locking threads, deleting posts and threads, penalizing, banning and suspending members. Moderators also serve to keep the Board content consistent and uncluttered. Some moderators have been assigned their specific forum but they have these privileges in all the forums on this Board. Please do not start threads about closed or deleted threads. If you have a problem with any of the Moderators' decisions, send a PM to the moderator in question or the Moderator of the forum in which it happened. If you absolutely cannot resolve your issue with the moderating team, PM the Administrator (Matthias Landfried or ML). Moderators can also make use of their privileges even if the reason is not covered in the forum rules/guidelines.
- Don't post just to post. Postcount has absolutely zero relevance on this board. Only the quality, and not the quantity, of your posts can make you or break you in this community. Some of our most valuable members post the least.
- If you post something or link to something that is not safe for viewing at work (or near children, etc.), please indicate so in your thread title or above your link.
- Please avoid thread necromancy (that is: posting in a thread that has been inactive for several weeks to bump it back to the top of a forum again). Old threads have usually little relevance anymore. Also, members that posted in it may not be around anymore. If you really want to bring up an old discussion again because you have something of value to add, post a new thread and put a link in it to the old thread. That way people do not have to read through all the old posts to see what is new.
- Signatures are used to show off and inform, but only in the spirit of table-tennis. Insults and threats, icons and links to helpful pages, threads and information are welcome. If you*re thinking about putting something in your signature that doesn*t deal with tabletennis, please reconsider. As with posts, Moderators and Admins retain the right to edit your signature without notice (although we try to give you the benefit of the doubt).
- If you see something offensive or anything that violates the rules posted on any of the forums, click the
button at the top right corner of the post. Please don't abuse this feature and use it to drag the moderator into any personal dispute you may have. If you must fight, and again, we wish you wouldn*t, keep those hidden away in PMs or e-mails.
- If you have any comments or questions, feel free to PM the Moderator of the specific forum, or any other Moderator if the Moderator you seek is not available. Try to avoid sending general enquiry PM's directly to Matthias Landfried as he is already a very busy man.
How to quote:
- Avoid full quotes, e.g. do not quote someones entire posting as it decreases the readability and clogs up the forum and is simply not necessary (especially if your reply is very short). Example here:
Imagine you'd have to wade through a thread with such posts just to see if something was said or what was said. Where a 'quote' is required to accentuate or clarify something regarding your response, please edit out all that is not required. This will keep the thread clean to read and save on disk space.
- Just quote only those passages of the text that you're referring to and edit out the other ones in the message posting pane.
- If you want to quote two or more passages of the same post, do it like the forum member here.
Important:[/B]It is necessary to use the correct forum code whenever you format a text. Please have a look onto
this link if you're unfamiliar with it. Otherwise, you'll probably screw up the look and the readability of your post.[/INDENT]
If you just want to reply with a short commentary or a smily, it's best not to quote at all but simply write something like:
@user xyz: you're absolutely right!
- When answering a post that is directly above your post, there is generally no reason to quote the previous post unless it is to include a specific clip. Instead of a quote, you can also write:
^^ you're absolutely right
The ^'s are supposed to be arrows that point to the post above. The symbol is usually in the top left corner of the keyboard.
- Avoid *double-posting* as well * that is making a post in a thread, and then making another post right beneath your prior post. Just use that fancy *edit* button ("Ändern") and add in your next idea. Go ahead, try it!
Multiquotes:
- A very useful option is the "multi-quote" feature. It allows users to tag multiple posts that they wish to respond to by clicking the
- button in the bottom right corner in the posts that you want to quote. This way you don't have to quote and reply to each individual post. Once the user clicks the reply button 
, each tagged post shows up as quoted in the message posting pane.
Politeness and common sense:
- Keep in mind that this forum is not being read by computers but by thousands of human beings of all ages and sexes. The more impolite you are, the less likely it is that someone will help you in the future. Don't write something that you wouldn't say to someone else in person.
- Sometimes discussions get out of hand very quickly as subtle hints get unnoticed and are being misunderstood. Before you reply to a message, read it again and think about wether the poster really meant to say what you have in mind. If you aren't sure -> ask. Also keep in mind that once a message has been posted, it can be read by anyone in the world, your friends, your partner, your employer and may backfire. If you have finished your post, read it and think about it again before you post.
- Some bad language is acceptable (to a point) but please try to keep it to a minimum. It's not big and it's not clever! Plainly abusive images and posts will be deleted without notification.
- If you have a personal vendetta against someone, first of all, why? But if you must continue this blood feud, please try to confine your arguments via email or the Board*s private messaging system. Personal attacks on other members on the Board will not be tolerated, no matter who is right and who is wrong.
- Please respect your fellow poster. If they ask a question or make a post you consider to be a 'newbie' post, don't flame them for it. Rather, offer assistance and take the opportunity to show off how smart you are. Remember, you were a newbie once too.
Say something new and say it clearly.
As I said, this forum is being read by
many people. Write something that has not been said yet. If you haven't followed the whole discussion, go through the thread or
use the search function. Express your opinion clearly, with a convincing argumentation and (where necessary) with credible sources.
Nobody wants to read something that has been said over and over again and/or something that doesn't further the discussion. If you can't say something useful, don't post. A forum is not an argument contest.
Don't forget to take care of the appearance of your posts.
Punctuation helps to make your posts more readable. Use paragraphs in longer posts. Use emoticons, punctuation marks, font sizes, text in all capital letters and text in bold
sparingly. Excessive usage of sentences in a bigger font size for example is often being considered as shouting and therefore considered impolite. Once you've posted your text, go through it and check it briefly.
Last amendment: 26.3.'09