Common Rules and Guidelines:1)
No posting links or discussion of Warez, Activators, Cracks, or any other form of illegal material.2) Try and be as positive as possible.
3) Don't abuse the report feature. When you do use it, report accurately.
4) Try to refrain from using swear words. Try and find another way to put it.
5) Don't type in ALL CAPS. It can be considered spam & rude (shouting).
6) Don't spam, bash, harass or flame people. This includes trolling and unsolicitated messages. If you receive an offending PM, please forward it along with a screenshot to Arris or myself so we can take appropriate action.
7) Stay on topic.
8) Write in full sentences and be descriptive! Avoid "text"-talk like u, r, ur etc.
9) Try and speak in English the best you can. We do have
online translators that we can use to try and understand what you are saying if you do write in another language. Of course, you could use these services too! If you are unsure of how good your English is, put the English version and then whatever your preferred language is below that so we can try and understand it better.
10) Before you post, use the
Search feature to make sure that a topic like yours doesn't already exist.
11) If you have issues with another forum member, please contact
myself or
Arris via PM so we can deal with the problem accordingly. Do not post these issues publicly. You may also use the report feature if it seems more applicable.
12) Do not post or ask for personal information.
13) Do not post misleading links or offensive links. Example:
http://www.google.com. This example says Google but redirects you to Microsoft's Bing search engine.
14) Do not abuse smileys.
15) Try to refrain from posting tons of large images as our users' who have a slower connection will be waiting forever. Link to them instead. Popular image uploading sites include
ImageShack and
TinyPic.
16) Do not cross-post (post the same topic in multiple forums). Please edit your post to say something along the lines of "Mods please move this to [forumname]."
17) Try not to bump old topics unless you have something that adds to the conversation perfectly and that the conversation can be continued. You could, of course, make a new topic and say that the similar topic was getting a bit old. Stickies are excluded from this rule.
18) If you want a topic locked, please edit your first or last post to include the words "Please close." or edit the topic title to include those words. If your topic has been closed and you want it re-opened, PM a moderator (preferably the one who closed it).
19) Check these rules often. They will be updated. I will try to change the date in the title so you know if they have been updated.
20) Try not to double/multi-post. Use the
button instead.
21) Do not quote large blocks of un-needed text; only quote what you need to. Post links to quoted images as it makes loading much faster.
Signature Rules:Try not to have too bright of colours as it is hard to read without highlighting the text. Example:
Windows Server is a great operating system!Your signature may only contain 255 characters (BBCode included). To give you an idea of how long that is here is a block of example text, based on the
Win2008R2Workstation website's "Welcome Statement":
Code:
Using the manual you will be able to use Windows Server 2008 R2 as a lightning fast Workstation which will allow you to use applications, develop or play games better than you ever could on a home user Operating System like Windows 7, Vista or Windows XP!
Try to keep your signature within 500 pixels wide and 200 pixels high. Also, try and keep it under 1-2 MB if possible. You can use an online Image Optimizer such as
http://www.imageoptimizer.net/ to help you do this. Here is an example of the maximum size we'd prefer for all signatures to fit:
We will let it slide by a few pixels, but try and aim for that zone. If you really need a larger picture, use
ImageShack and use the forum link that has a thumbnail.
Exception: If your signature consists of only one image (or two) you may have it 740 pixels wide and 200 pixels high as long as it doesn't stretch the forum's width.
You will know when a staff member (*cough*
Arris*cough*
) has edited your signature because there will be a message in your signature like this:
Arris: Please make your signature smaller.It's up to Arris if they want to leave a link to the image that was too large.
If you are not sure if your signature is "fit", PM a staff member.
Avatars:Avatars are those little pictures you see below a user's name. They can only be 6KB large and 100x100 pixels. These images should not be offending.
Using the Report feature:*Images in this section are the ones used in the default skin,
VistaX.
If you find a post that breaks one of these rules, click the report button:
. You will then be brought to a page like this:
Then choose the correct category for why you are reporting a post from the drop-down menu:
The "Notify Me" option will let you know once a moderator has dealt with your report:
In Further Information you can tell us more information about why you are reporting this post. When you are done, click the "Submit" button and then the report will be sent to the moderators to deal with the post appropriately.
For large or offending signatures/avatars, please select the "Other" option and just say: "This person's signature/avatar is large/offending."
- these users have full access and control over the forums & website, via the use of the Admin Control Panel. Admins can delete users as well as ban them. They can also modify any users signature, avatar or profile.
- these users are able to un/lock, move, merge, split, edit, delete, sticky (and more) topics and posts to help keep the forums under control. They have access to the Moderator Control Panel which helps them do their job much easier. They can warn/ban users when appropriate. If you have been unfairly warned or banned, contact an Admin. Please contact the moderator first to see why they have warned you or banned you. Moderators have access to a "Staff Only" forum that lets them discuss issues and other things with the rest of the staff. Depending on the moderator, they may also have limited access in updating the main sites - 
(aka Win2008Workstation Expert) - These users are people that have good knowledge about the internals of the Windows Operating System and are helping a lot of people in the Win2008[R2]Workstation Community.
(aka Registered User) - these users make up the majority of the site. They can create topics, post and delete their own posts, view attachments, have a signature and avatar. *There are different "Ranks" of Members based on post count.