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atcsundevil
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NEW FORUM RULES

Fri Feb 09, 2018 7:27 pm

A.Net Community,

As some of you may be aware, we have been working for some time to update our Forum Rules. We began taking some user input last September, and in the mean time, we have completely overhauled our rules to better fit the needs of the new site.

We've done our best to address a number of recurring issues, as well as better define some Moderator actions. It's been quite some time since our rules have been changed, so this update is long overdue. Some of the formatting will be off, but obviously it will be correctly posted to the Forum Rules page at the appropriate time.

It is important to us to get user feedback before these rules go "live". None of the changes fundamentally impact how things work on this forum; instead, our attempt is to better define rules and policies to bring clarity, particularly to new users.

These new rules will be effective on March 1, 2018. Until that time, we encourage all users to read through and provide any constructive comments or criticism. Unhelpful, unconstructive, or otherwise disrespectful comments may be removed at the discretion of Moderators -- we want actual feedback that will enhance the user experience on this site.

We appreciate your feedback.
Moderators

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FORUM RULES – 2018 UPDATED
Below are the rules and guidelines regarding the discussion forums. These rules have been designed to make your visit to Airliners.net as enjoyable as possible. With tens of thousands of active users, we promote a clean, healthy and respectful environment where members are not afraid to ask questions or engage in friendly discussions.

Before becoming a member of Airliners.net, you are expected to review and comply with the following rules. Violating these rules may result in the suspension of your posting privileges. The length of this suspension will be decided by the Forum Moderators and will depend on the severity of the broken rule(s). Users that have been suspended on multiple occasions may be permanently banned.

Revisions and changes may be made and new rules added as necessary. When possible, a notice announcing rule-changes will be posted in the site related forum. It is each user's responsibility to know the forum rules and be aware of any updates to them by reviewing them periodically.

Airliners.net will not and cannot review every message posted, and is furthermore not responsible for the content of any of these messages. If you believe a post or thread violates a rule, please bring this to our attention by using the “Report This Post” button. It would also be helpful if you indicated which rules you believe were broken.


FORUM RULES
Contents
1. Posting in the Discussion Forum
    a. Respecting Other Users
    b. Debating the Topic
    c. Forum Languages
    d. Unconstructive Comments, Retaliation, and “Trolling”
    e. Factual Statements vs. Opinion
    f. Double Posting
    g. Thread Bumps
    h. Thread Titles
    i. Low Quality Posts
    j. Use of Embedded Media Files
    k. Links to Competing Sites
    l. Spelling and Grammar
    m. Inappropriate Language
    n. Posting Surveys or Promotions
    o. Posting to the Trip Reports Forum
    p. Use of Signatures and Avatars
    q. Continuous Threads
    r. Political Discussions
    s. New User Restrictions
2. Deletions, Warnings, Account Suspension (Ban), and Appeals
    a. Deletions
    b. Warnings
    c. Account Suspension (Ban)
    d. Appeals
3. Reporting Posts and Threads for Deletion/Review
    a. Reporting a Post
    b. Reporting as Retaliation
    c. Responding to Questionable Posts
    d. Reporting Duplicate Threads
    e. Reporting Multiple Posts in the Same Thread
    f. Reporting a Private Message (PM)
4. Forum Descriptions
5. Copyrights and Advertising
    a. Copyrights
    b. Use of Links to External Sites
    c. Use of Images from External Sites
    d. Advertisements
    e. Selling or Trading Aviation Materials
6. Maintaining your Airliners.net Account
    a. Username
    b. Personal Account Information
    c. Email Address Linked to Your Account
    d. Security
    e. Multiple Accounts
    f. Membership Cancellation
7. Communication with Moderators
    a. Questions and Comments
    b. Contacting Moderators via Private Message (PM)
    c. Communication with Moderators
    d. Contact Information
8. Communication with Other Users
    a. Contacting Users and Private Message (PM)
9. General
    a. Login or Account Issues
    b. Disclaimer

1. Posting in the Discussion Forums
    a. Respecting Other Users
      1. Please respect the opinions of others and choose your words wisely. Each user has their own point of view, and these views must be respected.
      2. Please word all criticism, whether of another user's opinion, a photograph, crew member, a political topic, etc., in a constructive manner. Criticism which serves no purpose other than to incite or insult other members will be deleted and your account possibly suspended.
    b. Debating the Topic
      1. If a topic becomes a debate, you may debate the subject itself but not the credibility or intellect of other members
    c. Forum Languanges
      1. As this is an international website, messages must be written in English, and must be easy to read
    d. Unconstructive Comments, Retaliation, and “Trolling”
      1. Do not post a message on how you find a topic or user irrelevant, boring, childish or stupid. Your post must contribute constructively to the discussion.
      2. Should a user antagonize, slander or intimidate you, DO NOT retaliate. All members are expected to comply with forum rules even if they have been provoked by another member. Bring this to our attention by reporting the offending post for deletion (see Section 3 – Reporting Posts and Threads for Deletion/Review).
      3. Do not provoke other users or incite trouble. Do not allow others to provoke you.
      4. “Trolling” posts are subject to removal at the discretion of the Moderators. Intentional trolling of users or topics may result in warning or suspension.
    e. Factual Statements vs. Opinion
      1. When stating facts, statistics or newsworthy bulletins, please be sure to include an HTML link or reference to a publication.
      2. If you are merely providing an opinion, please MENTION THIS in your post. It is each member's responsibility to avoid arguments based on rumors or misinformation.
    f. Double Posting
      1. Never post the same topic in more than once (in the same or different forums). If your post or thread accidentally double posts, please use the “Report Post” feature to alert Moderators for removal of the redundant post (see Section 3 – Reporting Posts and Threads for Deletion/Review).
      2. Always check past topics to be sure that the topic you are about to start hasn't already been posted. You can do this with a simple forum search using the relevant keywords. If your topic has already been posted and you'd like to add to the discussion, please do so under the existing topic, provided the discussion is current.
      3. Do not start a new topic UNLESS the existing thread has been dormant for a period of six months or more (see 1g – Thread Bumps). If the existing thread has been dormant for six months or more, do not reply to it without prior Moderator approval, and please create a new topic in the proper forum.
      4. Do not post more than one new thread on different aspects of the same topic. Example: "Thoughts on DL's New Livery" and "DL's New Livery now on 777's" does not require two separate threads. Moderators may merge or split threads at their discretion to place two similar topics together or to create a new topic from an existing discussion.
      5. Do not re-ignite inflammatory threads by creating new threads on the same topic.
      6. On rare occasions, the Moderators may create 'official' threads on certain topics to organize a high volume of posts effectively. Please adhere to any extra conditions that may be outlined in such threads. Do not create new threads on topics that have been set up as official threads.
    g. Thread Bumps
      1. Occurs when a user “bumps” a dormant thread to the top of the forum, or when a user purposely responds to their own thread to elicit a response.
      2. Threads that have been inactive for six (6) months or more (meaning the last post in the thread was made six months or more from the current date) are not to be commented on, and should remain permanently dormant unless the user first seeks approval from a Moderator to post in that thread.
      3. Threads that have comments posted after six months or more of inactivity will be locked, and all new comments will be deleted for housekeeping purposes.
      4. If you would like to add a comment to a thread that has been inactive for more than six months and is relevant to the subject (such as new information has become available), you are required to seek approval from a Moderator to reply to the thread. Alternatively, you can start a new thread and include a link to the older thread in your post
      5. “Bumping” your own thread to elicit responses is never permitted, and the entire thread may be removed. Users should not post successively in a manner that clearly demonstrates this purpose.
    h. Thread Titles
      1. Please use the most relevant and descriptive title for your topics. The title of your thread should therefore be as detailed as possible. Examples of unacceptable topics include, but are not limited to:
      - Read This - A380 - Please Help!
      - This is Cool - An-225 - David Neely
      - Breaking News! - JFK - Qantas
      2. Overly vague titles, or those with spelling/grammatical errors may be edited at the discretion of the Moderators.
      3. If the topic or post is unverified by an official source, the title or post must prominently display the words “Rumor”, “Unconfirmed”, or something similar. A thread title should not be worded as factual unless it is indeed factual.
      4. Thread titles and post content should not be typed in ALL CAPS, non-English characters, etc., and sources/links should either be in English or have an English translation provided by the poster.
    i. Low Quality Posts
      1. Please spend some time to make your posts interesting and easy to understand. Messages such as "me too", "I agree", “lol”, or use of emojis without commentary contribute nothing to the discussion, and therefore should be avoided. A message consisting of only one or two lines of text is probably not worth posting.
      2. Do not make posts that contain only a smiley face, check mark, etc. Make sure the content of your post is relevant to the topic.
      3. As this is a discussion forum, do not post links, news stories or press releases without adding your own comments to them. Links should always be accompanied by some description of the link content.
      4. Thread starting posts MUST contain your own commentary, as well as sources (quotes are optional, but recommended) if applicable.
      5. Thread starters which only contain links and/or quotes with limited or no commentary will be deleted. Our members can get news in many places. It is your comments that will make the post interesting and worth responding to. Please be sure to only copy/paste portions of an article (see Section 5 – Copyrights and Advertising).
    j. Use of Embedded Media Files
      1. Media files may be embedded in posts so long as their "autoplay" function has been disabled.
    k. Links to Competing Sites
      1. Do not post links or references to other sites which compete directly with or seek to diminish the mission of Airliners.net. Similarly, do not embed photographs from competing websites in forum posts.
    l. Spelling and Grammar
      1. The Forum Moderators reserve the right to delete any post containing bad grammar, spelling errors or any post that we find difficult to understand. Please use a spell checker prior to posting.
      2. Posts which seek to demean, belittle, or antagonize users who have posted with misspellings or poor grammar will be deleted, and the user may be warned or suspended.
    m. Inappropriate Language
      1. Swear words are acceptable ONLY when used in context and when it can be considered "motivated" (e.g. to emphasize a point). It is not acceptable to use them gratuitously. Use of vulgar language may result in a warning or account suspension being issued. All language used on this site should be considered “safe for work”.
      2. Swear words that have been masked with wildcards (e.g. ****, $#&!, etc) are as unacceptable as unmasked words, and will be subject to the same rules.
      3. At no time may swear words be used in the title of a thread.
    n. Posting Surveys or Promotions
      1. Requests to post any form of survey or promotion must first be submitted for review by Moderators by emailing moderators@airliners.net. Posts made without receiving prior approval may be subject to deletion. These threads are only generally permitted in the Polls and Prefs Forum.
    o. Posting to the Trip Reports Forum
      1. Users are encouraged to provide a complete start to finish account of your journeys with the sort of detail your fellow enthusiasts will appreciate. Photo-essays on complete trips are welcomed and encouraged. The more detail the better.
      2. Video Trip Reports
        i. Videos are permitted to be included in Trip Reports provided a complete narrative of the trip report is provided.
        ii. Trip Reports that have little detail with or without a video will be deleted.
        iii. Trip reports with videos must include the word “Video” in the title. Examples may include but not limited to “Full Trip Report with Video”, “With Video”, “Includes Video”, or something similar.
      3. Use of Personal Websites or Blogs
        i. Links to Personal Websites and Personal Blogs as an image host is permitted provided that the full text of the report is included in the post. This is only permitted in the Trip Reports Forum.
        ii. Trip Reports that include a link to a personal website or blog without a complete narrative will be deleted.
    p. Use of Signatures and Avatars
      1. Signature lines must not include any advertisements or self-promotion. This includes links to personal social media accounts, YouTube channels, websites, blogs, etc. Signatures that include advertisements are subject to Airliners.net Copyright and Advertising rules.
      2. Political commentary and pictures will not be allowed in a user’s Signature or Avatar. Images of political figures will not be permitted in your Avatar.
      3. Signatures and Avatars must not contain any statement or pictures/photos which are knowingly false, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, graphic, threatening, invasive of a person’s privacy or otherwise in violation of any law. They also may not be used to misrepresent the user, or imply that the user has an alternate identity.
      4. Any user that has a Signature and/or Avatar that violates the abovementioned rules will be required to remove and/or change their Signature and/or Avatar as soon as possible.
      5. Users who do not comply with removing a Signature and/or Avatar as requested by a Moderator may have their account suspended until such time the account is in compliance.
    q. Continuous Threads
      1. Some threads may be managed by Moderators to organize them more efficiently. These typically include Country/State/Region, Airline, or Production Threads for general discussion. These threads will be set for determined periods of time regardless of post/page count (e.g. 2018, February 2018, Q1 2018, etc.).
      2. At the expiration, the thread will be locked by Moderators, and a new page will be created.
      3. Users should not create new threads in this category themselves without prior permission from the Moderators.
      4. These threads will not be locked and recycled based on post or page count.
    r. Political Discussion
      1. As some aviation topics relate to politics, political statements related to aviation are permitted, provided the political discussion is merely to provide context to the discussion. Political commentary without aviation context, with the purpose of being inflammatory or injecting political bias, or comments which are fundamentally a political discussion will be removed in all aviation forums. Political commentary must serve a purpose in aviation forums.
      2. Political discussion unrelated to aviation, or aviation topics primarily rooted in politics are limited to the Non-Aviation Forum.
    s. New User Restrictions
      1. New users will have their first two (2) posts screened by Moderators. These posts must be approved or denied by a Moderator, and they will not display in the forum until a Moderator reviews the post or thread.
      2. Please avoid posting the same content multiple times; your post will not display until approved by a Moderator.
      3. New users may not use the Private Message (PM) feature until two posts have been approved by Moderators.

2. Deletions, Warnings, Account Suspension (Ban), and Appeals
    a. Deletions
      1. If your post or thread has been deleted, please do not view this as a personal attack against you by the Forum Moderators. If you believe there was an error, please send an email to moderators@airliners.net to bring it to our attention.
      2. If your thread was deleted, please contact the Moderators for approval to repost the topic prior to doing so. Reposting a deleted topic could lead to a warning or account suspension being issued. We will provide an explanation for deletion, and suggested remedies for reposting.
    b. Warnings
      1. Warnings may be issued to users who have accrued a significant number of deletions, or have committed a particularly gross violation of the rules.
      2. Warnings are logged against the user, and may be referenced by Moderators in the future. These should be taken seriously, as an accrual of warnings will likely lead to an account suspension.
    c. Account Suspension (Ban)
      1. These may be issued to users who have accrued a significant number of warnings, or have committed a serious and flagrant violation of the rules. The length of these suspensions is entirely at the discretion of the Moderator, and the length will be increased based on previous user history and/or severity of the offense.
      2. During the time your account is Suspended, your ability to participate in the site is restricted; you may not post in any capacity until your Account Suspension has been lifted.
      3. If you've been Suspended, then you are not permitted to post via another member, or by creating a new account. If it is found that this rule has been breached, you may have your Account Suspension extended or be made permanent. In addition, the user posting on your behalf may also face suspension.
    d. Appeals
      1. Users always have the right to appeal any deletion, warning, or account suspension. They must query in writing by emailing moderators@airliners.net detailing their reason for appeal, or requesting an explanation of Moderator action. These actions may be amended or overturned by a Head Moderator.
      2. Any request made directly to a Moderator via PM will be ignored, and the rights for appeal invalidated.
      3. To protect the privacy of our users, only the user involved in the action may query or appeal a Moderator action. Other users may not interject on behalf of another user.

3. Reporting Posts and Threads for Deletion/Review
    a. Reporting a Post
      1. If you recognize an offensive post or thread, have a problem with another user, or if you dislike a thread or post and believe that it violates a rule, please click the “Report This Post” icon (triangle with exclamation point) located on the upper righthand corner of the offending post. Just as posts have various levels of quality, suggestions for deletion do as well. Take some time to explain why you feel a post should be removed or receive Moderator attention.
      2. To report a complicated issue with a user or thread, you may e-mail the Forum Moderators at moderators@airliners.net about the issue.
      3. Any user found to abuse/misuse the Reporting system will be suspended.
    b. Reporting as Retaliation
      1. Do not use the Report Post feature unfairly against one or more members in an attempt to limit their posts. Deletion suggestions from members are welcome and encouraged, but do not 'spam' the deletion queue because of a conflict with another member.
      2. Do not use the Report Post feature as a way of retaliating after having one of your own posts or threads removed.
    c. Responding to Questionable Posts
      1. Do not respond to an inflammatory post and Report the Post. Please only report the post for Moderator review.
    d. Reporting Duplicate Threads
      1. If you are Reporting an entire thread because it is a duplicate of an earlier thread, please paste the URL of the first thread in the report.
      2. Please be aware that duplicate threads where the original has been dormant for a period of six months or more should not be considered a duplicate thread.
    e. Reporting Multiple Posts in the Same Thread
      1. Please only utilize the Report Post feature once per post.
      2. If there are a pattern of offensive posts contained in the same thread in a successive series of post, please only report the first post. Include in the Report that there are numerous offensive posts, and the entire thread should be reviewed.
    f. Reporting a Private Message (PM)
      1. PMs are subject to the same rules as posting in an open forum. PMs can be reported in a similar fashion to posts by using the Report feature. If you are unable to report the PM, please email the contents of the PM to moderators@airliners.net for review.

4. Forum Descriptions
    a. Please post in the correct forum. Familiarize yourself with their descriptions and guidelines to decide in which forum your thread belongs. A thread may be moved to another forum if the topic is more suitable elsewhere.
    b. Do not knowingly or intentionally post your topic in the incorrect forum to increase favorability or responses.
    c. Only real or actual events may be posted in the Aviation Forums. Humor and other parody belongs specifically in the Non-Aviation Forum, even if it is aviation related.
    ________________________________________
    Civil Aviation Discussions about factual events happening in the airline and general aviation industries. If it's happening in commercial aviation, you'll get the information and opinions here first. Topics in this forum relate to CIVIL aviation only, not military or space.
    ________________________________________
    Travel, Polls & Preferences The best, worst, biggest, smallest, or seeking advice as to a preferred carrier for a trip you are planning, etc. Discussions over cabin service, seats, frequent flyer programs, or seeking travel advice belongs here.
    ________________________________________
    Technical / Operations The more advanced forum for those of you who want to dig deeper into technical issues as well as airline management and operations. This is for aircraft performance, characteristics, handling, procedures, etc. A forum for both professionals and knowledgeable amateurs, along with requests for career advice.
    ________________________________________
    Aviation Hobby Discussions about flight simulation, model collections, memorabilia, collectables, post cards, slides, etc.
    ________________________________________
    Aviation Photography Discuss equipment, techniques, digital editing, or get feedback on you pictures before you upload them. Get the opinion of fellow photographers on your shots, and discuss ways to improve them.
    ________________________________________
    Photography Feedback Have your photos reviewed by fellow photographers and get feedback on ways to improve specific images.
    ________________________________________
    Trip Reports Discussions about specific trips you have taken. The more detail the better. Photo-essays on complete trips are welcome and encouraged. We welcome start-to-finish accounts of your journeys with the sort of detail your fellow enthusiasts will appreciate. Video Trip Reports are permitted with a complete narrative and labeled as a “Video Report” in the title.
    ________________________________________
    Military Aviation & Space Flight Discussions about military aviation and space flight. Defense contracts, new fighters, tankers and transports and aerospace development.
    ________________________________________
    Non-Aviation This forum is for topics not related to aviation. It can be anything really, reflections on why you think Microsoft is a cool company to why you'll never buy a Nissan. This is also the forum to organize Airliners.net meetings and events. This is the only forum where political comments are permitted until the Politics Forum is active.
    ________________________________________
    Politics (coming soon) This forum is the ONLY forum on the website in which political comments or discussions may take place, even if they are aviation related.
    ________________________________________
    Site-Related This is the place where Airliners.net related information will be posted like dates for scheduled downtime, info about new sections and features etc. This is also the forum for suggestions, comments and constructive criticism related to any part of Airliners.net
    ________________________________________

5. Copyrights and Advertising
    a. Copyrights
      1. Copyrighted material from other websites, newspapers, magazines and journals are not allowed to be posted.
      2. You are permitted to post a summary of an article, or quote portions of an article (fair use extract) and a link to the full story, but not the full article. Violations of this policy will result in the deletion of your post or thread.
      3. Copying and pasting large portions of an article into the thread, even if a source link is provided, will lead to removal of the post or thread.
    b. Use of Links to External Sites
      1. You may post links to mainstream websites that are of relevance to a discussion. However, gratuitous, unmerited, and/or repeated linking of images or text hosted on websites other than Airliners.net is not permitted. External links should be accompanied by your own comments (see Section 1i – Low Quality Posts).
      2. Do not post links or references to external websites for forum readers to obtain your own text that could have been posted within the thread itself. This includes links to personal blogs and social networking sites. If they are your own words or images, we ask that you post them here.
      3. Use of your own blog or website as a means of self-promotion is not permitted without prior Moderator approval.
    c. Use of Images from External Sites
      1. Images attached to posts are required to be sourced and credited. Images used in posts without source and credit will lead to the entire post being deleted for a copyright violation. This is applicable to all types of image attachments, which includes photos, charts, graphs, gifs, etc. If the image does not belong to you, then it must be sourced and credited.
        i. This includes images originated from social media accounts.
        ii. Images included from the Airliners.net database do not require additional source or credit.
        iii. This applies to all forums for all image content.
      2. Images used without the permission of the copyright holder may be subject to deletion at the request of the copyright holder, even if sourced and credited, unless prior permission is sought.
    d. Advertisements
      1. Do not post advertisements for web pages, chain letters, pyramid schemes, virus warnings or other solicitations.
      2. Users posting advertisements will be suspended. New users posting advertisements or illegal content may be permanently suspended.
    e. Selling or Trading Aviation Materials
      1. If you have aviation material that you'd like to sell or trade, and are not a commercial dealer, then you may post a link to it in the Aviation Hobby Forum.
      2. Please note that Airliners.net is not responsible for any trading or sales activities between users.
      3. Commercial sellers are not permitted, and we reserve the right to suspend or ban your user account.

6. Maintaining your Airliners.net Account
    a. Username
      1. Your username must not be offensive.
      2. Your username, signature line, avatar image, profile, etc. must not contain offensive or vulgar content.
      3. Changing your username
        i. Please think carefully before choosing your username, as it cannot be changed in the future. The only method for changing a username is to have your prior account deleted and a new one created.
    b. Personal Account Information
      1. You do have the ability to change any or all personal information contained in your user profile.
    c. Email Address Linked to Your Account
      1. You are required to have a valid and current email address listed within your Airliners.net member profile. This is important so that we can contact you if necessary.
      2. Should your user profile contain an invalid email address, your account may be suspended until you contact us with a valid email.
      3. If we have reason to contact you regarding these forums or if any of your posts have been deleted, you may receive notification by email.
      4. If you have a post removed, a deletion notice will be automatically generated and sent to the email address in your profile. This may be subject to site limitations, and notifications for some actions may not be automatically generated. To enquire a deletion, please email moderators@airliners.net and include your username.
    d. Security
      1. You are responsible for the security of your password. Excuses for unauthorized posts such as "someone has discovered my password" or "I left my PC with it still logged on to a.net and someone used it" will not be accepted.
      2. Your Airliners.net membership is private. It is for you only and you may not share your username and password with anyone else.
    e. Multiple Accounts
      1. You may only maintain ONE account. Users found to be maintaining more than one account will have the additional account(s) permanently banned, and the primary account will face a lengthy suspension. Be aware that Moderators have multiple tools to track users attempting to maintain multiple accounts.
    f. Membership Cancellation
      1. We reserve the right to cancel your membership and forum username without repaying any subscription fees (if applicable) if you violate the rules or cause harm in any way to Airliners.net.

7. Communication with Moderators
    a. Questions and Comments
    b. Contacting Moderators via Private Message (PM)
      1. If you contact a Moderator privately regarding a forum issue, the Moderator is required share your communication with the rest of the Moderating team. We encourage you to send your forum questions directly to moderators@airliners.net.
      2. Avoid sending messages using the PM function to Forum Moderators regarding Moderating issues. Please only PM a Moderator if it is unrelated to the Moderator’s duties.
    c. Communication with Moderators
      1. Please respect Crew Members. Remember that Forum Moderators cannot be everywhere at all times. You may email the Moderators, Support, Screeners or Chat Operators on an issue or start a constructive thread in the Site Related Forum.
      2. Please be advised that that emails or posts that are deemed abusive or obnoxious will be ignored or deleted, and you may be warned or suspended.
      3. Any email to Moderators should include your username and your real name. Omitting your username may delay a response to your query.
      4. All correspondence between members and the Forum Moderators is confidential. Regardless of the method of delivery (email, deletion notice, PM, etc.), the communication on either side is not to be shared or distributed without the expressed written consent of the involved member and Moderator(s).
      5. Posting specific information regarding user contact with Moderators in an open forum is not permitted without permission. Users should not create posts detailing specific Moderator actions against them unless the user has received explicit permission to do so.
    d. Contact Information

8. Communication with Other Users
    a. Contacting Users and Private Message (PM)
      1. If you'd like to contact another user, you may do so using the PM feature, or an email address if the user includes one in their profile.
      2. Please do not request or solicit user contact information in an open forum without prior Moderator approval.
      3. Any abuse towards another user may result in account suspension. Private messages and emails are subject to the same rules as forum posts.
      4. PMs may be reported in a similar manner as posts to notify Moderators for review.
      5. If you have asked a member not to contact you and the contact continues, please notify the Moderators. Be prepared to provide screen-captures of the correspondence if you are unable to report the PMs.
      6. Members may not be contacted via their profiles for the purpose of advertising.
      7. Private messages between members (including crew members) may not be pasted into forum threads or distributed elsewhere for public review.
      8. Emails from Moderators or other Crew Members may not be pasted into forum threads or distributed elsewhere for public review.

9. General
    a. Login or Account Issues
      1. If there's a problem with your account, if your account has been accidentally deleted, or if you have difficulties logging in, please contact the Support Crew detailing the problem. They will try their best to rectify the situation in a timely manner. Contact them at support@airliners.net. Please do not contact the Moderators for account issues; there is nothing Moderators can do to help.
    b. Disclaimer
      1. The messages in this discussion forum express the views of their author and not necessarily that of Airliners.net or any associated entity. You remain solely responsible for everything you post, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Airliners.net and their agents with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s).
      2. We reserve the right to reveal your identity (or whatever information we know about you) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any message posted by you.
        i. Your IP address is logged and we reserve the right to track you using this information in the case of any pressing concern.
        ii. You agree that you will not use this discussion forum to post any statement which is knowingly false, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, graphic, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy or otherwise in violation of any law.
        iii. Do not post slanderous or defamatory statements. These include, but are not limited to, false or malicious statements injurious to a person's reputation, job, family or private life.
        iv. Posts containing information on how to carry out an illegal act will be deleted.
      3. We reserve the right to delete, without explanation and entirely at our discretion, any post, thread or user for any or no reason.
 
SoJo
Posts: 285
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 9:29 pm

Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Fri Feb 09, 2018 9:34 pm

Why bother with all this guff? The site is now FREE and anyone can come in and lambast everyone. Rubbish IMO
 
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lesfalls
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Fri Feb 09, 2018 9:59 pm

I wonder if I am even permitted to state my opinion here but I think that there is too much beauracracy wih this. It just seems liks people have completely lost their senses.
 
727LOVER
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Fri Feb 09, 2018 10:51 pm

k. Links to Competing Sites
1. Do not post links or references to other sites which compete directly with or seek to diminish the mission of Airliners.net.



I didn't realize this site had competitors.
I've actually done this quite a bit.


What if it's relevant to a thread?
If the thread is about Eastern 401...and I want to show a pic? Well guess what?...there aren't any on this site.
What is wrong with linking it from another aviation site as opposed to a news site?
 
FlyHossD
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 12:03 am

Do the rules matter when the're not enforced or enforced unevenly?
 
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scbriml
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 12:04 am

New forum rules are fine, but while there is no means for the moderators to inform members when they've transgressed, what's the point?
 
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qf789
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 12:26 am

727LOVER wrote:
k. Links to Competing Sites
1. Do not post links or references to other sites which compete directly with or seek to diminish the mission of Airliners.net.



I didn't realize this site had competitors.
I've actually done this quite a bit.


What if it's relevant to a thread?
If the thread is about Eastern 401...and I want to show a pic? Well guess what?...there aren't any on this site.
What is wrong with linking it from another aviation site as opposed to a news site?


If it is relevant to the thread I would suggest emailing us for permission to post first and that is providing the picture is not available on a.net. We would prefer you to use the picture off a news site if the picture is not available here. This rule is in place to protect the Airliners.net brand, obviously we want to promoting Airliners.net and not other competing sites
 
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atcsundevil
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 12:52 am

727LOVER wrote:
k. Links to Competing Sites
1. Do not post links or references to other sites which compete directly with or seek to diminish the mission of Airliners.net.



I didn't realize this site had competitors.
I've actually done this quite a bit.


What if it's relevant to a thread?
If the thread is about Eastern 401...and I want to show a pic? Well guess what?...there aren't any on this site.
What is wrong with linking it from another aviation site as opposed to a news site?

Just to add to qf789, this isn't a new rule, it has been around for many years. This is from the current set of rules:
Do not post links or references to other sites which compete directly with or seek to diminish the mission of https://www.airliners.net. Similarly, do not embed photographs from competing websites in forum posts.


scbriml wrote:
New forum rules are fine, but while there is no means for the moderators to inform members when they've transgressed, what's the point?

That's something outside of our control. It doesn't mean we should simply give up because of it. The point is that this is an attempt to give members, particularly newer ones, a better sense of how this site operates. You already know how things work, but a new user wouldn't.

lesfalls wrote:
I wonder if I am even permitted to state my opinion here but I think that there is too much beauracracy wih this. It just seems liks people have completely lost their senses.

As was stated, there isn't much in these rules that didn't previously exist, this is just to provide more clarification. I'm not sure why you think you wouldn't be able to state your opinion, we just want constructive feedback.

SoJo wrote:
Why bother with all this guff? The site is now FREE and anyone can come in and lambast everyone. Rubbish IMO

This is an example of a comment lacking constructive commentary.
 
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fortytwoeyes
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 12:59 am

I don't really see the need reason for the bureaucracy caused by section 1.g 2-4. If it's relevant information, it should be fine to post it even after the six months have passed. If it isn't, it falls under other rules (1.i for example) and should be removed anyway.
 
DWC
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 1:06 am

As a moderator myself to a similar multiple-forum & multilingual structure elsewhere, let me say I recognize how much experience & thought was put into this, good job ! Few know how difficult it is to run a forum well & to have moderators around the world agree on common principles. So I will only list here general criticisms I deem deleterious to a.net & offer two suggestions for the better of a-net :

1. I have observed very questionable deletions, I'll speak of mine only in the past three months ( after six years of lurking ) like introductory post abusively deleted making the whole post moot, censorship of non mainstream information, even expeditive deletions of posts with original text & the summarized translation in plain English, or posts locked when OP specifically requested a long term covering of the subject.
2. The occasional rants on questionable deletions, sometimes very interesting & well explained, also deleted like in the former Soviet Union : moderators do not like waves, let alone being questioned or challenged, and certainly not publicly.
3. Conversely, lots of Noise & informationless posts are left unscathed & thus beckoning for more, drowning good information, lengthening threads indefinitedly, daunting good posters to participate.
4. I for one will not use the email to moderators, it would force me to create a new email address specifically to keep my anonymity.
5. To anyone not US, UK, OZ, NZ, the forum has become very anglosaxon oriented, often totally uninteresting to us Europeans or Latin Americans ( and where are the Asians ? the Africans ? the Russians ? ), fact is aviation forums in other languages are thriving precisely because a-net forces what most native English-speaking members won't do : participate in a language other than their own. And I am speaking of aviation powers : France, Germany, Russia, China & Japan, only the few multilinguals from some of these countries participate, and sporadically at that.

Suggestion 1 : an open forum to address moderation problems. This would :
1. allow anyone to express himself in the open without going through that obscure hotline
2. force moderators to think well if not twice before pressing on the deletion button
3. teach members better why moderators do this or that & thus learn for themselves in tune with the forum rules
4. make a-net a friendlier platform.
Naturally, that would be a Pandora box in the beginning, but only until vexed members & moderators tune in.

Suggestion 2 : allow posts in the major languages.
1. in a world of increasing integration, monolinguism is a sign of ignorance & multilingualism that of educated conversation, heck, even the United Nation allow for 6 languages. Contrary to the ethnocentric perception, English is not spreading but receding both in absolute terms ( less native speakers ) & relative terms as % of interactions
2. get ( back ) all those knowledgeable people who feel uncomfortable expressing themselves in English & who never participate here
3. get more interesting information from media other than English sources - often incomplete or parcellary, when not producing alternate facts
4. be in tune with our time, worldwide, anywhere, anytime ;)
There are free translation softwares that can be easily added to the code & allow for automatic translations ASAP under the original post.
 
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caoimhin
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 1:28 am

DWC wrote:

5. To anyone not US, UK, OZ, NZ, the forum has become very anglosaxon oriented, often totally uninteresting to us Europeans or Latin Americans ( and where are the Asians ? the Africans ? the Russians ? ), fact is aviation forums in other languages are thriving precisely because a-net forces what most native English-speaking members won't do : participate in a language other than their own. And I am speaking of aviation powers : France, Germany, Russia, China & Japan, only the few multilinguals from some of these countries participate, and sporadically at that.
[...]
Suggestion 2 : allow posts in the major languages.
1. in a world of increasing integraton, monolinguism is a sign of ignorance & multilingualism that of educated conversation, heck, even the United Nation allow for 6 languages. Contrary to the ethnocentric perception, English is not spreading but receding both in absolute terms ( less native speakers ) & relative terms as % of interactions
2. get ( back ) all those knowledgeable people who feel uncomfortable expressing themselves in English & who never participate here
3. get more interesting information from media other than English sources - often incomplete or parcellary, when not producing alternate facts
4. there are free translation softwares that can be easily added to the code & allow for automatic translations ASAP under the original post


A friendly reminder that the English language is also spoken in places other than those countries you’ve enumerated.
 
DWC
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 1:29 am

caoimhin wrote:
A friendly reminder that the English language is also spoken in places other than those countries you’ve enumerated.

Did I miss Ireland ? Oh Lord. And all the African countries who have English as an official language ? Do all Indians actually speak English ?
That said, a kind point of order : this is precisely the kind of useless post stating the obvious to any well-travelled person & yet missing what a-net is missing out : all the silent people who do not or won't participate in English. By the way, I posted in English, English is not my mother tongue nor my languages of work. ;)
 
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aerolimani
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:04 am

Just a little grammatical error, I think, in 1. f. 1.

f. Double Posting
1. Never post the same topic in more than once (in the same or different forums). If your post or thread accidentally double posts, please use the “Report Post” feature to alert Moderators for removal of the redundant post (see Section 3 – Reporting Posts and Threads for Deletion/Review).

Perhaps you mean something like "Never post the same reply, in a topic, more than once."
 
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atcsundevil
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:11 am

fortytwoeyes wrote:
I don't really see the need reason for the bureaucracy caused by section 1.g 2-4. If it's relevant information, it should be fine to post it even after the six months have passed. If it isn't, it falls under other rules (1.i for example) and should be removed anyway.

This was a compromise made out of the transition from the old site to the new one. The old site automatically locked all dormant threads (I believe it was after three weeks, but I can't remember). There are two very vocal groups on the issue — those who want dormant threads to be off-limits, and those who want threads to be fair game forever. Setting the period at six months was the compromise, and came after much discussion over the past 18+ months. This is just making it official. It's not about bureaucracy, it's about finding a balance that keeps most people happy.

DWC wrote:
Suggestion 1 : an open forum to address moderation problems. This would :
1. allow anyone to express himself in the open without going through that obscure hotline
2. force moderators to think well if not twice before pressing on the deletion button
3. teach members better why moderators do this or that & thus learn for themselves in tune with the forum rules
4. make a-net a friendlier platform.
Naturally, that would be a Pandora box in the beginning, but only until vexed members & moderators tune in.

Firstly, I can't speak to the deletions to which you're referring. There already is an open forum for users to address issues — it's the Site Related Forum. I can't speak for other Mods, but I am always mindful of what I'm deleting, because I recognize the effort that goes into posting. That said, at least 2/3 of deletions are due to posts referencing deleted posts; our policies don't permit us to delete portions of posts to remove deleted reference quotes. This is to mitigate allegations of censorship, because despite the instance of some users, we are not out to censor users. Unfortunately that results in a lot of unintended collateral damage. If we delete a post that breaks the rules, we have to follow through to remove it entirely, which means deleting any subsequent posts which contain reference quotes to the original deletion. One post that breaks the rules can lead to a chain of deletions. It's not ideal, but that's our policy, and it's not a policy we as moderators can change.

DWC wrote:
Suggestion 2 : allow posts in the major languages.
1. in a world of increasing integration, monolinguism is a sign of ignorance & multilingualism that of educated conversation, heck, even the United Nation allow for 6 languages. Contrary to the ethnocentric perception, English is not spreading but receding both in absolute terms ( less native speakers ) & relative terms as % of interactions
2. get ( back ) all those knowledgeable people who feel uncomfortable expressing themselves in English & who never participate here
3. get more interesting information from media other than English sources - often incomplete or parcellary, when not producing alternate facts
4. be in tune with our time, worldwide, anywhere, anytime ;)
There are free translation softwares that can be easily added to the code & allow for automatic translations ASAP under the original post.

This would be an entirely separate discussion from this rules update. This site has long been established as an English website. That's not to exclude non-English speakers, but to be inclusive of the overwhelming majority of users who do post in English. I wouldn't be against this idea, but it opens a whole new set of problems — if no moderators speak Spanish, then how do we moderate it? How do we partition it from the English portions of the site? Something like a translation box "easily added to the code" it may be, but we currently have site needs far more urgent than such a feature. Like I said, that's a complex discussion that we're not prepared to address with this update, but I would encourage you to start a thread in Site Related to begin having such a discussion.
 
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atcsundevil
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:14 am

aerolimani wrote:
Just a little grammatical error, I think, in 1. f. 1.

f. Double Posting
1. Never post the same topic in more than once (in the same or different forums). If your post or thread accidentally double posts, please use the “Report Post” feature to alert Moderators for removal of the redundant post (see Section 3 – Reporting Posts and Threads for Deletion/Review).

Perhaps you mean something like "Never post the same reply, in a topic, more than once."

Thanks for pointing that out. That's actually an error in the current set of rules. We caught a few grammatical errors in the current rules, but obviously this one was missed!

In the current rules:
j. Double Posting: Never post the same topic in more than once (in the same or different forums).
 
Ozair
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:26 am

Thread Bumps
1. Occurs when a user “bumps” a dormant thread to the top of the forum, or when a user purposely responds to their own thread to elicit a response.
2. Threads that have been inactive for six (6) months or more (meaning the last post in the thread was made six months or more from the current date) are not to be commented on, and should remain permanently dormant unless the user first seeks approval from a Moderator to post in that thread.
3. Threads that have comments posted after six months or more of inactivity will be locked, and all new comments will be deleted for housekeeping purposes.
4. If you would like to add a comment to a thread that has been inactive for more than six months and is relevant to the subject (such as new information has become available), you are required to seek approval from a Moderator to reply to the thread. Alternatively, you can start a new thread and include a link to the older thread in your post
5. “Bumping” your own thread to elicit responses is never permitted, and the entire thread may be removed. Users should not post successively in a manner that clearly demonstrates this purpose.

Is this a moderator preference or is there a technical reason for this stipulation? Either way can we see some common sense with this rule please?

In the MilAv section we typically see timeframes for contracts or other deals take years and as such it may be a long time between relevant information being available to discuss. I understand in CivAv or NonAv that this may have a purpose but for MilAv it will be really frustrating, especially as the older threads contain a lot of factual information or questions that will have to be re-asked and answered.
 
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neomax
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:27 am

Unless I’m missing something, what exactly are the new rules here? Everything I read is more or less the same as before.
 
rnav2dlrey
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:48 am

rules that have changed or have been added should be highlighted in bold. also, rules that are often broken should be highlighted. otherwise, very few will read all of that text.
 
DWC
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 3:01 am

atcsundevil wrote:
There are two very vocal groups on the issue — those who want dormant threads to be off-limits, and those who want threads to be fair game forever. Setting the period at six months was the compromise, and came after much discussion over the past 18+ months. This is just making it official. It's not about bureaucracy, it's about finding a balance that keeps most people happy.

That said, at least 2/3 of deletions are due to posts referencing deleted posts; our policies don't permit us to delete portions of posts to remove deleted reference quotes. This is to mitigate allegations of censorship, because despite the instance of some users, we are not out to censor users. Unfortunately that results in a lot of unintended collateral damage. If we delete a post that breaks the rules, we have to follow through to remove it entirely, which means deleting any subsequent posts which contain reference quotes to the original deletion. One post that breaks the rules can lead to a chain of deletions. It's not ideal, but that's our policy, and it's not a policy we as moderators can change.

Running an international forum & one this size is never easy, and no set of rules will satisfy everyone, which is why I am not addressing the specifics of the new rules ( other than English ) : I recognize to any group of moderators their absolute right to produce their own set of rules per their experience & focus, that is entirely their priviledge.

I understand your reasons, I have no grudges & you have all my respect globally speaking, I just pointed out moderation decisions that seem to have crossed a-net's own rules. For instance, my thread on "Monitoring Airbus leadership" was locked after a month I think, which is sad because I intended to steer it from a business management point of view, much lacking here aside of simplistic assumptions & unlearned clichés. Repeated irksome moderation & newbie proliferation contribute to that levelling down many here mention, one reason why I only joined so many years after lurking, but I still yawn at the time wasted scrolling down to find the good posts that teach me meaningfully.

On a sidenote, my colleagues & I elsewhere are as "intrusive" when it comes to enforce rules & deletions, with published rules ( which is why I commend the effort you have put into them, there are many similarities but ours are shorter & polysynthetic ), yet we never go about making "people happy" or maximizing traffic, only maximizing content quality, knowledgeable members participation, clarity, visibility, multimedia & cross-references, to keep threads engaging. "We" systematically delete all shallow or "me too I exist & have something to say" totally infoless posts ( over 90% here is "white noise" or "random walk" ), reaction buttons as on Facebook do help to save on posts ( no need to use a post to agree, second, disagree, dislike ), only added information is allowed on ongoing threads. Likewise, no duplication of topics are allowed, all members are warned to read the whole thread before participating, else face exclusion in case of repeated non-awareness of past discussions : there is no point in addressing the same arguments over and over, waste of time, energy & lisibility, plus daunting or deterring valuable members. Per our topics, multilinguism (12 languages including Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Russian, Hindi & Turkish ) is an absolute necessity to have inputs & cross-references from all over the world, which also contributes to our credibility, traffic & attraction, code pokes automatically on Google Translate if need be, most members are professionals speaking 4 languages or more. I am essentially here because one of my specialities is Quantitative Economics which I found myself toying & applying more & more to aviation when in airports or on board airplanes, thought I could instill some of it here, competition, services, Game Theory and the like ;)
Last edited by DWC on Sat Feb 10, 2018 3:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
 
alasizon
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 3:20 am

I'd like to see a bit of an expansion on the lack of contribution piece. There are a few users in CivAv who's every post are nothing more than a summary of Google/Wikipedia and then they tack on 5 hypothetical questions at the end but they post the same structure of post in almost every single thread which is beyond irritating. In part, it derails the thread with the new questions that really aren't relevant. Likewise, if someone wanted a Google/Wikipedia summary, they would go get it themselves and the post doesn't add any real value to the topic. The posts are typically pretty factual, but there is no real discussion, its just words dumped into a message box.

neomax wrote:
Unless I’m missing something, what exactly are the new rules here? Everything I read is more or less the same as before.


From what I read, most is the same, just cleaned up and put in a more readable and modernized format.
 
jetblueguy22
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 4:49 am

What are the cliff notes of the actual changes? The only thing I have noticed that have changed since I was a mod 3 years ago was the clarification on the forums. Everything else looks almost exactly the same.
 
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qf789
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:01 am

jetblueguy22 wrote:
What are the cliff notes of the actual changes? The only thing I have noticed that have changed since I was a mod 3 years ago was the clarification on the forums. Everything else looks almost exactly the same.


Changes include

Adding a contents - we think this will make it easier to look for certain rules, we are also going to ask the developers to hyperlink the contents so you can just click on a particular description so it takes you straight to what you are looking for

1d4 Unconstructive Comments, Retaliation and Trolling
Added in a rule regarding trolling as this is has increased over time

1g Thread Bumps - most of this section is new. Since the site upgrade threads are not automatically locked. We decided that 6 months would be more than reasonable however anything longer would be considered a thread bump. If you have anything to add on a older thread and would like to add it to that thread to email us first before posting

1i5 Low quality posts
We have seen an increase of threads starting with links only so while not a completely new rule, we have added more clarity to this

1l2 Spelling and Grammar
Clarifying that personal attacks on users with poor spelling/grammar will not be tolerated

1n Posting surveys or promotions
We have seen an increase in users using the site for surveys, while we have rarely rejected users posting them we ask that it is run by the moderators first

1o Posting in Trip Reports - This is a new section of rules. After coming across many who have used the site to promote their own travel blogs and YouTube channels of which we have received numerous complaints about we have added this section. These rules will also be permanently pinned in the Trip Report section

1p Signatures and Avatars - this is new, we have needed to add this as in some cases signatures/avatars posted have been inappropriate and have also been used for self promotion.

1q1 Continuous Threads
While not a new rule we have clarified how continuous threads will be run, operating them this way keeps them uniform across the site

1r Political Discussion
We have clarified the rules on political discussions. While politics may be involved in a civil aviation topic, for example Iran Boeing Order political comments need to be in context. Unfortunately we have seen too many times users bring in their own agendas into the discussion

1s New User Restrictions
Clarification on what new users can expect when posting - we quite often see multiple posts with new users simply because they dont show in open forum until they approved, we also get a lot on email enquiries about this, hopefully this will alleviate these issues for new users

4 Forum Descriptions
We have reworded some of the descriptions as there was some confusion on this

5 Copyright and Advertising
We have added extra information so everyone understands what is expected. We have seen a lot of images, charts etc added in posts with no links provided. It is a reminder to all users that any content that is not your own links need to be provided.

Other rules not mentioned above are generally the same. Some have been reworded to make them more clear. Overall we felt the previous rules were vague in some areas so we are confident that we have added will minimise the confusion previously felt.
 
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SamYeager2016
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:06 am

Section 6. subsection c. includes the following:

4. If you have a post removed, a deletion notice will be automatically generated and sent to the email address in your profile. This may be subject to site limitations, and notifications for some actions may not be automatically generated. To enquire a deletion, please email moderators@airliners.net and include your username.


Are deletion notices now being generated and sent out in a consistent, reliable manner? I was under the impression that deletion notices were not currently being sent due to website issues. If they are not yet being sent then is there a timetable for when this will occur?
 
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qf789
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:14 am

SamYeager2016 wrote:
Section 6. subsection c. includes the following:

4. If you have a post removed, a deletion notice will be automatically generated and sent to the email address in your profile. This may be subject to site limitations, and notifications for some actions may not be automatically generated. To enquire a deletion, please email moderators@airliners.net and include your username.


Are deletion notices now being generated and sent out in a consistent, reliable manner? I was under the impression that deletion notices were not currently being sent due to website issues. If they are not yet being sent then is there a timetable for when this will occur?


Deletion notifications have not been working. As we have since updated the rules the deletion notifications supplied to the developers of the site will need to be updated. I will be doing those updates over the next 2-3 days. Once they have been updated they will be run by the rest of the moderators and then submitted to the developers. We have not been given a time frame in the past on when they would be working only that they were working on them.
 
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SQ22
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 10:39 am

Ozair wrote:
In the MilAv section we typically see timeframes for contracts or other deals take years and as such it may be a long time between relevant information being available to discuss. I understand in CivAv or NonAv that this may have a purpose but for MilAv it will be really frustrating, especially as the older threads contain a lot of factual information or questions that will have to be re-asked and answered.


As mentioned in the proposal you can write a mail to moderators and ask for approval to provida a comment. Lets not forget that at least some of these threads are old, but there are more or less new comments being added quite frequently.
 
ltbewr
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 11:32 am

One suggestion that should be part of the rules is to clarify that moderators have the right and duty to remove posts and threads that contain non-public, 'insider', proprietary, corporate or governmental confidential or security sensitive information. We have seen posts and threads in Civ-Av. fully deleted due to such issues.

This doesn't mean 'rumors' cannot be posted, but sometimes the sourcing of info in posts can be breaches of employment and governmental security and confidentiality agreements, in violation of federal or local criminal or civil laws, or disclose 'loopholes' in security that could be used by those with bad intentions. Criticism of the USA's TSA, discussion of incidents and crashes, like with the Germanwings crash as to access to the cockpit door, or breaches of airport security had to be limited or properly removed due to security sensitive issues. Certain non-public disclosures can also affect the stock price or financial stability of a company and some may be trying to affect the stock price or damage a competitor. Having a clearer rule/guideline would make it easier for moderators and reduce improper posts.
 
USAirKid
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 11:43 am

My first thought at 3:36 am local time: Is there a shorter version that gets the general gist? This is a lot to throw at someone when they're first signing up. Perhaps something like:
1. Be respectful of the site and others. No profanity, please cite your sources, etc.
2. Stay on topic.....
3. Don't do illegal things....

This'd be one of those things that the longer version is the real version, but the short version would get people thinking in the right direction.
 
Egerton
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 12:32 pm

I see that Mods are requesting some software changes. One of the useful things lost from the old software was the ability to identify the proper name of an airport from the code name. LHR could easily be found as London Heathrow or whatever. Can this facility be restored, please?
 
Egerton
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 12:51 pm

Given that some folk do not bother to read the whole thread and so ask questions which have already been well discussed in that thread, a huge amount of tiresome repetition does go on. So the Mods are correct in seeking to reduce or end this irritation. However, if a valid question on Thread A has already been well discussed on a different thread B, I have myself sought to answer by copying the key parts of that B discussion onto the current A thread, and usually making it clear this is a repetition. This seems to me not meriting deletion, but under the rules it will be deleted?
 
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qf789
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 1:42 pm

Egerton wrote:
I see that Mods are requesting some software changes. One of the useful things lost from the old software was the ability to identify the proper name of an airport from the code name. LHR could easily be found as London Heathrow or whatever. Can this facility be restored, please?


It is on the squawk list and I believe its listed as low prioity so I wouldnt expect it coming back anytime soon.

However saying that we have briefly discussed adding a reference section which would be a valuable tool for all users. Our plan is that providing material that could be referenced to that it will eventually reduce the amount of low quality posting. The initial things we plan to add include

New User Guide/FAQS
Abbreviation List
Airport Code List
Aircraft Code List

The above items are only the start. If anyone has any suggestions whether it is something they would like to see in one of the above lists or a completely different list for a reference guide please add your suggestions in the following thread

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1386223
 
D L X
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:12 pm

Good grief! That’s a long set of rules! I’d work on shortening to a set that people can actually follow.
 
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qf789
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:36 pm

Egerton wrote:
Given that some folk do not bother to read the whole thread and so ask questions which have already been well discussed in that thread, a huge amount of tiresome repetition does go on. So the Mods are correct in seeking to reduce or end this irritation. However, if a valid question on Thread A has already been well discussed on a different thread B, I have myself sought to answer by copying the key parts of that B discussion onto the current A thread, and usually making it clear this is a repetition. This seems to me not meriting deletion, but under the rules it will be deleted?


In a situation such as this I would personally use some discretion in making the right decision. Obviously we dont want users to make a habit on duplicating posts in multiple threads of which is what the rule is there for. However there are going to be instances where as you say a question in Thread A which has been well covered in Thread B and in some instances it is easier to copy into Thread A rather than read Thread B particularly if Thread B is a thread with lets 800 posts in it. A good example of this is a topic that is started which has already been covered in a Country, State or Production Thread. Some users do not wish to read the Country, State or Production thread for various reasons, one of the most common is it is sometimes difficult to locate the particular post they are looking for when these threads contain a wide range of topics, there duplication will exist. Our main objective in this rule is to reduce duplication, we know that we wont get rid of it all but if we can reduce it we are on the right path. In the end sometimes discretion and common sense needs to prevail in our decisions and there are sometimes we can offer a bit a leeway if the intent of the poster was of good faith. Sometimes decisions are made where there is no right or wrong answer but on how it is interpreted
 
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TheLark
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:46 pm

1.l.1 The Forum Moderators reserve the right to delete any post containing bad grammar, spelling errors or any post that we find difficult to understand. Please use a spell checker prior to posting.


This sounds a bit harsh on non-native English speakers. Bad grammar shouldn't be treated the same way as insults. How about something like "If English is not your first language, please make a reasonable effort to provide correct spelling and grammar."

Oh dear, my signature contains an inaccurate statement ... does it violate 1.p.3?
 
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tlecam
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 3:17 pm

Thanks for the thought you put into this.
 
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atcsundevil
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 4:45 pm

neomax wrote:
Unless I’m missing something, what exactly are the new rules here? Everything I read is more or less the same as before.

There are a number of new items, but it's primarily providing more clarity on the existing rules. Nothing about this fundamentally changes the day-to-day of the forum.

DWC wrote:
Running an international forum & one this size is never easy, and no set of rules will satisfy everyone, which is why I am not addressing the specifics of the new rules ( other than English ) : I recognize to any group of moderators their absolute right to produce their own set of rules per their experience & focus, that is entirely their priviledge.

I understand your reasons, I have no grudges & you have all my respect globally speaking, I just pointed out moderation decisions that seem to have crossed a-net's own rules. For instance, my thread on "Monitoring Airbus leadership" was locked after a month I think, which is sad because I intended to steer it from a business management point of view, much lacking here aside of simplistic assumptions & unlearned clichés. Repeated irksome moderation & newbie proliferation contribute to that levelling down many here mention, one reason why I only joined so many years after lurking, but I still yawn at the time wasted scrolling down to find the good posts that teach me meaningfully.

On a sidenote, my colleagues & I elsewhere are as "intrusive" when it comes to enforce rules & deletions, with published rules ( which is why I commend the effort you have put into them, there are many similarities but ours are shorter & polysynthetic ), yet we never go about making "people happy" or maximizing traffic, only maximizing content quality, knowledgeable members participation, clarity, visibility, multimedia & cross-references, to keep threads engaging. "We" systematically delete all shallow or "me too I exist & have something to say" totally infoless posts ( over 90% here is "white noise" or "random walk" ), reaction buttons as on Facebook do help to save on posts ( no need to use a post to agree, second, disagree, dislike ), only added information is allowed on ongoing threads. Likewise, no duplication of topics are allowed, all members are warned to read the whole thread before participating, else face exclusion in case of repeated non-awareness of past discussions : there is no point in addressing the same arguments over and over, waste of time, energy & lisibility, plus daunting or deterring valuable members. Per our topics, multilinguism (12 languages including Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Russian, Hindi & Turkish ) is an absolute necessity to have inputs & cross-references from all over the world, which also contributes to our credibility, traffic & attraction, code pokes automatically on Google Translate if need be, most members are professionals speaking 4 languages or more. I am essentially here because one of my specialities is Quantitative Economics which I found myself toying & applying more & more to aviation when in airports or on board airplanes, thought I could instill some of it here, competition, services, Game Theory and the like ;)

Without getting into specifics, I realize (as do many of the mods) that our processes and decisions need improvement. It's difficult when multiple mods take action on the same thread, particularly if it's a troublesome thread, because it can result in inconsistencies. That aside, we wanted to lay down a comprehensive set of rules so that things are clearer for people. Our current set can even confusing to us on some of the finer points. It leaves a lot open to interpretation, and that can only result in inconsistency. Fixing the rules can lead to a little more standardization from a moderation perspective, so that's the end goal.

alasizon wrote:
I'd like to see a bit of an expansion on the lack of contribution piece. There are a few users in CivAv who's every post are nothing more than a summary of Google/Wikipedia and then they tack on 5 hypothetical questions at the end but they post the same structure of post in almost every single thread which is beyond irritating. In part, it derails the thread with the new questions that really aren't relevant. Likewise, if someone wanted a Google/Wikipedia summary, they would go get it themselves and the post doesn't add any real value to the topic. The posts are typically pretty factual, but there is no real discussion, its just words dumped into a message box.

This is one thing we want to fix. The current rules do require a user to include their own commentary, but some users forego that. Some users believe that this is a news site, but it's not, it's a discussion forum. We've tried to elaborate on that in these rules, so it gives us a point of enforcement to improve the quality of these thread starting posts.

ltbewr wrote:
One suggestion that should be part of the rules is to clarify that moderators have the right and duty to remove posts and threads that contain non-public, 'insider', proprietary, corporate or governmental confidential or security sensitive information. We have seen posts and threads in Civ-Av. fully deleted due to such issues.

9-b3 essentially covers that. "We reserve the right to delete, without explanation and entirely at our discretion, any post, thread or user for any or no reason." It is something we could include specifically, but it doesn't come up very often, maybe five or six times a year. Users are typically extremely helpful when it does come up, because they'll alert us almost immediately. The last few examples I've seen have led to a deletion of the offending information being made within 10 minutes. I suspect that even if we had a specific provision, it would still happen, because often times these users don't understand the implications of posting such information.

USAirKid wrote:
My first thought at 3:36 am local time: Is there a shorter version that gets the general gist? This is a lot to throw at someone when they're first signing up. Perhaps something like:
1. Be respectful of the site and others. No profanity, please cite your sources, etc.
2. Stay on topic.....
3. Don't do illegal things....

This'd be one of those things that the longer version is the real version, but the short version would get people thinking in the right direction.
D L X wrote:
Good grief! That’s a long set of rules! I’d work on shortening to a set that people can actually follow.

Our next project is a New User Guide, and this will do precisely that. I don't honestly expect most people to actually read these rules...it's like a User Agreement, people just click "Accept". These rules are for people to reference as needed, but we fully intend on heavily condensing this for New Users so that they might actually read it.

TheLark wrote:
1.l.1 The Forum Moderators reserve the right to delete any post containing bad grammar, spelling errors or any post that we find difficult to understand. Please use a spell checker prior to posting.


This sounds a bit harsh on non-native English speakers. Bad grammar shouldn't be treated the same way as insults. How about something like "If English is not your first language, please make a reasonable effort to provide correct spelling and grammar."

Oh dear, my signature contains an inaccurate statement ... does it violate 1.p.3?

This isn't a new rule, this is in the current rules and has been around for many years. The intent here isn't to delete posts from users who aren't fluent in English, it's to give us the ability to delete posts that are simply unreadable. It doesn't happen often (I think I've only ever made this deletion on a handful of occasions), so it isn't a concern for users who aren't completely fluent/literate in English. Nothing about this will change from the current enforcement going forward.
 
DWC
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 5:14 pm

Off-topic, but since this seems a good time for observations, I've noticed 2 bugs :
1. In forum menus, thread "posts counter" are off by one (N-1), e.g. 12 posts when actually 13
2. posting times are systematically behind real time by some 2-3 hours
 
CCGPV
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:32 pm

I've seen multi-million dollar deals with shorter and less confusing language than these "rules."

Does this response follow the 1a(BRC) subsection L rule?
 
jetblueguy22
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:06 pm

qf789 wrote:
jetblueguy22 wrote:
What are the cliff notes of the actual changes? The only thing I have noticed that have changed since I was a mod 3 years ago was the clarification on the forums. Everything else looks almost exactly the same.


Changes include

Adding a contents - we think this will make it easier to look for certain rules, we are also going to ask the developers to hyperlink the contents so you can just click on a particular description so it takes you straight to what you are looking for

1d4 Unconstructive Comments, Retaliation and Trolling
Added in a rule regarding trolling as this is has increased over time

1g Thread Bumps - most of this section is new. Since the site upgrade threads are not automatically locked. We decided that 6 months would be more than reasonable however anything longer would be considered a thread bump. If you have anything to add on a older thread and would like to add it to that thread to email us first before posting

1i5 Low quality posts
We have seen an increase of threads starting with links only so while not a completely new rule, we have added more clarity to this

1l2 Spelling and Grammar
Clarifying that personal attacks on users with poor spelling/grammar will not be tolerated

1n Posting surveys or promotions
We have seen an increase in users using the site for surveys, while we have rarely rejected users posting them we ask that it is run by the moderators first

1o Posting in Trip Reports - This is a new section of rules. After coming across many who have used the site to promote their own travel blogs and YouTube channels of which we have received numerous complaints about we have added this section. These rules will also be permanently pinned in the Trip Report section

1p Signatures and Avatars - this is new, we have needed to add this as in some cases signatures/avatars posted have been inappropriate and have also been used for self promotion.

1q1 Continuous Threads
While not a new rule we have clarified how continuous threads will be run, operating them this way keeps them uniform across the site

1r Political Discussion
We have clarified the rules on political discussions. While politics may be involved in a civil aviation topic, for example Iran Boeing Order political comments need to be in context. Unfortunately we have seen too many times users bring in their own agendas into the discussion

1s New User Restrictions
Clarification on what new users can expect when posting - we quite often see multiple posts with new users simply because they dont show in open forum until they approved, we also get a lot on email enquiries about this, hopefully this will alleviate these issues for new users

4 Forum Descriptions
We have reworded some of the descriptions as there was some confusion on this

5 Copyright and Advertising
We have added extra information so everyone understands what is expected. We have seen a lot of images, charts etc added in posts with no links provided. It is a reminder to all users that any content that is not your own links need to be provided.

Other rules not mentioned above are generally the same. Some have been reworded to make them more clear. Overall we felt the previous rules were vague in some areas so we are confident that we have added will minimise the confusion previously felt.

Understood. More detail is a good thing in your position for sure
 
HHScot
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 9:28 pm

While long, I do believe that these rules are common sense and shouldn't cause issues for most people. (Except for the " no bad grammar" which no doubt I will fall foul of!)
In particular I like the trip report rules. All too often I look forward to reading a report only to find a couple of vague paragraphs and link to videos and pictures on another site.
 
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atcsundevil
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 11:30 pm

DWC wrote:
Off-topic, but since this seems a good time for observations, I've noticed 2 bugs :
1. In forum menus, thread "posts counter" are off by one (N-1), e.g. 12 posts when actually 13
2. posting times are systematically behind real time by some 2-3 hours

Those aren't bugs.
1. That counter refers to replies, not posts. A thread is assumed to have a thread starting post, so it's not counted. The number refers to replies to the thread only.
2. This is a common issue, but it's a settings error in your profile, not a bug. You need to ensure you have the correct time zone selected in your profile. There are multiple threads in the Site Related Forum from other users who have experienced this, and there are instructions on how to change the time zone in your profile.
 
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11725Flyer
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 11:31 pm

I think there should be a rule that forbids all caps when creating a new thread. No need to yell at anyone.
 
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atcsundevil
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sat Feb 10, 2018 11:39 pm

11725Flyer wrote:
I think there should be a rule that forbids all caps when creating a new thread. No need to yell at anyone.


1-h4. Thread titles and post content should not be typed in ALL CAPS, non-English characters, etc., and sources/links should either be in English or have an English translation provided by the poster.

While it doesn't say it implicitly, it should be a given that it also applies to the text body of posts. We've never allowed caps lock to be used for titles or posts, so that's no change.
 
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11725Flyer
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sun Feb 11, 2018 2:21 am

atcsundevil wrote:
11725Flyer wrote:
I think there should be a rule that forbids all caps when creating a new thread. No need to yell at anyone.


1-h4. Thread titles and post content should not be typed in ALL CAPS, non-English characters, etc., and sources/links should either be in English or have an English translation provided by the poster.

While it doesn't say it implicitly, it should be a given that it also applies to the text body of posts. We've never allowed caps lock to be used for titles or posts, so that's no change.


Maybe I'm missing something. Doesn't this thread title have all caps?
 
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atcsundevil
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:07 am

11725Flyer wrote:
atcsundevil wrote:
11725Flyer wrote:
I think there should be a rule that forbids all caps when creating a new thread. No need to yell at anyone.


1-h4. Thread titles and post content should not be typed in ALL CAPS, non-English characters, etc., and sources/links should either be in English or have an English translation provided by the poster.

While it doesn't say it implicitly, it should be a given that it also applies to the text body of posts. We've never allowed caps lock to be used for titles or posts, so that's no change.


Maybe I'm missing something. Doesn't this thread title have all caps?

I knew someone would mention that :lol: This thread is an exception because we want to draw attention to it. This obviously isn't a typical discussion thread, and it's something we want users to see and provide feedback. Certainly it's something we'd never do or allow if this thread were in any way typical.
 
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11725Flyer
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:22 am

atcsundevil wrote:
11725Flyer wrote:
atcsundevil wrote:


While it doesn't say it implicitly, it should be a given that it also applies to the text body of posts. We've never allowed caps lock to be used for titles or posts, so that's no change.


Maybe I'm missing something. Doesn't this thread title have all caps?

I knew someone would mention that :lol: This thread is an exception because we want to draw attention to it. This obviously isn't a typical discussion thread, and it's something we want users to see and provide feedback. Certainly it's something we'd never do or allow if this thread were in any way typical.


Okay, thanks! :)
 
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kanban
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sun Feb 11, 2018 5:05 am

Sect 6.C.4, the use of the word "enquire" versus "inquire" is problematic, however "To enquire a deletion" is not correct English on either side of the pond.. To enquire/inquire about a deletion would be preferred.
 
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NeBaNi
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sun Feb 11, 2018 5:11 am

11725Flyer wrote:
atcsundevil wrote:
11725Flyer wrote:

Maybe I'm missing something. Doesn't this thread title have all caps?

I knew someone would mention that :lol: This thread is an exception because we want to draw attention to it. This obviously isn't a typical discussion thread, and it's something we want users to see and provide feedback. Certainly it's something we'd never do or allow if this thread were in any way typical.


Okay, thanks! :)

Lol I thought I was the only one laughing at the irony of that!

On another note, could I ask what the thought process was behind not allowing links to social media profiles in the signature? I'll remove it once the rules go into effect of course, but I'm not sure why having it would cause an issue. Could I ask that there be some text field in the Profile section, so that those of us who want other aviation enthusiasts to follow our Instagram/ Twitter/ .. accounts (and follow others others in turn) have some way to do this. I always like following/ being followed by other avgeeks.
 
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atcsundevil
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:22 am

kanban wrote:
Sect 6.C.4, the use of the word "enquire" versus "inquire" is problematic, however "To enquire a deletion" is not correct English on either side of the pond.. To enquire/inquire about a deletion would be preferred.

That will be fixed, thank you.

NeBaNi wrote:
On another note, could I ask what the thought process was behind not allowing links to social media profiles in the signature? I'll remove it once the rules go into effect of course, but I'm not sure why having it would cause an issue. Could I ask that there be some text field in the Profile section, so that those of us who want other aviation enthusiasts to follow our Instagram/ Twitter/ .. accounts (and follow others others in turn) have some way to do this. I always like following/ being followed by other avgeeks.

Just to be clear: it's never actually been allowed, so I suggest you remove it now. We have taken action against many users who have used social media accounts and blogs in their posts or signature lines. The current rules state the following:
Do not post links or references to external websites for forum readers to obtain your own text that could have been posted within the thread itself. This includes links to personal blogs and social networking sites. If they are your own words or images, we ask that you post them here.


I realize that this isn't exactly clear that social media account links aren't permitted, which is why we've clarified it with this update, but it's never been allowed. Apart from this, we also don't permit advertisements, and since social media and blogs can sometimes have a monetary value, it's easier to ban its use outright. The old site allowed users to add a personal website to their profile, but that never subjected a blatant advertisement at users unless they viewed the profile. This new site has no such feature, so some users like yourself have taken to using the signature line, thus forcing all users to see your promotion.

The reason we don't allow it, and why we've tried to clarify that portion of the rules specifically, is simple. An increasing number of users (in the past year especially) have been using their own blogs, websites, social media accounts, YouTube channels, etc. on this site for obvious personal gain. They've actually created accounts here with the purpose of advertising. The mission of this forum is to promote positive discussion related to aviation, not serve as a means of advertisement for users. More importantly, it annoys most users, so we've taken the position that it will be banned outright, with only specific exceptions allowed for the Trip Reports Forum. The updated section on this subject is only a clarification of the current rules, so it isn't new.

If you're interested in connecting with other aviation enthusiasts on this site via social media, I would recommend you create a sort of virtual meet up thread in Non-Av (since we no longer have the live chat), and social media info could be exchanged there via PM. There shouldn't be an instance where users are forced to see a promotion of your Twitter page. It has nothing to do with the site being protectionist (that isn't of our concern as moderators, because we aren't employed by the site), it's to ensure that our community aren't subjected to any more advertising than necessary.
 
trauha
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sun Feb 11, 2018 9:32 am

It increases readability of the forum when one topic is indeed discussed in one thread.
Hence the good rule to search threads to see if item is already under discussion, instead of starting new thread.

I would therefore like to join the other voices to question the contradictory rule which requires starting a new thread every six months, even if the discussion already exists.

The forum architecture is good, and finding dates for replies is easy, so no logic other than the vanity of maximizing thread numbers, is discernible to me.
 
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atcsundevil
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Re: NEW FORUM RULES

Sun Feb 11, 2018 1:44 pm

trauha wrote:
It increases readability of the forum when one topic is indeed discussed in one thread.
Hence the good rule to search threads to see if item is already under discussion, instead of starting new thread.

I would therefore like to join the other voices to question the contradictory rule which requires starting a new thread every six months, even if the discussion already exists.

The forum architecture is good, and finding dates for replies is easy, so no logic other than the vanity of maximizing thread numbers, is discernible to me.

This was from an earlier reply I made to another user stating the same thing...

This was a compromise made out of the transition from the old site to the new one. The old site automatically locked all dormant threads (I believe it was after three weeks, but I can't remember). There are two very vocal groups on the issue — those who want dormant threads to be off-limits, and those who want threads to be fair game forever. Setting the period at six months was the compromise, and came after much discussion over the past 18+ months. This is just making it official. It's not about bureaucracy, it's about finding a balance that keeps most people happy.


There's no technical reason the threads can't be replied to forever, but the site culture is what makes it very unpopular primarily with longtime users. It isn't that threads dormant for longer than six months can't be replied to, we just ask that users check with us first. However, most of our deletions for this now are users bumping years old threads with comments inconsequential to the discussion, so it annoys people. It has nothing to do with maximizing thread count, it's a desire to keep topics current. So we made a compromise between the two camps, and set the limit at what we thought was a reasonable timeframe.

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