General Forum Rules for all Forums on marsh-reef.org

June 6th, 2012

GENERAL FORUM RULES:

MARSH operates a three strikes policy. These "strikes" will be issued as infractions for any behavior which contravenes the forum rules. All infractions will be retained on the members user file for six months. Depending on the nature and severity of the behavior they may, or may not, be preceded by a warning. While these warnings do not count towards a user’s strike count they do remain on your account and visible to the Staff for the same period of six months.

Messages that breach any of these rules may result in issue of warnings and or infractions under MARSH's three strikes policy and this will ultimately lead to temporary or permanent bans from the site. Three strikes at any level will result in a temporary ban as a minimum.

The policy will work as follows:

• Strike one is a formal warning.
• Strike two will be an automatic two week ban.
• Strike three will be an automatic and permanent ban.

The MARSH Staff's decision on issues of unacceptable behavior will be final. Publicly posted complaints about moderation will not be tolerated, and will be regarded as a further strike. If you wish to discuss a moderation decision then please do so by pm and not by posting publicly on the forum.

We reserve the right to issue immediate permanent bans where a member’s conduct warrants this action.

1. No Flaming

You will not post any messages or links anywhere on this site that harass, insult, belittle, threaten, undermine or personally attack another member in any way.

2. No Trolling

You will not post any material or links anywhere on this site that disrupt the peace and harmony of this forum. Discussion and opinions based on experience are encouraged, but not combative argument.

3. No Spamming

You will not double post or post the same message in multiple forums. You will not post for the sake of increasing your post count. Meaningless, irrelevant, or unintelligible posts will be removed. Any member found to be spamming the board to achieve 50 posts for classifieds access will have their access to the classifieds section removed for six months. Please do not use text speak etc. that may not be understood by all.

4. No Offensive Posts, Links or Images

You will not post any material or links anywhere on this site that are profane, obscene, vulgar, sexually-orientated, hateful, threatening, racist, sexist, discriminatory, or otherwise in violation of any local or international laws. This includes material or links in your signature, profile, blogs and bookmarks as well as posted images, photos and avatars. Moderators will ultimately decide if something is appropriate or not. Please remember that we have junior members.

5. No Advertising

You will not post any material or links anywhere on this site that are primarily for the promotion or advertising of any website, forums, email address, business, commercial activity, or any financial benefit, unless you are a current sponsor. Some mentions of non-sponsor names and locations and business contact details are allowed, while it is not possible to give a definitive list this set of general rules will offer some guidance Guidelines on Discussing Non Sponsors. Links to personal websites will be allowed, providing they are hobby related, are within these rules and are deemed appropriate.

6. Sales

ANY sales threads posted anywhere on the board outside of the classifieds area, will be removed without explanation. Wanted threads should be posted in the relevant classifieds wanted forum, a link only may be posted in a regional area.

ANY 'gauging interest' threads posted anywhere on the board, except in a private club area and agreed with the relevant private club leader, will be removed without explanation.

More detailed Rules governing the use of the Buying, Selling, and Trading Forums can be found at the top of each forum with the title Buying/selling/trading rules.

7. No Public Posting of Copyright Material

You will not post, upload, attach, or post links anywhere on this site to anything that is under copyright or license, except where you own the copyright and grant permission for it to be permanently displayed within this forum.
Whilst the member retains the copyright, by submitting any material to this forum you also grant permission giving a permanent and irrevocable right for it to be presented in other areas of the forum unless the moderating team receive formal instructions from you prior to the material being posted.

8. Accept moderation

By using the services provided by MARSH you agree to accept the Moderation of the MARSH Staff. Publicly posted complaints about moderation will not be tolerated, eg "Where has my thread gone?" These will be regarded as a strike under the three strikes policy. Any messages to or about any MARSH Staff members that contain derogatory remarks or swearing will result in an immediate ban. All moderation aims to be fair and even handed. Any grievance involving a moderator should be reported by PM (Private Message) to another moderator, who will inform the site owner.

9. Signature Restrictions

The total height of your signature must not exceed 170 pixels. This is about 45mm on most modern monitors, or 10 lines of standard size text (Verdana size 2), including blank lines and images. Any signatures that exceed these dimensions will be automatically cropped.
Your avatar must not exceed 80 x 80 pixels.

APPLICATION OF GENERAL FORUM RULES

1. What happens if I break a rule?

The moderators have the right to remove, edit, move, copy or close any thread or post, or suspend or ban any member for any breach of the rules or for any other reason with or without warning or notice.

2. What if I see a message posted that breaks a rule?

Please report these posts or threads to the moderators by clicking on the "Report" link icon at the bottom of the offending post, and the post or thread will be reviewed and action taken as soon as possible.

3. What is my responsibility as a member?

Please keep these rules in mind when you post. The moderators have the right to change these rules at any time without notice. It is the responsibility of every member to remain up to date with the current rules.
Posting to the forum is only allowed if you agree to abide by these rules, and by posting to the forum you are accepting the terms of this agreement.

4. Why have rules in the first place?

The rules are there for the protection of the community as a whole, to prevent abuse, conflict and disharmony within the forums and to ensure the use of MARSH is a pleasant experience for all members of all ages.