Please familiarise yourself with the following etiquette prior to posting on the board. The following are not stringent rules but merely a guide as to the expectation of behaviour to keep the forum a pleasant place for all.



Capital letters.

Please use capital letters appropriately, using them on discussion forums is generally considered shouting. Using them sparingly and selectively to emphasise a point is fine, or where it is grammatically correct, e.g. acronyms.

Do:


Don't:



Grammar and punctuation.

Posts can be somewhere between difficult and impossible to read without full stops and commas. It gives the impression that you are saying an extremely long sentence whilst gasping for air at the end. Also starting a new paragraph for longer posts makes for easier digestion of text.

Please do not make excessive use of punctuation or letters either. One exclamation mark is sufficient.

Do:


Don't



Post relevance

Not all topics have to be related to gaming or other club activities. General discussion is fine and encouraged in the appropriate area. However Steve Martin said it best in Planes, Trains & Automobiles:

"You know when you're telling these little stories? Here's a good idea: have a point. It makes it so much more interesting for the listener!"

This is a discussion forum, discussion is encouraged, craved, welcomed. Things to ask yourself before posting are
A) Is it informative in some useful way?
B) Will it encourage replies?

If the answer is no then why post it?

Don't:


Do:



Topic Hijacking

If you are replying to someone's topic stay within the subject matter. If you have something to say that is related to the topic but not necessary relevant then start a new topic of your own and post a link in the original topic.

e.g. a topic that starts off as retailer special offers should not end as a discussion on the periodic table of elements.


Spelling and slang.

Small spelling errors are fine, I doubt any of us are spelling champions however extremely poor spelling can be difficult to read. If your spelling is extremely bad there are free add ons for Internet Explorer and Firefox that automatically spell check for you, taking the hassle out of checking your text manually.

Also given that the vast majority of us are Scottish, in verbal conversations we probably all tend to use Scottish slang to some extent. Unless your looking at a Rabbie Burns poem though it generally doesn't make for good reading when laid down in text.

Do:


Don't:



Personal Attacks.

Constructive criticism and intelligent debate is absolutely welcome. Personal attacks on members are not. It is not unnatural to disagree with someone else's point of view but at least explain why. Racism, sexism, fat-ism and most of the other ism's will not be tolerated.

Do:


Don't


Swearing.

Swearing is OK as long as it is in context and not excessive. Bear in mind there are younger members who frequent the board as well as adults and their parents won't look too kindly upon the club if they're children suddenly start talking like Begbie from Trainspotting.


Bumping and post resurrection

Bumping, for those that don't know, is when you post a reply to a thread purely in order to raise the thread's profile and place it back in the active topics section.

Resurrecting a thread (or Necroposting) is when you do something similar with a very old thread that has been inactive for a long time.

Bumping is only allowed in the trading section (to help members sell/buy items) however you must allow at least 1 week to pass before bumping. I would suggest that a topic is bumped no more than 3 times however. If you are really desperate to sell something post a link to your items for sale thread in your signature strip.

Please do not resurrect really old threads without good reason. A better practice would be to create a new thread linking to the original.

e.g. don't reply to someone who introduced themselves to the forum 6 months after the event. They could be dead.