Rules & Proper Etiquette of the American Civil War Forum

Rules & Proper Etiquette of the American Civil War Forums

(formerly the Dispatch Depot)

At the American Civil War Forums we have some Community Guidelines that you should be familiar with. We also have some posting etiquette points that you may wish to follow, they may improve the amount of response you get from other message board posters. We encourage lurkers and active posters alike on our board.

Here are the basic rules and etiquette points everyone should know when posting on the American Civil War message boards...

DON'T BE AFRAID TO POST - Posting on a message board can sometimes be intimidating. Stay cool, and jump right in. Our members are supportive, encouraging, enthusiastic and enjoy making new friends.

IT'S OKAY TO LURK AND NOT POST - While it would be nice to have your active participation in our discussions, you don't have to do anything if you don't feel like it. If that's what appeals to you, just go ahead and hang around until you feel confident enough to post a message. It's okay to be the quiet one!

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS - Be nice to new visitors. Help them "learn the ropes", give them nuggets of information, and nudge them along to the resources they need.

DON'T POST PERSONAL INFORMATION - Think before you post. Perhaps putting your address or telephone number on a public message board isn't a good idea. Keep personal information personal, and teach your children to do it too. Do not ask for personal information from others.

PLEASE USE COMMON COURTESY - Try to be polite and use common courtesies when having a conversation with others. Use words like please and thank you where appropriate. You'll get a better response to your posts when you are polite. Don't forget what your mother taught you: treat others the way you want to be treated. It also never hurts to use a smiley face if you wish to convey your happy thoughts!

USE REAL ENGLISH - Although not a hard and fast rule, we'd like to suggest that you try to avoid using "Instant Message" speak or computer English when making posts. We also suggest that you use complete sentences with proper punctuation, avoid run-on paragraphs, and use line breaks where appropriate. You should also attempt to spell check your messages as best you can. Please don't write sentences that contain abbreviated words (ie: "ur" instead of "you're"), it makes your messages difficult to understand. Although there will be no "Grammar Police" to enforce proper English, you will find that others will be more likely to respond to your posts if you use proper English, spelling and grammar.

DON'T SHOUT - Typing your messages in all capital letters is called shouting, and it's not nice to do, not to mention hard to read. Avoid shouting.

MAKE POSTS ON THE APPROPRIATE BOARD - Please try to start new message threads in the appropriate topic areas. Keeping things more or less where they belong can help to make information and conversations easier to find.

DON'T DUPLICATE POSTS - Do not post the same message more than once. This can irritate other members. Duplicate messages will be deleted.

AVOID PROFANITY - This is a family friendly environment. This is not an appropriate board for using profanity, do not use it! - FYI: This message board will attempt to mask any unacceptable words or profanities, but this feature may not always be 100% effective. Please report any issues with profanity to the moderators.

DON'T FLAME OTHERS - Flaming is the practice of verbally attacking another member of the message board, and it is unacceptable and will get you banned from posting on our message boards. This may seem an obvious point at first, but many people use mild forms of flaming and don't even know it. Be mindful of the words you post. If the entire content of your post is to have a dig at someone you don't agree with, then don't make that post. Also, if one of your posts begins with: "No offense, but...", there is a good chance that your post IS offensive, and you may wish to reconsider making that post. Stay objective in debates, and don't get personal. If you have an issue with a post maker, please email a moderator.

BE CAREFUL WHEN QUOTING IN HEATED DEBATES - Although our message board is designed to quote other messages in your new message posts, sometimes quoting another person can cause problems. It is okay to quote a historical statement that another person made, or if you are politely trying to get clarification on a statement made in an earlier post. However, using a quote against another user in heated debates can be an offensive form of flaming, so be careful when using this feature.

AGREE TO DISAGREE WITH RESPECT - By all means have a healthy exchange of opinions. You can agree to disagree. You can challenge another member's opinions. But remember, you should challenge respectfully. Do not insult, abuse or verbally attack other members. We take a very serious view of offensive and vulgar messages -- especially those aimed at sexual orientation, gender, race, color, religious views, national origin, or disability.

SERIOUS DON'TS!
--Never make a threat to any individual on any of our Message Boards.
--Do not harass or play pranks on fellow posters.
--Do not impersonate another user by using their nickname.
--Do not register a new username in an attempt to disguise yourself as another person.
--Do not post Flame Bait or Hate Threads.
--Do not use CivilWarTalk as a "Dating Service".
--Do not post copyrighted materials without permission from the owner.
These are rude and unacceptable practices, anyone caught violating any of these rules will be subject to being banned from the web site.

DON'T POST COMMERCIAL MESSAGES IN CONVERSATIONAL AREAS - Commercial posts should not be made in the Campfire Chat, the History Chat, and other debate and conversational topics. Most commercial posts belong in the classifieds area. If you are unsure about where to post your message, contact a moderator.

STAFF MEMBERS ARE TO BE RESPECTED AT ALL TIMES! Criticism and "bashing" or rebelling against staff members is not permitted anywhere on the forum. If you have an issue with a staff member or their decisions, please discuss via private message or email, NEVER in public on the forums, or contact the Administrator.

WHEN IN DOUBT... - Contact a moderator! We are happy to assist you in any way we can. We will attempt to monitor all activity on our boards, but we cannot always detect every problem, and we appreciate any assistance you can provide in keeping our message boards a friendly place to chat and debate.

REPORT PROBLEMS - If you come across any violations of our rules, if you have any problems navigating the site, or if you have a comment or suggestion for the web site or forum, let us know! Contact a moderator or send an email to Mike at http://civilwartalk.com/misc/contact.

DON'T ABUSE YOUR PRIVILEGES - When you use our Forums and Chat Room, you are guest. Your ability to use this message board and web site is a privilege. Any users abusing the privileges given to them, or violating the rules stated above may be censored and/or banned permanently. The site administrator reserves the right to revoke or restore any and all user privileges on the web site for any reason.

Other Notes:

• If you ever desire to have your account terminated, we will not do so, but we will move you to a usergroup: "Retired Members". While in this group, you may login but you may not post, PM (Private Message), or use many other functions that a regular user can. Once you ask for this, your account cannot and will not be restored.
• If you ever desire to have all of your posts/threads deleted, we will not do so. Once you post material on the site, it becomes our property. (See section 5(C) of the Terms of Use)

New User Registration & User Tests for Spam Prevention

In a effort to stop spammers from registering for the message board we've added these tests for all new users who register to use our system.

The first test question is: What is the first letter in the word "zouave"?

The answer is simply: z

The second question is open ended: Please tell us why you are interested in the American Civil War. Please use names of generals and/or battles, or terminology that will help us expedite your registration.

Your answer should be your own, we are checking your response to be assured that you are a "real" person, and that you actually have an interest in this forum and website. Your responses are private, only I will ever read them.

Contact me if you have any questions!