Forum Rules and Policies

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Welcome to the Dropzone.com Forums. To participate in our online forums, you must agree to abide by our rules and policies. We encourage open discussion and active debate, but remember you are our guest here. Civil and ethical conduct is required. To this end, you agree that, if asked, you will yield to the requests of the forum moderators or administrators. By posting, you have agreed to follow our rules and policies.

The "Golden Rule" is in effect for discussions on Dropzone.com: Treat others as you would wish to be treated. We ask that you be professional and polite and respect our intention to create a friendly and inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome to participate. We do not wish to censor or control your opinions, but we will ensure that the policies of the board are respected. We reserve the right to delete, edit, or move posts at our discretion. (Note in particular that we have restrictions on where you may post advertising and how many times you may post the same message.)

The Forum Rules:

1. No personal attacks.


2. No jokes about or references to pedophilia. None.


3. No advertising in the forums.


4. Post to the correct forum and stay on topic.

More details and clarification of these rules can be found below in our policies. Enjoy the Dropzone.com Forums! We truly believe that this is the best skydiving discussion board and community on the Internet. Your respect for our rules, and the valuable content and opinions you provide, will help keep it that way.

Have fun!


Specific Forum Policies

No Personal attacks, Flaming and Trolling.
Personal attacks and hate posts will not be tolerated in any forum. Personal attacks on another user are a great way to earn some time off, as is posting inflammatory material specifically to provoke a negative response from someone (aka trolling). If you are unclear about what a 'troll' is, a description can be found here.

Posts that contain material that we deem to be blatantly or unnecessarily racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted, pornographic, or otherwise offensive, may be removed. While discussion of certain social and political issues may require the use of sensitive or potentially offensive terms, outside of those limited contexts the use of such terms is not allowed on this board and may be removed.

Dropzone.com is a worldwide community. We expect that you'll show respect and sensitivity to the beliefs and views of all users regardless of whether they are part of a specific geography or not. (Note in particular that this is not a US site or forum, nor is it intended to serve or promote US values and beliefs per se. Be tolerant of diversity.) A member who is rude, excessively profane, or disruptive may receive a warning or may be suspended or banned immediately.

No References to Pedophilia
References to pedophilia can only be made in a factual context or in discussion of certain political and social issues. Outside of those limited contexts Dropzone.com will have a zero-tolerance policy to pedophilia and any reference thereto will be removed without explanation.

No Advertising
Advertising is forbidden in all forums except where noted. An ad is defined as “a service or product being offered for trade or sale”. It does not include events or seminars. However, information about events and seminars may only be posted in the Events & Places to Jump forum unless they are specific to a discipline in which case they may be posted to the relevant Skydiving Discipline forum. You will not advertise or solicit other members to buy, sell or peruse any products or services for that purpose through this discussion forum. In ALL our forums, chain letters and junk mail are strictly prohibited. The advertising policy covers all aspects of the forums including avatars and signatures. Use the Classifieds section for all advertising and see the Advertising pages for more information about how to advertise on Dropzone.com via banners, block ads or forum sponsorships.

Topical Posting

Topical Posts and Cross-Posting
Posts should be made to the most relevant forum for the topic. The moderators may move posts at any time if there is a forum better suited for the topic in discussion. Do not cross post to multiple forums. Upon cross posting all duplicates including the original post may be removed. Use existing threads on your topic to continue a discussion rather than starting a new one. Posts that are repetitive in nature (i.e. Dead Horses) may be removed or locked at the discretion of the moderators. Please note that discussions about politics, guns and religion are not allowed around The Bonfire. Pull up your soap box at the Speakers Corner for those and other sociological debates.

Off Topic Replies and "Thread Hijacking"
"Drifting" threads are subject to locking or deleting. Replies to topics started by another user should remain within the context of the initial post. While we recognize that discussions often diverge and evolve, threads or responses that are completely irrelevant to the initial post will most likely be deleted or split into two different threads.

Bandwidth and Performance Saving
Threads that have more than 1,000 posts or 10,000 views may be locked to maintain optimal system performance and preserve bandwidth. When this is done it will be indicated as such and you're welcome to start a similar discussion again. Posts made with the explicit goal of soliciting multiple short responses (“Post Whoring”) may be locked or removed to preserve bandwidth.

User Requested Post Removal Policy
As an open public forum user, you are responsible for your own communications and are responsible for the consequences of posting those communications. We will usually not honor requests for post removals or editing. You can edit or delete your own posts for up to 6 hours after you posted.

Moderation
Generally speaking, moderators will endeavor to provide fair warning regarding behavior that might warrant their intervention. Failure to heed warnings from the moderators is grounds for suspension of posting privileges. We do however reserve the right to remove any post when these rules are abused or policies violated without prior notice or explanation. If you repeatedly violate any of these rules or otherwise seek to disrupt the board then the administrators can suspend your posting privileges or disable your account at their discretion.

Any abuse directed at our volunteer moderation team in the forums or via private message, including defying the moderators to suspend or ban a member, may result in an immediate suspension or ban. "Gripe" threads about any action from a moderator including "Where did my post go?" posts will be removed. If you have questions about a moderator's action and they did not provide a reason for the intervention, please contact them via private message.

You agree that this is private property and you are our guest, and that Dropzone.com reserves the right to delete any message. Membership on Dropzone.com is a privilege, not a right.

We may at any time revise these rules and policies without notice. Please check back regularly. Continued use of Dropzone.com after a change has been made is your acceptance of the change.