Rules, Guidelines and Tips

[Ruy Horta]

Rules and Guidelines

Username
Our community always had a strong tendency towards using real names, but it has never been a requirement. However if you choose to use an alias or nickname try to be a little creative when selecting one, put some thought behind it. There are of course some restrictions. Sensitive subjects or sexually explicit words are not allowed. Names that are too similar to those already in use or misleading by their nature are also not allowed. If need be the moderator will take the required steps to force a name change.

Discuss and debate, but do not argue.
Of course a discussion can become heated, but it is absolutely essential to remain civil. Try to present your case with proper arguments, and if you do not succeed in convincing the other party, simply agree to disagree. Our forum is built upon mutual respect. Violate that respect and you violate the very foundation our community is built on. Personal attack and insult is never allowed and will be acted upon accordingly depending upon the severity of the attack and insult.

Cannot solve an argument, take it off board
Sometimes an argument cannot be solved by means of discussion. When you reach that point you can either choose to stop participating or take it outside. When an argument becomes too personal, it doesn't contribute to the atmosphere of the forum. This forum is not a tool for personal axe grinding. Such continued behavior will be dealt with accordingly.

Politics, political provocation and extremist political views.
The Luftwaffe was part of the Wehrmacht and as such an instrument of war in the hands of the Nazi regime, because of this we can never fully separate the military aspect from the political aspect. A similar line of thought can be entertained when dealing with the Soviet Air Forces and the Stalinist regime. Bearing both in mind it is clear that in order to keep our focus on the military side, we cannot allow ourselves to drift deeply into politics. Material that is clearly political is off topic and will be dealt with accordingly. However provocation will be handled in a similar manner as personal attack. This forum has no room for extremist political views and there will be a zero tolerance policy towards offenders.

Commercial advertising
Repeated posting of commercial links will not be tolerated. Although most of us appreciate information about new publications etc in our sphere of interest, there is a fine boundary between informative and commercial. Do not abuse your freedom. If a moderator asks you to curb such posting, it is wise to follow his lead. Again repeated abuse will lead to action being taken against the offender.

Reporting Tool
If you think a thread or post needs moderation, please use the Report Bad Post function, which can be found on the top right corner of every post under the caution sign button.

Of course you can also contact a moderator through Private Message (PM), but don't forget to include an URL to the offending material. The moderators can be found under the View Forum Leaders on the forum index page.

Moderator Actions
Although a moderator can make mistakes a forum is not a democratic institution and his final say must be law. Please do not start an argument with him about his actions, doing so repeatedly will result in your suspension, temporary or even permanent.

Final Remark
Don't let the rules and guidelines stop your from enjoying the forum, they are only here to help, not to limit. As long as people act with some common sense and respect towards their fellow community members, there is no need for any extra rules.

Tips

How to maximize your chances on getting answers?
These are just some basic tips, you don't need to follow them and they do not guarantee success, but as basic guidelines they will better your chances.

1. Start with a clear title that serves as an introduction to your question.
2. If you are new to the forum, explain why you are interested in this particular piece of information. Why not start by introducing yourself?
3. Stay focused on one subject at a time.
4. Keep that subject limited in scope.
5. At least try to make some effort on how you present your question (style and spelling).
6. Be patient, it can take some time before someone with the right answers comes across your question.
7. In case you don’t agree with your answers, discuss, but don’t argue.
8. If you are not content with the results, better luck next time!

How to post an attachment?
Posting an attachment on this forum is fairly straightforward.

If you scroll down your advanced message editor screen you will find a number of additional fields and options. The second section deals with attachments.

Attach Files Valid file extensions: bmp doc gif jpeg jpg pdf psd txt zip

[Manage Attachments]

Now press the [Manage Attachments] button.

Upload File

Use the 'Browse' button to find the file you want to attach, then click 'Upload' to add it to this post.

Valid file extensions: bmp doc gif jpeg jpg pdf psd txt zipFile to Upload:

________________[browse][upload]

When you press [browse] you'll be browsing your local system. Once you have selected the file you want to attach press [upload]. Repeat this procedure if need be and when you are done click the [close this window] button.


The current maximum file size is limited to 200kb and you are allowed to attach 6 files to a single post. Total attachment user allowance is 1024kb.

Before uploading please check:

1. Is the material needed to better illustrate your post or answer a question?
2. Keep the size down (in terms of both picture and file*).
3. Can’t you host material yourself?

*Experience shows that you can have really good quality JPG at under 100kb and you really don't need images that are bigger than 800x600 or 1074x768, actually most of the time 300-400pixels is more than enough.

Compare what you find in books and translate those dimensions to the screen. Just think in terms of WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get).

Not only will you safe dbase space, but you’ll keep download time to a minimum. Lets not forget that there are still enough people without broadband connections.

Check your user settings
My primary advice, please take some time to look into the User Control Panel, which you can find in the top left corner. A number of UserCP options can be found under Quick Links.

A number of these settings will determine how you will experience this forum.

1. How threads are displayed
2. How your main interface - message editor - function
3. How others members perceive you (signature, picture and avatar).
4. How others members contact you (Personal Message, E-mail, Web site).

vBulletin offers both linear and threaded views, linear can start with the earliest or latest post. You can choose to see only today's or last week's post etc etc.

Currently the forum is set up to protect your personal E-mail account, regardless of your personal setting. Instead of allowing direct access to your E-mail information the forum offers an indirect route by manner of electronic form similar to the personal message tool. The resulting message will be sent through the forum system.

Private Messaging
Private Messaging, or PM for short, offers community members a means to communicate to eachother in private. Note that there are some settings that will enhance the functionality of this tool:

1. If you do not want to send or receive private messages, you may disable the private messaging system.
2. The forum can send a message to your email address to inform you when someone sends you a private message.
3. If you are browsing the forums when you receive a new private message, the system can pop-up a notification box informing you of the new message.

These settings can be found under UserCP - User Options - Private Messaging. Don't miss any PM, check your settings!

Final Tip
Pass every field and button you can find in this forum, you may find functionality that will enhance your forum experience. Most of the buttons have info tags and most options are accompanied by explanatory text.

It pains me to see criticism about lacking functions when I know they are only one visit to the UserCP away...