Why these guidelines are important:

• Maintain a Positive Atmosphere: They help prevent discussions from devolving into negativity or conflict.
• Ensure Productive Discussions: By staying on topic and being respectful, members can have more meaningful exchanges.
• Protect Users: They safeguard members from harassment, spam, and privacy violations.
• Legal Compliance: They help ensure the forum isn't used for illegal activities.
• Ease of Moderation: Clear rules make it easier for moderators to enforce standards consistently.

1. Be Respectful and Courteous:

• No Personal Attacks: Do not insult, harass, or belittle other members. Focus on the content of the discussion, not the person.
• No Trolling or Flame wars: Do not intentionally provoke arguments or disrupt the conversation.
• Respect Differences of Opinion: It's okay to disagree, but do so respectfully.
• Use Polite Language: Avoid excessive profanity, hate speech, or offensive language.
• Be Mindful of Tone: Text can sometimes be misinterpreted, so try to be clear and consider how your words might be received.

2. Stay On-Topic:

• Relevance: Keep your posts and replies relevant to the forum's overall theme and the specific discussion thread.
• Avoid Derailing: Don't intentionally change the subject of a thread to something unrelated.

3. Protect Privacy and Personal Information:

• Do Not Share Personal Information: Never post your own or anyone else's private information (e.g., full names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses) without explicit consent.
• No Doxing: Do not research and publish private information about individuals with malicious intent.

4. No Spam or Self-Promotion:

• No Unsolicited Advertising: Do not post advertisements, solicitations, or links to commercial products/services unless explicitly permitted in designated areas.
• Avoid Excessive Self-Promotion: While sharing your work or relevant projects can be good, do not constantly promote yourself or your external content.
• No Duplicate Posts: Don't post the same message multiple times across different threads or sections.

5. Content Restrictions:

• No Illegal Content: Do not post anything that is illegal or encourages illegal activities.
• No Adult/Explicit Content: Generally, most forums prohibit sexually explicit, violent, or otherwise inappropriate content.
• No Copyright Infringement: Do not post copyrighted material without permission or proper attribution.
• No Malware/Viruses: Do not post links to or content containing malicious software.

6. User Account and Moderation:

• One Account Per User:  one account per person, please.
• Follow Moderator Instructions: Respect the decisions and instructions of forum moderators and administrators.
• Report Inappropriate Content: If you see something that violates the guidelines, report it rather than engaging with it.
• No Impersonation: Do not pretend to be another member, moderator, or administrator.

7. Accessibility and Inclusivity:

• Be Inclusive: Foster an environment where everyone feels welcome regardless of background, identity, or ability.