FTOOC Forum Rules - Please read before posting

[kieran]

1. Member Privileges

Non-Members and newbies cannot make more than 20 posts to the forum before becoming club members as this is a site for the FTO Owners Club Members.

Newbies and non-members are restricted as follows:
They will only be able to post in the newbie or mini meet sections until they have paid, and had accepted, their club membership.
Newbies may not therefore post in the For Sale sections or advertise a car in the Newbie section.

Newbies will still be able to read and search the complete forum to get answers to any questions.
Newbies may not initiate or participate in any Group Buys.

If you want to continue with the forum, join The FTO Owners Club

FTOOC Club members can use the forum fully on this site. If you are having problems posting and you are a club member, please contact administrator@ftooc.org or PM one of the administrators.

2. Rules for posting to the forum

If you have a topic removed or deleted you will receive a PM from a moderator explaining the reason behind the removal or deletion.

Moderators also have the authority to edit posts to remove any content which is deemed to be sensitive without consultation. This is usually done when the post or part of the post is deemed as containing sensitive personal information, or makes use of inappropriate language or content. In this case the Moderator may make you aware of this at their own discretion.

Ensure that your new topics are in the correct forum.

It makes it easier to keep track of topics and saves the moderator team from constantly moving topics.

Always respect other members point of view.

You must always respect other members point of view, even if you dont agree with it. This is a car club. A place to share your love of the FTO. Being outwardly rude to other members achieves nothing and doesnt encourage new members to join.
There is a zero tollerance approach to this and anyone being abusive to other members will face a temporary or permanent ban depending on the seriousness of the attack. Threats of violence will result in a permanent ban. We feel it is important to take this action to stop any personal attacks in future.
A member who is banned will be informed by email that the action has been taken and when the ban will be lifted.

Do not post topics or replies containing:

Subjects which have already been discussed numerous times (please Search first).
Flames directed towards other users (locked on sight, possibly with a temporary ban).
Anything not relating to the original subject of the topic (although General Chat is rather flexible).
Images linked from other sites without their permission (simply giving a URL is much more polite).
Any derogratory comments based on age, gender, race, ethnicity or nationality (which are likely to be met with a swift ban).
Pornography or links to pornography .
Deliberate advertisement for the sale of illegal items .

If a thread contains posts that a moderator believes to be potentially libellous (this could include anything that can be considered damaging to a company or individual that cannot be proven by facts) then the thread will be removed. If the poster can give valid facts and reasons behind the post then it will be reinstated.

Do not promote your own site, unless:

It's to show off something cool you've done.
It's a personal site i.e. not a commercial site selling products.
It's to help somebody find something they're looking for.

Do not post spam.

Spam includes advertisements, content deemed inappropriate or illegal, and flooding of the boards.
Spammers will receive a swift kick in the ass, as well as a lengthy ban.

Do not make needless, incessant usage of:

Emoticons .
Line breaks or ALL-CAPS.
Nested quotes.
Giant fonts with ugly colours.
Swearing or derogatory terms.
Text speak.

Posting long url addresses

If the url address you are posting into a thread is too long it will annoyingly extend the page. In these cases please make use of the url function which appears as an icon on the post editor.
Note: do not leave a space between the = and the first letter of the url.

Ensure that your signature:

Does not contain excessively large images, annoying animations or offensive pictures or text.
Does not contain commercial site links.
Follows all the rules applying to posts themselves.
Does not exceed 500 x 100 ie:



** Any signature that falls outside these limits will be removed without consultation and replaced with the above image.

Ensure that your avatar:

Is not more than 130 pixels in width, or 130 pixels in height.
Is around 6kb or less in size.
Does not contain any animation, or offensive pictures or text.



** Any avatar that falls outside these limits will be removed without consultation and replaced with the above image.

Use of the Off-Topic forums

The off topic sections are for the discussion of anything not FTO related but please still try to stay reasonably sensible. Threads in off topic will not be deleted or moderated unless they break any of these rules
Threads will only be automatically deleted once nobody has posted on them for 24 hours. This might mean some threads continue for a week or more while others go the next day.

Use of the For Sale (Cars) & For Sale (Parts) sections

All for sale ads must include a price or 'offers in the region of' any ads with no price or 'make an offer' will be removed.

For Sale (Cars):

For the selling of FTO or Japanese cars ONLY, and must be OWNED by club member who is selling, not your family or friends.
All cars for sale ads are locked and will be moderated before appearing on the forum, if your ad needs changing please ask a moderator or administrator to assist you.
You may only sell your own car, members who purchase cars specially for resale or sell multiple cars must complete a traders application.

For Sale (Parts): ONLY OPEN TO THOSE FULL CLUB MEMBERS WHO HAVE MADE OVER 50 posts

Please don't post anything other than FTO related parts here.
"Breaking" threads do not require an exhaustive list of all parts available, just a selection of notable parts available. Members may only break one car (ie/ their own). Vehicles purchased with the sole intention of breaking are not permitted. The member must complete a traders application.

Sale of multiple items of the same product, obviously bought or manufactured with the intention of resale are subject to the clubs rules for traders and are prohibited in this section.

Multiple items for resale may be permitted through Group Buys, these are to be strictly sold at COST VALUE to maximise the benifit to club members. In this case you should contact the committee to propose a group buy and adhere to the requirements.

Ebay links to non-members items will be allowed as heads-up only in the Off Topic section.

Ebay links posted by members to their OWN items will be allowed in the For Sale sections, but ONLY if they have Price and End Date. Posts without Price and End date, will be moved to off-topic with the reminder, and can be moved back to the appropriate section if the details are added within reasonable time, otherwise they'll be removed.

Use of the Traders section

Only Traders (identified by the word 'Trader' above their avatar) may initiate a post in the Trader section. Any other posts will be deleted.

Charity Threads

Anyone involved in charity events MUST first ask the committee's approval before posting any threads asking for donations.

3. Contravention of the Rules

Banning of individuals from the site is not something that the moderators wish to resort to without good reason. A person will be banned from the site if that person repeatedly and blatantly ignores these forum rules. The following outlines the escalation process for rule breakers:

1. For a first offence, a warning will be issued and future posts monitored closely.
2. For a second offence (after a warning has been given), the poster will have their account suspended from the forum for 2 weeks.
3. For a third offence (following previous suspension and reinstatement), the poster will be permanently banned from the FTOOC Website.

The Committee reserves the right to implement an immediate ban (stage 3) for serious infringement of the rules. The definition of serious would be determined by the Committee on an individual basis.

After 6 months from a first and second offence, the poster will have their slate wiped clean.

Please therefore make sure you follow these guidelines.

If any moderator asks you to comply with one of these rules, you must comply.
If you argue the rules with a moderator, you'll be warned, and all members of the committee will be notified.

Enjoy the FTO Owners Club Forums!

If you have any problems, just make a post in the appropriate forum, and somebody will be glad to help you.

The moderators are here to make everyones visit more enjoyable, so if you experience any problems with abusive users, please tell a moderator.