(note: please issue replies or follow-ups to the off-topic area)

If you post on this forum you are required to read and abide by the Agoracom site rules.

The primary purpose for the rules is to help make the forums a better place for everyone as a whole. Additionally they are there to provide a form of organization to the forums also. So if you haven't read them please take the time to review them.

FORUM ETIQUETTE

Has anyone wondered what proper etiquette is when using the forums here? Well, here are some great rules-of-thumb to follow and live by when interacting with your fellow investor enthusiasts:

1. The main forum is about POET. The off-topic area is for (just about) anything else, and is far, far less "policed". Although it is not a free-for-all absent of any guidelines whatsoever, it is moderated more leniently than the main forum.
2. You possess 2 ears, and 1 mouth. Listen (read) before you speak (type) - and everyone will be better for it, including yourself.
3. Resist the urge to post for the sake of posting "because you have to say something". Nurture instead the wisdom to post "because you have something to say".
4. NEVER TYPE CONTENT IN ALL CAPS. EVER! NEVER EVER!
5. Check your spelnig and grammer befroe postnig ur messige. Escpecially if your prone to tipe long discertasions tht proclam THAT u wanna bye ore cell sum shrz; tha smae thnig apples to TXTng shoretcutz or smilar jnk esp snce ths iz a discusn frm #nottwitter #notfacebook #EOM.
6. Posting messages with a subject that reads "Question" or "Hello" does not give a good description to those who are passing through threads to respond to. Always include a descriptive subject, even if you have to edit it during your reply post.
7. Stay on topic. If the thread topic is about "POET's new San Jose office" and you jump in and post "FJ is being mean to me again" then you are just taking the thread into the weeds. Start a new thread if it isn't on topic for the existing one.
8. Let a dead horse die. Please don't keep beating a horse in a thread. Leave that dead horse that is dead alone, since he is dead. If the horse is dead, don't beat it. Don't beat stuff around a dead horse either, since a dead horse is dead, and beating stuff around it is typically just pounding on sand.
9. Please do not post just to increase your rating. As crazy as this sounds, we have members here that believe their social status will rise considerably if their rating exceeds 10,000.
10. Do not become the Internet Police and do not assume the role of a moderator. If you see a thread that needs attention, discusses illegal activities, or is otherwise potentially problematic, send a PM to let the moderator know. Do not assume that you can handle these issues yourself. (you can't, you'll make it worse, every time)
11. Please do not tell the moderators how to do their job. They are well aware of the forums and actively attempt to manage them as well as they can. If you see a post or thread that needs the attention of the moderators, send a private message to one of the Hub Leaders.
12. Last, but certainly not least, take a deep breath before you post a message. Could someone misconstrue your message as an attack on their character? Could someone misinterpret what you said as an insult? Many subtle items can be lost in written communications, so be sensitive to the fact that some people may view your message differently than what your intention was.

Follow these rules of thumb, and the community will be much better off.

HOW DO I IDENTIFY A HUB LEADER/MODERATOR?

A list of Hub Leaders for a hub is on the lower-right corner of the forum's main page.

POSTING PRIVILEGED INFORMATION

I wanted to bring one situation to light because it seems some members are forgetting this fact. That fact is that there is a high possibility that your employer may be reading your posts on this forum. Some may not care and some will. Often in the technology field they will care.

This is a globally accessible web forum. Any and everyone can see your posts; this includes your employer. This site is indexed by Google so the content is even more freely available on a web search. Given the popularity of this site you can never know who is reading your posts. So think before you post. Will your post violate a NDA or other signed agreement? Could you be providing content that may be considered private or proprietary? Please do not make the mistake of posting information that could land you unemployed. I'll give you an example... Lets say your employer uses communications which you have access to. Through some other means you determine information. You then post it on the forums. This may be grounds for your employer to terminate your employment or place you on administrative action. So what should you do with info you have gleaned? Either keep it to yourself, or share the shape of it with a Hub Leader who may help you determine whether it is something that should be posted, or not.

Consider as well, that in most jurisdictions, acting on insider information is illegal. Please don't endanger yourself or others.

With this in mind, please understand that we are not here to clean up after you. If you have a job and the experience to comment on a topic in detailed nature then you are obviously a mature adult who should be responsible for one's actions. We want you to think before you post. We understand you want to help but there has been a level of confidence that has been placed upon you to perform your job and be given access to information required for your job that will generally not be for public use.

You don't want do do more harm than good, so please think before you post.

GUIDELINES FOR FORUM POST CONTENT

As a reminder: all forum posts and their content, including attachments, are governed by the Terms and Conditions of this site. The administration has the right to remove (or not remove) whatever they deem necessary.

With this in mind please be aware of the following before posting a message:

• There are people from different countries which do not speak English as their primary language on these forums. Before replying to a post to criticize another's grammar or spelling please keep this in mind. Think of how you would look attempting to compose a message in their language if you were not fluent in it.
• Please respect the religion, race and/or nationality of a member on this site regardless of what you believe. No one is permitted to criticize another because of what they believe in or their physical appearance. If you have a disagreement form a civilized opinion and offer it to the off-topic area. Continued hate speech will get you - quickly - removed. We generally support free speech (lower-case) here, but certainly not when it demeans another member.
• With respect to "Free Speech", this is a private non-government forum; we determine your rights. US First Amendment (or similar in non-American jurisdictions) emphatically DOES NOT APPLY. Further, before citing laws, attempt to determine if the laws you are considering are applicable to the subject at hand, because they may not be. Different country equals different law. Yes, it's great you can cite the code and sub-paragraph -- but it may be wholly irrelevant.
• The forums are viewable by all ages. Consider the language rules like the rules for prime-time television. This means no curse words! Everyone is to be seen an equal here. No member may criticize another because of their education or ignorance of a topic. You must not call someone stupid or dumb or any other word in an attempt to make them feel less for not having knowledge of a particular subject. No member may harass or threaten another member either.
• No visitor or member of this site may send an unsolicited offer to another member in an attempt to procure services or a product for a fee. This is considered spamming. You are responsible for the activity of your account. If someone gains unapproved access to your account please notify Admin immediately.
• In an effort to keep things operating smoothly and information easily accessible, post on-topic content. If a moderator removes your post, do not get angry. We've been here for a while and have a good sense of what content belongs and what doesn't, so calm down.
• All replies to a thread are to be on-topic or within reason. Someone posting a question about POET does not mean you can reply and ask how to program your brokerage software. This is considered thread hijacking. Please respect the "OP" ("Original Post" or "Original Poster"), as they govern what the thread is about. If they want to take their own thread off-topic, that is their choice, not yours (OP: this does not mean you can self-moderate your thread; let it be, or in extreme cases, report the post(s) instead). When in doubt, create your own thread.
• Please do not ever post to a thread simply to say "bump" or something similar. Wait a few days then post with a little more substance. Please give others the chance to visit the forums - many who do not on a regular/daily basis - that could possibly assist you, or reply to your post.

FORUM CONTENT CENSORSHIP

Content that is usually censored ASAP when found are spam, hijacking, obvious trolling, or posts that that are sensitive in nature. Banning members without question (i.e., a consensus amongst Hub Leaders) is not done, unless actions greviously violate the Terms of Service, Site Rules, or demonstrate wanton disregard for these guidelines of civility.

COPY/PASTING CONTENT FROM OTHER WEBSITES

When taking content from another website, such as a news reporting website or another forum resource, it is very important you do not take the complete article or body of text. This information is copyrighted by the owner and requires permission to be used by anyone else.

Instead, please provide a short snippet of text or summary from the article and then link to it. Please don't repost news stories verbatim. Use the first paragraph (considered "fair use") and provide a link to the story, or write your own summary and provide a link to the original.

Reposting verbatim is a copyright issue and can cause problems, especially once TPP starts to be ratified by its member countries.

All new threads posted which provide links to external news stories MUST include a link to the story and a snippet of the beginning of the article. Just the link will not comply. Provide at most the first paragraph or enough to summarize the article. The thread subject should also effectively title the article being linked to.

Full articles, whether link(s) or not, risk violation of copyright, unless the author or site owner has provided permission to copy their copyrighted material. Assume any content taken from someone else's website is copyrighted and not re-publishable in full.

Any post NOT following these guidelines should be deleted, with or without question, upon discovery.

IF AND WHEN A PROBLEM OCCURS

Advice: have a thick skin. As John Lennon taught us, sometimes it's better to Let It Be.

Due to the size of this forum we depend on the community to assist us by reporting when a post violates the forum rules or guidelines. In the lower right of every post is a violation report button. If necessary, click it to report the post. Realize that the processing of a violation report is manual activity -- please provide enough serious information when reporting a post to allow interpretation of the violation. Don't create unnecessary work for the Hub Leaders. Lack of information will result in a report being ignored or delayed action.

When a member violates the rules please do not engage the member in a debate, encourage them, or instigate the member to continue what they have started. I will repeat for clarity's sake, DO NOT ENGAGE the member. Report the post and move on.

INFRACTIONS

This forum invokes an infraction system. When a post is deemed a violation of the site's rules a message will be automatically generated with a note stating why and any further action that may occur. These infractions carry points. The more infractions, the more negative impact on your membership. You could lose posting privileges or be banned permanently.

We use the infraction system to track offenses and keep the system formal. It is up to the discretion of the moderator handling the situation whether they decide to issue an infraction or contact you by other means. The standard is to issue a warning.

If you have a problem with a specific post or member and don't wish to use the reporting system please contact one of the moderators.

As the forum has grown its visibility has increased. This brings both good and bad. The bad is bashing, and lots of it, and sometimes these characters can be very creative in how they operate. So in order to give everyone on the forum a clean, spam-free, non-disruptive environment, these measures must be put in place.

COMPLAINTS TOWARD MODERATOR ACTIVITY

Going forward hub leaders should longer permit members to post complaints or rants that target activities performed by moderators publicly in the forums. These serve no positive purpose to the community as a whole.

If you have an issue with administrative actions performed by a moderator we first recommend you contact that moderator. If you feel you are not getting adequate assistance contact a second or third hub leader.

If all else fails, contact the site Admin via PM or email. The site Admin is likely to verify whether you contacted one of the other mods so please follow these directions appropriately. Any public posts on this topic should be considered a violation.

Please remember that this is a privately owned forum. It reserves the right to institute rules for the greater benefit of the community. If you do not agree then you are free to withdraw your participation.

Some of you may have a problem with this but please understand we are not telling you not to complain, just not to do it on the main forum. There are NO legitimate reasons (other than to "rabble-rouse") for posting a problem publicly but objecting to taking the problem privately with the moderator in question. Think of having a problem with your boss. Do you get up in front of your co-workers and scream your opinions of him or her? No, you calmly go in to their office, close the door, and discuss the problem. I am asking for that sort of method here also.

Please have patience. These measures help you all out in the long run.

OTHER

• Text should be family-friendly in nature
• DO NOT post contact information for yourself or anyone else
• Political messages are off-topic, and do not belong in the main forum
• No for-profit commercial activity
• Nothing purposefullly offensive (racist, degrading, etc.)
• No advertisements
• No sexually-explicit images
• No images that depict gruesome or disgusting acts or events
• No images that are tasteless and/or could be construed as a hate message

And FINALLY

YOU as an individual member make this community successful. A group of hub leaders, site staff, rules, or guidelines do not.

The rules and guidelines are in place because not everyone can contribute to the forums in a positive manner. When everyone can work in a respectable and harmonious nature you will not see any action take place.

Please respect the moderators for the job they do.

They volunteer their time; giving them stress is not a suitable reward.

Hub Leaders are typically held to a higher standard with regard to how they conduct themselves on the forums, and are not above the rules.

Thanks for your cooperation!

R.