General Rules & Guidelines
All messages are subject to approval. Moderators may choose to reject messages that are not aligned with these guidelines. Do not e-mail or use the forum’s PM system to argue. Subject headings may be edited as necessary, but message content will never be changed.This is an open forum. We encourage all group members to share their knowledge and experiences with the other members. Debate is welcome. Argument is not. State your opinions, beliefs, or research without rancor, threat, or insult.
No Flaming, Trolling, Swearing, or Spamming. Flaming is insulting or criticizing people or their opinions. Trolling is posting content designed to inflame, incite, or that has no purpose other than to annoy or provoke an angry response. Do not flame another member off-list either. If it is reported, you might be removed from the forum. Swearing is not permitted. Do not pass on, chain letters, or urban legends to the group. Those cute/funny/scary stories that you are supposed to forward to everyone you know are JUNK and will be deleted.
This is not a forum for marketing your business. Promoting fundraisers are allowed in the Goods and Services or the most appropriate forum. School fundraisers should be placed in the school's forum. Regular or repetitive posts of this nature could be considered abuse and result in the user’s privileges being restricted.
Anything about the community may be discussed here with the exception of religion, or non-regional politics. Community political discussions are allowed as applicable, but don't get out of hand. Questions about where to find religious services are acceptable.
Use the Subject Heading effectively. Create a concise subject that adequately summarizes your topic. Not everyone has time for reading all group postings. To ensure that your message reaches the right audience, identify your topic clearly in the subject. This will not only aid you getting your question answered but will also assist people doing searches in the future.You are encouraged to reply to posts with part of the original message quoted in the text; delete the rest. This helps people follow the topic if several people are posting. However please try to only quote the relevant part of the original not the whole thread.
Spam
Spamming our membership is not tolerated. We have three primary definitions of spam:
1. Spamming via PM. Sending members PM’s soliciting your business or service is not permitted. If they specifically inquire about such services in either a post or a PM to you, then it is permitted.
2. Posting. Posting in the forums about your business or professional service is not allowed unless there is a specific request for such services.
3. Multiple postings. Duplicate postings in multiple forums are not permitted.
Please post in the most appropriate areas for your topic.
Spamming will get your user account deleted without a warning.
Private Messaging
You are limited to sending Private Messages to two users at a time. Sending unwanted PM’s to users repeatedly is also against the rules. This includes unsolicited ads and business promotions. Violators may be placed in a restricted group or banned from the forum.
Images
Images
Users are given the privilege of using images in various places throughout the site including Avatars, Signatures, Profile photos, and within thread posts. Please practice discretion when selecting images to display. Inappropriate images will not be allowed and are defined as images of a sexual nature, defamatory, or harassing to other members. No business logos will be allowed with the exception of a non-text logo. Other images that are not permitted may include, but are not explicitly limited to, links to pirated software ("warez"), files, videos or images that are determined to be copyrighted by the original websites or owners that are termed 'not for redistribution' in their terms of service, or links to content that violates forum intellectual property rules.
Avatars
Avatars
Users are given the privilege of placing avatars in their account for purposes of customization and entertainment. Moderators and forum administrators have the right to remove any images that do not adhere to the above image guidelines with or without notification to the member(s). The use of a non-text business logo is acceptable, but references to emails, phone numbers or contact information is not permitted.
Signatures
Signatures
Users are given the privilege of having a signature. Signatures can be text and/or images. The text limit for signatures is listed in the signature edit box. Moderators and forum administrators have the right to edit or remove inappropriate signatures without notification to the member(s).
Profile Pictures
Profile Pictures
Each member is given the privilege of having a profile picture. This is allowed for customization and entertainment purposes. Moderators and forum administrators have the right to remove any inappropriate images without notification to the member.
User Titles
User Titles
Each member is given the privilege of having a custom user title. Please do not use your user title for contact information, which means no phone numbers, e-mail addresses. Titles that reference or imply a business solicitation or business opportunity are not permitted and you can be restricted to no signature. Moderators and forum administrators have the right to remove titles with or without notification to the member and revocation of that privilege.
Multiple Posts
Multiple Posts
We know it will take time to get acquainted with what belongs where, but whenever possible, please remember to post in the most appropriate forum for your content. For instance, business or service marketing posts belong in the Marketplace forum. Moderators and forum administrators have the right to move posts the the correct forum or delete them altogether. Do not post the same message in multiple areas of the site. This is considered a violation of the rules and you are subject to a limited user status or banned from the forum.
Active Membership
If you have not visited the forum in 60 days, you will be given an e-mail asking you to click on the link to re-visit the forum within 7 days. If you do not log into the forum within 7 days of receiving the e-mail reminder, your account will be deleted. THIS IS DONE AUTOMATICALLY. We do this to ensure we have an accurate membership count and to remove users who are not interested in the forum.
Please use the text formatting features in the messages sparingly (aka, vB code or HTML).
Restricted User Status
Restricted User Status
Violators will either be placed in a restricted user status or be banned from logging in to the forums. Limited User status may be limited, but not restricted to the following privileges being removed:
No Private Messaging Features
No Signatures allowed
No Avatar permitted
No Profile Picture
No HTML in posts
Images In Posts.
Read only status
Chat status restricted
Arcade access restricted
New Thread creation restricted.
HELPFUL HINTS
--HELPFUL HINTS--
--Search the archives before you post your topic. We feature a powerful search function and all users are encouraged to use it. When you are in a forum, you can search that forum. When you are reading a thread in that forum, you can search that thread. You can also search the entire forum anytime by clicking on the Advanced Search option. Your question or comment may have already been discussed, answered, or resolved. Repeated questions that can be found by searching the forum may be deleted.
COURTESIES
COURTESIES
--Remember the Human - The other people on this forum are real. They are your neighbors. They have feelings. Please respect your neighbors; they are here to help you.
--Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life - If you wouldn't say it to someone's face then don't say it on the groups. Chances are you might eventually end up face to face.
--Share expert knowledge - If you benefit from the information on the group then it would be nice if you could pay back the community by assisting others in turn.
--Be forgiving of other people's mistakes - Nobody's perfect.
--Be patient - All the participants of this forum are using the forum and participating in discussions on their own time. Including the moderators. It may take time for your post to go through. Also, if you post a question and no one responds, you should not take it personally. If someone knows the answer, they'll contribute. If they don't, they won't.
Business Reviews - Reviewing
The Business Review Section allows you you review business and submit buinesses for review.
The review section is for reviewing business and services only. This area is not for discussion. Please use the forums for discussions of business goods and services. The site moderators have the right to edit or delete any review.
Business owners and current staff are not allowed to review their own business or service.
You have edit rights to your reviews.
Business Reviews - Submission
You are able to submit businesses for review. The purpose for submitting a business is so the community can review them. You may review the business that you submit.
When you fill in the description field, please keep descriptions very brief and limit it to 50 characters or less.. The description field is for a few words that describe the business. This field is not for advertising, or giving specials or other marketing information. Administrators will edit or delete submissions that contain frivolous text that implies promotion.
Examples:
Not acceptiable
Specializing in professional house cleaning for 10 years. Call us for your house cleaning needs.
Acceptable
house cleaning, window cleaning
Use of Logos
You may include the ue of logos in the business review category. Please me mindful of any copyright issues. If you own a business that has been submitted by another person and wish to edit the business, please contact the person who submitted the business for changes, as they will have edit rights since it is their submission.
Site administration staff reserves the right to edit or delete any business submission.
You are not restricted to geography in submitting business, but please keep the business relatively local to the Inland Empire or Southern California.
Business Reviews FAQ
Here are some answers to some Frequently Ansked Questions pertaiing to the busiess reviews.
Q. Can I submit a review for my business?
A. Yes, and are encouraged to do so.
Q. Can I submit a business for other businesses, such as a restaurant we went to last night?
A. Yes
Q. What if I disagree with reviews for my business and wish to rebut.
A. Do not post a rebuttal Review of your own business in the review section. USe the forums for that.
Q. What if someone submits my business and I wish to edit it, for example, upload a new logo.
A. Contact the submitter, as they have edit rights.
Bounced E-mails
It is your responsibility to change your e-mail when you change your e-mail address. We have a bounce management system that will place you in a different user category if your e-mail is returned. Sending a PM to the administrators asking them to change it for you will not ensure your e-mail address will be changed. THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.
Periodically, reminders are send via Private Message if your e-mail has been bounced , we ask that you correct the e-mail address. You can do so in your control panel.
English Language Only
While this community hosts visitors from around the world, it is based in the United States and much of our membership is English speaking. Due to our inability to moderate threads in other languages, we ask that interactions be in English for the enjoyment of as many posters as possible.
Please do not type entirely in capitals as considered shouting on the Internet! Along with using proper English spelling and punctuation, this shows respect for the owner, other bulletin board members & guests and makes it easier to read your important thoughts.
Social Groups, Profiles and Albums
18+ images in albums are NOT allowed. You may lose your photo album privileges if you violate this rule.
Using other languages than English is not allowed.
MEMBERS breaking the rules will be warned and the problematic content deleted if needed. Repeatedly breaking the rules after being warned may result in being expelled from the group or in a temporary ban from the forum if severe enough for that. OWNERS will be informed by staff if MEMBERS of their Social Group are warned for group related content.
The OWNERS of Social Groups are asked to keep an eye on how things are in their groups. They are the ones who are able to moderate the members and the content, so they should feel responsible for it. We won't blame you if there are problems caused by other members, but if you notice such things, please either try to solve things with them directly or inform staff about it. The OWNER of a Social Group may receive a warning by staff if he was repeatedly informed about MEMBERS breaking the rules within his group and let them continue with it without taking any action on intent.
Social Groups with members constantly ignoring/breaking the rules will receive a staff warning about possible deletion of the entire group. If things continue from here, the warned group will be deleted by the staff.
Social Groups being inactive for more than 3 months may be deleted by staff.
Rule Changes
These Rules and guidelines are subject to be changed or modified without notification to the membership.
