Since the beginning of the Internet, there has emerged through the experience of trial and error a generally recognized set of rules and guidelines for participating in Internet Forums. Some of these, borrowed from too many very fine sites to credit, are listed below for Members who might be new to forum posting:


Initial Posting Guidelines:

1.Try to determine if your subject is already being discussed elsewhere by browsing through the topics listed on the board. If so, read through the entire thread first to acquaint yourself with the conversation as it has progressed so far, and then join in with your contribution to the subject. If your topic is not already discussed, then start a discussion of your own in the forum that seems most appropriate to your subject matter.

2.Try to make your Topic Title and Topic Description as clear as possible. This will allow readers potentially interested in the topic to find your new thread. In your first post, try to state your opinion, question, or subject in a reasonably clear manner and keep it focused on a single subject. There is a golden mean between a brevity that requires restatement, a complete restart, or subsequent definitions one the one hand, and an overly extended essay on the other that many potential participants may not want to read. The need for details, illustrations, descriptions often emerge as the thread's dialog progresses and takes form.

3.Especially if you are going to advocate a position or express an opinion that might be considered controversial by your readers, present it in a non-confrontational, friendly manner. Understand that you will have to answer questions, provide details and additional explanations but always attempt to keep your defense of your position courteous and respectful of opinions that differ from your own and expect the same in return.

4.Try to use standard punctuation, grammar and spelling. Not all Members are native-speakers of the English language so using a commonly accepted, understood style will encourage everyone to read your post. Using textspeak and other forms of gibberish- - -or writing extremely long and turgid sentences without punctuation- - - can make your posts so difficult to understand that many Members will simply give up and ignore what you are attempting to say. Remember also that breaking your thoughts into logical paragraphs helps your readers follow and understand what you want to communicate. Try to avoid specialized or localized abbreviations and acronyms that may not be readily understood by everyone. Your readers will appreciate your taking the time to check your spelling and copyread your post before publishing it, and will be more apt to forgive an occasional typo.

5.If you want to use Smilies, use them sparingly and with effect. A text peppered with faces and things that go bump detracts from what you are communicating. The same can be said about over-formatting, unreasonably changing fonts or colors, or extensively using Boldface and underlining.

6.Avoid typing in all capitals, unless this is necessitated by a physical incapacity, since this is traditionally considered by forum readers as shouting.

7. Everyone enjoys viewing pictures and including graphics in posts can add to their enjoyment. Try to remember, however, that many Members use dial-up connexions and excessively large pictures, charts, or graphics often take an excruciatingly long time to load. Cropping, resizing, and converting photos to .jpeg format are a considerate way to share them in the forums. It goes without saying that pictures or graphics clearly subject to copyright should not be used, and that great care should be taken to adhere to "fair use" provisions in quoting copyrighted material.


Replying Guidelines

1. Always try to keep your replies to the original subject, and do not “hijack” threads. Occasional asides or the inclusion of an peripheral subject are, as in real life, a part of any good conversation, but attempting to move the thread to another subject completely is just plain interference. If there is general interest in a digression, then it should be supported and expanded by creating a new topic where it can be discussed on its own merits. In this case, provide a link in the earlier thread to the new topic's discussion.

2. Try to keep posts as short and on-topic as possible as a courtesy to your readers. Do not reply to long messages by including the entire text of the original message in your reponse, especially if the original can be read immediately above in the same screen. This not only detracts from your own ideas by forcing your readers to wade through the entire text to find the part referred to (if any), but also wastes screen space and reduces the number of posts visible to your reader. Avoid the bad habit of automatically including the text of a prior post where your reply immediately follows it, since most readers would expect a reason for quoting it and waste time reading it.

NOTE: It is far easier for readers to follow your ideas or argument if you use quotes in this manner:

“Quote one idea or pertinent passage”
Your response to it

“Quote another point or passage”
Your response to it

If necessary, and the thread is several pages long, you can refer to the complete post(s) by Member name and post number to help the reader understand and locate the context of what you have excerpted. Elsewhere in this guideline forum are instructions for using multiple quotes in your post.

3. When replying to a message that includes graphics, always avoid replicating them in your reply.

4.Try to give others a chance to form and post a response to your post before replying again. This makes understanding easier by physically keeping internal dialogs closer together. Members of discussion forums live in different timezones, and have other commitments that often prevent immediate responses, so expect discussions in a thread to have long interruptions.


Community Guidelines:

1.Try to remember that the Members at TV form a community, and as such are entitled to the same courtesies that you would extend to people you have just met. An on-line community is far different from one in real-life composed of your friends. What may be acceptable or humorous to those who know you well, or who can hear the tone of your voice or see your facial expressions, may not be to on-line readers who can read only your words. Obviously, sarcasm aimed at other Members or potential readers destroys the good will which is the basis of any on-line community, and will not get your ideas or opinions a fair hearing.

2.Try to remember, also, that TV is a public community, and your words potentially can be read by anyone with internet access. What might seem obvious in intention or a friendly joke as you write a comment is often not immediately apparent to a stranger reading your remarks; so if someone has misinterpreted something you have written, apologize for the perceived offense and attempt to restate what you were writing in a different way. The other side of the coin is that if you find something written to be offensive, you should ask for clarification before assuming they meant to be derogatory in a mean and purposeful manner.

3.Remember also that there are individuals who maliciously use the anonymous nature of Internet boards to 1) post offensive, flaming, or personal attacks or 2) simply to interrupt the civil exchange of ideas and thoughts of others, or 3) spam the forums with advertising. Never indulge their psychological need for attention, controversy and name-calling by replying to their posts, but report them to the Moderators who will take appropriate action.

4. Remember that a responsible Member of this community will assure that any URL links incorporated in posts are malware-free, and will avoid sites that might not be suitable for viewing by younger Members or visitors.

5. Most Members will frown on posts obviously made for the sole purpose of increasing the post count (adding to the "pips" under your name). Here at TV, it is considered "spam" and will be so handled.

6. Always, always follow the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This rule is just as important and useful here at TV as it is in everyday life.

The TV Staff