SitePoint.com

General Posting Guidelines

SitePoint is a NOFOLLOW Forum. SEO Spammers are not welcome

Respect Yourself and Others

At SitePoint Forums (SPF) it's okay to be yourself -- be that harried, jovial, silly or sad. We respect you, and we ask that you respect others. So, before you hit the Submit button, have think about your post, and ask yourself whether you'd allow it to appear on your own site or forum. Also ask whether your post will cause other members to lose respect for you.

We know that your time is valuable, so if another user posts something that annoys you, it's probably easiest to ignore the post -- after all, who wants to waste their time responding to posts that disrespect the forums' members? Of course, if you see a user doing something that disagrees with these guidelines, it's best to report the offending post or posts using the report post button .

Disputes Are Not Forums Fodder

If you have a dispute with another member, keep the matter private, and if you feel another member has disrespected you, don't sink to their level. You came to SitePoint to learn, help others, and have fun, and so did the other members here -- they're no more interested in petty disputes than they are in your shoe size, so don't post about your dispute in the forums. If you feel that a dispute you're having with another member has the potential to affect others in the SitePoint Community, let a moderator know via PM.

Keep Personal Information Private

The Web is a very public place! Your posts won't just appear on our Forums -- they may also appear in SitePoint's and external sites' search results. Be sure to keep confidential information to yourself. If you want to communicate sensitive information to other members, don't use forum posts -- use PMs. That's what they're for!

Refrain from Offensive Behavior

Like we said, respect is the key at SitePoint. We're all individuals, and we all have different levels of tolerance for different behaviour. To respect everyone, we ask you to avoid anything that you know others might find offensive -- using particular kinds of language, posting particular types of images, linking to particular kinds of sites, and discussing particular topics. Don't bother to post anything that others might find offensive -- your post will be deleted anyway, so why waste your time?

Illegal Content is Unacceptable

Regardless of how you may feel about illegal content like warez and pirated materials, SitePoint thinks they're not cool. Not cool at all. In fact, we'll delete any posts that link to or offer illegal content. Really! It's not cool!

Avoid Cross-posting

When you create a discussion thread, choose the most appropriate forum, and post it there. Cross-posting -- or posting your discussion in more than one forum -- can confuse, annoy, and frustrate other members, or may be interpreted as spamming! And as we all know, it's pretty hard to carry on two (or more) conversations at once. Keep the focus, and avoid cross-posting.

Self-promotion is Not Allowed

Self-promotion is a definite no-no at the SitePoint Forums -- if you want to promote yourself, your business, or your services, the SitePoint Marketplace, which people visit specifically to buy and sell services, is the ideal forum.

That said, it is acceptable to link to a resource on your own site, as long as the resource genuinely adds value to the discussion. Examples of situations when linking to your own site are acceptable include:

• linking to an article that you may have published on your own site that answers a question posed in the thread
• linking to a site under development for which you are requesting input (design, technical, usability or a site review)
• linking to an example of what you're explaining i.e. look at the way I've done the header graphic here

If a moderator deems that you have posted a link that does not add value to the discussion, then it will be interpreted as self-promotion and your post will be deleted. Similar self-promoting behaviour includes:

• promoting your services through descriptive dialog
• pointing members to a site linked through your signature
• inviting members to PM you for a service
• posting a question for the express purpose of concocting a scenario that invites yourself (or a friend or colleague) to post a link to their own site

The decision of whether a link adds value to the discussion will be a judgment call made by the moderator.

Soliciting Social Bookmarks

Services such as Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon (and all others not specifically mentioned here) rely on the honesty of the ratings provided by their users. The usage agreements and terms of service of these types of sites generally prohibit solicitation of ratings for the purpose of boosting or lowering rank. Since SitePoint is a frequent contributor to these sites, we wish to maintain a positive relationship by keeping the forums clear of such solicitations. Therefore, solicitations of this nature are prohibited.

Avoid Infringing Copyright

We all know the perils of copyright infringement on the Web. So unless you have express permission from the owner or creator of an original piece of work, don't post it on the SitePoint Forums. Even if you're copying only a small portion of a work, or attributing the work to the original creator, you'll need to have express permission from that person first. If you don't, and you're caught, you'll be responsible for the copyright infringement -- not us. Rather than copying material, link to it from your post. It won't cost you anything in lawyers' fees!

Make your Posts Meaningful and Relevant

You've come to SitePoint Forums to share your knowledge and experience, and to learn from others. So you’re very likely to be frustrated when you're faced with posts that read "me too" or "I agree" -- after all, they dilute quality of the discussion, and can make it really hard to get to the point of the thread. Set an example by avoiding posting these kinds of "fluff posts" -- make sure every one of your posts has something important to say (or ask!).

Private Message Help

In order to benefit everyone viewing a thread, please refrain from asking for more help with your issue via private message. Doing so will prevent the others who are participating from viewing any new ideas, or being able to further help you with your issue. If you must message someone to show them confidential code, you may do so, but make sure that you post the results of message in the original thread so others may benefit.

Please refrain from sending private messages to people participating in your thread to offer payment for a solution. Instead, make a post in the "Trade Your Services" or "Looking to Hire" portion of the Marketplace.

Avoid Affiliate Links

Affiliate links aren't allowed in the SitePoint Forums -- in posts or signatures. The Forums aren't here to help you promote someone else's product, and, as we mentioned above, posting links to products and services in which you have an interest completely undermines the value and credibility of your post.

Don't Discuss Politics or Religion

So that's why those politically charged holiday-family-lunches always end in a brawl! Politics and religion don't make for happy chatting around the dinner table or the SitePoint Forums. In fact, they have nothing to do with web site design, development, or business. Okay, you might have a religious or political site with which you need help to code, bug fix, improve usability, and so on -- posting to ask for help with those aspects of your site is perfectly fine. But discussions that are political or religious in nature will only lead to angry posts, flame wars, and tears before bedtime, so we remove those kinds of discussions from SitePoint in an effort to keep the peace.

Don't Bump Threads

Sometimes, your thread just won't get the attention you hoped it would. Don't just make an empty post to the same thread to "bump" it back up to the top of the forum -- if no one responded to the content you posted the first time around, they're not likely to respond to that same information now, are they? The secret to getting a response to your question is to post more information -- flesh out the problem you're having, or the question you asked. The new information may well allow someone who couldn't participate before to join in the conversation.

No one likes spam. But the best way to deal with SitePoint Forums posts that you believe are spam is not to reply to them, but to report them. Use the report post button to bring the post to the attention of our friendly moderators, who will handle it at their first opportunity.

Report Guideline Violations

Obviously, breaking these guidelines is not okay. If you see a Forums member violating any of the guidelines listed here, use the report post button to report the post to the Forums' moderators. Don't mention the guideline violation in the discussion thread, though -- that only creates more posts for the moderator to clean up. Once you've reported it, just ignore the offending post. Simple!

Welcome Newcomers

One of the reasons why the SitePoint Forums are so special is that we welcome all newcomers, regardless of their level of knowledge or experience! We've all been newbies at some point, so each of us knows how valuable it can be to receive a few words of encouragement from others. Help new members learn how to find information and resources, and encourage them to get involved in the community.

Leaving the Forums

If you've decided that you can no longer participate in the SitePoint Forums, simply turn off all of the notification options in your profile and stop posting. SitePoint doesn't delete accounts, except in extraordinary circumstances, so turning off notifications is the quickest and easiest way to remove yourself from the Forums.

Creating your Signature and Avatar

As a SitePoint Forums Member, you can display a personalized signature on every post you make to the forums. Signatures are intended to help you to promote your site, business, or other ventures that relate to you personally. For that reason, you can't let others use your signature, or rent your signature out to another party.

Create your personal signature in line with these requirements:

• Your signature's size is limited to 4 lines of 65 characters each. bbcode isn't included in the total number of characters in a signature.
• You can include links that lead to your site(s) or a product page.
• You can include a slogan (for instance, "UK's Best Hosting starting at £19.99").
• You can't include affiliate or referral IDs. (Links to Outwar and similar types of schemes are acceptable, as these are links to games. However, it should be obvious from the outset where the links lead to.)
• You can't use short url services (such as TinyURL) in signatures to get around the points above
• You can't promote scams or make unenforceable offers (for example, "Earn $10,000 a month selling suntan lotion to dolphins").
• Pre-approved BBcode can be used, but must adhere to the following restrictions:
  • Center and right-align tags can't be used.
  • Code, Quote, PHP, HTML, Edit, Off Topic, Spoiler, Highlight, and HR tags can't be used.
  • The largest font size permitted is size 3.
• Your signature can't contain images, but it can include smilies.
• Signatures can't be bought or sold, nor can they contain offers to buy or sell other signatures. This guideline includes linking to web sites that solicit the selling of signatures.
• Any attempt to include a 'hidden' signature will be removed and the user may receive and infraction.

An avatar is small image that can be included in your user profile. The maximum size of your custom image is 75 by 75 pixels or 8.0 KB (whichever is smaller). The SitePoint logo, in any variation, cannot be used by anyone who is not a member of the SitePoint staff.

You can include your own avatar in your profile once your post count reaches 25, but keep in mind that posts in the General Chat and Introductions forums don't count towards your total post count.

Site Review Guidelines

At SitePoint, you can have others review your web site, a design element of your site or business collateral, or even your SEO strategy! The only things you can't have reviewed are domain names or proposed site titles.

Web site and SEO reviews can be requested in our dedicated Website Reviews forum. If you want only part of your web site reviewed, make your request in the Design Elements forum -- it's ideal for reviews of graphics, layouts, templates, business cards, letterhead, flash movies, banners, and ad banner placement.

No one at SitePoint is obligated to review web sites, so, to encourage fellow members to review your site, you'll need to review three other web sites first. Once you've supplied three reviews, you can request a review of your own site.

Once you submit a request for a review, your request will enter a queue. One of our helpful moderators will assess it to make sure you've included all the relevant information, that your request meets the guidelines explained here -- and that you've completed three web site reviews in the past 30 days -- before publishing your request to the forum. If you have any questions about requesting a review, feel free to PM a moderator of the Website Reviews forum for help.

The general guidelines for this forum are as follows:

• You must have reviewed three other web sites in the Website Reviews forum within the last 30 days. Make sure the reviews you supply are of real value to the sites' owners, otherwise they might be discounted by the forum's Advisors. As a rough guide, your review should be at least two paragraphs long, and for it to be of help, you must offer suggestions that are specific to the site, not just general praise.
• All requests for reviews must meet the SitePoint Guidelines' requirements for acceptable content. Requests for reviews of explicit or offensive content will be refused, and the posts removed by Advisors.
• Perhaps your request for reviews hasn't attracted the number of reviews you hoped it might. Don't repost your old request in the hope of getting additional feedback! Instead, if your original post is under 30 days old, repost in the original request thread to ask for more reviews. If your request is more than 30 days old, you'll need to conduct another three reviews of other sites before your request to repost your review will be considered.
• Before you post a request for a review, double-check your request for errors -- in particular, make sure you include the correct link to let interested reviewers access your site. Requests for reviews that lack correct URLs -- or any kind of URL at all! -- will be removed from the queue by our moderators, who will then email you. If you think this sounds like a rigmarole, you're right. It will certainly delay the reviews of your site. Make sure all the relevant information is included in your request.
• A request for a web site review can only deal with a single site. For each additional site you want reviewed, you'll have to complete three reviews for other sites, as explained above, then post your requests in separate posts.

Sell, Buy, Volunteer, and Trade

If you're looking to sell, buy, or trade goods or services, or you need volunteers for a project, the SitePoint Marketplace is the spot for you. For a small fee, you can list your project and solicit the services or assistance of other members. Help for everything from user testing to the development of open source initiatives is requested at the SitePoint Marketplace. Here's a rough idea of the different areas, and what you can request in each:

Advertise Your Services

Use this forum to announce a product or service, or to sell a product or service that doesn't fit into any other category.

Looking To Hire

If you're looking for members to complete paid or voluntary work for you, or you're seeking beta testers for a project, post your ad here.

Trade Your Services

Use this forum to offer service trades such as link exchanges, or to hire members who you'll remunerate in non-monetary ways.

If you post a thread in the Forums that belongs in the Marketplace, we'll remove it from the forums and let you know to use the Marketplace to make your request.

Marketplace Guidelines

The complete Marketplace guidelines outline everything you'll need to know to list your project successfully. And remember, any disputes between sellers or contest holders and other members in the Marketplace are best dealt with privately.

Other Guidelines and Useful Information

One Person, One Account

SitePoint allows only one account per person. If you lose access to your account, contact an advisor for help. Don't try to create another account -- it will only be banned.

BBCode

For details of the BBCode that can be used in the SitePoint Forums, check out the complete list.

Changing your Name

If you'd like to change your forums username, don't just sign up for another account. Instead, send a private message to either ShayneTilley or Sarah, our forum administrators. We can only make one name change per member, so if you want to change your username, make sure you chose a name you want! Keep in mind too that our Administrators are very busy, and username changes are their lowest priority -- be prepared to wait for your name change to take place.

Quoting your Discussions

The majority of SitePoint Forums members are knowledgeable, experienced, and skilled, and in creating a source of valuable information, SitePoint works to share your advice with as many others as possible. We do this by including links to your posts throughout the SitePoint Network and using discussion topics as the bases of new articles and features.

We reserve the right to quote your discussion forum posts in newsletters, throughout the SitePoint Network, and in SitePoint promotions. Of course, when we republish or quote your posts, we'll identify you by your SitePoint Forums username.

Private Message Dos and Don'ts

The Forums' private message system is the best way to communicate with individual forum members, or to discuss private matters that are prompted by, but aren't relevant to, discussion threads. Private Messages are bound by the same guidelines as forum posts, plus are few extras:

• If you send unrequested commercial or bulk messages through the PM system, we'll suspend your positing privileges immediately. If you still think it's worthwhile to try, remember that our forums members aren't new to the Web -- they know spam when they see it, and they sure as heck don't like it.
• Reports of harassment via the PM system are thoroughly investigated by our staff. Remember: you're using an electronic system that belongs to SitePoint, and we record all communications that take place through that system.

If you'd like to report an unwanted PM, use the SitePoint Contact Form.

In order to benefit everyone viewing a thread, please refrain from asking for more help with your issue via private message. Doing so will prevent the others who are participating from viewing any new ideas, or being able to further help you with your issue. If you must message someone to show them confidential code, you may do so, but make sure that you post the results of message in the original thread so others may benefit.

Please refrain from sending private messages to people participating in your thread to offer payment for a solution. Instead, make a post in the "Trade Your Services" or "Looking to Hire" portion of the Marketplace.

SitePoint's Rights

SitePoint Pty. Ltd. and its assigned agents reserve the right to remove a post that does not relate to the topic being discussed in the forum. In addition, SitePoint reserves the right to organize discussion forums in order to best serve the majority of our members. For example, narrow-interest or minimal activity topics may, at SitePoint's discretion, be relocated to a more appropriate discussion forum, or deleted entirely.

SitePoint Pty. Ltd or its assigned agents also reserves the right to prohibit or delete discussions that are thought to violate applicable law or that may be harmful to other members, the sites that comprise SitePoint, or the rights of SitePoint Pty. Ltd. or others. That said, SitePoint does not have the practical ability to restrict conduct or communications that might violate these Guidelines or the Terms of Service prior to transmission on AOL or the Web, nor can we ensure prompt removal of offending discussion forum posts.

We also reserve the right to remove your membership from the SitePoint Forums should you violate these guidelines.

As a SitePoint Forums Member, you can display a personalized signature on every post you make to the forums. Signatures are intended to help you to promote your site, business, or other ventures that relate to you personally. For that reason, you can't let others use your signature, or rent your signature out to another party.

Create your personal signature in line with these requirements:

• Your signature's size is limited to 4 lines of 65 characters each. bbcode isn't included in the total number of characters in a signature.
• You can include links that lead to your site(s) or a product page.
• You can include a slogan (for instance, "UK's Best Hosting starting at £19.99").
• You can't include affiliate or referral IDs. (Links to Outwar and similar types of schemes are acceptable, as these are links to games. However, it should be obvious from the outset where the links lead to.)
• You can't use short url services (such as TinyURL) in signatures to get around the points above
• You can't promote scams or make unenforceable offers (for example, "Earn $10,000 a month selling suntan lotion to dolphins").
• Pre-approved BBcode can be used, but must adhere to the following restrictions:
  • Center and right-align tags can't be used.
  • Code, Quote, PHP, HTML, Edit, Off Topic, Spoiler, Highlight, and HR tags can't be used.
  • The largest font size permitted is size 3.
• Your signature can't contain images, but it can include smilies.
• Signatures can't be bought or sold, nor can they contain offers to buy or sell other signatures. This guideline includes linking to web sites that solicit the selling of signatures.
• Any attempt to include a 'hidden' signature will be removed and the user may receive and infraction.

The SitePoint Staff are based on a team structure. You can identify them by the badges below their names.

• Mentors are knowledgeable members who act as discussion leaders.
• Advisors act as moderators for a given patch of the forums. As moderators, they have the ability to move and delete posts and threads.
• Team Leaders lead a team of Advisors, and can also act as moderators.
• Administrators are the administrators of the forum.

All of the staff work together behind the scenes to find ways to improve the community and make it an all round better place for our members.

New staff members are chosen and nominated by the existing staff only. It is not possible to apply to become a staff member.