These are our Rules.

[BBQchef33]

Our rules are simple.

Most important rule: Have fun. Join in. POST!!!. Use our Cattle Call forum to introduce yourself, and edit your signature line to include your equipment, so when you ask a question, we know what type of of pit your talking about. Get to know they personalities and characters and don't BE TO SERIOUS!! We are a lighthearted, respectful bunch, with a common passion. BBQ. But our board is more than a knowledge base, its a place to hang out.

We are a family site. Not to say your entire family will be here with you, but we like to make it so a member will never be ambushed with an "off color" photo, sound or "whatever" popping up while your family may be sitting with you.

So, before you put it up, ask, is it OK for:

My MOM to see it
My kid to see it
My wife to see it
Can I show it at the dinner table?

If so, its most likely OK to put it up here.

Next:
We have an international demographic.
Racism, slurs, prejudice, bigotry, vulgarity is FORBIDDEN. We are a BBQ group with friends around. You have NO IDEA who is in the room until u meet them. Common decency and common courtesy overrules freedom of speech in this forum. Period. You attack another member or group, your are out of here.



Following this post are our "official" guidelines. DO's and Dont's. Its mostly common sense, but someone always needs it in writing. :roll:

[BBQchef33]

The BBQ-Brethren
Rules of our Forum
©


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We reserve the right to amend these rules from time to time.

Ignoring or breaking any of these rules is grounds for deleting the thread or post.
Habitually breaking the rules of the forum will be grounds for deactivating membership.

This is a quick outline of what you should do.


Have fun
Post often
Share experiences, BBQ, and life.
Leave any attitude at the door.
Be yourself. We dont judge.

This is a quick outline of what you CAN’T do.

Advertise,
**Insult or Flame others..
Racism, slurs, prejudice, bigotry, vulgarity, or offensive language stricly forbidden
Post any type of porn or other illegal materials
Use our email or PM to send spam
Use our e-mail or PM to promote other forums
Use or forum for sales pitches or solicitations.

Post the same topic in multiple forums
Cross post from or to other forums(copying text) without giving credit(or blame) as to the source location and author of the text
Having a signature or Avatar that does NOT follow the guidelines(See below for details.)
****Hijack or post Off Topic in certain Forums. Qtalk, Competition and Discussion & Reflection” should be considered sacred ground.
** We are adults, and members who come here become friends and Brothers. We will and do sling some insults and jabs. These are all in fun. The stuff we are addressing is the nasty mean spirited flame wars that occur in other forums. In 3 years, that has not been present here. I hope it never will be. If it does, immediate ejection from this group will occur.
**** Our members have an uncanny ability to hijack anything that moves, but they will always respect a post when needed. Lighthearted banter during an On topic post is the norm and allowed. If the banter derails the post, a moderator will scrub it and put it back on track. If posts go cold, they might get hijacked and taken Off Topic. Please understand this is part of our lighthearted nature. Moderators will split or scrub posts if the original intent is being compromised and the post needs to stay for informational purposes (Roadmapped. Explained below). If a post is hijacked that you wish to keep on track, please PM a moderator. Discussion and Reflection forum should be void of hijacks.
NO personal attacks. NO attacks of any kind. If the post has to a negative comment of any kind towards a member, or is strictly there to antagonize, it will be deleted.
NO nudity, porn or seductive pictures. of any type, anywhere in any forum. NONE. There is zero tolerance for this. It will be deleted immediately and don’t even think of complaining.
NO lewd, vulgar or off color language. Minor profanity (Damn It!) is okay.


fu*k – or any variation is not allowed, "C" word not allowed, male/female anatomical reference not allowed.. You know what I mean.



So, we are adults, light profanity is okay, vulgar profanity is not. Be polite and be aware that we are not a locker room. Don’t split hairs, you know what we mean. Directing extreme vulgar language to any forum member will result in getting your a** booted outta here.

Topics can stray off the Primary topics as long as it does not continue to the point of destroying the original intent of the thread. Moderators will split or cleanup threads that may have been hijacked. A PM request to a moderator to cleanup or split a thread is encouraged.
A MODERATORS DECISION IS FINAL. If your moderated, live with it and move on. Challenging a moderator in public for their action will lock you down, all abilities to post and edit will be removed. Whining to the admin will get you no where, so don’t bother. When you are moderated for an infraction or infringment, you may receive a PM as to why. If it was a blatent infringment, it will be deleted with no notice. If not, it is acceptable to send a civil note to the moderators requesting the reason. We dont sent messages for general scrubbing or cleanup of banter or chatter.
Direct sales pitches by commercial businesses are prohibited.We do not want guests to come in here for the primary or specific purpose of advertising. We are a non commercial site. We have no problem with contributing Forum Members who have BBQ items for sale as long as they are contributing members to our forum and not just here to hawk their wares.
Learn the difference between political correctness and common courtesy. We are not politicaly correct, but we do insist you show respect for those out there that you DO NOT KNOW. Your best friend on the forum, who u never met, may be the guy your insulting and dont even realize it.

For members advertising: Follow these guidelines:

· In the FORUM: No advertising anywhere except in the For Sale/Trade area. Announcements of items for sale are permitted, but only and exclusively in the For Sale forum. If a For Sale or advertisement is placed anywhere but “For Sale” we reserve the right to either delete it or move it.

· NO cross-posting of For Sale announcements in the talk sections. Such posts will be deleted.

· Do not post links to other forums like ours(BBQ forums/chats) for the sake of promotion or for information that can easily be found within our forum(this excludes the links section). References within the forum to obvious forums of authority are allowed when referring to specific questions/requirements. (i.e. Virtual Weber Bullet, FoodTV, etc. ). We reserve the right to remove gratuitous references to competing forums.

· If you have a Private site(without a forum) of your own, you may post a link in your signature. You must however place a reciprocal link on your site linking back here. Recruiting our members to another site, or hawking a site via PM or email will get you booted out.

When posting in the forum, links to personal pages related to BBQ are ok as long as their purpose is not to promote a product.
Example: A page that includes your widgets and gadgets you use when you cook. ACCEPTABLE. (Key word, "includes")
Example: A page that contains Links that look like a sales pitch. NOT ACCEPTABLE.
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Signatures and Avatars must follow these guidelines:

Avatars: These are the little pictures next to posts. It is and can be a graphic or photo.

· Avatar Graphics of Commercial sites or products are discouraged. Tone it down. no blinking billboards, no oversized, no animated, no marquees.

· Normal non commercial avatars should be limited to no bigger than 120x120(120 wide and 120 long.)

· NO risqué’ pics of porn, soft, medium or hardcore. Noting suggestive, expicit, implicit, or anything, regarding sex or nudity. NONE, NADA, ZIP. IT WILL BE DELETED IMMEDIATELY OR SOONER and don’t even think of questioning it. .

· We reserve the right to resize, remove or replace any avatar that is questionable or in the gray zone. If the admin resizes your avatar, leave it alone.


Signatures. This is a text box BELOW each post. It cannot contain a graphic or Photo.

· NO pictures or graphics in signatures.This does not pertain to AVATARS.

· Keep signatures in plain text no larger than 3 points. Use discretion with bold and/or colors. Over sized or overbearing signatures will be edited to conform.

· Your signature and profile should contain a list of your equipment and your location. This way, if you ask or answer a question, we can consider where your cooking from and what you’re cooking on without asking. It should NOT contain anything that may be inflammatory or controversial.


·Your own BBQ related site URL may appear in signature line as long as it is the URL only. NO advertising, including sponsor links. No pointers to other bbq forums. Blogs and websites are OK. NO FORUMS. A recipricol link back here is required no matter what.


If your Signature contains a link to your site or blog. You MUST have a link to our site in yours. If not, your signature will be edited and link removed. If an admin or moderator edits the link out of your signature, it cannot be put back unless the reciprocal link is in place.

Signatures and linking will be disabled for those that refuse to comply. Moderators will make spot checks to ensure the cross linking is present. If not, One private message will be sent to you for not being in compliance. If a reciprocal link is not added within 5 days, your signature will be edited.

Roadmapping: FYI.

Some forums have a ROADMAP post at the top. These are shortcuts to FAQ posts. They are links to quality discussion threads on specific topics within the forum. Refer to these when you are looking for something specific and use our search tools. Feel free to update roadmaps with posts you think may benefit members on a regular basis.

When subject actions are in question the decision of the moderators and/or Site Administrator is final. Any member assuming a second identity for the sake of circumventing our rules or administrative action will be permanently banned.

If you disagree with their actions, take it private thru the Private Messaging system and keep it civil. A public display of flames and tantrums will cause immediate ejection and banning.


THIS DOCUMENT IS PROPERTY OF THE BBQ BRETHREN. IF YOU WANT TO STEAL IT AND USE IT ON YOUR FORUM, PLEASE GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE.

BBQ Brethren and Faming Pig Logo are REGISTERED TRADEMARKS. Duplication or use is strictly forbidden.

[rbinms33]

Hmmmm....these look like bonfire (aka common sense) rules to me.

Around a bonfire you have a mixed crowd. Sometimes it's the guys, sometimes it's the guys and gals, sometimes you have parents show up and there's always the kids running around. As long as you're mindful of who's within earshot, you adjust the conversation accordingly. You rarely bring up religion and politics and if you do, you keep it high level cause it's a guarantee that somebody's gonna get ticked off and if you take it too far, it may even come to blows. It's never a good idea to challenge the owner of the property....best case, you might find yourself alienated from the group....worst case, you might be told to leave. And you never ever use the bonfire gathering to sell stuff. That would be like springing an Amway party on your friends and family. You just don't do that. They're there to relax and socialize....not to hear another sales pitch. Now if so and so is looking for a tractor and I know where to find one, I'll let him know....but there's a difference between giving somebody a lead and trying to sell them the latest tupperware.

Yep, I think as long as I apply bonfire rules, I'll be alright.