T.O. Talk Guidelines:a 'EULA-style' page that actually helps

[Lex Smythe]

It might be a "Must Read" in the EULA style, but that doesn't mean we're gonna waste your time here, soldier

Please review all sections here. It's not all legal-ese, there's some good info in here !

Posting Guidelines

Notice how this isn't called "forum rules" ? Despite my life experiences, I still have some faith in humanity.

This place is your place, this place is my place. But when push comes to shove, this place is my place... not because I'm looking for a "power trip", but because someone has to have a final say on cantankerous issues or quarrelsome discussions.

We've already re-named and added forum areas because of member suggestions. Heck, this post is only being added because of member suggestions. In many ways, this is an open forum.

But in the end, it can be argued that vision 'aint necessarily a bad thing, so here's where I'd like to see us go:

Let's respect each others' opinions, regardless how different they are from our own.

Let's refrain from personal attacks, there are so many other ways of making a point.

Let's try to post as if we were handing-in a school paper. Ya, I know, it's a drag, but people will appreciate the fact that you've reviewed your post before pressing "submit". Plus it helps you get your point across.

Let's never gang-up on people. Fight your most primal instincts.

Let's try and keep the cursing to a minimum. Pretend you're on a radio show, try and use language that is acceptable on the airwaves.

Let's have fun. Life can suck, daily pressures can push us down. There's no reason to make things worse in our leisure time.

Let's foster new ideas. There's nothing that says we have to just stick to commentary on existing topics.

New posts by anonymous visitors that merely throw insults around will be deleted. (added 12-31-2005)

Naturally I'll reserve the right to edit, kick, or ban people who don't want to follow these guidelines, but I'd much prefer to never have to exercise those powers. I don't get anything from exercising admin force, in fact I'll consider it a failure on my part if I have to use 'em.

Anonymous Posting

Although at the moment you don't have to register to post anonymously in some areas of this site, we ask that you please take a moment to register. If you choose to hide it, your email addresses will never be viewed, and it will never be sold or used for anything other than the extremely rare (if ever) announcements sent by T.O. Talk relating to this site.

However, please note that as an Anonymous visitor, you forego certain rights as a citizen of this community. For instance, new posts by anonymous visitors that merely throw insults around will be summarily deleted, and repeated offenders will be added to the IP ban list. (added 12-31-2005)


Adding Images to your Posts


Courtesy Parks Canada

Pictures can spruce-up your posts, help you make a point, or can just be plain fun.

Right now there is no facility to upload pictures or other files to add to your post, but fortunately the internet is already chock full o' great images. Here's a guide to "hotlinking" pictures to use in your posts:

The first thing to keep in mind is that you'll be "using" another server to serve the image, so pay attention to where the image is coming from.

If you want a picture of a commercial good or service, go to their web site first. Chances are they have huge servers and would never mind serving-up a picture of their product. A good second choice is an educational site.

http://www.google.ca/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi - Google image search, very handy. Shows you thumbnails of all the items matching your search.

Not all the images in a Google search will still be there -- click the thumbnail once, and then click the little image in the top frame when it loads. This "tests" the link and makes sure the image is still present on the server.

if the image loads after the two clicks above, then you've got a successful hotlinkable image ! Copy the complete URL (the web address), and go back to the forum.

Inside a new message, click the "Img" button, paste the URL for the image, and then click the "Img" button a second time to close the tag.

Preview your post, and if all's well your image will appear !


Spel Cheking

Offsite spell-checking is courtesy www.SpellingCow.com ... and it works great.

type your message and click the button below that reads Spell Check (Off-Site)

Spelling Cow will open in a new window.

Your two favourite buttons will be in the middle-left, Ignore and Replace.

Click Submit (not Return) to submit the changes.

Preview and you're most likely done !



Courtesy Parks Canada

I recommend the Mozilla Firefox browser because it's open source, it's more secure than Microsoft Internet Exploder, it's fast, and it is feature-rich.


For hotlinking images that you see in your Firefox browser, right-click an image and select "Copy Image Location". It's best to first test this hotlink, paste the address into a fresh browser window and see if the image loads before adding it to your post.


Important legal stuff

Please keep this in mind: you're free to speak your mind and join in the chat, even anonymously if you feel like it, but remember that breaking the law is breaking the law, regardless of where you're doing it.

It comes down to this: Do here as you would do on a public street-corner or park, and be treated in a manner fitting.

There's no law against ranting on a soapbox In fact it's what makes our society the best on Earth. Just keep it within the laws of the land. It's not the site's responsibility, it's yours. That goes for everyone.

This bulletin board is to be considered a chalkboard, Things may change constantly, and things can even disappear. A moderator will have to make snap judgements on legality but if a serious post merely includes something questionable, text similar to the following will replace the questionable material: