Personal Information
Please do not post personal information about third parties on these forums, such as email addresses, physical addresses, telephone numbers etc.  Any third party personal information will be edited out of posts.

Personal Disputes
Please do not use these forums for personal disputes, heated debates, flame wars etc. You are expected to treat each other with respect in the forums and take any personal disputes to a private mode of discussion off the forums. If you should find that your discussion is becoming too heated or someone is becoming far too passionate about their argument, please take the discussion to private message or email.

Personal Topics
Personal topics are threads that, whilst posted in public forum, are intended for a discussion between only a few members. These kinds of topics are frowned on and may be locked/removed. Public posts should be open and inviting to all members. Personal discussions among a select group of users should take place in private message.

Respect Other Users
Simply put, respect others users and their views- even if you disagree with them.

Advertising/Solicitation
Advertising for the sake of advertising is not allowed, and posts of this kind will be deleted.  The execption is that you may adavertise to buy / sell personal items in the Trading Post.  The Directories should be used to advertising businesses and services.

Old Threads/'Necro-bumping'
Do your part to keep the forums tidy... please do not post in threads that are 6 or more months old. Resurrecting old threads generally creates disjointed information for the community and can also make forum moderation unnecessarily complicated. If necessary, you may link to the older thread in your new thread.  Don't dig up the past.

No Trolling
What is a troll? A troll is a person who intentionally attempts to disrupt, cause controversy, incite an argument, and/or receive negative attention by deliberately posting provocative content. 

Trolls are generally deceitful and may use ambivalence as a method of covertly insulting, intimidating, or inciting a person or persons for their own sadistic pleasure. They often pick their words very carefully and are therefore able to defend their masked attempts at creating unrest, often redirecting the blame onto the community and its 'failure to understand them properly'.

No Power-Posting / Empty Posts
Power-posting is posting 'empty' messages. It is not tolerated. People may have two reasons to do this: to increase their post count meaninglessly, or to lend support to an idea (as if it were a vote). Examples of power-posting include, but are not limited to, replying with 'lol', 'me too', 'I agree', or ':)'.

When you reply to messages, make sure you have something to say. These empty posts clutter up threads and discussion, invalidates the 'Show New Posts' function, and wastes bandwidth and server space.  Threads that degenerate into a series of 'me too/I agree/I disagree' with no content will be locked. Individual power posts may also be deleted

Misplaced Posts
Try to place your posts in the correct forum for the topic. This is really simple...

• Visitors Forum is for Visitors to ask questions of and receive answers from Locals.  Locals should not should not initiate threads on the Visitors Forum.  Unsolicited advertising is strictly prohibited... it's like someone hawking their goods on the street.  Please don't do it

• Locals should use the Group Forum in the private Community Groups to interact with other Locals and community members out of the public eye.

Thread Hijacking
Thread hijacking is the process of replying to an existing thread with a different topic. This is tolerated but generally discouraged. It is better to start a new thread if you want to debate and issue that is related to an existing posted issue but clearly different. On the other hand, it is better to respond to the existing thread with additional information if you have what appears to be the same problem.

Ignore Spammers
Spam is a blight upon the face of the net. Nobody likes it. However, it is hard to avoid. Despite our best efforts, you may occasionally see spam on the forums. Complaining about spam in public increases noise, but not signal. Report the post with the forum Report Abuse function and a moderator will review it for removal.

Do Not Flame
Flaming, in the most common sense definition, is saying something negative in an attempt to get an equally or more negative response. It will not be tolerated, and in most cases will be punished severely. Never resort to personal insults. Never extend a debate beyond the topic on hand needlessly, and avoid sarcastic and patronizing language.  Report flaming with the forum Report Abuse function.

Respect The Staff
They have been chosen for their ability to exercise good judgment and will have the final say. This forum isn't a democracy. Your vote doesn't always count. They try to please everyone they can, but in the end, they're charged with making this community as enjoyable for as many people as they possibly can. They can not always be right, nor can they please everyone with the decisions made, but they're doing their jobs and hopefully we can all agree that they're doing their best to ensure a good community here.

Warnings, User Locking, Banning
If the JustAskLocals Moderation Team feels that a member has "crossed the line", they will typically issue the member a private warning, (unless the occurrence is especially distasteful, in which case a ban may become imminent). Warnings will not be discussed on the JustAskLocals Forums.  If the warning goes unheeded, further action will be taken. This can be anything from locking the offending member account, to deletion and banning of the member. Action is generally on a case by case basis.  If a member is apologetic, interested in a peaceful solution and wishes to have their account reinstated, a general consensus will be formed by the community members for or against such a request.

Legality
Do not post, discuss, or link to illegal acts, content or topics. Illegal content or references to Illegal activities will be removed swiftly and dealt with in full accordance with applicable law.

(This Forum Etiquette Policy was in large part 'borrowed' from ArchLinux.org)