FORUM HANDBOOK [RULES]

1. Read and follow the Avatar and Signature rules.

2.Stay safe! Don't tell anyone your phone number or address, or other personal information. Even though we know each other, remenber that this is online. Anybody can register or hack the site.

3. Keep everything kid-friendly. This covers text, images and choice of username.

4. Don't post just to increase your rank. Make sure you have something new to share with everyone, or an idea you want to talk about, when you reply.

5. No posts made to hurt back. Complaints should be posted in the Questions & Suggestions board or addressed to the moderators.

6. If someone's giving you a hard time, whether on the boards or through PM, tell the moderators. The member will be given a warning through PM and his/her activities in the SJS forum will be limited. If the member persists, he/she shall be banned.

7. Spamming is not allowed.
- Spam messages are composed of less than 5 words. Examples may be "I agree," "Yes," "Woohoo," "Good Idea," "Good Work," "Hello (name)!" etc. You can reply with these phrases, but include why you agree or disagree so your post won't be a waste.
- Spam messages does not have any substance or significance.
- Spam messages are not related to the topic.
- Spam threads are filled with unnecessary posts.
- Spam threads going on for years doesn't mean that it is "excluded" from the house rules.
- Spam threads having 50+ pages doesn't mean that it is "excluded" from the house rules.

8. Keep your posts where they belong! For example, if you want to talk about books, go to The Library. If you want to talk about sports, go to The Stadium. Mixing up topics makes things confusing.

9. If you posted something and no one's replied to it yet, you can use the EDIT function to add to or subtract from your post. Don't post it again and again or reply and say that no one's answering your question.

10. Do not use shortcuts or text language and sticky caps (aS In tLknG lYk DiS) because it's much harder to read and understand. Use proper grammar and spelling. Unlike in mobile phones, we don't have a character limit here so you don't have to use shortcuts.

11. Make sure your posts are original. Don't steal anything from other sites or message boards--that's plagiarism and is actually against the law. If you're going to use anything written by other people, make sure you quote them and tell us where you got it.

12. Minimize your use of smilies and end marks--too much can be confusing.

13. No posting of photos. Just post the link.

14. Most importantly, please be nice to each other. We're here to make friends and have fun! Enjoy posting!



AVATAR RULES

An "avatar" (avvie) is the image that appears under your username whenever you post a message. It's a unique picture or drawing that identifies you.

1. Select a picture, image, or drawing you want to use as your avatar, and make sure that it's within the allowed size.

2. Avatars must be 100x100 pixels or less (roughly an inch square).

3. Save your avatar as a .jpg or .gif file in an image editing program.



SIGNATURE RULES

A "signature" (sig/siggie) is the image or text that can be found below your posts.

1. You can include only one image in your sig. Just make sure they're not too tall or too wide because they'll distort the boards if they're too big. Maximum width for the images you use is 500 pixels while the maximum height is 100 pixels. Please keep the images as small as possible because large pics tend to slow down the boards.

2. Text signatures are most welcome! Just make sure you're not saying anything offensive!