Rules (please read them before registering!)

By registering for an account on Forum Box, you agree to be bound by the following rules as outlined below. If you do not agree with these rules, then use of this site is prohibited to you.


From time to time, we may update these rules and without any notice to you. Further, you must abide by any announcements or guidelines made by staff or any rules which are made in any specific sections of this site. Staff are clearly labelled.


Main Rules

1. You must be 13 or over to use this site. Under 13s should seek parent's/guardian's permission before posting here.

2. Do not do anything illegal here, ie, posting threatening, slanderous or defamatory posts, pictures or videos.

3. Pornography and violent images/videos are not permitted.

4. Respect other site's copyright at all times.

5. Abide by staff instructions at all times and do not argue with them.

6. Post in English only and use clear, proper sentences with no "txt" speak.

7. Do not spam and no dissertations.

8. You agree that any content you post to this site may be removed, edited or moved at any time and that no warning or reason may be given to you.

9. By using this site you accept that your postings are your own and this site accepts no liability for them.

10. You hereby agree to give the site owners a unconditional licence to do as they wish with the the content you post here and you understand that your content maybe used for promotion and marketing of this site.

11. You agree to read the privacy/cookie policy (link at bottom of page) and agree to be bound by it.


A. Member Behaviour

1. Keep it friendly


Members should engage with one another in a constructive and positive way, but that does not mean that robust discussion on a topic is prohibited, far from it! But if a discussion becomes too heated and/or personal insults are thrown around, then warnings will be issued. You can attack the argument as much as you like, just not the person.


Be kind, be nice. Treat others as you yourself would like to be treated. Behind every post is a human being.


2. Trolling and Baiting


Don't post something with the sole intention of winding someone else up or trying to derail a topic. It's obvious to all and can land you in hot water. Also, don't try and provoke a strong reaction from someone with the aim of getting them reported.


3. Opinions matter


Forums are a great place for sharing opinions on any given subject, but sometimes some people believe that these opinions must be backed up with proof. This is not a academic site and no member has to prove anything here and if a member keeps demanding that others should provide proof of their opinions/posts, they could be issued with a warning.


4. Don't ignore and/or argue with staff instructions


This is already a main rule, but if a staff member asks you to do something or not do something, please abide it. Ignoring staff can result in either a temporary or permanent ban from this site. Staff are clearly labelled as such. Additionally, don't argue with mod decisions within threads. If you are unhappy about something, then create a thread in the Help and Feedback forum and staff will reply to you. That forum is private and your thread can only be seen by yourself and staff.


B: Forum use

1. Keep on topic


Difficult this one, as the natural flow of conversation can ebb and flow, but please try and stick to the subject of the thread. The subject is set by the member who created that thread. The thread creator has a right to complain to staff if they feel their thread is going off topic or is being derailed by some other means.


2. Reuse threads


If a subject is already being covered in a existing thread, then please try and reuse that thread. How will you know if a thread already exists? Just do a search, but sometimes these threads can easily be identified because they are pinned at the top of forum lists and are sometimes labelled as "Super Topics".


Multiple threads on the same subject may get deleted, especially in the news forum.


4. News links


When creating threads or posting about something happening in the news, please post a link to that story, so that other members can read the background details on the story. Please use BBC links where possible or links from other free sites. Avoid linking to sites behind a paywall and which require a subscription to read.


C: Use of Account

1. Usernames, Avatars, Profile pictures/banners and Signatures.


Do not use pornographic or other objectionable material such as nazi symbols and words. Also, don't use swear words or pejorative, insulting or argumentative terms, ie don't choose words like "idiot" as that may result in yourself getting abused from other members.


2. Use one account


Members are not permitted to have more than one account. If you wish to change your username, please contact a member of staff. If you have not used your account after two years, it will get deleted and you will need to create a new one if you wish to use this site again.


3. Use real IP only


Members should not use proxies or mask their real IP by using services such as Tor. If your device scrambles your IP automatically, such as when using Public Wi-Fi, you should disable it or set a exception for this site.


D: Warning system

Generally, most situations are dealt with by a informal warning being posted in the thread where a problem is occurring. Sometimes, members might get named as part of that warning. Everyone should heed the warning and abide by the instruction given by the staff member immediately.


If these warnings are ignored, members may be suspended from the site or, in rare cases, banned entirely.


All warnings are logged against the member's account.

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Thank you and welcome to the site!


Kind regards


Horizon

Site Founder