Cliff Pennock

Keep it civilized!
It's ok to disagree with someone. Really, it is. But it's not ok to call someone a "toad licking monkey waxer" just because he disagrees. It'll make you actually look like one. Name-calling will most likely get you a bad rating. At the very least, it will cause the thread to end up in the Trash Can, and at its very worst it will get you banned.

Do not post another member's personal information without his/her consent!
So you got really angry with another member and feel you should post his personal information like name, address, telephone number or other private info without his consent. Don't. This is cause for an immediate, nonnegotiable ban from PFF.

Don't try to circumvent the censor system.
The forum software automatically censors some 4-letter words (and even some 5- and 6-letter words). Don't try to circumvent it. We all know what you mean with "you svck" (actually, "suck" isn't censored of course, but you get my point).

Do not start threads about other threads.
So you get in a heated discussion in one of the threads. You get the feeling you are not getting your point across. So you feel the need to start a new thread explaining what you meant in the first thread. Don't. Since there's already a thread on the subject, say it there.

Do not change quoted text.
If you quote other members, do not change the quoted text. It's okay to highlight (through bold/underline/italics) words, but do not add/change anything so to give the impression someone said something they did not.

Do not keep bumping your thread to the top of the list.
I've seen this happen quite a bit lately. People think their thread is so incredibly interesting, they feel the need to keep bumping it to the top (by adding a post with nothing more than "Bump" or "TTT"). Don't. Threads that keeps getting bumped like this, will be closed.

No "Rate me" threads.
I don't mind the occasional "if you think I gave you good advice, please give me a positive rating". But threads which have the sole purpose of raking ratings are a no-no. Such threads will be closed immediately. If you are wondering why someone has been banned (or someone else hasn't), send me either an email or a PM. Do not start a thread about it!

Do not post offensive images.
You want to post an image of your Fiero? Fine! You want to post a picture about a funny road-sign you saw? No problem! You feel the need to post a "You are Ghey" or some kind of other offensive picture to get your point across? Go somewhere else. Really, I can revoke image-posting priviliges on a per-user basis and I will do so if you post offensive images. Lately, these kind of images have been popping-up in every other thread and people are getting sick and tired of it. And rightfully so. This is a family forum and images like that don't belong here. Go to your "IR 733t" forum instead and post them there.

Are you posting in the right section?
To summerize, the Technical Discussion & Questions section is just that. For technical discussions and questions. So no "what is the best source for polyurethanemethanoloxide bushings?" or "should I paint my Fiero pink or blue-with-polkadots?" threads. Those belong in the General Fiero Chat section. In this (the GFC) section you can also post threads about the forum itself. Or ask who the owner of that blue-with-polkadots Fiero is. Just as long as it's Fiero or Forum related. The Mall section is for Fiero related items only. If you need to sell your computer, your Lexus, your adult video collection, or your cat, then you should post that in the The Other Mall section. Totally O/T stands for "Totally Off Topic", and not for "Let's start a flamewar 'cause I'm bored". A lot of people seem to misunderstand that. In the TO/T section the same rules apply as in the other sections. So keep it civilized, no circumventing the censor system, no threads about threads, yadah, yadah. "Other Cars" is for asking technical questions about - you guessed it - other cars besides the Fiero.

You can't start new threads in "The Construction Zone" and the "FAQs & HowTos" sections. If threads are worthy enough, they will eventually be moved here.

No cross-posting.
Do not start a thread in one of the other sections saying you've got a great Fiero for sale in The Mall. Or ask in the TD&Q section if people would please take a look at your thread in the TO/T section, because you really need to get rid of that bad case of athletes' foot.

Absolutely no spamming.
Let me repeat that. Absolutely no spamming. I'm really, really happy for you that you got rich quick and I'm flattered that you want to share one of the best kept secrets of the business with us. But really, check your email's inbox and buy those 500 million email addresses for just $99 and send out emails instead. What, you deleted that email because it was spam? I rest my case.

Don't overuse your signature!
Using your signature once in a thread is usually enough. Also, be sure your signature complies with the signature rules

This is a family forum!
This means PFF gets visitors from all ages. Please respect that. So no links to adult sites. No lewd pictures. Also, be careful with those pr0n words. It causes PFF to drop rapidly in the search engines.

Multiple Usernames
It's not allowed for a single individual to register multiple usernames. Everybody hates sockpuppets and we don't want people to hide behind another username. Usually the system detects when somebody tries to sign up a 2^nd (or 3^rd or 4^th) username, but this system is far from perfect. If I detect someone is using multiple usernames after they have been registered I will delete all usernames used by this individual starting with the oldest and leaving only the most recent (this could mean you loose that username with 10,000+ posts). In some cases I will allow multiple usernames (for instance when more than one individual in a household register to the forum). If it was obvious the new username was only created to get into some heated discussions (or start flamewars), then the user will receive a warning. If after this warning he/she still (tries to) register(s) a new username (with the same intent) an immediate ban will follow.

The Rating System
The rating system is a mechanism for the members to make their content or discontent about other members count. If you think someone's contribution to the forum is (mostly) positive, please rate him/her positive. If you think the opposite is true, you can rate him/her negative. You can only rate someone when you have been a member of PFF for at least 30 days, and when you have at least 30 posts. But, anyone who can rate, can rate you - no matter how long you have been a member, or how many posts you have. Your rating bar will show up after you have received at least 50 ratings. This is when the bar becomes active. When a certain negatives to positives ratio has been reached (which boils down to if you have waaaaay more negative ratings than positives), the system will "autoban" you. There's nothing I can (and will) do about that to prevent that. The bar gives you an indication of where you stand. If you have more green than red, than your contribution to the forum is considered mostly positive by other members. If your red and green are about the same, then you have about as much positive ratings as negative. Is your bar mostly red, than you are in the danger zone and an autoban might follow if more people decide to rate you negative. You can only be banned by the autoban if your bar is active (i.e. visible). The ratingbar is in no way a shield that protects you from banning! This is something most people (that have been banned) seem to complain about. Your bar can be all green - but blatantly disregard forum rules and I, as moderator of PFF, can and will ban you. In fact, I can ban anyone at my discretion if I deem it in the best interest of the forum.

Terms of Use
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