Forum Rules and Guidelines (Updated January 2021)

FSM FORUM GUIDELINES

FineScale Modeler magazine does not control the messages, information, or files delivered to our reader forum. However, administrators have guidelines to follow you should be familiar with. Also, there are some rules we require members to follow. 

1. We restrict any language that inhibits any other user from using and enjoying the reader forums. Transmission of any unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, or indecent information of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any local, state, national, or international law will not be tolerated. 

2. Conversations regarding politics, religion, race, or creed is strictly prohibited. If you ask yourself if your forum conversation breaks this rule, it probably does. Take it elsewhere.

3. Do not transmit any information, software, or other material that violates or infringes upon the rights of others, including material which is an invasion of privacy or publicity rights or which is protected by copyright, trademark, or other proprietary right, or derivative works with respect thereto, without first obtaining permission from the owner or right holder. 

4. Do not post or transmit any information, software, or other material that contains a virus or other harmful component. 

5. Advertisements. If you would like to advertise a product that your commercial company manufactures, or if you are an individual private seller, you can buy a classified ad in the magazine or an ad on the website. This includes all buying, selling, and trading. Any posts that appear to be an advertisement or transaction will be deleted.

Forum Etiquette 

The purpose the FineScale Modeler forums is to provide a means to share thoughts and ideas about the hobby and to grow the modeling community. Topics, threads, and posts that do not further discussion on the hobby or the modeling community will be moderated at the administrators’ discretion.

We expect our users to maintain high standards of civility. Offensive language and discourse, name-calling, hate speech, and personal attacks are not acceptable and will be moderated according to the administrators’ discretion.

• We try to be easy-going on FineScale.com, but there are some basic rules of etiquette we ask you to follow:

• Remember the Human - The other members of this forum are real people, and the staff at FineScale.com are people too. They have feelings and deserve respect regardless of differences of opinion. This is a place to learn about a hobby we collectively enjoy. 

• Do not be a troll - Digressive, inflammatory, or off-topic messages and those who post them will be moderated or banned at the administrators' discretion. 

• Share expert knowledge - If you benefit from the information on the forum, please pay back the community by assisting others, too.

• Do not feed flame wars or trolls - If someone makes a personal attack or posts a digressive, inflammatory, or off-topic message, DO NOT REPLY. Report it to an administrator.

• Post personal stories and events to your profile - We all have lives beyond modeling. If you want to share personal aspects of other parts of your life (a new pet, the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, etc.), post it to your profile page instead of making a thread about it. Another option is to send private messages to your friends on the forum. Threads of this nature will be removed from the forum at the administrators' discretion.

• Be forgiving of other people's mistakes - Nobody's perfect.

• Be patient - All the participants of this forum are using the forum and participating in discussions on their own time.

• Give feedback - If someone helps you by answering your question, try to add a follow-up response letting them know if it worked or not.

A few more guidelines.

• Refrain from using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are generally recognized on the Internet as shouting and SHOUTING IS RUDE. Please don't shout. Excessive question marks (?) or exclamation points (!) in your title or content is also rude unless to indicate that the post is intended as a joke.

• Search the forums before you post your topic. Your question or comment may have already been discussed, answered, or resolved.

• Post only once (No Crossposting). Don't post identical questions on several threads or in more than one forum. It will only cause confusion and most likely reduce the chance of a reply. If you feel your post has gone un-answered then please "bump" it up the listing. Don't re-post repeatedly.

• Use the Topic title effectively. Try to be descriptive. This will not only aid you getting your question answered but will also assist people doing searches in the future.

• Post your question within a current thread if there is one on the same topic as your question.

• If you do need to start a new thread then ensure you post your question or comment in the correct forum.

• Advertising on the forum is spam. You may include your website and a short message in you signature line and you may point a link to other web sites in answer to a question.

• Please do not message, IM, PM or Email the moderators with Modeling related questions - a forum is for the benefit of all who may have the same or similar question. Questions and responses should be posted on the forum for all to benefit from.

• You are encouraged to reply to posts with part of the original post quoted in the text. This helps people follow the topic if several people are posting. However please try to only quote the relevant part of the original not the whole thread.

• Provide details in your comment or question to increase the likelihood of starting a discussion.  

• The FSM Ready Room allows members more leeway for discussion topics. However, the rules regarding politics, religion, race, creed, and personal events still apply. Discussion of firearms and other weapons is prohibited, as is their use for any purpose, including hunting and target practice.