Guidelines for posting. Please read.

[Mariner]

Rule number 1: THINK BEFORE YOU POST

Ask yourself:
-Has this been posted before?
-Is it relevant to the topic being discussed?
-Will others members find it helpful?
-Is it respectful to other members, or people who may read it?

I am not personally against the use of profanity, so you won't see me deleting it except in extreme instances. However, the fact that many of us are, from time to time, drunken sailors, does not mean that we have to act like one on the forum. Keep your posts reasonably clean. Can you substitute another word and achieve the same effect? Can you use a non-verbal alternative such as $*%#^ or _____? NEVER direct a vulgar or disprectful word at another member. That will get your post deleted and you may be banned.

Rule number 2: MAKE SENSE

-Read back through your post and ensure that you have at least attempted to use correct spelling, punctuation, grammar and sentence structure.
-Do not start your reply in the subject box, and then continue your typing in the message box. The subject box is for a heading, not your main message, and is generally not used in replies, only on new topics. Your post will not make sense to people when you do this.
-Do not seperate fragments of sentences with three periods simply becuase you stopped typing for a second. Use full sentences and punctuate them with a period at the end, two blank spaces between, and a capital letter at the beginning of the next.
-Put your topic in the appropriate forum.
-Remember your audience. Everyone here is reasonably educated. Your posts should read like it.
-It's ok to be long winded within reason. Everyone is here to kill time and read, so there's no need to be short and leave out details. If it isn't worth your taking a few minutes to develop, it's not worth posting. The more details the better.

Avoid the Pitfals:
-There, their, they're.
-Its vs. It's
-"For all intensive purposes", "minus well", "must of", etc...
-Teh
-[IMG]C:\My Documents\My Pictures\Boat Pictures\000101345.JPG[/IMG] -You need a HOST to post pictures. Just because it shows up on your screen doesn't mean we can see it.

Rule number 3: CONFORM

Ok, I'm not a big fan of conformism. I think everyone should be an individual. But please do so by the content of what you're posting, not the way in which you post.

-Unusually large images will "break" the forum and make it difficult for everyone to read. 1025x768 is recommended as a maximum. 800x600 is sufficient for most things.
-When you tye in all caps LIKE THIS, people interpret it as yelling. That can be an effective way to draw attention and add inflection to a word, but if misused, it can be strangely obnoxious and actually difficult to read. I know many people use computer systems at work that require all capital letter input and switch between the internet and that, but please hit the Caps Lock key before posting. You can't tell me that when you're making a post, you don't notice that your letters are all capitals. PLEASE!!
-It is not necessary to start your posts with a greeting, nor should you "sign" your posts at the bottom with your name. Your username is displayed immediately to the left, so adding it is redundant. You can, however use the "signature" feature to include relevant information in every post such as your boat's name or model. But please refrain from including your name or location as they are already shown automatically.
-Doing things drastically different than everyone else is like walking into a meeting and speaking in Klingon. It might be fun to be unique, but you won't ever get anything done.



I hate to even have to set these guidelines. It seems so draconian. But I think it is necessary in order to keep the content of the site beneficial and fun for all of us. For the most part these are not hard and fast rules. Don't worry, you won't get banned for poor spelling. But I will, from time to time, correct your posts if they fall out of these guidelines. And if that is taking too much time, I'll just start deleting them. Hopefully those who are repeat offenders will get the message.

I've left this topic unlocked so that you can post questions, input, or ask for clarification. Please feel free to do so. This site is for all of us and I believe in open discussion.