By registering as a user of this website, you agree to these rules, and you agree to accept whatever consequences are deemed appropriate by our staff for violations of these rules. If you do not agree to accept these rules, it is important that you do not register, and do not post.

We pride ourselves on being a great community, full of people who get along and interact in a professional, intelligent manner. Many of our users are professionals in their fields. Many of our users have years of experience with this site. These simple rules help us get along, and help keep the site clean, fresh, and full of information. If the rules below look like too much to read, this community is probably not for you.

Part I: Behavior and Conduct

Does everyone remember the Golden Rule? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It's plain, simple, and elegant. It's also the basis for our standards of behavior here. If nothing else, remember that.

A. Be respectful. This includes everyone: other members of the forum, moderators and administrators, other people on the internet, and any other person, living or dead. Making false statements that are damaging to another person's reputation is not allowed. Insults, threats, and harassment are prohibited!

B. Don't be vulgar. There's no need to color every single post with assorted curses, or to include obscene images or links anywhere in your profile. A little well-placed profanity is okay, but let's keep it down to a minimum.

C. Be clear and concise. Do not type ALL IN CAPS, do not use 1337-5p33k, and do not type everything in long run on sentences with no breaks or punctuation because theyre very hard to follow along with and we all dont like them. :) :o ::) ??? :-[ :P ;D :D ;) If you have a problem with spelling, spell-check your posts.

D. Be careful where the law is concerned. Script kiddies, 1337 hax0rz, kewl bomb kidz, etc, begone. This isn't the Jolly Roger's cookbook, or a warez site. Take that kind of stuff somewhere else. Some of what we discuss here may be illegal in certain states, or countries. If you don't think you should be posting it, don't. If you don't know if you should be reading it, don't. You are always responsible for being aware of the laws in your area. This site has a right and a responsibility to defend free speech; we won't censor anyone unless we are forced to. In return, we ask that you defend the site by being aware of your own legal rights and responsibilities.

E. Follow these rules! This should go without saying, but a lot of people tend to respond negatively when they find themselves being corrected. If you have a problem with a rule, take it to the suggestion box, or contact an administrator privately. Do not back-talk or debate the intent of a rule in a thread that has nothing to do with discussing rules.

F. Let the moderators do their job. If you're not a moderator, you shouldn't be accusing new members of not having read the rules, or of not Googling properly. You certainly shouldn't be making people feel unwelcome by acting hostile. If there's a problem with a post, report it to a moderator, and let them handle it.

Part II: Posting

A. Stay on topic. When posting in a thread, look at two things. The subject, and the first post. Those two give you an idea of what is and what isn't okay in the thread. It's tempting to look at the most recent few posts and make a judgement call, but don't do it! If you need to go off-topic, create a whole new thread in the appropriate board. Under no circumstances, never ever, preface a post with "I know this is off-topic, but..." or end a post with "...and now, back on topic." This does not excuse you from the rules, but it does demonstrate that you're aware you're breaking them. Such posts will be deleted mercilessly.

B. Do your own research. If you intend to ask a question, please make sure it isn't already addressed in the archives, or on the wiki. Also, be sure to perform at least a cursory Google search. Remember, nobody wants to do your homework for you. Show some effort, and the community will repay you in kind.

C. Do not ask for step-by-step instructions, detailed plans, or complete schematics. If anyone wants to make them available, they will. Try Google or the HvWiki.

D. No trolling, no flaming, no spamming. Trolling, posting purely with the intent of starting an argument or flamewar, is forbidden. Habitual trollers, and users who decide to make one of their first ten posts a "trolling" post, will be removed from the board. Similarly, no flaming -- posting an angry response that doesn't accomplish anything. Spamming goes without saying; if you're here with purely commercial intent, go away. Note: You must have at least 15 posts in order to post something for sale in the Sale and Trade Board. Do not register for the sole purpose of selling something.

E. Make sure each post has a point. Unless you're in the chatting board, there's no need for a one-liner post that doesn't have any real content. Save the one-liners and offhanded comments for private messages.

F. Any images you include in your post must be less than 600 pixels wide. If the image is too large, link to it with a URL tag rather than actually embedding it with an IMG tag. If it's something you intend to attach to a post, the board will automatically resize it for you, and create a link to the full-size image. Offending images may be removed at any time -- if you post oversized images, don't be surprised or angry if you find all your images deleted.

G. Avoid double-posting (FYI: double posting is posting twice in a row in a thread, without allowing any replies in between). Double posting just to get a topic marked as new is a no-no. Every topic deserves a chance. If yours slips into obscurity, its chance came and went. If 48 hours have elapsed, and you have some new information to add, you may double post. This is the only exception, there are no other exceptions! Posting an identical or nearly identical question in two individual threads is also considered double posting.

H. Don't use the chatting board as a crutch. If your thread involves the topics covered by the more specific boards on the forum, don't post it in the chatting board to avoid having to follow certain rules. If you're posting it in the chatting board because you think it isn't 'good enough' for the other boards, maybe you should reconsider whether the thread needs to be started at all, or perhaps you should put a bit more work into it to make it 'good enough.'

I. Free energy, electrogravitics, and all other types of pseudoscience are not allowed on any part of this site, nor are links to sites that deal primarily with these subjects. If this is what you seek, you can google many, many other sites and forums that will accept such topics. Discussion of such topics will only be allowed if someone has undeniable, 100% solid proof that this isn't pseudoscience. If this is the case, we'd also like to hear about when and where you will be accepting your Nobel Prize.

Part III: Your Profile

A. Once you register, you should fill out your profile. Users who have not filled out their profile, and haven't been logged in for 30 days can be deleted at any time. Filling out your profile assures that you will remain a member, even if you plan on being away from the forum for a while.

B. Your email address must remain valid. If your email address stops functioning, you will be notified through the board's private message system. If your email address remains invalid for one week, you will be deleted.

C. Do not mess up the board's format with your profile. Personal images, or "avatars," should be no wider than 100 pixels at any time, preferably much less. Images in your signature line are discouraged, but permitted, provided they are small and do not disturb the formatting of the board. Signatures should also be no more than three lines tall, when viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution.

D. Signatures are not ad space, nor are they places to disperse political viewpoints! Signatures are for linking personal websites, or for short quotes that you'd like to share. Signatures should not be linking to current events, other threads, or non-personal websites outside the topics covered by these boards. Very small images, less than 100 pixels wide and less than 40 pixels tall, will be permitted, but are not recommended.

Part IV: General

A. No remote linking (or hot linking, or whatever you want to call it) of any of the files on this site without my permission! I have to pay for my bandwidth. Anything here is for use *here* only, even stuff in the attachments directory.

B. You are responsible for your own actions. The owners and moderators of this forum are in no way responsible for the content of posts, profiles, or any other information presented on this site. We simply do not have the resources to exercise complete control over this site's content during every minute of every day. Realize that you may find incorrect or incomplete information here. Any information you find here is presented as opinion, not fact. Always check your facts and figures, always understand what you're doing, and never even think of blaming this site or any of its members for your own mistakes.

C. These rules, as well as the terms and conditions for the site, may change. While we will attempt to notify everyone of any changes, you are ultimately responsible for periodically checking up on the rules, and the terms and conditions.