Joining the MR2OCNZ Forum is easy. Unless you have been a past abuser of the Forum, it is simply a matter of registering and signing-up.
Familiarize yourself with the forum before doing any posting. Read the rules - and abide by them. Good Manners are important.
The major purpose of a forum is sharing knowledge. Do not provide answers to public posted questions privately (by email or PM to a poster) unless specifically asked to. This denies the answer, and perhaps more importantly, the development of the answer to other members. It can also be rude to link without explanation to other forums in your answer or in your signature as it can confuse people as to where they have posted their questions. The information is easily posted to the forum, rather than directing others to a completely different website to read one post.
Many forums have a range of emoticons or Avatars for the use of their members. This eliminates the need for capitalization to make a point. A message that is delivered in capitals is considered "shouting" or "flaming" on the internet and is considered rude.
I think it is also good manners to attempt to puncuate propery and use appropriate capital letters.
While your post to the forum is available to the group as a whole, you should generally use the name of the person to whose comment you are responding for two reasons.
1) It makes a better impression and helps the poster feel involved.
2) It focuses you on the fact that there is a real person on the other end of your message. Too often, we feel anonymous on the internet and respond in ways that we would not respond person to person. If anything, we need to be kinder on the Internet. It is fast paced. We tend to forget that once it is written - it is always there.
Do not clog the forum with repetition, subjects that are not pertinent, long personal anecdotes, or inappropriate language.
Many forums call for critiques from members on a particular project. This is a wonderful learning tool if handled properly. Remember, this is a learning process. If criticism is too harsh, someone may be dissuaded from presenting his or her project for criticism. If criticism is not honest, no one will learn. Both extremes defeat the purpose of the forum.
If you are being critiqued: Do not take criticism personally. Evaluate it and decide if you can use it. If you can't, then put it totally out of your mind.
If you are critiquing, unless you can offer an improvement or substitution that you feel would benefit the project, do not comment. (Others will.) Never comment on a subject outside of the forum. (example: if the forum deals with website coding, do not comment on the content or the graphics of a website.)
Do not, at any time, post something on a forum that would be embarrassing or personal in nature.
�Give back� to your new community and practice making it look easy.
If you are a club official there are extra concerns. As it is difficult to know your internet audience in a forum - and in the interest of appearing professional - this is one place where humor is best avoided or 'gentled'.
Most of all, enjoy meeting new people on the net who have the same interests that you do. After all, they will love meeting you � you are SO polite!!
Below are some Typical Forum Rules and Guidelines (from http://www.n-etiquette.com ):
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Typical Forum Rules and Guidelines
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All Rules are open to different interpretations. The moderators of a Forum should have the final decision as to what constitutes an infringement of the rules as well as the responsibility to remove, edit, move or close those posts that they see as being harmful to a forum.
All members of a forum should have the right to contact the moderators privately if there is a need to further explain a position or a post.
ADVERTISING
The purpose of a Forum is a free and open exchange of ideas. It is understood that there are times when the idea itself requires that a product be mentioned, critiqued or evaluated.
There are also times when the recommendation of a product is the answer to a posted problem.
Blatant advertising on a Forum, however, is rude. Such postings should be removed or moved to the Classified section.
The definition of 'Blatant Advertising' is generally at the discretion of the moderators of a Forum.
APPROPRIATE TOPICS
Cross-posting (i.e. post the same message in more than one forum board) is rude. Choose the forum topic that is closest to your post, and place it there only. If you should create a post in one forum, and later realize it would be more appropriate in another forum, please delete the original before posting it again.
FLAMING & ABUSE
Please, no messages that harass, insult, belittle, or threaten another member.
LANGUAGE
Offensive words and / or graphics should not be tolerated.
Special Notes:
Sig (signature) lines should be subject to all the rules and guidelines that a post is - including links.