First and foremost please keep in mind that this is a moderated forum. There are plenty of places on the Internet where you can pretty much do and say whatever you want. This is not one of them.
The metaphor that I would like to use is that of a party. James, the founder of Soft, is throwing a party and you are welcome to join, as long as you are a polite guest. The forum Moderators are the doormen or helpers. We work here for Soft and we enforce the house rules. There is nothing personal about what we do. If you are a good guest then you will have the opportunity to converse with not only many other people with similar interests and varying degrees of skill, experience, and knowledge, but also more than a dozen top professional musicians who stop by on a regular basis. If, on the other hand, you show us that you cannot follow the rules or behave in a polite fashion, then you will be shown to the door. There might or there might not be temporary bans, and there is no further discussion.
And now, on to the rules
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE POSTING
1) ABSOLUTE RESPECT AND ZERO TOLERANCE.
There is no trolling or flaming or insulting of others allowed. Do not make comments that are sexist, racist, pejorative, obscene, inflammatory, spiteful, abusive, threatening, or in any way insulting or disrespectful to any individual or group of people. Do not allow disagreements to become personal. Attacking or insulting another forum member rather than disagreeing with their point of view will not be tolerated. If you have a chip on your shoulder or an axe to grind, this is not the place for you.
If you are a regularly contributing member here, try to help those who are new. Mocking or otherwise disrespecting a “newbie” is much less welcome than an innocent mistake by someone who might not know better.
Each & everyone here is different and unique and valuable. if you disagree with someone else's opinion, show your intelligence by arguing your case wisely and respectfully. Any fighting will be monitored and then moderated. Repeat offenders will be warned and then may be banned from the forum.
2) BALANCE AND VALUE. ( Common Internet Etiquette )
Please think carefully before making a new thread. Read through existing threads in case one exists already with similar subject matter, use the SEARCH Function. Too many threads actually can ruin a forum. Moderators may delete obvious repeats if the problem persists. Also consider which forum your thread belongs to. Try to only post a thread in the 'General discussion at Kopi-Tiam' forum if it really doesn't fit anywhere else. Please give clear titles to your threads too. Vague mis-leading titles are really annoying and may be modified.
Furthermore try not to just increase your post-count by posting useless, frivolous posts (for example 'I agree' or 'lol, you da man') . Some short posts will be tolerated particularly from members with a history of quality contribution and if they are in line with the flow of the conversation. this will be at the Admin's discretion.
Do not “bump” a thread to bring it back to the top of the page. Do not create multiple accounts. Do not quote posts that are in obvious violation of the rules and therefore likely to be deleted. Do not use large fonts and annoying colors (unless with specifically good reasons) , and please, don’t use too many animated “smilies.” when posting.
If you see a post that breaks the rules, please click on the “Report Post” icon within that post; this will report the post to the Moderators. Spammers will be immediately banned.
3)NO TROLLING
What is a troll? It's a person who posts something which is bound to stir people up and then sits back and watches as dozens of people jump in and start arguing. Sometimes trolls get their friends to join in or post under different names. Generally they will do anything it takes to get attention. If you see a message like this, please try and refrain from replying to it - it may well be locked/deleted anyway.
Trolling is further considered one of two things. Either continual running a topic into the ground incessantly, or dragging up old arguments against a specific user/group/ect. long after they're appropriate discussion and targeting them specifically in arguments needlessly. Trolling is the first step towards outright harassment of other members. This is the single biggest no-no in the community. Letting every argument drop isn't always a possibility, but learning when to let things go is a valuable tool, and not just in this community.
4)DO NOT FLAME
Flaming, in the most common sense definition, is saying something negative in an attempt to get a more negative response. This is completely and totally unacceptable. It will not be tolerated, and in most cases will be punished severely. Never resort to personal insults, never extend a debate beyond the topic on hand needlessly, and try to avoid patronizing language.
CLEAN
Remember all ages (as young as five years old) and all beliefs will use this Soft’s forum. Try to keep language and subject matter as clean as possible. If I have to describe what this means to you then you probably don't belong here.
6) WARNING: - Religion, Racial Discrimination, Political Issues - Not Allowed To be Discussed Here At Soft
Discussion pertaining to/on Very Sensitive Issues as in - " Religion, Racial Discrimination, and Politics, especially " are not permitted at Soft......and worst case scenario, can lead to an immediate Banning from this forum at the discretion of the Admin here
Section 298 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, anyone with deliberate intention of wounding the religious or racial feelings of any person, causes any matter however represented to be seen or heard by that person, can be jailed up to three years, or fine, or both, if convicted as stated
7) BUY / SELL SECTION AT SOFT
Please note that this particular section is for your personal ads only. If you are trading commercially, please do contact James (Soft) for advertising opportunity directly ...Thank You for your kindest cooperation.
Do Not Sell /Ask For Fake Items Here - No Exceptions Given - Immediate Banning.
8) DO NOT ABUSE THE USE OF THE - " QUOTE" BUTTON IN REPLYING POST
Please Do Not abuse the Quote button, whenever you are replying in the forum. Use it only when you are referring to a point that another user made, DO NOT quote the entire whole paragraph wholesale
when in doubt, always use the Post Reply button!
9) EVERY INDIVIDUAL FORUMER IS ALLOWED TO USE ONLY ONE-NICK WITHIN SOFT
Each and every individual Forumer here is allowed to use only one nick within Soft Forum. Forumers using more than one-nick (eg 2 or 3 Nicks) will either have the other nicks being deleted/banned or all their Nicks being Banned by the Forum Administrator.
10) APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE
Do not post words or images that are sexually or violently graphic in nature, do not discuss drug use or any illegal activities, and do not post links to such images or discussions. If you choose a user name, avatar, or signature that violates any of these rules it will be deleted, and if we deem it appropriate you will be banned with no warning other than what you are reading here.
This forum is visited by all kinds of people: pro musicians who have been in the business for decades, 10-year-old kids, moms and dads looking for help purchasing their child's first kit, teachers, amateurs, hobbyists, and hard working musicians who post here only when they aren't practicing or gigging. Communicate your thoughts in a way that is helpful and respectful without embarrassing anyone, including yourself. Don't use insulting or crude slang words, even if it is language that you use commonly with your peers. Try not to substitute asterisks or other symbols for letters in words when it is obvious what you are actually saying. Try to keep language and subject matter as clean as possible. If you cannot express yourself without mentioning body parts, excretory functions, or reproductive behavior, we ask that you practice your conversational skills elsewhere before utilizing them here.
If it seems that you have made an honest mistake in judgment, your post will be edited or deleted and a Personal Message (PM) from a Moderator will be sent to you. Please do not respond by defending your words or arguing.
11) YOU ARE A GUEST
You did not pay to be here. So please remember the following:
James maintains this Soft’s website/forum, and the Moderators have complete say over what transpires on the forum., don't argue with them, don't question their actions. If they decide to delete something or censor something, don't e-mail or question them, it's their decision and perogative (and rights here). They are not paid to do the job. They like coming here too and also want to post on the forum….so be sensible everyone.
Just remember that sometimes what you perceive is a narrow part of a greater story. Moderators are privy to a lot of information that you may not know. if we had to explain everything we do to you then it would be an impossible job for us. Try to understand that our team reads the forum very widely and does communicates with each other through PMs too.
But... most of all we want you to have fun, sharing and learning from people who share this ancient music passion here at Soft.
