Alien-UFOs.com Network Forum Guidelines

This set of guidelines will tell you how you should use the forum, failure to read them may result in you being banned from the forum for doing something you didn't even know we had a guideline against. This forum is different to other forums and everyone from forum newbies to seasoned posters should read everything on this page. When warnings are mentioned in these guidelines they are referring to PMs from moderators or admins warning a user that they are breaking the rules, and warning of a possible or imminent ban for that user.

1. Getting along with others
1.1 Newbies
People with less than 25 posts will not yet be used to how the forum operates or who everyone is, they should be treated with care in order not to scare them off in their first week. If older members keep scaring off the new ones then eventually there will be nobody left to post. You should not belittle new members, their beliefs, their claims, their experiences or their posting style. Everyone has to start somewhere and if you aren't nice to them, they won't bother sticking around. Bear in mind that not everyone will find your jokes funny, so get to know new people well before being funny with them, it's a headache for mods to have to clean up the result of your joke being interpreted as an insult. If you have a problem with a new member then PM a moderator.
1.2 Group mentality
Over time people who post regularly sometimes get to know each other well and band in little groups. This is understandable and not a problem, but do not use this to 'gang' up against newbies or others who may have differing beliefs.
1.3.1 Experiencers
When posting in the Experiences Forum be reasonable, respectful and civilised. Try to make suggestions rather than telling people things, accept that there will be some skeptical and some more open minded points of view and do not insult the poster or anyone replying to the thread. Do not tell people to seek psychiatric advice, stop taking drugs, laugh or otherwise show disrespect.
1.3.2 Experiencers
Also note that this forum is strictly and quickly moderated so if you think it would be funny to post a ridiculous adult fantasy you should know that firstly, it isn't funny, and secondly, your post is unlikely to be read by anyone other than the moderator who deletes it and bans you.
1.4 Flaming
No flaming is tolerated whatsoever. If someone is trying to wind you up, or flaming you then PM a mod straight away and tell them. If you start arguing or exchanging insults with someone then it's possible that you might get the blame for the situation and land yourself a ban. In a particularly heated situation rather than lose it, it's advisable to use the Ignore Poster option and to remember the mods are there to help in situations like this, so use them.
1.5 Language Barriers
Not everyone speaks English as a first language and most of us don't hold a degree in the subject. People may post with bad grammar for a number of reasons but don't start having a go at them about it.
1.6 Being a Decent Human Being
This is obviously very important. The topics discussed here are sensitive and personal, so it requires the forum to be free of insults, insensitive people and those who look down on others. You must be caring with each other and not get into shouting matches, not grill people about things, not try to wear people down, not hound people, not mock people, not profile people, not intimidate people and so on. Imagine you are talking to a very large man with a huge gun and an exceptionally short temper – if you wouldn’t say it to him, then don’t say it on the forum.
1.7 Don’t get Angry
Accept that there will be those who disagree with you and criticise you, don’t get angry with them, just read what they have to say and only reply if you can keep a cool head and post something reasonable. If someone is getting to you then PM a mod.

2. Using the Forum
2.1How to Debate
Firstly, you do not need win to every argument. This forum is made up of very different people with very different beliefs, you will not be able to convert them all into thinking like you, if you try, you will be universally hated and very annoying. If someone thinks something and you think something else then by all means have a talk about it, but don’t keep pushing an issue until people get angry. Also, even if you are convinced that you are right and someone else is wrong, even if you can prove that, just let it drop if the other person isn’t willing to budge.
2.2 Proof
This is very important and quite unique to this forum. There are skeptical people on this forum and we thrive on a balance of skeptics and believers but for certain things that you don't believe in, you cannot keep demanding proof until someone submits to you. This forum has a large paranormal drive and by definition, paranormal things cannot be proved, so to ask for proof is ridiculous, annoying and will only make you look silly. The same thing goes for religion, it's not clever to go and hound religious people for proof of their God existing, you'll appear foolish and cause upsets and then you'll be hearing about warnings and bans from the mods.
2.3 Religion and Spirituality
Anything that is to do with religion and spirituality must be posted in the religion forum. Do not bring religion into other threads outside the religion forum, any threads that veer off in this kind of direction will be moved to the religion forum and those who were responsible will be warned. If you want to talk about religion in relation to another thread then just start a new thread about it in the religion forum, you can provide a link to the other thread if you wish. If you are going to start a thread that is about UFOs and Religion, or conspiracies and religion, then it still belongs in the religion forum. Religion ends up dominating all conversation if it is not confined strictly to it’s own forum.
2.4 Signatures
Signatures are limited to 100 characters in length and there are no smilies or images allowed. BBCode can be used to format text but you are not allowed to have a signature that spans more than 2 lines or uses a font size larger than 3..
2.5 Posting in the Right Place
Every forum has a description, read it and make sure you are posting in the right place.
2.6 How To Post
Give your threads a descriptive title, post in paragraphs to make it easier to read, use subheadings in long posts, don’t post everything you ever want to post in one go, write coherently so you can be understood and respected, etc.
2.7.1 Posting a Thread
Before posting a new thread, check first that there is not currently a similar thread that other people are posting in, if you make a thread which is very similar to another thread it will be deleted and if you do this many times you will get a warning.
2.7.2 Posting a Thread
Do not post the same thread in multiple places, also, if a thread gets moved, do not repost the same thread in the original location or post a similar thread in the original location. These practices are annoying for mods and you will be warned.
2.8 Bad Posts
If you see a post that is offensive, inappropriate, insulting, or breaking any of the guidelines on this page then you can click on the little red triangle in the top right corner of that post and that will allow you to report it to the moderating team. Every mod will get notified of the bad post and it will be dealt with as soon as possible. Please use this method of dealing with bad posts rather than replying to them and possibly making the situation worse, the more people report posts, the more enjoyable the forum is for all.
2.9 If You Have a Question
If you have a question, then first check that it hasn’t been answered on this page or in the ‘Using the Features of the Forum’ section below, then check that it hasn’t been answered in the feedback forum (search the forum for your question) and then if it isn’t private, post it in the feedback section of the forum. If it is private then PM a mod.
2.10.1 Dominating the Forum
If you have had a major experience or have a very strongly held, but far out belief then you are welcome to post a thread about it, report your experience, etc., but you are not permitted to constantly talk about it, mention it all over the forum, swing conversations towards it and generally just talk about it all the time. People who do this get annoying very quickly, even if they have no bad intentions.
2.10.2 Dominating the Forum
We keep a close eye on skeptics and make sure that they aren't constantly hounding the believers and so we must also regulate those with very fantastic beliefs and stories so the forum still seems to have a backbone of serious, analytical thought. If you are given a PM about this, make sure that you actually pay attention to it and stop making a lot of posts about your beliefs and experiences.
2.11 Chat
Do not spam the threads with post after post of chat. If you want to have a chat with another member, or a conversation turns into short 'instant message' type then you must continue using an IM program such as MSN Messenger, or chat via PM, or make a thread in the Alienated Coffee Shop to chat in. If people chat in the normal threads then the forum stops being a place of thoughtful discussion and becomes just another chat room. This is especially important in the on topic sections because it spoils the thread for others. People who break this guideline will get warnings and their posts deleted and if offenders persist they will be banned.
2.12 Drugs and Alcohol
Being drunk or on drugs is no excuse for breaking any of the rules of the forum or causing trouble. You will be treated no differently if you chose to come on the forum after drinking or taking drugs and if you're banned when drunk or on drugs, you will remain banned after you've sobered up.
2.13.1 PMs
Pms are for personal use between members and are not be used for general promotion or selling. What pm buddies use pms for between themselves is their private business. However, do not send pms by going through the members lists or through the threads looking for active members who are not your regular pm buddies and send them links to your site or to other sites or for any goods which can be purchased. The pm system cannot be used to send abusive pms to people just because you dislike their posts. Nor can you use pms to tell others what you think they can or cannot post or offer private councilling services.
2.13.2 PMs
Members only have a limited amount of pms they can receive and store and if anyone and everyone can come in and post whatever they like through the pm system, people will soon find their pm boxes full of unwanted mail and sometimes with no room left to accept a pm from one of their pm buddies. If we get complaints from members who have received unwanted pms as outlined above you will be banned.
2.14 Posting Links
Do not spam the forum with links. You are allowed to post your personal link in the 'Links to Click' forum once, you are not allowed to post it in threads elsewhere or use PMs as outlined above in 2.13 PMs. If you post your link more than once, all of your promotion posts will be deleted and you will be banned. You may have links in your signature.

3. Bannable Offences
3.1 Note that bans can be handed out without any warning, some will be for 24 or 48 hours, others for a week and many permanent.
3.2 You will get a ban (or a final warning before a ban) if you do the following:
- Troll the forum. A troll covers a number of things: insulting people, posting rubbish, posting inappropriate material and anything that generally disrupts the forum and causes extra work for the moderators.
- Be a zealot. The religion forum is for religion and you can talk about it all you like in there but if you start diverting threads repeatedly in other forums towards religion or start posting about it other than in the religion forum then you will be hearing from the moderators.
- Post anything racist, illegal, hateful or upsetting.
- Constantly get on the back of others about why you are right and they are wrong, demanding proof of unprovable things, being a self important snob who sees themselves as superior because of their 'correct' beliefs and views, etc.
- Do not conform to any of the guidelines on this page, they are all necessary and bans will be given out to those who break the guidelines.

If you have anything to say or ask about these guidelines or if you want to know something like why a post has been deleted or moved, then post here: http://alien-ufos.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=8 or PM a moderator. Do not post questions relating the the running of the forum anywhere else.

4. Other Frequently Asked Questions (not essential reading)
4.1 Stars
You'll notice that people have things like: "1 Star Member", "2 Star Member" and such under their names. This is done simply on post count, and you get your first star when you've made 25 posts. You get further stars at the following post counts: 75, 200, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000. If you wish to quickly increase you post count, do not just post needlessly around the forum, but rather take part in the Pointless Games section, this will quickly get your total up without annoying anyone or breaking any rules. Other ranks include: Forum Elders (people who at some stage were a mod) Super Moderators (the team of people who look after day-to-day running of the forum and help out members) and Administrators (similar to a Super Moderator but involved also in the technical side of things).

4.2 New Posts/Today's Posts
On the menu near the top of the page you'll see two buttons, one says New Posts and the other says Today's Posts. The new posts button will take you to a page showing all the threads that would appear in bold text in the forum (i.e. the threads that have had new post since you last read them). The system for working out which threads you've read and which you haven't is a bit dodgy because it tries to figure out which threads you've decided not to read but it generally ends up getting it wrong and then you end up with nothing on your new posts page. For this reason, the Today's Posts page is included which will take you to a page showing all the threads that have been posted in during the past 24 hours whether you've read them or not, this page will be useful if something goes wrong with the New Posts page.