This board, and the internet for that matter, continues to grow and develop. Over time some rules of 'netiquette' (internet etiquette) have emerged; however, there are still areas where the rules and guidelines are vague at best.

In order to help our members who may not be familiar with these, we decided to post some guidelines that apply to message boards. Our purpose here is not to dictate to our members what to say or how to write a post, but rather to offer pointers that will help us be respectful of one another and make the board enjoyable for everyone.

So, without further ado, in addition to the rules outlined in the Terms of Service, we recommend the following 'Netiquette' guidelines:


NETIQUETTE GUIDELINES

1. Avoid using all caps when typing your posts. On the Internet, all caps has come to signify yelling, screaming, or anger.

2. Limit the number of images and emoticons to about five (5) in a single post. Remember that images can take a while to load. Keep the images/emoticons down. Five is a ballpark number and not a hard-and-fast limit, but the idea is not to go overboard.

3. Follow the posted guidelines for sizing signature images and avatars. This also helps those with dial-up load the page more easily.

4. Post in the appropriate forums and threads. We encourage good discussion, but before starting a new topic, it is a good idea to check the board to see if there is already an existing thread about your topic. The admin or mods reserve the right to merge threads when duplicates appear to keep it easy to find things.

5. Stay on topic when posting in a thread. While threads can easily stray off topic, if you find there are many posts about another topic than the one the thread is initially about, start a new thread for the other topic. It's disappointing for a thread starter to see that his/her subject is not getting discussed in the thread he/she made for it, and frustrating for people who may be interested in the thread topic, but not the off-topic comments. The admin or mods reserve the right to move posts that are not on-topic into more appropriate threads.

6. Stick to facts when discussing a topic. As we said earlier, we want to encourage discussion - after all, that's what the board is all about. There are times when a topic is pure rumor, speculation, or opinion, and that is fine. However, you want to be clear so that you do not misrepresent rumor, speculation, or opinion as fact. Regarding the more scandalous, unsavory, unsubstantiated gossip: it doesn't need to be on the board at all.

7. Choose your user name carefully so as not to be confused with a famous person or someone connected the band. Even if it's a joke, it can be unintentionally misleading.

8. Be respectful of the band and individual band members. Since this is a message board for fans, you will not get a lot of sympathy here if you post solely for the purpose of trashing the band or one of its members. We are by no means saying that you can't criticize the band or any of the individual band members. Sometimes they are worthy of criticism. But again, follow the basic rules of common courtesy and respect when doing so. For example, even if you don't like a particular band (or former or supporting) member, be respectful of the band member and his fans when stating your opinion. Conversely, if you happen to love only one of the guys, be aware that not everyone may share your view. For those who join up simply to say that they hate the Eagles... go spend your time more productively elsewhere.

9. Do not "hotlink" to photos on other sites. Hotlinking is when you post a photo using a link from someone's site rather than from your own image hosting account like Photobucket. Sites like Photobucket are free and fairly easy to use (PM me if you have questions). When you want to post a photo, upload it to the image hosting site first, then post the URL from that site. Posting the URLs from other fansites or official sites taxes their bandwidth, which isn't really fair to them because they have to pay for that. The exception to this is that you can "hotlink" to any of the images on EaglesOnlineCentral.com or one of its sister sites on this board because it's part of the site.

10. Do not "flood" the board. Flooding is when users post numerous chatty messages that drown out the regular conversations. Please don't post unnecessary banter just to chat back and forth with a small number of posters. A message board is not a chat room. Do not clog the message board with multiple one-word posts or back-and-forth replies. Use the chatroom, private messaging, or e-mail for these types of exchanges. If you find yourself replying to the same person or couple of people again and again, back and forth, multiple times a day... even if you feel it's a relevant comment... you're flooding the board. This is also true if you see that pretty much every other post on the page is by you, or you're replying to almost every individual post. Give other people a chance to get a word in.

11. Be careful about sexual posts. The guys are hot, sexy, and gorgeous - it's the truth! Ladies, feel free to post about your admiration of them. However, please do not describe performing sex acts upon them or vice versa - some posters are minors. This includes strongly implying the performance of sex acts even if you don't get into graphic detail. I hate to be a spoilsport but I'm just trying to think about what would make the board enjoyable for everybody. If you wouldn't want your 13-year-old kid to read it, then tone it down.

12. Use the ignore feature if someone is angering or annoying you. If you ever find that a certain poster is interfering with your enjoyment of the board, put them on "ignore" and you never have to read another of their posts again. This can be reversed if you change your mind.