Please respect these rules and the members of Hoffman Estates Airsoft Team.
We have to pay for our website and we expect all users to act maturely.
We will remove any posts that don't follow our rules.
H.E.A.T. follows the same list created by CPG Dragonfly CMS with a few modifications.

1.  Forum rules

1. Posts are to be made in the relevant forum. Users are asked to read the forum descriptions before posting. Users consistently posting to the wrong forum may be given a warning (see policing below).


2. Members should post in a way that is respectful of other users. Flaming or abusing users in any way will not be tolerated and will lead to a warning.


3. Members are asked to not act as "back seat moderators". If members note an issue which contravenes something in this policy document they are welcome to bring it to the attention of a member of the Moderators Team. Only do this if a moderator team member has not replied within 6 hours. Members who consistently "act" as moderators may be warned.


4. Members should remember this board is aimed at a general audience. Posting profanity, pornographic or generally offensive text, images, links, etc. will not be tolerated and will lead to a warning.


5. Members are asked to respect the copyright of other users, sites, media, etc. Users linking to or asking for information on warez, crackz, etc. or re-printing material without permission will receive a warning and their post will be removed.


6. Members should post in a way which is consistent with "normal writing". That is users should not post excessive numbers of emoticons, large, small or colored text, etc. Similarly users should not SHOUT or use excessive punctuation (e.g. ! and ?) in topic titles or posts. There is no reason to change the font size of a post.  Do not make posts consisting of only a few words. Do not use internet slang or instant message talk (lol, ttyl, jk) either. Users abusing this will be warned.


7. Members should use an appropriate and descriptive title when posting a new topic.
   Examples of bad titles include: "Help me!", "I'm stuck!", etc.
   Spam is not tolerated here under any circumstance. This includes offering hosting services (charged and free), installation services, etc. Users posting spam will be banned and their post removed.


8. The moderators and HEAT members reserve the right to edit or remove any post at any time. The determination of what is construed as indecent, vulgar, spam, etc. as noted in these points is up to them and not the users.


9. The above forum rules where applicable also apply to private messaging. Abuse of the private messaging system may lead to warnings (as above) and/or the revocation of private messaging.


10. Speak from experience. Information you've read on the internet isn't always true so try a product for yourself before you say anything about it.


11. Introduce yourself in our New Players forum before you start creating new topics. This is a private forum and we would like to know who you are (as mentioned in the introduction)


12. Members should not make double-posts. Wait for a user to respond to your post. Once again, this is not an instant messaging program so don't make two or more consecutive posts


13. Search First! Always search our website before you create a new topic or ask a question. Chances are, you will find your answer much faster by searching our website or by searching Google. If a moderator notices that you did not follow this rule, you will be given a warning.


14. Members should avoid necro-posting -- posting in topics that have not been replied to in over two months. Violators may be issued a warning.


15. No advertising of any kind is permitted on our website. Since this is a team website (as opposed to a public forum), we don't allow users to try and steer people away from our own team. We pay to have traffic and search queries brought to our website, not yours. Other advertisements may also be removed and a warning will be issued.

 

2.  Signatures

1. Signatures may contain up to five lines of text or one image. Images should be no larger than 100px in height and 600px in width.


2. Text in signatures is subject to the same conditions as posts with respect decency, emoticons, etc.


3. Animations aren't allowed in any way like: marquee, flash and images.


4. Users abusing these rules will be warned.
    

3.  Avatars

1. User defined avatars are to be no larger than 150 pixels square, contain no animation, contain no image which attempts to portray the user as having an official status here (e.g. mimicking ranks or copying avatars of team members), may not exceed 80KB in filesize.


2. Avatars are subject to the same conditions as posts with respect decency, etc.


3. Users abusing these rules will be warned and/or may lose their avatar privileges.
    

4.  Policing

1. HEAT operates a three strike policy. Users will be warned a maximum of three times for any and all offences in a six month period. If the need arises for a fourth warning a ban will be put in place.


2. Arguing with team members after having received a warning will lead to an immediate additional warning.


3. An exception to the three strike rule applies when users contact team members personally (via any method) and post insulting, indecent or vulgar material. Such users may be subject to an immediate permanent ban.