02 April 2013
Corona Forum Rules and Guidelines
“With great power there must also come… great responsibility!” —Stan Lee
Last month we upgraded our forums. The new software has many new features and abilities that our old forums did not. This is a great thing, but in rare cases it leads to abuse of accepted online etiquette.
Forum rules are written with the hope that moderators will never have to enforce them. The problem is that forum rules are usually not all that visible and it’s easy to forget them. So, we are posting them here as a reminder.
Without further delay, here are Corona Labs’ official forum rules:
1. Be polite!
Posts may not include personal attacks or links to offensive or illegal material. Remember that we have members in various age groups, so keep things professional. Instead of posting an attack, post something positive that contributes to the conversation.
2. Post only once
Duplicate posts may be considered spam and are subject to removal. On rare occasions, the forum software will “hiccup” and double-post, but in regards to intentional multiple posts, this practice is frowned upon.
3. Post to the appropriate sub-forum
Posting in the correct place makes your post easier to find and more valuable for the community. Moderators may use discretion and move your posts if they are clearly in the wrong sub-forum.
4. Use clear topic titles
Use “Help with collision detection” rather than “Help me!” or “Big Problem!”. The clearer the topic title, the more likely you are to get assistance from the community and begin a productive discussion.
5. Do not “hijack” threads
When your post takes the thread off-topic from the original question, it’s rude to the person who originally posted. In this case, it’s better to ask your question in a new thread.
6. Do not expect an immediate response
This is a community forum and the members — both Corona developers and Corona staff — get to your posts when they are able to. Posting twice or duplicating posts in other forums (see #2 above) is actually counter-productive and is not likely to bring about a resolution faster.
7. No profanity
We will not tolerate profanity or inappropriate words. Our new forum software supports the automatic replacement of inappropriate words using a pre-specified word list. This default list can be very aggressive and it may include words that are not appropriate in all contexts. If you find a censored word that you don’t believe should be censored, simply contact Corona Labs and we will review the situation.
8. No trolling
As a rule, we don’t want to censor your posts when you’re expressing an opinion, except in the case of specific points listed above. As long as you are civil, professional, and make valid points, we will not remove posts. However, if you are posting solely for the sake of being disruptive, we reserve the right to remove posts and/or block accounts. Likewise, for the sake of basic openness, general transparency, and safety of the community, user accounts and posts originating from anonymous accounts, including those behind anonymity services, are liable to be blocked and all posts removed.
9. Use code tags
Please surround code using standard BBCode tags for entering code. The new forum software uses square brackets, not HTML-style <>…</> tags or click on the Code editor button in the editor’s button bar. It’s the blue <> button (see the diagram).
10. Post in English, or use one of the language-specific forums
We encourage developers across the world to use Corona and participate in the forums, and we’ll do our best to accommodate those who don’t speak English natively. However, if you’re posting in the “main” forums, you will get better results if you post in English, even if it’s not grammatically perfect.
11. Use readable language and please don’t “shout”
Please do not use “text speak” or ALL CAPS. All CAPS is considered “shouting” and is not polite. Shouting may result in posts being hidden or removed.
12. Avoid large fonts and crazy colors
If you use a very large font, you are effectively shouting. If you make your text all yellow and orange, it will be difficult to read. We want to keep the forums pleasant and readable, so outrageous formatting will not be tolerated. However, for the time being, we will allow basic formatting because moderate, sensible use can enhance posts.
13. Please limit “bumping”
Bumping of older posts should be kept to a minimum. A general guideline is to wait a couple days, or longer over weekends and holidays. There is no guarantee how quickly posts will be answered in the forums. Sometimes it takes longer for someone with specific knowledge of your issue to see the post and respond.
14. No signatures
We have removed the ability to automatically include signatures below your posts. We find that they usually clutter up the forums, and they can be used for unrelated marketing purposes. We’d rather people just sign with their name.
15. No advertising or spam
This is not an advertising platform for other services, with two notable exceptions:
- You can use the Corona Marketplace forums to promote things that are legitimately related to Corona and mobile development, for example third-party services, templates, libraries, contractor searches, development partnerships, etc.
- You can post about recently released or soon-to-be-released Corona made apps in the New Apps / Works In Progress forum.
Otherwise, spam will not be tolerated, and any account that posts spam will be promptly blocked and all posts removed.
16. Avoid private messages to Corona staff
Please avoid sending private messages to the staff. Instead, please ask your question in the appropriate forum. While we appreciate you reaching out to us, you’ll get better responses by posting for the entire community to see. If you need urgent technical assistance or customer support regarding your account, please use the contact form.
17. Avoid posts that are not useful to Corona Labs’ developers
Our forums are intended for discussion that’s beneficial to Corona developers. Excessive off-topic posts or posts promoting competing platforms may be grounds for post removal or banning from the forums.
18. Miscellaneous
By posting in a thread, you understand that you may be subscribed to the topic and receive email notifications when updates occur. Similarly, by posting in the forum, you agree that you have read and understand all of the rules outlined above.
This summarizes the rules for the Corona Labs forums. Posts that do not adhere to the above guidelines may be edited or removed. Repeated violations of the rules may results in your suspension or expulsion from the forum.
Please note that the views expressed by forum members, moderators, or administrators are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Corona Labs Inc.
Finally, we want to be flexible to the needs of the Corona community. These rules are subject to change. If they do change, we’ll try our best to clarify what changed and why. Our goal is to provide a welcoming space where the Corona community can learn, ask for help, and engage in useful, constructive discussions about app development and related issues.
J. A. Whye
Posted at 14:52h, 02 AprilBoo on #13 — while sigs can be abused, so can regular posts. Several times I’ve read a post by someone and liked it so much I clicked their sig link to see what else they were up to.
Instead of doing away with sigs completely, why not just just restrict them? Something like, “No images, 4 lines maximum, any links must go to your own site…” Things like that.
That allows blogs and such to be linked, but people can’t go all crazy. 🙂
Jay
Brent Sorrentino
Posted at 15:13h, 02 AprilHi Jay,
Let’s see how this works itself out. If we get a fair amount of input that signatures are desired, we may re-allow them with some practical limitations. Thanks for the input. 🙂
Brent
Graham Ranson
Posted at 15:22h, 02 AprilI would like to also +1 to bringing back signatures but with limitations. I wouldn’t say links should only point to your own site though for the simple reason of being able to directly link to apps on the stores.
J. A. Whye
Posted at 17:42h, 02 AprilOh yeah, that’s a decent reason to allow “other” links. 🙂
Jay
Larry Meadows
Posted at 18:04h, 02 AprilAlso you want signatures, because companies / prospect employers / clients like to see you have an online knowledge of many things.
This was actually brought up to me in some recent interviews.
Just my two cents.
Larry
Larry Meadows
Posted at 18:05h, 02 AprilOh – yeah I am a color offender 🙁 🙁
My Bad…
Larry Meadows
Posted at 18:06h, 02 Apriloops let me set that straight..
11. Avoid large fonts and crazy colors
E Johnson
Posted at 02:44h, 06 AprilAs a regular forum reader and occasional contributor, may I make a simple modest proposal of limiting your forum message box to, say, 300-letter size, as the New York Times in their email message box?
Such limit is how Twitter got started and succeeded because it realized the importance of succinct messages, that require writers to deliberate their points and thoughts before sending. Currently forum contributors regularly blab on and on, which could have often been said better in shorter sentences and to the point.
Sorry my post has balooned to 600 letters but within 100 words.