# General forum rules - advice help and conduct



## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

*Advice for use of the forum - General help, rules and conduct.*

The TT forum is for help and entertainment of all, with an archive covering years of useful information going back to the start of the Audi TT. To keep it intact and a friendly place and to comply with legal requirements there are a few rules and guidelines which everyone should bear in mind.

All the forums are categorised by appropriate subject e.g. MK1, Mk2, Site support etc. Please post your questions or messages in the appropriate forum. For new members unfamiliar with the sections the moderators may helpfully move your post into the correct section where you are more likely to receive a reply. The "view your posts" link (top right) will find a relocated post and you will receive email notification of any reply with a link to it. Some sub forums have extra specific rules and guidance at the top in pink text.

Answers to many questions you may have can be found in the FAQ sections or other posts on the message boards. Please use the search functions to find answers to avoid duplication. If you still cant find an answer, feel free to post your question.

Please only post once about a subject and do not "bump" a thread back up the rankings by adding extra posts to your thread. Only post on an existing thread if relevant to the subject of the thread. New subjects should be started with a new thread.

*Hosting of images:*

Everyone likes pictures and there's nothing worse than when photographs disappear from a useful post. Please upload your photographs to the forum directly rather than use third party hosting. We have seen hosting sites come and go, change their terms or blur or disable images to extract payment from clients with the result that vital photographs are lost. Let's keep photographs safely stored on the forum and available to members. Use the "Upload attachment" tab below the edit screen when you post.

*Obscenity and bad language:*

Any posted images considered to be obscene or pornographic will be removed and may lead to suspension. There will be no use of profanity on our message boards apart from in the members only "Flame room" which was specifically set up for this purpose to get things off your chest. The use of profanity elsewhere will not be tolerated and can lead to immediate suspension. Using # @ * $ etc to substitute the odd letter does not make a profane word illegible - it will still be read as such and cause offence. Our boards are on public view for the enjoyment of all ages and we don't want to discourage viewers. Many people also view at the workplace and we don't want to trigger any automatic bans.

*Trolling, baiting, bullying etc:*

There will be no posts meant to offend or distress any other member in a manner which is offensive or inflammatory. This includes "flaming", "trolling", baiting or instigating off topic arguments. Personal insults, attacks, derogatory comments and bullying are not allowed. If you disagree with someone, stick to the argument i.e. subject of the thread. Discussion of topics is what the forum is all about. Off topic comments may be removed by moderators to keep a thread on topic and especially if the comments break or encourage breaking of the rules.

*Hate speech and discrimination of race, religious or sexual orientation:*

Any overt racism, or group discrimination that causes harassment, alarm or distress is not permitted by law (see references below). Posting of such material not only exposes members to legal action but also exposes the forum to prosecution. It is strictly forbiden and persistant offenders will have their account suspended.

*Crime, fraud and general illegality:*

Anyone using the forum to commit fraud or encourage crime is liable to have their account suspended. Not only do we have a responsibility to protect other members but the site has to comply with the law and not be seen to promote or encourage illegality. We have a fraud compensation fund for members' benefit should anyone be subject to fraud explained *here*.

Note: If you observe someone breaking a rule or behaving in a questionable fashion, do not try to deal with it yourself. Alert a forum moderator or administrator by clicking "Report this post" button next to the post or contact staff via the PM system, providing links to the post and an explanation, quotes etc. Note: The PM (private message) system is temporarily disabled for new members - see *here* . Please comply with moderation directions. They are made to ensure the smooth running of the forum. Non compliance, persistant rule breaking or behaviour deemed liable to bring the site into disrepute may result in account suspension.

*Sensitive, personal and compromising information:*

Don't post any sensitive or personal information you are not happy for the whole world to know for all time. Moderators may remove obvious personal information such as phone numbers, email and postal addresses to protect your privacy. Be aware that photographs you take and post may have embeded GPS location information pinpointing your house, car, garage etc which can be extracted. See *here* . Information you post in one place may link to another and aid identity theft. Be aware that anyone can view the forum including thieves, police, insurance companies etc. Details of car modifications, accidents or other activities publically disclosed may have legal implications. Please be aware that requests to remove compromising posts that may later become evidence in a crime, fraud or claim could legally compromise the forum and staff so may not be complied with.

*Privacy and GDPR:*

The forum is subject to laws of privacy and data protection such as the GDPR. We will not disclose your personal information to others without your consent. Neither can we disclose one member's data to another such as email or car registration (which we don't have anyway) unless that member has given or subsequently gives permission for us to do so following request.

*Spam:*

Posting of unauthorised commercial adverts or links for commercial gain is not permitted. Spammers will have their posts removed. If a post that is otherwise appropriate but includes links considered to be spam, those links will be removed. Persistant or obvious spammers will have their account immediately closed and posts deleted. If you wish to advertise commercially please contact a moderator or administrator. We have advertisers and site sponsors with their own sub forums in which they can advertise. They also are allowed to reply to members posts with product suggestions but are not allowed to start advertising threads unless in their own sub forum or the group buy section so the forum does not become over-commercialised in member's interests. If you see a new post advetising products or services which is not posted by one of our sponsors it's likely to be spam. Please report it *here*

*Copyright:*

The posting of any third party copyrighted material on our web site without legal authority is strictly prohibited. As explained in the terms you signed up to on joining *here* , you own copyright of your own material but by posting here grant the TT forum joint copyright. This is to protect the TT forum as a public archive for the benefit of its users. This means that the forum can retain all posts and useful content contributed even when a member decides to leave the forum. As a rule we do not delete accounts as the disapperance of posts leaves holes in threads and damages the forum from loss of content. We can anonymise accounts and remove personal information but subject to public archive exemptions in compliance with GDPR.

*REFERENCES*

Trolling:
In internet slang, a troll is a person who starts quarrels or upsets people on the Internet to distract and sow discord by posting inflammatory and digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses and normalizing tangential discussion, whether for the troll's amusement or a specific gain.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

Cyberbullying:
Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberbullying

Hate speech:
Communications of animosity or disparagement of an individual or a group on account of a group characteristic such as race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, or sexual orientation.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech

*LAW:*

Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to send a message by means of a public electronic communications network which is grossly offensive, or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.

Section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986 (POA) make it an offence for a person to use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, another person harassment, alarm or distress.

In 2006 the Racial and Religious Hatred Act amended the POA to make it an offence punishable by up to seven years imprisonment, to use threatening words or behaviour intended to stir up religious hatred

In 2008 the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act amended the POA to add an offence of using threatening words or behaviour intended to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The Terrorism Act 2006 criminalises 'encouragement of terrorism' which includes making statements that glorify terrorist acts, punishable by up to seven years imprisonment. It is an offence even if the person or group making the statement doesn't intend to encourage terrorism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Act_2003
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Order_Act_1986
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_sp ... ed_Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Act_2006


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