Unofficial common sense rules for posting.

Many people don't read the Acceptable Use Policy. This version of the rules are intended to be easy to find, remember - and follow.

• USE YOUR BRAIN before you use your keyboard. "Sharing your thoughts" means that you need thoughts to share. If you're not adding something to the discussion, even a good joke, then don't post.
  
• NO SWEARING. If you wouldn't say it to your parents, don't say it here. Personally, I say crap and hell in front of my mother. But I don't say anything worse.
  
• NO SLOWCHATTING. If you have a specific question to ask somebody, use a PM. Don't fill other people's threads - even your own threads - with pointless babble. That's what AIM/MSN/etc. are for. Do you really want 14,000 other members to see just how inane you are?
  
• NO SEX - or at least minimize it. If you can't see it at a public beach, you shouldn't post it here. And refer to Rule #1 and #2 before you post anything sexual in nature. Klos' joke about Britney's bra size was inoffensive and really funny. The discussion of oral sex that followed it was totally inappropriate for a public forum. It only takes a moment of thought to see the difference.
  
• USE ENGLISH TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY. There's nothing wrong with ignorance - it can be fixed. But actively trying to look illiterate, and taking pride in your ignorance is not forgivable. Funny thing - it's always u ppl that spel like ur azn homie driftin stuntaz 4eva that whine the most about how all of us "haterz" don't respect you. Coincidence? I think not.
  
• SHOW COMMON COURTESY. Disagreements are fine. But disagreeing with someone doesn't automatically make them a fag or a moron or worse. With the smallest effort you can explain why you don't like the item under debate without immediately insulting the other person for liking it. If you expect people to respect your opinion, you better be able to A) back it up with some reasoning, and B) respect theirs if they can.

These are rules of thumb and are not official. But they do summarize what's in the Acceptable Use Policy and what should be civilized behaviour in this forum. The 'net is full of places where you can go and be a brain-dead flame whore if that's what you want to be. Just don't do it here.

There will always be spirited debates. Sometimes people are going to be incredibly stupid and need a spanking. Not every post - particularly here in the Rumble Strip - is going to be a work of literature. All of that is OK. A relaxed atmosphere is great, but let's all try to keep it a friendly atmosphere, and let's all try to post things that are actually worth reading.

[edit] I left the previous version of this post open because I don't like to just dictate things without leaving others a chance to say their piece. However, I'm going to close this one so it stays clean.

Note also that the "azn" reference above is not intended to single out one particular ethnic group. It's intended to illustrate the laziness of that grammatical style. Typing it that way saves precisely 2 keystrokes, and it interferes with the legibility enough that several people had to ask what it meant. [/edit]

Small tidbit of info I thought I'd add to this thread:

• Using the word "gay" or "queer", or any other moniker targeting homosexuality should not be used to denote something you dislike or disagree with. It just shows how narrowminded and shallow you are, surely you don't want that, right? It's a form of respect, purely and simply.

This is valid for all the site, not just the Rumble Strip.