[wp-forums] Edited WAY old welcome post

[ipstenu at ipstenu.org]

Someone was looking at this http://wordpress.org/support/topic/before-posting

for their help/advice source.  I pointed them to  
http://codex.wordpress.org/Forum_Welcome and mentioned we oughta kill  
that old post.

It's been unstickied for ages, so my real worry was that something in  
there SHOULD be kept.  Thus, I edited the post to point back to the  
codex and below the line is everything it had.  I think it's all in  
the Forum Welcome but I've been battling a migraine for two days and  
playing politics at work so my perspective right now is a bit of 'Kill  
them all with FIIIIIIIRE!'

-----


These forums exist to support WordPress users.

Remember - WordPress is FREE software. When you make a request for  
help here, no-one is being paid to help, or answer you. Being polite  
is extremely important, especially to those who do help here. And, if  
you do get an answer that works, if you could, please come back to  
your thread and say so, that would be wonderful.

<strong>A:</strong> The following posts are moderated automatically:

<ol>
<li>Those containing email addresses. The email address will be  
broken, but readable. So google at google.com would become google @  
google . com or google AT google DOT com</li>
<li>Those containing passwords. The passwords will be removed.</li>
<li>Those that have tag faults, which break, or, adversely affect the  
forum software.</li>
<li>Those which contain incredibly long sections of code or error  
messages.</li>
<li>Those containing affiliate links. Affiliate links are not  
permitted in the forums.</li>
</ol>
A note may <em>or may not</em> be made in the thread or in the post if  
such action has been taken.

<strong>B:</strong> The following posts <strong>will be deleted on  
sight</strong>.

<ol>
<li>Topics or replies with no body.</li>
<li>If you post just to spam, or get 'google juice', then you WILL be  
blocked and the url you are using will be broken. These forums will  
stay clean of spammers, and the useless junk they bring.
Google juice is PR linking.
These forums have a high PR - the front page of Support has a 9 which  
is very high. PR for sites is judged - in part - by not only who is  
linking and how many but also how high those linkers are too.

So we get Mr and Mrs Spammer coming here, registering, posting a few  
inane "OMG LOL !!!" type junk to the forums so they can get some of  
the PR linkage - the Google Juice. (Someone more SEO inclined can  
probably say more but I think that is correct).

So because they post useless garbage, we kill their linkage.
</li>
<li>Posts which are destructive in nature. To put it basically, if you  
cannot say anything positive or helpful, or provide pointers that can  
assist the original poster, and do so in a constructive manner - then  
do not post.</li>
<li>If your post contains abuse or flames then this will not merely be  
removed from a post, your whole post will be deleted.</li>
<li>If your post directs offense at another forum user, it will be deleted.
Do not try to use words cleverly - if there is any doubt, it will be  
deleted.</li>
<li>"Bumps". Do not bump posts on this forum. Putting posts at the top  
doesn't help them get noticed here. The volunteers who try to answer  
questions look for those without replies first. If you bump a post,  
then it disappears from the "no replies" view. DO NOT BUMP.</li>
</ol>
A note may <em>or may not</em> be made in the thread if such action  
has been taken.

<strong>C:</strong> Pasting Code:
This may be moved to a FAQ, but for the time being, I'm posting it here.

Many posters have a problem pasting snippets of code, or don't know  
what the pertinent code is for their problem, and paste a whole  
template looking for help.  The forums are not a good place for that,  
and it can be a confusing process.

If you have a couple of lines to paste, by all means, paste it in your  
post.  The process of doing that is to use the code tag, then a  
backtick ( ` ) then your code, another backtick, then close the code  
tag (/code).  For those not familiar with the backtick, it's the key  
just to the left of the number 1 key in the upper left of your  
keyboard (shifted, it returns a tilde ( ~ ).

For longer snippets, we have created a WordPress specific pastebin at:  
<a  
href="http://wordpress.pastebin.ca/">http://wordpress.pastebin.ca/</a>
The code will be archived for future reference, and is a handy place  
to keep such.

Simply paste the code from your template in the pastebin, then include  
the link in your post.  This will make reading posts easier, and will  
better format the code, especially ones with links and unordered lists.

Thank you helping us with this effort.

<strong>D:</strong> Reporting threads
To report a bad post, add a tag called 'modlook' to the thread. That  
feed is checked very regularly and we can zoom in on it.

<strong>E:</strong> Signatures
Signatures on all posts will be removed. Signatures create clutter and  
distract from the information and help we are trying to provide.

<strong>F:</strong> Paying for services
Requesting paid help is discouraged. We do not want to give any  
impression that WordPress help is anything but free. We also do not  
need bidding wars in the forums.
If you have posted some contact information your thread will be closed.
If you have not posted that information we will ask you to and when  
you do the thread will be closed.
Any thread that offers any service for money can be closed at any  
time. We are not against paid services but these forums are not the  
right place for them.
We have a WP-Pro mailing list which you are encouraged to use.
http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo/wp-pro

<strong>G:</strong> Staying Work Safe
Some people will be helping here from work or a computer which is not  
their own. Other people may not wish to view sites which have content  
which has questionable or adult material. If your site could cause  
offence, you must mark your links as <strong>NSFW</strong> (Not Safe  
For Work). Additionally please do not link to your site in your  
profile - someone inadvertantly clicking your link could be offended.
You will still get any help you need, but we can't have people getting  
into trouble when they are trying to help.
Any links not so marked will be altered by Mods or removed at their  
discretion.

<strong>H:</strong> General
To report something you are concerned about (including bad posts) you  
can join the forum mailing list (see below)
Please don't use CAPS - it's like shouting and very rude.

<strong>I:</strong> Complaints
Before you complain, please remember that all help here is free. Also  
remember that text alone can be a very poor medium for communication -  
if you have disagreed with someone you may both be misunderstanding.  
You have bad days so does everyone else - one post that you disagree  
with does not make the other person bad and neither does it make them  
a target to be got at. And please remember that this is only software,  
not something essential to life itself. Getting the last word in is  
not being constructive either.
<strong>If after considerable thought you want to make a point about  
<em>someone</em>, email me: tamba2 @ gmail . com</strong>. If you want  
to make a point about <em>something</em> then join the forum mailing  
list (see below).

<strong>J:</strong> The mailing list
http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo/wp-forums
It exists to positively discuss how we can improve the forums. It's  
not a place for complaining, it's not a place for destructive  
comments. It is where decisions are discussed and agreed by forum  
members who are out to make what we provide even better.

Please remember that this forum exists for one purpose only - to help people.
Constructive criticism and debate are welcome where appropriate -  
negativity is not.
If you can post positively to the forum then please do :)