Texas Fishing Forum (TFF)
Guidelines / Rules of ConductPlease review the following rules of conduct. We hope you have a great time during your stay at the TFF!
Our forums are family friendly. We moderate to promote a PG atmosphere. If you find your posts continually edited or you are regularly contacted by the moderators, the TFF may not be the right place for you. There are plenty of 'anything goes' forums and other forms of social media out there to choose from. Don't give yourself a headache by fighting a system that is not what you are looking for in a forum. If you are looking for a little tamer place than the wild world of the Internet, you will probably enjoy this forum.
The TFF is managed by a group of volunteer moderators. Please keep these suggestions in mind when communicating with them.
Moderation, to a degree, is interpretation. If a moderator contacts you about changing a behavior, please just do it and don't try and debate the rules and guidelines that follow. Our moderators know how we want our forums managed. If you feel that you have been treated unfairly, please email tff@outdoorsites.net.
The moderators were chosen because they have proven themselves to be even-keeled and reasonable people. If you treat them with respect, you will almost always find that they will respond in kind ... however, keep in mind that it is possible for a moderator to have a bad day on occasion.
99% of the people on our forums never have problems. The moderators deal with the 1% who cause problems so the rest of you can enjoy a fairly smooth running forum. Please keep in mind what they do for you when communicating with them. A small degree of courtesy will go a long way.The RULES...
1. Please keep the topics in the main forum areas fishing related. There are some instances where we allow posts outside topic, but if you find that your post was deleted or moved, it is because we deemed it inappropriate to the section in which you posted, or it was in violation of other rules in this section. We have set up an Off Topic section for open discussion - please post your non-fishing related comments there. If you have something to sell, it belongs in the classifieds.
2. Do not create more than one user account. If you are caught with more than one account, you will be on a short-term ban. When the ban is over, you can choose one account to keep and the others will be deleted.
3 . Please keep in mind that deleting, moving, editing or locking of your post is not intended to be an attack or insult. We have been managing online forums since 1998 and have become fairly competent at spotting topics that cause problems. These actions are usually to keep the peace, keep the interaction on the board friendly or keep content in the appropriate section.
4. If a moderator contacts you with a PM, we require a reply. If you remove yourself from the PM before the issue has been resolved, your account will be placed on a ban.
5. All questions concerning TFF policies and management are addressed offline via PM, email or telephone. Comments concerning deleted post, posting privilege suspensions, or other matters of the administrative nature will be deleted. If you have a question about policy, please PM one of our moderators.
6. Don’t “call out” the moderators on the forum. They have a tough job and don’t need to be chastised to the viewing audience. The moderators are volunteers and choose to moderate because they enjoy the TFF. Please try and keep the site enjoyable for them. You may not agree with all their decisions, but they have been chosen because they have shown good judgment in the past and a sensible demeanor. If you have problems with a moderator, email tff@outdoorsites.net.
7. Foul language (this rule applies to posts, images and videos loaded to the TFF) - there are a few colorful words we occasionally let slide, but their overuse will result in a warning. There are a few that never need to be used – we don’t need to mention them. Foul language makes the TFF look trashy. When writing, it is very easy to express yourself without cursing. Use **** if you need to. Sponsors make this site possible and it is much easier to get them interested if the site is a little cleaner than your average Internet forum.
8. We promote a friendly atmosphere for anglers to exchange ideas. Differences of opinions are welcome and are an important part of this format. We do not, however, tolerate those that try to start an argument with every post. If you are looking to agitate people, simply to get a response, or if you are a troller, this is not the place for you.
9. No personal attacks – if you disagree with someone, state your case intelligently and back it up with facts. We will not tolerate personal attacks. You will be warned once. If the behavior continues, you will be banned from the forum. DO NOT HARASS PEOPLE WITH EMAIL WHEN YOU HAVE A DISAGREEMENT ON THIS FORUM.
10. Do not try to solve personal problems live on the forum. Most of the members aren't interested in watching you resolve personal problems live on the TFF. If you are concerned about an interaction with someone and are interested in resolving it, send them an email (if they offer an email address in their forum profile). If you don't get a response, just let it go. They may not be interested in communicating with you.
11. No jokes of a sexual nature – just don’t post them. We know some are funny, but there are children that browse our forum and we want to set a positive example.
12. Racism of any kind will NOT be tolerated.
13. Guides, fishing related businesses, and other web sites, feel free to promote your services here - the only exception to this rule is promotion of a site that is a direct competitor of the TFF or Texas Hunting Forum (THF). We consider the guides an asset to the site. If you don't agree with the use of guides, keep that information to yourself. If a guide is just posting his service, inviting you to check out his web site, let him do so. Hopefully down the road he will offer a few pointers. Guides offer a wealth of information and we want them visiting the site on a regular basis.
14. We cannot allow bashing of our sponsors. They make the TFF possible and we have to respect the fact that they pay our bills. All threads of this nature will be deleted. It is a small price to pay for all the great information on the TFF, and as the man said, "it ain't too smart to bite the hand that feeds ya."
15. Signature images may not be larger than 600 pixels wide by 125 pixels tall. This includes logos, photos and other graphics. Also, no more than one row of images are allowed. If you want four or five logos in your signature, reduce their size to fit in one row.
16. Limit the size of your photos to a maximum of 800 pixels wide. (this does not include signature images - see rule #15 above)
17. Do not copy and paste articles from other publications to this site. It is a COPYRIGHT VIOLATION to do so. If you want to reference an article on another web site, post a link.
18. We don’t do “welcome back” posts when a person has been placed on a ban. There is no reason to cheer a person on who has spent time on our Wall of Shame for breaking the rules. We also do not do exit posts. If you want to leave the TFF, we are sorry to lose you, but if you feel the need to go, then please just do it without a dramatic parting company post.
19. We do not allow fund raising (charity or other) without the approval of our staff. Please contact one of the moderators for permission before you post anything to do with raising money on this forum. It is not legal to promote a raffle on the TFF. See: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/divisions/financial-litigation/charitable-trusts/charitable-raffles-and-casinopoker-nights. The law states, "It is against the law to hold a raffle in which cash, or anything readily convertible to cash, is offered as a prize, or which is promoted statewide."
20. Concerning our PM system - we absolutely respect the privacy of our members and under normal circumstances would never have desire or reason to look at a member’s PMs, however, the same general rules that apply to the open forum apply to PMs. If you are repeatedly breaking the rules, and especially if you are threatening or harassing someone, then your account may be subject to review, including the administrator checking your PMs. If you receive inappropriate PMs from another user, please contact a moderator. One or two rule infractions will not result in your PMs being checked. Moderators do not have access to member’s PMs – only administrators.
21. Do not duplicate a post in multiple forums. We consider this spamming the site. All of the posts will be removed and your account may be banned as a spam account.
22. Post your items or services for sale or trade in the classifieds forums at: http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/forums/22/1/Trading_Post_-_Swap_-_Classifi. Make sure you read the rules for posting classifieds at: https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/13654138/gonew/1/rules-for-using-the-classifieds#UNREAD. Do not post classifieds in any of the other forums.
23. We do not allow the selling, promoting or advertising of multilevel or pyramid structured businesses on our forums.
We will be updating this section occasionally. Again, our goal is an open, clean, and friendly format, but when you have a public board rules have to be established and followed.
If you have any suggestions concerning our rules of conduct, please email tff@outdoorsites.net.