Contact Us
As time passes and we receive questions we believe are of particular interest to other members, they will be placed here (along with the responses) by one of the members of the Forum Team.
Here are some example Questions and Responses....
(Question)
Hi... sometimes I find Astro to be really boring and joyless. In the administrators code of ethics, it says admins aren't supposed to be boring and joyless.... so can I complain about him?
(Response)
Well... he can be a pain, but the item you refer to is intended to convey the message that Admins are people too. They come here to have a good time, just like you. They are not expected to restrict or censor themselves all the time... or to the point where their participation here becomes "boring and joyless" for them.
I'd advise against making that complaint as it would be regarded as both spurious and a nuisance. That would constitute a clear breach of Item 'g' of the Complaints Procedures and Processes, which states....
Spurious complaints, nuisance complaints, those that are fabrications or obviously the result of personal vendetta or grudge WILL earn warning points. (ZT)
This is a (ZT) or Zero Tolerance breach and an administrator would have no choice but to issue you with a formal warning.
(Question)
Why the MA15+ rating?
(Response)
The fact is we can't stop people of any age logging on to the forum and we do have some social responsibility. MA15+ has always been the default standard here. No-one seems to have had a problem expressing themselves sufficiently under an MA15+ rating up to now. If you personally find it a problem, now would be a good time to buy a dictionary and expand your vocabulary.
The Australian Standard for any unregulated information source with virtually unrestricted access (such as this forum) is "G".
We felt "G" was an unreasonable rating considering the 'average' content within the unrestricted forums, so we opted for MA15+ as a reasonable compromise.
R18+ content can be submitted in one forum which contains a clear warning message concerning the content.
(Question)
What should I do if I find a post that I feel needs to be scrutinised by an Administrator?
(Response)
In the bottom, right hand corner of every post is a "Report" button. If you press this button the post is brought to the attention of the administrators. Reported posts are handled in a confidential manner.
(Question)
If I run a business that isn't motorcycle related can I advertise here ?
(Response)
The board provides a free advertising service to businesses that provide motorcycle related goods and services to our members. If your product isn't motorcycle related you may promote it in the "Your Links and Services" area only. HOWEVER, if you only come here to post advertising materials and you are not an active member of the forum, then we reserve the right to remove your advertising without reference to you. You need to establish your credentials as a member before you start advertising here, so the forum team will expect you to actively participate for a while before any advertising begins.
(Question)
Can you give me some examples of "invasive of another person's privacy" ?
(Response)
Posting up someone's address, mobile phone number, place of work or registration number without checking with them first to make sure they have no objection. Releasing personal or private information about another person (sexual orientation, driving record, criminal record, health issues etc) under any circumstances.
Australia has very strict privacy laws. This is a very public forum and you need to be very careful about releasing information about another person without their permission.
(Question)
What do I do if I already have more than one account here?
(Response)
You must write to an administrator divulging all your account names. You must nominate one account that you will use in future. All others will be deleted (but the posts will remain). This applies to all members.
(Question)
The rules say we shouldn't post copyrighted material. Won't that stop us from using pretty much anything we find on the net?
(Response)
Not at all. You'll find that the vast majority of resources on the net are either not copyrighted or are regarded as 'public domain' - so you can use them. Most often the copyright only applies if you stand to profit in some manner from the use of that resource. There will usually be a copyright notice on material if it applies - always check.... just in case. The forum team can't police this because it would be impossible for us to check all the content posted here. The reason that rule exists is to publicly state our policy of not supporting copyright infringements. In the end, you are totally responsible for the contents of your posts.
(Question)
If I make a complaint against another member or report someone's post, will that person be told it was me?
(Response)
Complaints and reports are handled in a confidential manner. A complaint or report is really just a notification to the administrators that they have missed a clear breach of the standards and rules. We can't expect the administrators to spot everything alone. Your help in maintaining the standards is both vital and appreciated. Regardless of who picked up the breach first, it is the responsibility of an administrator to decide what action is appropriate. In reality, the breach would have been picked up by an administrator eventually... and the outcome would have been the same. Be aware though, that spurious or nuisance complaints or those with a personal agenda are subject to disciplinary action... so the rights of both parties are protected.
(Question)
What do you mean by "incites or instructs others how to commit a crime and/or break the law or requests information or resources which aid in such an act."
(Response)
You need to ask???? Think about it a little longer and get back to us. Apart from the fact that the content might be illegal... what sort of impression does it give to visitors and other members if the board allows such content? None of us are above the law. None of us wants to become a target.
Here are some example Questions and Responses....
(Question)
Hi... sometimes I find Astro to be really boring and joyless. In the administrators code of ethics, it says admins aren't supposed to be boring and joyless.... so can I complain about him?
(Response)
Well... he can be a pain, but the item you refer to is intended to convey the message that Admins are people too. They come here to have a good time, just like you. They are not expected to restrict or censor themselves all the time... or to the point where their participation here becomes "boring and joyless" for them.
I'd advise against making that complaint as it would be regarded as both spurious and a nuisance. That would constitute a clear breach of Item 'g' of the Complaints Procedures and Processes, which states....
Spurious complaints, nuisance complaints, those that are fabrications or obviously the result of personal vendetta or grudge WILL earn warning points. (ZT)
This is a (ZT) or Zero Tolerance breach and an administrator would have no choice but to issue you with a formal warning.
(Question)
Why the MA15+ rating?
(Response)
The fact is we can't stop people of any age logging on to the forum and we do have some social responsibility. MA15+ has always been the default standard here. No-one seems to have had a problem expressing themselves sufficiently under an MA15+ rating up to now. If you personally find it a problem, now would be a good time to buy a dictionary and expand your vocabulary.
The Australian Standard for any unregulated information source with virtually unrestricted access (such as this forum) is "G".
We felt "G" was an unreasonable rating considering the 'average' content within the unrestricted forums, so we opted for MA15+ as a reasonable compromise.
R18+ content can be submitted in one forum which contains a clear warning message concerning the content.
(Question)
What should I do if I find a post that I feel needs to be scrutinised by an Administrator?
(Response)
In the bottom, right hand corner of every post is a "Report" button. If you press this button the post is brought to the attention of the administrators. Reported posts are handled in a confidential manner.
(Question)
If I run a business that isn't motorcycle related can I advertise here ?
(Response)
The board provides a free advertising service to businesses that provide motorcycle related goods and services to our members. If your product isn't motorcycle related you may promote it in the "Your Links and Services" area only. HOWEVER, if you only come here to post advertising materials and you are not an active member of the forum, then we reserve the right to remove your advertising without reference to you. You need to establish your credentials as a member before you start advertising here, so the forum team will expect you to actively participate for a while before any advertising begins.
(Question)
Can you give me some examples of "invasive of another person's privacy" ?
(Response)
Posting up someone's address, mobile phone number, place of work or registration number without checking with them first to make sure they have no objection. Releasing personal or private information about another person (sexual orientation, driving record, criminal record, health issues etc) under any circumstances.
Australia has very strict privacy laws. This is a very public forum and you need to be very careful about releasing information about another person without their permission.
(Question)
What do I do if I already have more than one account here?
(Response)
You must write to an administrator divulging all your account names. You must nominate one account that you will use in future. All others will be deleted (but the posts will remain). This applies to all members.
(Question)
The rules say we shouldn't post copyrighted material. Won't that stop us from using pretty much anything we find on the net?
(Response)
Not at all. You'll find that the vast majority of resources on the net are either not copyrighted or are regarded as 'public domain' - so you can use them. Most often the copyright only applies if you stand to profit in some manner from the use of that resource. There will usually be a copyright notice on material if it applies - always check.... just in case. The forum team can't police this because it would be impossible for us to check all the content posted here. The reason that rule exists is to publicly state our policy of not supporting copyright infringements. In the end, you are totally responsible for the contents of your posts.
(Question)
If I make a complaint against another member or report someone's post, will that person be told it was me?
(Response)
Complaints and reports are handled in a confidential manner. A complaint or report is really just a notification to the administrators that they have missed a clear breach of the standards and rules. We can't expect the administrators to spot everything alone. Your help in maintaining the standards is both vital and appreciated. Regardless of who picked up the breach first, it is the responsibility of an administrator to decide what action is appropriate. In reality, the breach would have been picked up by an administrator eventually... and the outcome would have been the same. Be aware though, that spurious or nuisance complaints or those with a personal agenda are subject to disciplinary action... so the rights of both parties are protected.
(Question)
What do you mean by "incites or instructs others how to commit a crime and/or break the law or requests information or resources which aid in such an act."
(Response)
You need to ask???? Think about it a little longer and get back to us. Apart from the fact that the content might be illegal... what sort of impression does it give to visitors and other members if the board allows such content? None of us are above the law. None of us wants to become a target.