This is all the "unpleasant" stuff we need to say to make sure everyone understands the rules of the community and how we will deal with problems. It is our sincere hope that you join our community and make lots of new friends, learn, and participate in engaging discussions. However, we should spell a few things out first:
By registering with our forum you are acknowledging that you have read and will abide by the forum's code of conduct. And you further understand that we may at our discretion edit or remove any post we believe does not represent the best interest of the board, and may remove any member at any time without warning or explanation if we believe that their participation or actions compromises the harmony or purpose of the community. It is our hope that we will not have to invoke this or the following rules, but we wish to make it clear that we reserve this right.
The Acoustic Voice is made available as a free service for guitar enthusiasts of any level of experience. All are welcome to read or join in the conversation. Reading the forum does not require registration and anyone who chooses to participate in the conversations must first register their information. We REQUIRE everyone to register with their real name. Accounts using ambiguous handles will be immediately deleted. We encourage participation, but we ask everyone to do so in an upfront manner and not hide behind the anonyminity of an alias or alter ego.
This community is provided as a courtesy of Lance Kragenbrink and Brock Poling participation is a privilege and you are a guest of the forum.
The following are a series of guidelines and rules for harmonious participation in the community.
Be neighborly. The Acoustic Voice is an inclusive community one in which members show each other mutual respect at all times. This goes for members of all experience levels. New members should respect the skill and experience of those with many years in the craft, and senior members should try to be patient with new members. We want the community to enjoy a harmonious exchange based on mutual respect. Disagreements should always be framed to challenge ideas, not their authors and they should be conducted in a professional and productive manner.
Stand by your OWN words. Neither Lance Kragenbrink, Brock Poling, our wives, families, clients, friends, nor anyone else is responsible for ANYTHING said on this board other than comments we make in a personal or professional capacity. Acknowledgement of this is conditional to reading or participating on the forum. We make this service available for free and we do not monitor the accuracy of any post, nor do we screen or censor content in any way as a matter of policy. We occasionally intervene when we see something that is a clear violation of our rules, or to promote harmony, but there simply isn't time for us to moderate the entire board. We take no responsibility for what you write. You must exhibit care and understand that there may be consequences for trying to damage the reputation of another regardless of the circumstances. You have been warned!
Accuracy of Information. The information you get from The Acoustic Voice has not been checked for accuracy or with respect for safety. We encourage you to research new techniques, processes, ideas, etc. carefully before trying them. Sometimes a new technique will be just the thing to help you move forward, but it may lead to unintended consequences, or worse causing harm to you, your property, or those around you. Again, we make this board available for free for members to share ideas and experiences. We make no claim as to the accuracy or safety of any suggested idea. So proceed at your own risk, we take no responsibility for anything you do with this information. … and PLEASE be careful.
Swearing. We prefer to keep this board in a "public voice", meaning that extensive use of profanity or phrasing of an offensive nature is discouraged. We may elect to get interfere if we think things are getting out of hand, but by and large we ask that you use discretion.
Religion. Discussion of religious topics, prayer requests, etc. is forbidden on the boards. Again our goal is to accept members whose common interest is acoustic music / guitar not a particular faith. We have enough division in our lives over politics, faith, culture etc. Let's all come to The Acoustic Voice to share our common love – acoustic music / guitars. Posts that violate this rule are subject for deletion.
Politics. See the comments on religion and substitute the word Politics. We see this as another major area which serves to divide communities and it does not have a place on The Acoustic Voice. If you want to talk about these subjects there are numerous forums devoted to these topics.. Please visit them to share your opinions about these matters.
Platform for Personal Attacks. The Acoustic Voice is not a pulpit to punish individuals or suppliers who you feel have wronged you. This includes Ebay vendors. If you have a problem with a vendor or a purchase please take it up with them. This also goes for personal disputes; The Acoustic Voice is not the place for such discussions.
No Unauthorized Advertising. Please do not post information about sales, new products, great deals, images of new guitars you built, a step by step infomercial on your build process etc. if you are not a paying sponsor of The Acoustic Voice. This includes posting commercial URLs in your sig line. The sponsors of this site contribute to the financial health of the board and without their participation we would not exist. "Poaching" hurts our entire community. We are perhaps one of the most unbiased business friendly forums on the Internet and any advertiser who comes to us will almost without reservation will be given the opportunity to participate. Violations will result in posts being deleted and repeat violations will lead to expulsion. (Note to builders: if your information is relevant to a topic you may post images that directly answer another member's question, but if the response is a clear promotion of your business – and you are not a paying advertiser – we will delete your post. We will soon have a reasonably priced advertising package for luthiers if you would like to sponsor the board and promote your business).
We reserve the right. While we try very hard to operate the community with the idea of free exchange of ideas, and free speech we reserve the right to edit, archive, delete any post or ask any member of the forum to leave for any reason we choose. The above rules are not meant to be an all inclusive list, and reserving this right allows us to be flexible to deal with unforeseen situations. We will do our best to continue to operate the forum as we always have, but as we grow this may occasionally be necessary. Every member participates in the forum as a guest and we will do what is necessary to preserve our vision of the community. |
