Guidelines
Posting Etiquette
Most new users fall down by not knowing the etiquette of forum posting. Get it wrong and other people may think that you are either being impolite or abusive. Here are some guidelines to help you make sure you fit right in...
Search for the answer, before asking the question
There is a search feature on this forum, that will help you to find information that has already been posted up. This is a busy forum, so the chances are that your question has already been answered somewhere. If you ask a question that has already been answered several times before, expect the other forum users to get quite annoyed at your refusal to search.
Make sure that your posts are relevant
Irrelevant or pointless posts take up space and waste other peoples' time. If posts contribute nothing to the conversation or the community, they will be deleted. Give advice only if you are sure what you are talking about. Don't mislead people as at best you are risking their money, and at worst, you are risking their safety. You may give clues if are uncertain, but do not speak with authority if you are really only trying to guess.
Always try to post in the right place
If you want to chat about the latest Airsoft releases, do it in "General Discussion". If you are new to the forums and want to ask a question, it might be best in the "Newbie Discussion" forum. If you want to sell something, the "For Sale" forums are the place to announce it. Basically, have a look at all the categories and post where your submission is best suited.
Use good English to post and 'Spell-Check' if necessary
This is an open-access English language forum. When you post, you are effectively publishing your written work for the world to see. Use punctuation, good grammar, and the Spell Checker if you need to. Posts that are difficult to read or demonstrate an unwillingness to use the English language correctly may be deleted at the moderators' discretion. If English is not your first language or if your language skills are not great, please just do your best. We can live with imperfect English to a degree, we won't live with a lack of effort.
So called "l337-Speak" should also not be used on these boards.
Don't post duplicate threads
Multiple threads started about the same thing may be deleted, merged or moved at the moderators' discretion.
Use descriptive titles for new threads
Posting a thread with the title "Look here!", or "Please help", will not attract the attention of the users. If you use titles like "Marui M4 not taking BBs", or "New release from Classic Army", more people will view your post! Do not post titles in ALL CAPS.
DO NOT POST IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS AS IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING AND IS ANNOYING TO READ
Use 'Smileys' effectively
'Smileys' can be used in your forum posts. If you are joking about something, use them to help indicate that your statement was made humorously. They can be used to indicate your mood and show that something was not meant to be taken seriously. If you don't use them, people will assume you are being serious. Arguments have broken out before because of a misunderstood joke.
No Arguing
Don't argue, if you feel offended by the comments of another user or believe a post is offensive, report it to the moderators and it will be dealt with. Starting a fight may result in sanctions for ALL those involved.
Be nice to other forum users
Treat others as you would expect to be treated. If you are abusive on these forums, your posts / threads will be edited or deleted, you may be given warning points, you may get your account suspended, and persistent offenders will be banned.
Repeatedly ignoring these guidelines when you post, may lead to your posts or account being moderated.
Forum Rules
The following are rules that MUST be adhered to. Failure to follow these rules will attract the attention of the Forum moderators. All moderators are nice people that are here to help you, but their job is also to help keep the site running. Breaking the rules below jeopardizes the continued operation of this site and cannot be tolerated under any circumstances!
Spam and Irrelevant Posts
Keep all your posts relevant. Adding posts that contribute nothing to the conversation (spam) will be deleted. Do not 'bump' your threads by posting irrelevant information or just "bump". It is spam and will be deleted. Persistent spamming will result in warning points being added to your account, a suspension, or a ban from the forums.
Airsoft Muzzle Velocity discussion
As an International Airsoft forum, we are aware that our many members come from many countries with countless different regulations and legislations affecting the legal maximum velocity of an airsoft replica. The SD Forum does not encourage or condone the modification or application of airsoft replicas which exceed a member's respective regional legislation. When posting on SD Forum, the member does so accepting full legal responsiblity for the content of their posts. Further to this, should the Forum staff consider the level of modification / application to exceed either a regionally legal or safe purpose, we reserve the right to censor and/or suspend users as we feel appropriate. Whilst we are keen to not censor discusison wherever possible, the safety of all airsofters is of paramount importance to us.
Commercial Posting in the forums
Any posts that are commercial in nature are not allowed on these forums without the prior authorisation of a Global Moderator or Site Admin. If you are a member and have some personally owned kit to sell, put it in the For-Sale forum.
For the safety of all of our users, we also prohibit the crosslinking (e.g. advertising a sale) to Ebay or other commercial websites in commercial posts without first seeking authorisation. Unless you have a good reason for this (e.g. you are a retailer based upon Ebay), it is unlikely this will be granted. We restrict such activity due to the prevalance of fraudulent users on other websites. Sales carried out on these forums at least occur within the public domain where evidence of fraudulent / inaccurate sales descriptions can be more easily obtained.
To secure permission to post commercial content in the forums, contact a member of the Admin or Global Moderator team. Only those with Commercial User status are entitled to make commercial posts. Commercial posting in the regular forums will result in your post being deleted.
Duplicate Accounts
Membership at SD is free. However, each user is only allowed one account. Duplicate accounts take up valuable system resources and annoy other forum users. It is very easy to spot duplicate accounts created or used by the same person. Any duplicate accounts found will be banned, along with the original account of the offender.
This is a PG-13 web site
By this, we mean that the following things are NOT allowed to be posted on the forums...
- foul or obscene language (there is a language filter that will block most profanities. Deliberately mis-spelling words to get past the language filters will result in your post being edited or deleted)
- references glorifying or inciting drug-misuse
- references glorifying or inciting criminal behavior or violence
- images or videos that contain profane language (swearing)
- images or videos of graphic violence
- images or videos of an adult or graphically sexual nature
- images or videos that show drug misuse
Racial, Sexual and Religious Equality
This site makes no discrimination between people of different race, gender or religion. Airsoft is a sport for all, and these forums reflect that. We welcome everyone except those who demonstrate intolerance toward others.
This is a particularly delicate area to police, so the forum staff will have the final say. Comments about anything that discriminates against people, are forbidden.
Illegal / Banned Subjects
Users from countries where airsoft isn't allowed, cannot ask for advice about this sport if we understand that have illegal items in their possession.
You also cannot discuss anything that will help someone break the law in his or her locale. This includes the following...
- How to remove the Orange Paint from the muzzle of US replicas (or in other countries where it is a legal requirement)
- How to evade paying tax on imported goods
- How to increase the power of an Airsoft replica beyond what is legal in the specific user's locale (or the maximum 1 Joule limit for this site - whichever is lower)
- How to make a semi-automatic replica shoot fully-automatic in a country that does not allow this feature
- How to make your own or modify pyrotechnics
- How to get restricted items past customs
- How to get restricted items if you are underage
- How to reactivate deactivated firearms, even if you only want them to shoot Airsoft ammunition (it is still illegal in the UK)
This is not an exhaustive list, so be sensible and make sure that we all stay on the right side of the law.
Real-Steel Firearms discussion
Airsoft has natural links to the world of real firearms (commonly known as "Real-Steel"), and discussion of firearms is allowed to a point. The looks, weight, history, and operation of these firearms are normally valid topics of conversation, but ballistic effects are not. Basically, we want to avoid conversation that roams in to the arena of real ammunition and the performance of firearms in general. This is an Airsoft forum, not a real-steel forum. Let's keep it that way.
