Audizine Rules & Guidelines

[Admin]

AUDIZINE RULES & GUIDELINES
Rev. 032411

The Audizine Rules and Guidelines serve as a foundation for overall site usage, what we expect all of our members to abide by. They are to help keep an informative and friendly environment within the Audizine Community, as well as prohibit those that do not add anything good, positive, or informative to Audizine. These Rules and Guidelines serve to aid in the growth and longevity of the site, as well as to preserve the tight-knit community aspect that has become the hallmark of Audizine.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Intro/General Info
  
  • Account Levels & Privileges
  • Use of the Classifieds
  • The Posting of Ads
  • Offering Parts/Services as a Hobby
  • Carfax Requests
• Signatures & Avatars
  
  • Signatures
  • Avatars
• Serious Offenses
  
  • Harassment/Abuse
  • Flaming
  • Trolling
  • Porn/Explicit Imagery
  • Scamming/Defrauding
  • Spamming/Unauthorized Advertising
  • Off-Topic Posting
  • Necro-Bumping
  • Abuse of Report System
  • Ban Evasion
• Warnings & Infractions
  
  • Points/Strikes
  • Suspensions/Bans
• Common Forum Courtesy
  
  • Search!
  • Mind your Caps-lock
  • Don't Abuse the Emoticons
  • Don't Stretch the Page
  • Be Polite

GENERAL INFO

Account Levels & Privileges
The use of the Audizine website via one's account is based heavily upon three key factors; account age, post count, and maturity (IE: the ability to follow our rules and guidelines). Provided one does not break these rules, the longer they have an account with us, and the more they participate in the Audizine Forums, the more features and storage space we offer - such as with our Audizine Classifieds, Photo Gallery, and Private Messages (PM for short). More about these Account Levels and Privileges can be found here: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/368063

Use of the Classifieds
Use of the Audizine Classifieds Section by our members (not including Official Audizine Advertisers) should be limited to parts/items that are either used (IE: items that are no longer wanted/needed by their owner) or parts/items that may be new due to a change of plans. The Classifieds cannot be used as a regular means for profit on items being sold.

The Posting of Ads
For Sale, Wanted, and Trade ads other than those posted by our Official Audizine Advertisers should be posted in the Classifieds Section (for accounts at the "Registered Member" level and above) or your respective Local Classifieds Forum section (available for all members). Under no circumstance can such ads be made in any other area such as the Main Model-Line Forums.

Offering Parts and Services as a Hobby
Offering parts and services, even if considered a side-job or hobby (EG: powder-coating, oil changes, timing belt or water pump replacements, etc), must be kept off of the Audizine website. This would include posts on the forums, in signatures, or via the Private Messaging system. Doing so could lead to an Official Warning or account Infraction.

Carfax Requests
Requesting or offering CARFAX reports on the Audizine Forums is strictly prohibited. Such threads/posts will be locked or deleted. Doing this repeatedly could lead to an Official Warning or account Infraction.

[Admin]

SIGNATURES & AVATARS

The following is a listing of the standards our Audizine Members must subscribe to regarding the content in their signature area; from graphics (otherwise referred to as "Sig Pics") as well as the basic text and hyperlink content. If these basic standards are not met, you will be asked to make the appropriate changes or we may feel obligated to change or remove the image(s) or text for you.

The standards are put in place to make Audizine not only easier to browse and navigate, but quicker to load, and more accessible for our viewers at work or home where certain content may not be tolerated. These are simple requests, and we feel the standards we set forth are not hard to follow and are quite simple to abide by. We do not ask much, but we do seek your understanding and cooperation.


• SIGNATURE
- Graphics/Images/Pics
N/A

- Content Allowed
We prefer that the text within your signature area to pertain to your vehicle(s), modifications done to your vehicle(s), links to an image of your vehicle(s), etc. You are limited to 500 total characters and 10 lines of text, font size 2 or smaller.

- Content/Imagery NOT Allowed
We do not allow links to sexually explicit or offensive material. We do not allow racist and offensive text, political statements, or unauthorized advertising. Advertising and business information is only allowed by official Audizine Advertisers. No links or information for any company, product, or business is allowed in the sig area except by that of an official advertiser.


• AVATAR
- Graphics/Images/Pics
160x80 maximum dimensions in JPEG, GIF, or PNG format.

- Content Allowed
An automotive-related image, preferably of your vehicle.

- Content/Imagery NOT Allowed
We do not allow images containing any forms of racy, sexually explicit, and/or graphic and offensive material. We do not allow political statements, racial images, or advertising and marketing. Advertising and business information is only allowed by official Audizine Advertisers.


We reserve the right to remove and edit your signature area or avatar at any time, as deemed necessary.

If you notice an Audizine Member not adhering to these Signature Area Rules & Guidelines, please contact one of the Administrators or Moderators.

[Admin]

SERIOUS OFFENSES

The following is a fairly thorough list of what is NOT allowed or welcomed on the Audizine Forums; actions and behavior that would get one's account either Warned, Suspended, or Permanently Banned via Infractions (more on Warnings & Infractions below). This covers all general interactive and social sections of Audizine, site-wide. Individual subforums and sections may have their own more specific content guidelines which would need to be adhered to as well.

Harassment/Abuse
At no point is it ever OK to attack, taunt, or threaten another member of Audizine. Any instance seen of doing so, whether on the Public Forums, Private Messaging, Profile Comments, Classified Ads, Audizine Email, etc will resort in a Warning, Suspension, or Permanent Ban of one's account.

Flaming
A form of Harassment and Abuse, Flaming is the act of attacking another member of the community in a direct fashion via the Public Forums, PM, Email, etc. Again, this will not be tolerated and will lead to a Warning, Suspension, or Ban of one's account.

Trolling
Another form of Harassment and Abuse, Trolling can be done directly to another individual user, to a specific group, or the entire community as a whole. This too is not allowed and will lead to a Warning, Suspension, or Ban of one's account.

Porn/Explicit Imagery
Nudity and explicit sexual imagery, as well as graphic or disturbing imagery, is not allowed or permitted. Nothing above a PG-13 rating may be posted on the Public Forums. Going against these guidelines can lead to a Warning, Suspension, or Permanent Ban of one's account.

Scamming/Defrauding
It is never OK to Scam or Defraud a fellow member of Audizine. Anyone caught committing or trying to commit such offenses towards another member will receive an immediate suspension or permanent ban their account. Whether by the use of the Classifieds Section, Forums, or any other section on Audizine.

Spamming/Unauthorized Advertising
This includes one's business/company name, nickname, or acronym within the Audizine username, business contact info in an account's signature area (sig), and advertising within posts/threads in the Forums or ads in the Classifieds. Only our Official Advertisers are permitted to advertise and market their products and services on the Audizine website. Depending upon the severity of the offense this can lead to a Warning, Suspension, or immediate Permanent Ban of one's account.

Off-Topic Posting
Repeatedly taking threads Off-Topic, or posting threads in the wrong forum to begin with, will lead to a Warning and eventually can result in the Suspension or Permanent Ban of one's account.

Necro-Bumping
Needlessly replying to or bumping threads that are more than six months old is considered Necro-Bumping. One must add legitimate, on-topic, and directly relevant content to the thread and cannot simply post in it for fun, with a simple "bump" or "TTT". Doing this can lead to a warning, suspension, or ban of one's account.

Abuse of Report System
Submitting excessive and/or needless "post reports" (reports which are not in violation of Audizine's Rules & Guidelines and/or Terms of Service) is considered Abuse of the Report System. Doing so can lead to a Warning, Suspension, or eventual Permanent Ban of one's account.

Ban Evasion
Ban Evasion is the creation of a new account or the use of another account (your own or that of a fellow AZ'er) after one's main/original account has received a Suspension or Permanent Ban. Skirting a Suspension or Ban is not an allowable action and can lead to an extended Suspension or Permanent Ban of one's main account or any borrowed or new/duplicate accounts.

[Admin]

WARNINGS & INFRACTIONS

Warnings and Infractions go alongside the Serious Offenses as listed in the above post. This serves as a checks and balances system, to allow for inappropriate, unnecessary, and unwanted behavior to be cleaned up or for the excessive and repeat offenders to be removed from the Audizine Community entirely. The system is points based, with every account starting at 0. Like in golf, a lower score is better.

Points/Strikes
An Official Warning is as it sounds, it's simply a warning with no points (or strikes) issued. Most Infractions issue 1 point, but the more severe ones such as Scamming or Ban Evasion are between 2 and 4.

Warning (Yellow Card): 0 Points
Infraction (Red Card): 1-4 Points

Suspensions/Bans
2 Points = Account Suspended for 2 Days
3 Points = Account Suspended for 5 Days
4 Points = Account Permanently Banned (AKA: Terminated)

NOTE: Warnings and Infractions issued are not open for public discussion and debate. A member who has received a Warning/Infraction is welcome to discuss it with an Administrator via Private Message or email but these discussions should not take place publicly on the forums. Threads about members receiving Warnings/Infractions will be closed and/or deleted as such information is deemed a private matter between the member in question and the Admin/Mod Team.

[Admin]

COMMON FORUM COURTESY

While this list of items are not Serious Offenses - which can get your Audizine account into major trouble - they are things that can and will upset your fellow AZ'er and possibly lead to friction and animosity. For your sake and for the sake of others, please abide by these simple and easy bits of online courtesy.

First of all, SEARCH!
Before asking a question, and/or making a new thread about a topic, do a "Search". Audizine has been around for many years now, and odds are the question you have has already been asked and answered. So please take the time to do a bit of research, and put that wonderful Search Feature to work! You might be surprised what you find. If you don't find what you're looking for, then go ahead and post away.

Mind your Caps-lock Key
Seems simple, but typing in all caps can really irritate other members. On the internet, typing in all caps comes off like you're yelling, and no one likes a loudmouth. So please, keep that caps lock key in check, and use proper capitalization, spacing, punctuation, and even try your best to spell your words properly. This will all go a long way in getting a helpful response.

BAD:

HEY I'M NEW HERE AND THINKING OF BUYING AN AUDI.

GOOD:

Hey I'm new here and thinking of buying an Audi.

Don't Abuse the Emoticons
Emoticons (AKA: Smilies) are a fun way to express your emotions on the internet, but overdoing it simply defeats that purpose and does nothing but clutter up a post. Use them sparingly and wisely.

BAD:

Man your car is looking great!

GOOD:

Man your car is looking so cool!

Don't Stretch the Page
This can be done by posting oversized images or by entering excessive characters into a post without proper character spacing. This achieves nothing but a page that is hard to read and requires scrolling to view in its entirety.

Lastly, be Polite
As in real life, a friendly demeanor and attitude goes a long way. If you're rude to others and show a bad attitude on Audizine, you will make enemies quickly and it will be a detriment to obtaining and sharing information. Your time spent here won't be enjoyable, and it certainly won't be long.

All of us here at Audizine appreciate your understanding and cooperation with these rules and guidelines. Know that we are doing our very best to keep Audizine going, keep it strong, and keep it moving in a good and positive direction.

Thank you,

The Audizine Admin & Moderator Team