# General Mandolin Topics > General Mandolin Discussions >  Posting guidelines

## Scott Tichenor

This is a work in progress and may possibly be edited from time to time.

For all members:

The Mandolin Cafe Message Board is a personal web site owned, operated and paid for by Scott Tichenor. The intent of this virtual community is to create a healthy environment where people of all backgrounds can discuss mandolin family related topics. It's our intent to keep the focus related to this subject matter and we have established some basic guidelines to assist. 

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Mandolin related businesses are allowed to financially support the cost of this server of this web site through the display of an ad on the Message Board or Mandolin Cafe main web site, but no input is sought from these advertisers in our operation, nor is any control exercised by them in the operation of the board or web site.

Help our community prosper. Our focus in on mandolin-family related topics and as a condition of membership we ask that all members observe a few simple rules:

· Avoid flaming or trolling  posts intended to create discord, antagonize others or create general mayhem. Be polite and courteous at all times. We expect spirited discussions and widely varying opinions that some may even find offensive, but exercise caution. A good rule of thumb is don't say anything on the message board that you wouldnt say to someone in person.
· A profanity filter is in place and blocks most inappropriate language. Attempts to creatively use profanity by altering text will not be tolerated.
· Grievances, personal and corporate: The Cafe discussion board is intended to be a nurturing community. While it is fair game discussing vendor corporate policies, malevolent harassment of individual employees, including posting names, email address, or any other personal contact information will not be tolerated. For example, a concern about a manufacturer's warranty policy or a reseller's return policy is permissible. Using the board to malign or leverage personal advantage in a conflict is strictly forbidden. Though intent or motivation are not always provable, the moderators reserve full right in deeming whether or not comments made are consistent with policy, and may take action to edit, delete, or when necessary, revoke posting privileges.
· Ebay, online auctions, Cafe Classifieds: while discussing online auctions or the classifieds is permitted, posting personal transactions for self-promotion is prohibited. Fraudulent transactions are legitimate subject for discussion, but listing Seller's account names or numbers are against board guidelines. 
· Post only non-copyrighted mandolin-related images/attachments. Filling up the board space with images that do not add to our mandolin related subject matter serves no one and creates additional download times for modem users. When in doubt, ask if it's relevant to our community. Pictures of a festival, something personal about a board member or other "member-related" images are typically appropriate when posted with discretion. If in doubt, ask the site owner. We reserve the right to immediately remove any images that are inappropriate or not relevant to the long-term health and well-being of this community.
· Discussions started with the specific purpose or that end up used specifically for the purpose of antagonizing or calling into question a moderator's control of this forum or the site owner's right to enforce the board policy is forbidden, and may result in immediate and permanent loss of membership and posting privileges. If you have concerns regarding board policy you are to contact moderators or the site owner privately.
· Any use of this forum to solicit inappropriate contact inside or outside of the message board for what might be considered sexual activity with minor children is a crime and will result in immediate permanent ban. The board owner will take aggressive steps to identify and report such behavior to the legal authorities. 
· Topics started for or end up being used to discuss religion, politics or sex as well as other hot button issues meant to create discord are prohibited. Posts or threads deemed inappropriate or unrelated to our subject matter are subject to immediate removal at the discretion of the board owner.
· Avatars are available for use on this board. They should be mandolin related. The only exception would be a picture of yourself, your family, a pet or your company, business or web site logo. As with general board posting and signature guidelines, avatars that are political, sexual or religious in nature will not be tolerated. We will also not tolerate avatars used to make "statements" with an intent to mock, slander or defame other individuals, instruments or organizations. No animation.
· A board 'signature' space is available for use and attached to each post you make. In keeping with the guidelines of this site, please refrain from attaching signatures or images with sexual, political or religious references.
· Refrain from using the message board as a point of selling items to others or for the purpose of discussing or linking to items you are selling. Please limit selling activities to the Classifieds section of this web site or other external locations.
· Posting someone's personal email address, phone number or address without their permission is prohibited.
· Use of the board for any variety of general "spamming", the selling of non-mandolin products will not be tolerated.
· Any threat or suggestion of physical violence in a disagreement is grounds for immediate suspension of membership.
· Use of the message board to aggressively market or sell various products and/or services or over-promotion of external web sites is not permitted.
· Posts dealing in the sale or transfer of tortoise-shell products protected by the 1973 Endangered Species act are not allowed and will be removed. This includes picks made from "antique" shells.
· Offers to sell, purchase, trade or give away copies of copyrighted audio files including bootlegs of live shows are prohibited. This includes links to other sites where these materials can be obtained.
· The sharing of logins and passwords with another board member or non-member, or a single individual using two separate logins is grounds for immediate loss of membership.

The above guidelines cannot possibly cover every possible scenario that can arise on this board. In times where the guidelines do not cover a situation it is up to the discretion of the board owner to make decisions in the best interest of the message board.

Vendors: for the good of our community we ask that all vendors of mandolin/music related products/services exercise good faith in clearly identifying themselves. Vendor participation is welcome and valued, and we expect you to be involved in discussions of your products. Visitors to the site arrive from all over the world and possess widely varying amounts of knowledge, expertise and experience with our subject matter. This is an international web site for mandolin, not a country-specific web site. All visitors should be able to clearly discern a business relationship at all times in discussions of products sold in the retail market.

Vendors that advertise on the Mandolin Cafe or Mandolin Cafe Message Board: as a condition of membership, individuals employed by a Mandolin Cafe advertiser are required to clearly identify themselves by their proper full name and employer. A link to your business web page is optional but recommended. This information can be easily added to your message board signature.

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NOTE: this thread is locked because its only purpose is to serve as a storage spot for the board's posting guidelines. It's not meant to be a space for discussions.

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## JEStanek

Anyone needing help with posting a picture look at the following linked page. It's very good. May be best to open in another tab or window so you can refer to it as you post on the Café.

Here is Germain Mesureur's tutorial on posting a picture.

Jamie

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