MrData.Net Discussion Forums: Notes

Spam

Spam has been increasingly degrading the usefullness of the MrData.Net Discussion Forums. Therefore, the following is the spam policy for the MrData.Net Discussion Forums as of 23 May AD 2003. I will begin enforcing this policy on 01 June 2003.

Unsolicited commercial advertisements (spam) are not considered desirable on the MrData.Net discussion forums. In other words, no blatent self-promotion is allowed. If you want to cite your URL or product in response to someone elses's post, that is fine. The problem is when people simply post an advertisement not in a response to a need indicated by someone else's post. I call that spam of the discussion forum. Use your best judgement. And, of course, if you are otherwise making legitimate posts, you can always feel free to include a citation to your site by using the "Optional Link URL" and "Optional Link Title" fields in the Post New Message form. If you have any questions, feel free to E-mail me for help. If you see anyone abusing the forums by posting spam, feel free to E-mail abuse@mrdata.net.

Please note that, regarding spam on any of the MrData.Net Discussion Forums on or after 01 June 2003: For each spam post you make, you will have to pay the advertising rates in effect at that time, and you will be penalized $25.00 (USD) per spam post to pay for my spam cleanup costs. If you have any questions about this policy, feel free to E-mail me.

Security Notes:

• I recommend that you create a profile. This will reserve your name for you, so that no one else can post in your name without your password. There is a "Create a Profile" link at the top of the main message index for each discussion forum. Or, you can click the following link: Create a Profile. Once you create a profile, it can be used for any MrData.Net discussion forum.
• When you post to the forum, the IP address of your Internet connection is recorded for security purposes. What this means is that I have something to help me track down people who do illegal things on this board. Based upon the time of a post, I can contact the ISP (provider of the poster's Internet connection) and ask the ISP to look into the matter.
• It is not necessary for you to provide an E-mail address in order to make a post. If you do include an E-mail address, it will be possible for any readers to E-mail you. You might even get spam.
• Please think for a moment before you post. You don't want to face legal charges of libel (writing something that is unjustly unfavorable of someone).

Inserting HTML:

• If you wish to insert your E-mail address or to insert a link to a Web site, simply type your E-mail address or the URL inside your post. It should automatically become a clickable link.
• If you wish to use more complex HTML, simply use [square brackets] instead of <angled brackets>. For example:
  To insert this HTML: <a href="http://www.mrdata.net/">MrData.Net</a>
  Type this into post: [a href="http://www.mrdata.net/"]MrData.Net[/a]
  (Note that the quote marks are required. This is the opposite of the protocol of the UBB Code, a different bulletin board system.)
• The following HTML substitutions work:
  

  Type this:	To get this:
  [b]	<strong>
  [/b]	</strong>
  [i]	<em>
  [/i]	</em>
  [list]	<ul>
  [/list]	</ul>
  [bullets]	<ul>
  [/bullets]	</ul>
  [numbers]	<ol>
  [/numbers]	</ol>
  [letters]	<ol type="a">
  [/letters]	</ol>
  [/*]	</li>
  [*]	<li>
  [quote]	<blockquote><strong>"</strong>
  [/quote]	<strong>"</strong></blockquote>
  [code]	<pre>
  [/code]	</pre>
  [center]	<center>
  [/center]	</center>
  [big]	<big>
  [/big]	</big>
  [small]	<small>
  [/small]	</small>
  [a href="URL"]title[/a]	<a href="URL">title</a>

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Title: MrData.Net Discussion Forums: Notes