ATLTF Forum Ruleset (Revised 12/17/2016)

Welcome to the ATLTF!

The All Terrain Lawn Tractor Forum would like to welcome one and all to our community. We encourage members to share their experiences, ask questions, give and receive relevant knowledge, tips, tricks and ideas. We do troubleshooting, parts sourcing, modification help, and the like. We cater to all age ranges, and as such, must maintain a certain decorum with younger members in mind. We like pics, videos, explanations, how-to's, and stories of both stellar victories and epic defeats. Don't have a tractor? That's okay- dreams are allowed! One day, right? In the meantime, nothing stops you from asking/answering questions, spitballing, and scheming.

Below are the Rules and Guidelines that will ensure that we all have a good time here. We ask that all new and old members read through this and reference it if they should need assistance.

STAFF
Administrator - Can issue warnings, bans, modify and remove posts, and edit user profiles.
Moderator - Can issue warnings and modify and remove posts.
@ Chat Moderator - Can kick users as well as issue warnings and bans in the Chatbox.
Forum Supporter - Forum VIPs with access to secret areas. They aid in moderating.




Username
New members may choose any Username they see fit. No profanity or vulgarity is allowed in the username. Any Usernames deemed inappropriate will be changed without the consent of the member. User names are only changeable by contacting an Administrator and only for good reason.

Accounts
Only one account per user. Extra accounts will be deleted, and warnings issued. Accounts can only be deleted by an Administrator and only for good reason.

Avatars
Members may upload a photo to be used as their avatar. No lewd, vulgar, obscene, graphic or sexually graphic images will be tolerated. No avatar may be displayed in such a manner as to insult, accuse, or defame a country, the military, or any person. Any inappropriate avatar may be deleted by an Administrator.

Forum and Chat behavior

The staff (Adminstrators, Moderators, etc) are to be treated with respect at all times, even if you don't agree with them.

Treat other members as you would want to be treated. No room for jerks here. Give respect, get respect.

If you have an issue with something or someone, relax. Take it to PM, don't broadcast it. If needed, log out awhile and cool off.

DO NOT:

>Post racist, or discriminatory remarks.

>Post sexist remarks - This includes not only sexual discrimination, but derogatory remarks towards sexual preference or orientation.

>Post threats, or threaten others.

>Post religious, or political comments, joking or otherwise. Gets too touchy too fast.

>Post or link to material that is considered sexually explicit, profane, hateful, lewd, threatening, abusive, defamatory, drug use or otherwise inappropriate for a family viewing of the website.

>Post material that is intended to bait others to a conflict (otherwise known as trolling or hating).

>Post material that you know contains a virus or other malicious software.

>Cross-post multiple posts or threads about the same topic. This includes either creating multiple threads about the same topic in multiple forums or the same thread repeatedly or posting the same post within multiple existing threads.

>Post spam. Defined as advertising another website/ websites/ products or services without permission from forum administration, or submitting pointless posts consecutively in a short period of time.

>Post in all CAPS or in giant run-on sentences without punctuation. Do not post as if texting and avoid the use of texting abbreviations. It is extra work to post proper sentences from a smartphone but the result will be greatly appreciated. Please do your best to use capitalization, proper spelling and punctuation. It makes it easier for everyone to read!

Penalties
This forum operates on a 3 strike system.

Generally, you will receive two warnings before being given a ban. A ban can range anywhere from between 6 hours for your first offence to 24 hours for your third. In the case of serious offences a ban may be issued without any warnings.

A ban is defined as a prohibition of something, and in this case it blocks you from accessing the site at all. Avoiding a ban by re-joining under a new identity is a bannable offense, often leading to a permanent restriction. A profile is not banned, the person is. If you're out, you're out. We reserve the right to ban members without issuing warnings in the case of serious offences, or by being banned from an affiliated site (such as our Facebook page).




Profile Options
A rundown of the key options at your fingertips.

Personalized profile
>YouTube: Insert your YouTube channel NAME here (not the URL). This will aid to let others know who you comment as.

>Birthday: Adding your age will help you find similar aged members, increasing your odds of having similar interests.

>Gender: Optional. Feel free to fill it out if you desire.

>Location. Please provide a location. This helps see who is close to you, and can help out. Consider adding your name to our Member Map.

Contact Field
>YouTube: Your YouTube channel URL

>Facebook: Your Facebook profile URL

Generic posting
is defined as short responses that provide no substance to a post. Examples are "Yeah" "yes" "ok" and other short posts, which are not appropriate responses.

Generic posts fill up empty space, space that could be used by more thought out responses. Space that could be saved instead of reading through a build thread and having to go through 30 pages of "yeah, ok".

To stop Generic Posting, think of how the post will contribute in some way. If you think it sounds like it won't, think of another response instead. If someone says "Ok, I'm going to go out and measure x tomorrow", don't reply "ok", just wait until they follow up. Or, if they say that and don't reply in a few days, bump the thread up with a "Figure it out yet?".

We realize not all generic postings are like that. One of the places where generic postings are acceptable is on a thread dedicated to pictures, or following up a picture. The "Game" threads in Off-Topic are also exempt. However, try not to copy or repeat what the last post said and put more effort into making a more fruitful response.


Multiposting
is defined as posting multiple times after your past post in a short amount of time, with nobody supplying any responses in between your posts. This bolsters post counts (messing up our statistics) and clutters threads with excess blank space or signatures. Excessive Multiposting could result in it being classed as Spam, resulting in negative repercussions.

To prevent multiposting, clicking the  button in the upper right of your last post will bring you to the text editor, allowing you to add in whatever you need to.

There are VERY FEW exceptions where multiposting is allowed. The only time it is permitted is if a/ your thread hasn't been replied to in about 4-6 hours (or so), and you have something useful to contribute. For example, if you need to update your build and nobody had posted it in it for a day or two, or maybe you updated it in the morning and nobody posted in it all day and you need to update it again at night. Another time is if the start of a thread would benefit from being split up. A good example is my announcement posts, where a substantial breaker may be needed to better convey a message (see the 2016 Build-Off Prize thread). Or if you are posting a ton of pictures and the text editor gets maxed out or it will get too long.


Dead Thread Revival
is defined as reviving a thread that hasn't been replied to in at least 12 months (1 year).

There is a fine line between what qualifies as a reply and a revival. To figure out if you are reviving a dead thread, think about if your response offers useful advice. Replying to an old thread with repeat advice is a good example, as the question has been answered and your response was not needed. Another example is asking a question that could have been answered by doing a search in a build thread that hasn't been updated in a long time. Asking the same or another question in a dead thread is greatly looked down upon, as you could conduct a search or start a new thread.

Replies to your own old build thread because you are working on it again, offering new useful information to a question, or updating a question you asked and solved and wanted to explain how you fixed it do not count as "dead thread" revival, as you are providing useful information.

Essentially you will have to make the decision. If we deem your response as reviving a dead thread, the thread will be locked and your reply may be deleted.



By joining the ATLTF, you assume all responsibility for your actions. While we try to be vigilant in our moderation, we cannot be held liable for any personal injuries sustained by following advice listed on this forum due to builder neglect. We cannot be held responsible for any property or physical damages caused by builder neglect and lack of added safety features. This forum is offered as a place for builders to share advice and ideas and will not be a place of insurance or as a security blanket for decisions or actions taken by the person in question. Essentially, your registration, upon being approved, acts as a waiver and will be in effect immediately.

All rules and guidelines listed above are subject to alteration without notice.

If you have any questions or concerns over this, contact us by using our contact form.