At this point it has become standard practice for me to repost the forum rules and etiquette at the beginning of each year. Since we're starting the year 2004 I thought it would be a good time to go ahead and update the etiquette and rules.

MESSAGE CONTENT RULES

All messages posted to the forum must adhere to the following rules. Any message that fails to adhere to any of these rules may be deleted at the sole discretion of the forum moderators.

1. ON-TOPIC. All messages posted to the forum must be on-topic. "On-topic" means the message must be related in some meaningful way to the 8052 microcontroller and derivatives, or to the community of developers that work with them.

2. NO ADVERTISING. Unsolicited advertisements for products or services may not be posted to the forum. However, a response to a question posed by other forum participants may reference or even suggest any commercial product or service. In other words, don't use the forum to announce or advertise your products; but if someone asks a question and your product or service is a worthwhile solution, please feel free to reply with that information. If you have a new product or service you'd like to announce to the 8052 community, please contact the webmaster to submit a "news" article which will appear in the news section.

3. NO "FOR SALE" MESSAGES. Do not post "for sale" messages to the forum as if it were a "classifieds" section, even if you are an individual selling used equipment. For-sale posts will be deleted.

4. REAL NAMES. All messages posted to the forum must be posted using your real full name, first and last. Aliases and handles, or just using your first name, are not acceptable as this is a professional forum.

5. EMAIL ADDRESSES. Users must provide their correct, valid email address when posting messages. If you do not want to reveal your email address to the public you may select the "Don't Publish Email Address" checkbox to conceal this information. But in all cases a valid email address must be provided when posting a message, regardless of whether or not this information is made available to the public.

6. NON-OFFENSIVE. Posts should not be offensive or ridicule others. This is a technical forum where there is no need or justification for such comments. If you wish to participate in a positive manner, we encourage your participation. If you find yourself only able to participate in a negative manner, please refrain from participating.

7. ENGLISH. All messages must be posted in English since this is the single language that most forum participants have in common. This is not because we believe English is a better language, it's just the most convenient given the demographics of the users of this website.

8. ENGLISH TOLERANCE. Please keep in mind that not everyone speaks English as their first language. Posts that criticize the way a message is written or phrased are off-topic and usually offensive and will generally be deleted by the moderators. If your only contribution to a thread is commenting on the way it was written, don't post.

9. LEGALITY. Messages may only contain information that may be legally shared with the public.

10. COMPLAINTS. Complaints about the way the site or forum are operated, managed, or moderated should be addressed to the webmaster from the Contact Page. Such messages posted to the forum are off-topic, unless in reply to a thread created by the webmaster or moderator specifically created to discuss such issues.

11. DISCLAIMER. The content of each message is the responsibility of the user that posted it. The moderators will attempt to enforce these forum rules as completely as possible but the poster of each message is ultimately responsible for the contents of the message. 8052.com and VIS makes no guarantee as to the accuracy or usefulness of any information obtained herein.

MESSAGE & THREAD DELETION

We will attempt to delete messages and threads as seldom as possible. However, the purpose of this forum is to be a useful place to exchange ideas and questions regarding the 8052--not to be a perfect democracy or a "free speech" area to post off-topic posts. So while it is our hope we will not have to delete messages or threads, we will do so in order to keep the forum "on-topic" and enjoyable.

If you ever find that one of your messages or threads have "disappeared," feel free to contact me from the "Contact Us" page. We keep a permanent record of every message and thread that has ever been deleted and we'll be happy to explain to you why the specific message or thread was removed from the forum.

MEANING OF "PROFESSIONAL FORUM"

It is often stated that this is a "professional forum." It is often answered that there are many non-professionals, such as hobbyists and students. It should be made clear that when we say that this is a professional forum we are referring to the level and manner of discussion, not that everyone here is an 8052 professional. Everyone is welcome here--8052 professionals, students, hobbyists, etc.

What we do ask. however, is that everyone conduct themselves in a professional manner. Please make your best effort to write clear and understandable messages, and don't use local shorthand or abbreviations that may not be understood worldwide. The use of "SMS" abbreviations is not professional and is highly discouraged.

Remember, we are all "judged" every day and when we are communicating on a forum such as this the only thing you will be judged on is the quality of the messages you post. Your posts reflect on you, so write accordingly.

CONCLUSION

I hope this year will be another year of useful and constructive postings in this forum. The number of messages and replies being posted to this forum continues to amaze me and I hope that, by following these rules and guidelines, we can all participate in a positive environment dedicated to the 8052 architecture.

Thanks!

Craig Steiner
8052.com Webmaster