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WF's Plain and simple rules

Gandalfe

Striving to play the changes in a melodic way.
Staff member
Administrator
The end-all, be-all of our rules is, "Be nice to each other." There are some specific things that we want to mention, though:

* Be respectful of each other. Remember, one has to "take offense." If you take offense to something, ask politely for clarification. Someone might have "misspoken." If you have a real problem and can't settle it via PM, talk to a staff member.

* Post in English. This isn't because we're English snobs, it's because we (mostly) can't read anything else.

* Make an effort to use good spelling and grammar (see the above note). If you can't read English and you're using Google Translate, the translation will be hideous if the spelling and/or grammar is bad.

We recommend that you use Firefox, Google Chrome or the Iron browser. All these have built in spell-checkers. You could also type your message in your favorite text processor, check it and then copy and paste it into the forum.

* Please limit your use of slang. I've worked with people from all over the world and it is sometimes amusing to see the looks on their faces when I use slang, but you can't see people here, so there's no amusement value.

===========

What's "Banned"?
"Banned" means that your posting rights are taken away. You also won't be able to see your custom groups and possibly other "premium" forum features. The length of the ban is dependant on how the CE, Mod, or Admin feels. Do note that we can use something called "Spam-O-Matic." This banning option can ban your IP address, e-mail account, and username not only from the WF but from other forums that use Akismet.

Specific Things We'll Probably Ban You For

* Keep all content safe and suitable for work (i.e. keep the swearing to a minimum, don't post p0rn). Failure to do so may result in an immediate and permanent ban.

* Don't post stuff that's illegal (including copyrighted stuff, libel, etc.). Don't post links to illegal stuff or how to get stuff illegally. Doing so may result in an immediate and permanent ban.

* Don't cross post (cross posting is when you post the same post in multiple places), as we may will consider it spam and you may get banned.

==========

We'll DEFINITELY Ban You For ...

... Disrespecting the WF staff.

In other words,
--> If a WF staff member tells you to stop doing something and you continue doing it, that's a Bad Idea.
--> Starting a thread to continue a locked thread is a Rather Bad Idea.
--> Starting a thread to dispute the locking of a thread is a Really Bad Idea.
--> Making a personal attack on a CE/Mod/Admin for any decision that the CE/Mod/Admin made is an Incredibly Bad Idea.

... Spam or phishing.

==========

Finally, please note:

The staff and members of The Woodwind Forum do not necessarily endorse any product or service mentioned on this forum.

Forum membership does not mean that we implicitly approve of someone's product or services. If you patronize a forum member and have a problem, DO NOT TAKE IT OUT IN A FLAME WAR ON THE FORUM. If you want to drop Ed, Jim, Helen, or me a PM or e-mail about someone, go ahead. However, we're not under any obligation to ban someone because of your experiences.

==========

If you need specific qualifications for any of the above, feel free to contact a member of the staff.


Small update on 05/03/14 @ 4:27p by pete. Update regarding Spam-O-Matic. Added Helen to the list of Admins.
Small update on 05/03/14 @ 4:17p by pete. Update to make the "Bad Ideas" a bit more comprehensive.
Small update on 12/31/07 @ 4:13p by pete.
Small update on 01/03/08 @ 9:42a by pete.
Update for spam/phishing on 01/05/08 @ 8:27p by pete.
Update language and cross posting on 01/16/08 @ 10:30a by ed.
Update to include Libel on 08/26/09 by pete.
Update regarding spelling/grammar/slang on 07/24/10 by pete.
Update regarding "immediate ban offenses" on 07/24/10 by pete.
Updated browser list on 07/24/10 by pete.
Update regarding endorsements on 12/15/11 @8:15p by pete.
 
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First, "The Mall" (our marketplace area) has its own specific rules and permissions.

Second, people have asked if it's OK to post in a thread that they know where the horn/mouthpiece being discussed is for sale (see http://www.woodwindforum.com/forum/index.php?threads/for-sale-discussion-and-clarification.21039/).

I, personally, don't have any business ties, but I do have some businesses that I'm quite fond of. So, if the thread is about, "Should I buy an R13?" and I know where one's for sale, I'll try to be helpful and say, "Hey! I know where one's for sale!"

I tend to doubt that most are going to be posting something to the effect of, "... And that's why the Bundy II alto sax is the best horn EVAR. By the way, we've got them on sale for $5,000 at my store." (Well, at least I HOPE no one's going to post something like that :p.) However, if I do see posts like that OR if someone posts so often that something is for sale somewhere that people are annoyed, I'll have a nice one-on-one chat with the poster.

Again, I refer back to Ed's comment: if it's in the natural flow of a thread where someone asks about a product and you can comment that you know where a particular product is, we have no problems with the mention. If some decides to register two accounts here for the sole purpose of havening one account to ask where to find a product and another account to say where to find that product or if someone just starts posting in random threads that he's got something for sale, I'll have a problem with that person and have a little chat with him (re: spamming the forum). I think this may be a real concern of some, so that's why I specifically mention it.

OTHERWISE PLEASE PUT ANY SALES/WANTED POSTS IN THE MALL AREA.

If anyone has a problem with any post, please click on the REPORT link and we'll address it. Or send one or all of us on the admin team a Conversation request or E-mail.

Update to include current Mall rules on 08/26/09 by pete.
 
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If you're going to stage a YAGE -- Yet Another Grand Exit -- consider yourself banned. However, we may grade you on how amusing your YAGE is and invite you back for another to see if you can top yourself. Or, if your attempt was really poor, the invite will be for a do-over.

Please see http://www.woodwindforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=873 for further information. (This rule has been in effect since the forum opened in 2008, but a member asked to have it cross-posted here, so it is.)
 
Addendum: we've added a new forum area for questions about horn value.

You're allowed to post in this area if and only if:

1. You have detailed, non-blurry, large pictures of your instrument. See this thread for what we're looking for.
2. You've included the serial number and, preferably, everything mentioned in this thread.
3. You've already checked closed eBay ads yourself. See this thread for information on how to and why.
4. You post in this section.

Note that we're not trying to be insulting if we say that your horn is worth significantly less than what you thought. After all, we'd like you to be a member of this forum and contribute.

All threads regarding value that don't meet the above qualifications will just be deleted.
 
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You know, this is my favorite woodwind forum. I check it all the time, and I wouldn't want to leave. However, after reading the rules about YAGE (Yet Another Grand Exit) I get seriously tempted. I have so much terrific unused material, sometimes I want to see how far I can go before 51% of the members realize I'm not serious.

Oh, well. It's the internet after all - So permanent that I'll just have to suck it up, pretend that I'm serious all the time, and do my best to act like a college professor. However, I've heard that recently some of those profs are the funniest guys in the biz.
 
Amusingly, I actually have invited some folks that did a YAGE here to come back because the YAGEs they did were fairly lame. One user did decide to come back ... and dialed it back a notch. That person's still a member. I've also had a couple people say that my brand of humor was objectionable and did YAGEs. Again, one came back, after my invite. I guess that means that if you do a lame YAGE, there's about a 50% chance you'll become a member again.

I've also had to explain to at least one person about ...
* Why we have the interesting negative commentary about alto clarinets (because one of our CEs found them useless and he's got some good arguments)
* Why, when I post something about soprano sax, I invariably say that I suck at straight soprano and link to a recording of "my" performance ... that's really John Coltrane playing "My Favorite Things" (it's the sax version of a Rick Roll)

I've also seen really good folks have really bad days and take it out in the Forums. If I know the poster, I generally delete the post and ask him if he really meant to post that.

I think that the basic problem is that we can't see each other, so it's difficult to know when someone's kidding around. However, I think the secondary problem is because some folks are looking for offense where none was intended or even implied.
 
I am deadly serious about alto clarinets...

And, I am interested if anyone hereon has ever been paid to play his/her alto clarinet? I have, and I've never met anyone else who has...
 
I play my alto clarinet in a gig maybe once a year usually in the Community band because we have too many alto saxes (four in a group that is over 60 band members). When we have more than one chart with only one alto sax part, usually marches, I pull out the alto clarinet. I did it this year for a chart, can't remember the name right now, and the director stopped the group halfway through the sight reading session to say, we should play the bass sax part. So for this next concert I'm playing the sop, alto, and bass sax parts and decided not to bother with the alto clarinet.

I have played it in a clarinet choir but quickly moved to contrabass clarinet because I wanted to rattle my back teeth.
 
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