Forum Rules <all read and understand>

[Art]

The Soviet Military Awards Page Forum Rules

Welcome!
This forum exists to serve the Soviet (1917-1991) militaria collecting community by helping disseminate information between collectors. It is a place for sharing knowledge about awards and all that is asked of the membership is to adhere to a few rules. This website and it's forum are offered free of charge to the collecting community through funds received by the generous members who have subscribed, through our marketplace listings, and via website advertisements provided by EBay and Google. The moderators of the forum are valued experts in the area of Soviet awards and uniforms and have websites of their own. The membership are kindly encouraged to patronize the moderators businesses. It is they who offer the truly expert opinion, and they do it tirelessly, accurately, and without request for compensation. You can visit their websites by visiting the links section of this website. Their sites are "showcased" in a section for moderators only. They are the only dealers who are endorsed by this forum. You see them here, you know who they are, and you know they are honest.
However, the moderators and I are also bound by these simple rules:

1. Absolutely no forsale or wanted messages outside the marketplace, or links to websites which sell awards. Period.
For sale or wanted messages outside the marketplace are forbidden. This includes any message posts which link to an image or text file on a commercial site. In short, if a posted link directs members to a website that sells awards, no matter where the image or information is located on the website, it will be deleted. The forum marketplace is the only area commercial activity is permitted. You can find information about fees for this service here.

NOTE: Members are free to post links to EBay auctions they or others may have listed. Please read the EBay Militaria RSS Feed FAQ here.

2. No self-promotion or promotion of other websites/businesses.
Self-promotion and promotion of other websites (commercial or non-commercial) is highly discouraged and will result in a friendly warning, followed by more active measures. The following are common "tactics" used and will be addressed if not corrected immediately.These areas are for self-expression, not areas for free-advertising.

• Usernames that are domain names. For example Joe@shop.com. Your account will be deleted immediately.


• Advertising via usergroup name (the bit of text directly below your username).


• Advertising via signature (the area located below the message body).

3. No "name-dropping" of websites or dealers.
We are all on a friendly first-name basis here, and we all know each other..any dealer that needs to be referred to on a first and last name basis isn't among the membership of this forum. Certain dealers names are now censored automatically by the forum. Attempts to circumvent the censor will result in a 1 week banning. If you feel you absolutely have to tell the world about this person, make a comment within your message to have anyone interested PM you for more information. Advertising via Google Adsense will be visible to all non-subscribers. This is paid advertising. Although this advertising is visible, it is forbidden to discuss advertisers. More information on the subscription program is here. Subscriptions can be purchased by clicking on the big, orange "subscribe" button at the upper right-hand corner of the forum.

4. Image posting rules.
This forum requires that all members post images onto the forum rather than linking to them. The reason this is required is to ensure that the images will not eventually disappear and leave a hole in the discussion. To see an example of a ruined post because of non-functioning offsite image link click here. Because of the sheer number of images we accumulate year after year, image posting must be managed carefully. It is YOUR responsibility to learn how to use the numerous image editing software packages available to provide clear, concise, and relevant images. For those that cannot be bothered with the extra effort so that this forum can function efficiently, do not waste your time posting here. Here is an excellent post which provides the perfect example regarding the necessity of posting excellent images.

Several different levels of image posting are granted to our members.

New Member (0-150 message posts)
New members are encouraged to join the discussion. We hope you enjoy your membership here and continue to contribute your knowledge which in turn will educate others. New members may post a maximum of three images per post, with a file size limit of 50K per image. If you must post additional images, you can do so by posting a follow-up message to your original post. New members are required to keep images at 50K or below, so that we can conserve storage space on our server. Please look at the image editing FAQs to read more about how to edit your images so they can be posted properly. Linking to "free" image hosting websites or to your own website in order to avoid the 50K limit is not allowed and the image/link will be deleted. You may post links to these off-forum images if you provide an adequate smaller preview image along with your links. Any link without a proper thumbnail image will be deleted. Follow-up comments such as "where is my link, why was my link deleted, etc.." will be deleted, repeated comments will result in the thread being closed. It is your responsibility to understand this rule and the reason behind it. You will be banned accordingly if you require to be repeatedly warned about your image posting habits.

Dedicated Member (150+ message posts)
As a reward for those that have become dedicated members, your image posting privileges have been increased accordingly. Dedicated members may post images that are a maximum of 100K, with a maximum of three images per message. You may also post a follow up message with more images if you feel this is necessary.

Subscribing Member (no message post requirement)
As a subscribing member, you are entitled to several additional benefits. Please read the Subscription FAQ for a better explanation of donating member benefits. The image file size limit for donating members is increased to 120K per image, three images maximum. You may add another message onto your original if you feel this is necessary.

5. Be courteous. Think before you post.
We are a global community. Don't assume the stereotypes held in your part of the world about a certain culture are held by everyone. While debating and discussion is fine, we will not tolerate rudeness, insulting posts, personal attacks or purposeless inflammatory posts or posts which seem to be nothing more than an attempt at trolling. Discussions that begin to sway towards being political, religious, or espousing personal philosophy based on current events will most likely result in a moderator deleting the offensive material and posting a reminder to keep the thread on topic. If the original topic is not returned to, the thread will be closed. Posts that begin as overtly political or religious in nature will be deleted. This forum is for collecting Soviet awards. It is not a debate forum for current events. Our decision is final in these matters.

In conclusion, If you see your message has been edited (the edited portion will be XXXX'd out along with who edited it and when they did it) do not question us about it unless you absolutely feel you have been wronged. The moderators and I have the ultimate say on what is permissible and what is not.

Thank You for your dedication in helping make this forum the best we can!