Difference between revisions of "Forum Rules"

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Manjaro Linux Forum Rules of Engagement

These rules have been adopted from the Arch Linux Forum etiquette page that can be found in the Arch Wiki. These guidelines have been developed over time and are based on the extensive experience of the Arch Linux moderation team with input by the Arch community. As with Arch's high quality packages, we also use their high quality forum rules for a base.

Manjaro forum members are required to abide by the following rules.

Common Sense Introduction

REMEMBER THIS

Do not post on the Arch forums. Those forums are for Arch users only.

When seeking help:

Please seek a solution yourself by researching in the Manjaro wiki, Manjaro Forum. Another important source of information is the Arch Wiki and the Arch Forums.
Please provide details of your problem and your system for those from whom you are asking for assistance.
When offering help, be as patient and tactful as possible.

Manjaro is a community of volunteers. Therefore, this entire document may be condensed into one simple admonition:

Proactively seek to give of yourself and to bring only benefit to your peers and community.

Legality

Criminal solicitation is strictly forbidden.

In this context, "criminal solicitation" shall mean, "To actively or passively inform about, facilitate, incite, move, or persuade others to some act of lawlessness or illegal activity."

Therefore, do not post discussions about or link to criminal solicitation in any form. This includes, but is not limited to information or links to facilitate illegal drug use, theft, network intrusion, creation of code for malicious purposes, prohibited software copying, prohibited use of copyrighted/patented material, so-called "warez", or sites which provide torrents or links to such content. Illegal content will be removed swiftly and dealt with in full accordance with known applicable law.

Beyond the above, please take note of the following very important information

As it is located in Germany, the Manjaro forum server is under German law. German law is quite strict when it comes to copyright protection. The relevant laws are complicated and change fast. We don't endorse any illegal use of copyrighted material. Therefore, we reserve the right to delete any postings that include copyrighted material, links that make copyrighted material illegally available, and/or postings that advocate the use of software that is used to use copyrighted material in an illegal way. There are many pages on the internet that deal with copyright infringements.

forum.manjaro.org is not a site for copyright violations.

How to Post

Choose clear, informative thread titles. This is more likely to elicit response from experienced users who have knowledge about that particular topic. It also makes the thread easy to reference and find in forum searches by future users with similar problems. Further, avoid extraneous phrases such as [HELP!], [URGENT], etc.
A sincere effort to use modest and proper language and grammar is a sign of respect toward the community that will certainly be appreciated and is quite likely to elicit positive responses. Please refrain from using so-called "textspeak", "netspeak", "leetspeak" and all other forms of internet slang.
When asking questions, provide as much information as possible, including error messages, terminal output, logs, what you have previously tried, what documentation and searches you have attempted, and related configuration files.
Do not post images or screenshots as part of your topic. The forum is a technical forum not an image gallery.
Choose one topic per thread. Long threads are typically discouraged in the technical issue subforums.
Post your question in only one subforum; pick the most relevant, and post there.
When responding to an existing thread, always read the original post and attempt to focus on the original topic.
Finally, when a solution is found, mark your thread as solved by clicking the vertical hamburger *** ot the topic containing the solution then tick the Solution box.
If a thread is marked as solved, do not reply stating the equivalent of "I am having a similar issue.."; start a new thread and link to the solved thread, if relevant.
Further reading: How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

Personal Topics/Rants

Rants and complaints are frowned on and may be closed as they are discovered.
Posts of this type are much better suited for a blog or other personal web space and are unwanted on the Manjaro forums.
Public posts should be open, productive and inviting to all members.
Discussions among a select group of users should take place in private message.

Ineffective Discussion ("Bikeshed")

Threads stating the equivalent of "there is a problem with the Manjaro system and methodology, we need to discuss it" have been repeatedly proven ineffective and inflammatory and will usually be locked after a warning from the moderation team. If you have identified a systemic issue, find a solution that works for you, implement it, then post.

Furthermore, questioning or discussing the methods used by the Manjaro Linux development team will be monitored closely and locked if deemed unhelpful and/or unproductive. Harsh, unproductive criticism is also uncalled for.

If you have a question regarding Manjaro development, please ensure that your topic poses a specific question and be open-minded to responses. If possible, provide a solution or partial solution. Submitting code and patches for discussion is always more pragmatic than asking others to do it for you.

Be Responsible

If an interpersonal issue arises, please be open-minded to the possibility that your behaviour may have contributed to the problem. Taking responsibility for our actions is often a good first step toward a peaceful reconciliation.

Respect Other Users

Simply put, treat others as you would be treated; respect them and their views, even if you disagree with them.

Respect Other Distributions and Operating Systems

Discussion of the pros and cons of other GNU/Linux distributions and operating systems is allowed. Maligning other GNU/Linux distributions, or any other operating systems is prohibited. The entire Manjaro team is happy to volunteer their time and energy to provide you with the Manjaro Linux distribution, documentation and forums.
Kindly show respect toward the developers and volunteers of other distributions and operating systems as well.
Views, experiences and opinions are always welcome, but unproductive slander is not.

Pasting code and log file contents

Please use [code] tags when pasting console snippets.
Please use a pastebin service when posting large amounts of code or long logs.
For non-English locale users: Please prepend LC_ALL=C to posted commands so the output will be in English.

Product Recommendation Requests

Threads seeking advice about specific computer product recommendations are discouraged.

Such topics, like the technology they discuss, quickly become obsolete and are unlikely to provide any lasting benefit to the wider community.
You are expected to be able to do your own research and draw your own conclusions about which product best suits your individual requirements.
However, Manjaro partners with several hardware vendors. If you're interested in hardware powered by Manjaro, you are welcome to check out the available options at the bottom of the Manjaro Products page.

Spam/Advertising/Solicitation

Spamming is forbidden. Please report spam with the forum report function and a moderator will review it for removal. Offending spam accounts and associated IP addresses will be banned. Do not reply to spam posts as it increases the amount of work required to clean them up.

Publicity, if it is related to Manjaro (as a project or community) or GNU/Linux/FOSS, will usually be allowed. Promoting web-invites, blog posts or commercial promotions are actively discouraged, or outright prohibited. Registering just to promote your issue/cause, FOSS-related or not, treats the community as a resource and is not acceptable; if unsure about the appropriateness of your content, contact the moderation team before posting. Also be aware that posting shortened/obscured links is a technique of spammers and deliberately inhibits the communities ability to judge the propriety of the link. Therefore, please only post links that include a clear destination.

Homework

As a matter of principle, do not ask for homework answers, nor post answers to such requests. Homework assignments are designed to encourage a student to learn by their own personal research. Topics deemed to be about homework will be closed.

Old Threads/"Necro-Bumping"

Do your part to keep the forums tidy. Posting in old threads, or "necrobumping" is generally discouraged in the technical issue subforums, since it can potentially create disjointed "zombie" information; outdated posts with data which is no longer relevant due to Manjaro's rolling nature, combined with more recent posts reflecting more current circumstance. Furthermore, technical support threads should remain succinct, and multiple pages are to be avoided if possible.

Rules of thumb

If you have a question, start a new thread and link to the old if relevant.
If you have something to add and judge that your information is related, but more up-to-date, start a new thread and link to the old if desired, but avoid duplicating effort by posting information already contained in the Manjaro wiki.
If you have a version-agnostic or corresponding solution, necrobumping can be appropriate.

Forum Member Accounts

Multiple forum accounts is strictly forbidden.
Having multiple accounts is an unnecessary use of resources. Further, it may be interpreted as trolling behavior.
Sockpuppets are strictly forbidden.

Impersonation

Impersonation of others will not be tolerated. Attempts to impersonate staff or other forum members will result in immediate banning.

No Trolling

A "troll" is a person who intentionally attempts to disrupt, cause controversy, incite an argument, and/or receive negative attention by deliberately posting provocative content. The term may also refer to the act of posting such content, or the content itself.

Trolls are generally deceitful and often use ambivalence as a method of covertly insulting, intimidating, or inciting a person or persons for their own sadistic pleasure. They often pick their words very carefully and are therefore able to defend their masked attempts at creating unrest, frequently redirecting the blame onto the community and its supposed failure to understand them properly. Trolling is strictly prohibited.

Bigotry & Personal Attacks

"Flaming" fellow members (including the Manjaro team) will not be tolerated. Never resort to simple insults and please avoid sarcastic and patronizing language. Discussions can be productive, but quarrelling is usually destructive. Any form of bigotry pertaining to ethnicity (nationality), religion, gender or sexual preference is prohibited. Personal attacks (substituting abusive remarks for evidence when attacking another person's comments) are not acceptable and some disciplinary action may be taken.

Controversy

Any topics likely to cause controversy (a couple of common examples are politics & sports) are generally discouraged and will be monitored closely. Action may be taken if they become uncivil or the conversation degenerates to personal attacks.

Any form of discussion about religion (including promoting your own religious or anti-religious beliefs) is prohibited.

Safe For Work

Any content that could easily be considered "not safe for work" (NSFW) must be contained within [spoiler] tags or behind links, and should include a "NSFW" warning that is seen prior to the content being shown. Please note that the [spoiler] tag does not work in all browsers.
The type of content this rule primarily applies to is images of people in highly revealing attire, however that is not explicitly the only type of content it can apply to, content likely to be deemed disturbing in nature should also use links/spoiler tags.
Images of graphic violence or nudity are prohibited.

No Power-Posting/Empty Posts

Power-posting is best described as posting empty and worthless messages. It is not tolerated. People may have two reasons to do this: to increase their post count meaninglessly, or to lend support to an idea as if it were a vote. Examples of power-posting include, but are not limited to, replying with "+1", "lol", "me too", "I agree", or ":)".

When posting or replying to messages, make sure you have something to say. These empty posts clutter up threads and discussion, invalidate the 'Unread' and 'Replies' functions, and waste bandwidth and server space.

Threads that degenerate into a series of "+1/-1" or "me too/I agree/I disagree" will be locked. Individual power posts may also be deleted. If you believe a topic deserves determination of consensus, please add a poll to it, to satisfy the impulse of others to make empty posts.

Life is a Two-way Street

A simple, yet profound and undeniable truth. Ensure your thread includes details and information that others will find useful. Share your findings with the community. Share your failures as well. Posting the equivalent of "Nevermind, I fixed it." in your thread or deleting your own posts for similar reasons is not only selfish and useless to the community, but a complete waste of resources and everyone's time. Also, demanding help or showing an obvious impatience toward getting it is unwanted here. Manjaro is provided by a community of volunteers. Manjaro users are strongly encouraged to do research, make an effort, report back in the thread, help others, get involved, and contribute to the community.

Please do not be a "help vampire"

Bumping

Posting a single word or useless message (bumping) to attract attention to your thread is not allowed. Do your own research, continue to troubleshoot, post the results, and be patient with the community. If people are reading your thread without answering or offering help, you may try supplying more details, or ask to be pointed in the right direction. Often, the reason for posts remaining unanswered is due in large part to the sparse details in the original post itself, or, the obvious availability of solutions in the wiki, on the forum or on the web, and the community's unwillingness to point out the obvious.

Cross-Posting

Cross-posting is posting the same question multiple times in different subforums. This is a waste of resources and is not permitted. Any cross-posted topic will be immediately locked or deleted.

Support for other platforms

Other GNU/Linux distributions often use different package management, package versions, repositories and configuration, constituting support for such projects quite impossible on the Manjaro forums. Community technical support is intended for the Manjaro Linux distribution and packages available in the Arch Package Repository and the Arch User Repository. Threads concerning issues with, and requesting support for, completely separate distributions or operating systems are strongly discouraged and may be closed. Threads requesting support for distributions that are upstream or downstream from Manjaro will likely be allowed so long as you've exhausted that distribution's own support services first.

Misplaced Posts

Try to place your posts in the correct forum section for the topic. Our forums have been carefully categorized so that most topics fit in one logical location. Any post that is deemed by the staff to be in the wrong forum will be moved to the correct location without warning. Most users can find these on their own but if you lose your thread, search for it by using the "Show Posts" function that can be found on your forum profile summary page. It is acceptable to contact one of the forum advisers asking where it has been moved.

*off topic - not on the topic of discussion; far from the general subject of a discussion; not part of the purpose of a particular communication channel, such as an Internet newsgroup.[1]

Thread Hijacking

Thread hijacking is the process of replying to an existing thread with a different topic. This is generally discouraged and can incur moderator action. It is better to start a new thread if you have a problem that is related to an existing posted issue but clearly different. Posts that hijack a serious thread with off-topic discussion are also discouraged.

Posting Personal Contact Information

Do not post personal contact information about anyone else. Posting previously undisclosed names, addresses, phone numbers, social-networking site profile links, etc. will result in post deletion/editing and can result in banning. Posting of your own personal information is discouraged. Exchange via private messaging should be used instead.

Respect The Staff

Members of the forum team have been chosen for their ability to exercise consistent judgement in line with the forum rules and reserve the right to take any actions deemed necessary by the team. Note that this forum is not run as a democracy. The forum staff shall always attempt to implement universally peaceful solutions, but in the end, are charged with the responsibility of maintaining peaceful, civil order for the forum majority. Therefore, they cannot always please everyone with the decisions made. Please do your part to contribute to a healthy community and environment.

Never argue with a moderator on the forum. Contact them via PM. If unsatisfied with their response, contact another moderator or Core team member. Do not contact Philm since he does not deal with forum moderation.

If you feel that an egregious oversight has been made, do NOT post complaints in forum threads - they will be quickly closed. Alternatively, use the forum report function or message a member of the Global Moderators group.

Warnings, User Locking, Banning

If the Manjaro Forum Moderation Team feels that a member's behaviour violates any of these rules, a warning will typically be issued unless the occurrence is judged to be especially flagrant, in which case a ban may become imminent. Warnings will not be discussed on the Manjaro Forums, IRC channels, or mailing lists by the Moderation Team. If the warning goes unheeded, further action will be taken. This may range from locking the offending user account, to deletion or banning of the user, out of consideration for a peaceful forum and community.

Threads in which conversation has turned contentious may be temporarily locked to provide a cool down period for participants.

Forum Rules Violations

Disciplinary action taken as a result of violation(s) of the Manjaro forum rules will be handled case-by-case, but generally uses a three-step process:

First violation prompts a formal warning.
Second & final warning, often accompanied by a short-term suspension of account.
The forum member will be banned.

If a user is apologetic, interested in a peaceful solution and wishes to have their account reinstated, a general consensus will be formed by the moderation team for, or against, such a request.

Freedom

The free and open exchange of assistance, speech, ideas and opinions is highly regarded and encouraged on the forums, but it must be noted that the freedom granted to forum members is relative freedom.

It exists within the boundaries of the above guidelines and principles. Complaints of censorship are therefore baseless and unfounded, since this necessary framework must simultaneously provide reasonable limitations.

To illustrate, we are aware of the physical laws which govern energy and matter, yet we do not complain of their oppression. Instead, we recognize that such laws are essential for our welfare.

Likewise, the Manjaro community's high standards reflected in these guidelines regulate community freedom for the common good and protection of all. The key, then, to true freedom on the forums is to cultivate benevolence toward others and harmonize our attitude with the Manjaro Way by bringing only benefit to our peers.

In addition, this allows members to satisfy all contributive impulses without aggravating themselves or encroaching on the freedom of others.

Embracing the above principles and obeying the forum guidelines therefore benefits the entire community by providing freedom from the harmful and negative consequences of a more chaotic approach.

Caveat

These rules are subject to change and addition without notice.
Any modification to the Manjaro forum rules may be applied retroactively to any and all posts without notice.

Quality information. No AI generated posts

In a community oriented software project like Manjaro, we want to provide quality information. Therefore we expect everybody to verify their proposals or make it clear that it's a guess. That's why a post generated by an AI and not verified by the poster has to be considered inaccurate and will be deleted. The poster will be warned one time and removed from the forum next time. If you verified a proposal from an AI yourself the you can also write the post in your own words.