Community Goals (work in progress)
First and foremost, our intention is that this forum be a safe and fun community where we can share deals, information and have a good time.
We understand that our number one asset is our members and we will never knowingly do anything to harm the trust you have bestowed on us, or the loyalty and graciousness you have shown us.
Our goal is to provide the best possible environment for our Members. We want your visit to the Fishing For Deals Community Board to be rewarding and sincerely appreciate your patronage of Community Board sponsors as well as adherence to our Rules. Have fun and drop us a line with any ideas for improvement or just to say "Hello!"
Rules, Policies, and Disclaimers
What is Fishing For Deals Community Board all about?
Fishing For Deals Community Board is a place where Fishing For Deals Members can drop by to grab the latest hot deal, sign up for a few freebies from various sites, share your favorite recipe, ask for some cyber prayers and support, and much more. The Fishing For Deals Community Board is moderated, which means we will remove objectionable material to preserve the atmosphere.
Who chooses the discussion topics?
You are free to create a new discussion topic by posting it to Fishing For Deals Community Board. We rarely stop or remove a discussion on any topic unless our Posting Guidelines are violated.
What are boards, forums, threads and posts?
Have you ever been to a large conference? Usually a conference begins with everyone in one very large groups. Then it breaks off into smaller groups that are more narrowly tailored to specific topics of discussion. A Board is the Internet version of the conference. Each board is typically divided into smaller groups called forums. Each forum is devoted to a particular topic, so that people who are really only interested in one topic don't have to look through several different "rooms" to find their information. Fishing For Deals has 18 forums at present, with topics such as "Catch of the Day", which discusses hot Internet deals and store sales, and "Hooked on Health", where people share information and encouragement on eating properly and exercising their way to a healthy body. Forums are composed of multiple pages of individual discussions of threads. These threads are arranged in reverse order (latest first) in a series of pages. You can read older discussions by going to higher numbered pages using the toolbar near the top of the forum page. New forums are periodically created by Fishing For Deals administrators. You can navigate through different forums using the toolbar of forums that says, "Jump to", and is located towards the bottom right side of your screen. You can also see the entire listing available to you by clicking on the "Main Index" link located on the top of the board.A thread is an individual discussion. It is started when a user submits a new post by going to the specific forum and clicking on "Post". After a discussion is started, it grows as people click the "Reply" bottom located on every message or post to respond to earlier messages. A thread is arranged so that messages in response to a given message appear just under it. As multiple messages are exchanged, the thread "grows" rather like a tree's branches, with each branch being a particular sub-discussion. It can take a while for new users to get used to electronic forums, but once you are used to it, you will find that navigation is a breeze!
A post is simply an individual message in a discussion. Unlike a real-world discussion where usually only one person can respond to another, a bulletin board allows multiple discussions to emerge because many people may respond to a single post. Every post other than the first one is a response to an older post.
No referrals outside of the designated referrals forum.Solicitation of our members regarding other sites or businesses is not allowed in any form, whether it's via PM, email or on the board.
No chain letters, pyramid schemes, or solicitations.Please do not make posts soliciting for donations to charitable causes. While FFD strongly encourages it's members to give their time and/or money to charitable causes, we can't allow members to solicit for donations on this board. Unfortunately, we've had links to illegitimate charities posted in the past. Due to time constraints there isn't any way for us to verify the legitimacy of every charity posted.
No linking or discussion of other competing sites.
No blind or hidden referral links and no URL's with affiliate codes, referrer tags, tracking numbers or any other form of referral that actively promotes a site or company not directly related to the deal. If it is absolutely necessary to include a referral number in the URL, you must disclose that information and we reserve the right to move or delete the post.
No posting a deal or coupon for a site you own or work for. Self-promotion of your own commercial business is not allowed at any time, either on the board or in private messages.
No posts that are knowingly false, defamatory, abusive, obscene, profane, threatening or harassing. Personal attacks of any kind are not allowed in any way, shape, or form.
No use of member e-mail or personal information for any unsolicited purposes, including spamming or harassment either here on Fishing for Deals or anywhere else.
No one is allowed to use multiple names intended to misrepresent themselves as another person, company or entity.
Personal information of any kind may not be collected from this site, whether from posts, profiles or private messages.
Please do not post identifying information for anyone unless you are either their legal guardian or you have express written consent.
Please don't login under another user's name and please do not sign up with multiple usernames.
You are welcome to post a link to your web site in your signature, provided that it is a non commercial site.
Occasionally members on the board organize and participate in secret pal gift swaps, holiday gift swaps, card exchanges, coupon trading, and selling items on a garage sale forum. These are not sanctioned by Fishing For Deals, and we can not be responsible for them, nor can we handle disputes arising out of them.
We hope members find the posts enjoyable and/or informative. Any user who feels that a post is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by e-mail at abuse@FishingForDeals.com. If we determine removal is necessary, we will make every effort to remove objectionable messages within a reasonable time frame, This is a manual process, however, so please realize that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately, but we assure it will be done as quickly as possible.
Please do not use this email for problems regarding possible Intellectual Property Infringement Claims. See the section regarding Intellectual Property Infringement Claims for contact information in an effort to comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
We believe in freedom of expression, the first amendment, and all that. However, we are not providing the forum for that freedom. We have rules. They must be honored. If you cannot accept it, please do not register.
Note: Inactive registrations may be removed after 6 months of inactivity. If your registration has been removed, you must reregister to once again post to the forum.
You must be seventeen years or older to be a member of this board.
What happened to Freedom of Speech?
Many of us learn in grammar school about "free speech" and "freedom of expression", a concept stemming from the first amendment to the United States Constitution. Unfortunately, most people have never read the first amendment and fewer still understand how it applies to our rights. In a nutshell, the first amendment prohibits the US government from passing laws restricting our right to free speech. It does not restrict an organization or business from enacting and enforcing standards.
So what happens if I don't follow the Rules of Play?
First time, minor rule: You will receive a warning, perhaps a private message, or a private email. Regardless of the choice of communication, we will give you a chance to reply to it.Second time, minor rule: You will earn yourself a "time-out". It's a temporary thing. You can still read the Community Board posts, but you may not participate actively. It's to give you time to think, and cool down. Your posting privileges will be restored in three days.
Third time, minor rule; or first time, major rule: You get banned. If you insist on going this far, you'll be banned from posting to the Community Boards and from sending Private Messages through the Board. You will still be able to access a limited number of the forums on a read-only basis.
You try to return after being banned: If you push us this far, we will ban your IP address and block your access to the web site. Depending on your behavior and what you do to try to return, we may file a complaint with your ISP as well.
Like all Online Communities, the Fishing For Deals Community Board has a few unwritten "Common Courtesies" that our Fishing For Deals Members tend to abide by. These simple little requests allow for a polite and fun discussion. A little tension sometimes occurs when new users are unaware of these courtesies; therefore, to help inform everyone of these unwritten rules, here are the major common courtesies of the Fishing For Deals Community Board:
Please DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
On the Internet, this is referred to as "Screaming" and can irritate other Fishing For Deals Members.Please Don't Flame Other Members
Negative and degrading posts on the Internet are called flames. It is simply bad form to openly flame another Community Member on the Board. If you have a problem or disagreement with another Member, please don't post it on the board. Similarly, openly flaming a member of another Internet community doesn't make our Board a pleasant place for those potential new members to feel very welcome, should they visit. Flames about any of Fishing For Deal's Members or members of any other boards on the Internet will be deleted.
Please Don't Post The Same Message Multiple Times
The Fishing For Deals Community Boards has one of the most active Internet shopping communities on the Internet. Thus, there is no need to post the same message multiple times - one time is enough to get a response.Nobody responded to my post, what do I do?
Keep posting! Like any social environment, the Fishing For Deals Community Board requires a certain amount of getting used to. Just as you cannot expect to walk into a party of strangers and instantly make a dozen lifelong friends, you probably can't expect people to respond to you instantly. Spend a few days just following the discussions (this is called "lurking") to get a feel for how people talk and behave, and what kind of posts generate responses. You can then start your Fishing For Deals by participating in active discussions, and if/when you feel people know you well enough, starting discussions yourself. Also remember that a great many people are reading your posts, even if they don't respond. Not every interesting or entertaining post gets a response! Most of the time, the Fishing For Deals Members go out of their way to welcome a new person. There are no cliques here. Just because you are new does not mean you will not fit in. If you are having a problem fitting in, or are afraid to post, please contact one of the moderators and they'll be happy to review what you'd like to post and give you some encouragement.
Religion, Politics, Lifestyle choices, etc.!
We have always discouraged people from discussing controversial subjects on the Community Board. We came to this decision during the previous election. Everywhere we went, people were arguing with one another about it and we wanted this board to be a respite from that. Controversial discussions, such as politics, religion, lifestyle choices, and others are not prohibited (although if a thread does get nasty - it gets closed no matter how many replies), but it's a topic that many people are very passionate about. Some of the meanest threads we've ever read at other boards have been about politics or controversial topics like abortion, even if they started out as a reasonable debate. We've had a few here in the past where people got very upset. If emotions and tempers could be sealed off so they wouldn't affect the other forums on this board, that would be one thing, but they can't. Since we get many e-mails and private messages thanking us for having a board with such a friendly, relaxed, supportive environment, that's our main priority. There are numerous political boards on the Internet that you may use as an outlet for this.Some people can discuss issues like these in a very detached, logical fashion. However, many can't.
Last updated June 22, 2004