Community Standards
The forums have grown tremendously over the last 3 years and we thank all of you for being a part of this growing community. We hold forum users to a high standard. If you would not say something in polite conversation at a fine restaurant, it is inappropriate here.

In order to keep the forums running well and to prevent problems, please follow these simple rules for the forums here. If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to contact one of the Staff Members.

Personal Attacks and Arguing - The Number 1 Rule
While debating and discussion is the purpose of this board, we will not tolerate rudeness, insulting posts, personal attacks or purposeless inflammatory posts. Our decision is final in these matters. If you attack someone, don't be surprised if you find yourself banned.

If you find yourself opposed to another person's post; debate, do not argue. Above all be polite and respectful of others. Threads that degrade into a head-butting contest will be closed and the participants will receive a warning. This rule especially applies to arguments where it boils down to just trying to get the "Last word".

Facility Bashing
Same as personal insults. This is not to say that a negative comment cannot be made, but rather that if such a comment is made it must be done accurately (don't exaggerate) politely, and with respect. State your issues, but do not vent here. Rants of any kind will not be tolerated.
This includes generalities like "I can't stand the 15th hole" which is not exactly a rant, but adds no useful information other than expressing dissatisfaction.
Anything disrespectful will be removed immediately.
Acceptable:
I thought there were too many blind tee shots, and conditions were very dry, with bare patches in several fairways. This course needs irrigation badly.
Not Acceptable:
Warning Warning! I have played some dogtracks in my life, but this one takes the cake. Don't waste your money!

Language
There is a language filter in place to prevent certain combinations of letters from showing up. The language filter is not to be used as a permissible way of swearing. A user with too many sequences or "frig"s in their posts will be warned.

Post Junkies
Some people feel the need to post a lot. This is permissible as long as you do not try and make the forums your own personal soapbox. Rants from people who want to drive home their opinions over and over and over are not appreciated and will be asked to curtail the frequency of their posts.

Trolls
Trolls are not welcome and will be banned.
An Internet "troll" is a person who delights in sowing discord on the Internet. They try to start arguments and upset people. Trolls see Internet communications services as convenient venues for their bizarre game. For some reason, they don't "get" that they are hurting real people. To them, other Internet users are not quite human but are a kind of digital abstraction. Indeed, the greater the suffering they cause, the greater their 'achievement' (as they see it). The anonymity of the net allows trolls to flourish. They are easily identified by the fact that they are constantly at odds with other members of the forum, and often "poke fun" at individuals they have disagreed with in the past, trying to provoke a reaction.
Finally, trolls create a paranoid environment, such that a casual criticism by a new arrival can elicit a ferocious and inappropriate backlash. When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is being ignored.


Thread Hijacking
Keep threads on topic. If you wish to start a discussion on a new topic start a new thread please. We all know that conversations take on a life of their own, but we do not want to have thread subjects that have nothing to do with the thread's title. Stay on topic.


Spam
Spam is not permitted. Spam is...
  • Posting your message more than once.
  • Starting new threads on topics already being discussed.
  • Posting messages for the sake of promoting your own website or business.
  • Posting meaningless threads, one word (or short) non-sense posts.

Illegal Activities - Piracy
Discussion of illegal activities of any kind is strictly prohibited. This includes discussions of software and music piracy and other intellectual property violations. Do not post links to warez or file sharing sites.

Classified Advertising
No auction posts please. If you want to auction an item, post it on EBay and put a link to the auction here.

Should your thread sit idle for 30 days without selling/trading/or getting your item, you may "bump" your ad. Bumping is adding a post with the word "bump" in it to bring your ad to the top of the list.

Bumping your ad prior to the 30 days is not permitted. The one exception to this rule is if you would like to change the price of your offering. You may then post a new message in your thread to inform the members of the price change.

No ads in other forums
All posts for equipment for sale belong in the classifieds. Posting of "commercials" is considered spam in forums other than buy-sell.

Self Promotion
If you own a local business you may post informative, helpful remarks in any thread and include "come and see me for more help" with a contact. You may include a single link to your website in your signature. You may use your business name as your Username, but no URL's in usernames.
You may NOT pose as a satisfied customer praising the facility or service.
If you have items for sale please post them in the buy sell forums.

User Names
Usernames may be anything other than:
Obscenities or variations on obscenities, suggestive, provocative, racist or insulting names, URLs.

Signatures
You may include a single link to your website in your signature. That is provided the site does not violate ersonName w:st="on">OttawaersonName>Golf community standards. The link may be the name of the website or the URL. No advertising or ad slogans are permitted. ie: no "Click Here to Get the Best Widget"

Multiple IDs
Registering with multiple IDs is forbidden.

Avatars
People with at least 20 posts (rank Sand Wedge) may upload an avatar via their User Control Panel. Avatars are to be 60x60 pixels in size. jpg or .gif format.
Any avatar that is offensive in any way to any user will be removed immediately.
No logos. No lewd or suggestive avatars. No political or otherwise provocative symbols. National or provincial flags are OK.

Posting Images
You can link to or upload images to the forum. NO nudity of any kind. Posting of anything provocative will result in an immediate ban without warning.

Off Topic forum
The Off Topic forum is where you can chat about almost anything. If you have a question that doesn't fit into any other forum, or just want to chat about the Sens, this is the place.
Jokes and interesting tidbits are encouraged, but keep it fairly clean. Offensive jokes are not permitted, but "edgy" jokes are OK. Just use common sense. If they'd put it on regular TV, it's fine.

Expressing yourself
Do not type your post in all caps, IT IS LIKE SHOUTING.
Font sizing is available, but please do not use overly huge fonts.
The best way to emphasize something is to bold it

Warnings
Violators of these rules will be warned, and if the behavior does not immediately improve, the user will be banned.

Enforcing the Rules
Please do not take it upon yourself to confront someone who you feel is violating the forum rules. Do not accuse someone of crossing the line. Allow those with the OG logo below their name to do the moderating please.
There is a link at the bottom of every post "Report this post to a moderator" Use it if you see a problem post. This function is not to ask for help, this function is to report something that should not be here.

Final Word
While these rules cover most common situations, they cannot anticipate everything. Consequently we reserve the right to take any actions we deem appropriate to ensure these forums are not disrupted or abused in any way.

The OttawaGolf team shall be the sole arbitrators of what does and what does not violate community standards.
We reserve the right to remove offensive posts without notice.
We reserve the right to ban anyone who willfully violates the forum rules.

Questions about how to use the forums
Please consult the FAQ first. If you cannot find what you are looking for email Moderator

Thanks!
Dan Kilbank OttawaGolf.com