Forums Upgrade Update

Bump

Upgrade Date - November 18th, 2014 ~6am PST

Oh the magical moment has arrived, we’re upgrading the forum’s software, and with it some things are bound to change. Many of the changes were requests from interactions on our forums, others are reflections from the data we collect and use internally, and some are due to the capabilities of the new software. I’m going to briefly go over some of the changes you can expect with the new software.

Blogs -
We’re parting with the blogs on the forums. It was a great concept when we first decided to roll out with the blogs, but honestly there are so many other options with greater distribution and features for managing a blog-style site. We’ve seen a few members of this community launch new blogs, new sites, and participate in other site’s articles to get the word about Parallax into the public eye. We appreciate and encourage this type of behavior; it is great not only for us and for yourself, but also for the technical community when more interest is generated about electronics in general. It is with this in mind, and the very closed nature of our blogs, that they being discontinued moving forward.

If you have a blog on our forum, and wish for assistance in getting a copy of this information, please send an email to webmaster@parallax.com. We will assist in retrieving this text for you.

Groups -
Are also going away. This decision was reached due to how the groups are managed by the software and how hidden/closed they feel. Most users may not even know a group exists, or the owner of the group may not visit the forums or check the group for months. There are also other means for staying connected with other members of the forum, and many of the members in our community have already formed bonds towards a unifying goal through and outside of our forums.

Categories and Forums -
We’re moving the forums around into a slightly different structure aimed towards better categorization of our core ideals and products. Our hope is to better focus topics, resulting in a more logical path for technical discussion and inquiry. We’ll see some forums get set into read/only like the Meetup forum, while others may be moved lower down the list such as the General Discussion forum; others will be completely removed, such as the Classifieds forum.

We’re trying to separate our forums into a few major categories with specific sub-forums under those headings: top level forums include - microcontrollers, education, projects, accessories, and general. The sub-forums will be defined to keep technical discussions on task: for example the microcontrollers category will include - BASIC Stamp, Propeller 1, Propeller 2, Programming, and SX. You can see that some sub-forums are specific, but still contain a generic ‘Programming’ sub-forum to discuss overarching programming movements, standards, and ideas like “Internet of Things”.

Forum Guidelines -
I’ll reply with a copy of what we’ve written below, but our guidelines have been rewritten to reflect the changes and attitudes we experience on our forums. We have many otherwise-silent forum’s users that like to see our forums remain technical and less populated by personal agenda, opinion, and inflammatory posting. In order to do so we needed to revisit the guidelines and make our intentions known, so that our guests have a little more information about why their posts keep getting removed without needing to contact each offender directly when the offense is so obvious; we will still give warnings when warranted, but our intent is to deal with future flare ups more efficiently.

Features -
With the new software come a lot of new features:

• VB5 is more up to date on our web standards so some of those deprecated WYSIWYG editors and other usability problems will cease
• Less overhead from wild erroneous calls from the software
• Faster search functionality
• We’ll also be able to move this into the cloud, which means faster service for all
• An ‘Ignore’ feature will be added, which will grant every account its own list of users to ignore. If someone is bothering you, just add their name to the list and their replies will no longer be seen. Please do your best not to abuse this new found power.
• The user star ratings/VIP system is being eliminated. We will still display the number of posts, but our goal is to eliminate visual clutter so you can focus on content
• Signature field options will also be slightly adjusted to further cut down visual clutter

Bump

Welcome – The Parallax Discussion Forums were created to foster a community passionate about Parallax products, electronics, programming, do-it-yourself projects, and much more!

The topics discussed herein can range widely depending on which discussion forum you enter; we encourage cordial and supportive conversations within our forum community, regardless of the medium in use or the nature of the topic.

These discussion forums are also public and accessible to anyone with the ability to connect to the internet, and by posting that information on our forums you allow us to post that material on your behalf.

We ask that you abide by the forum guidelines listed below otherwise your posts and/or membership will be subject to moderation; by using this web site, you agree to be contacted by site administration, regardless of your account settings, when it becomes necessary to do so regarding your account activity. You also agree that the moderating staff may edit, suspend, and perform other tasks deemed necessary as part of moderating the forums’ material.
Posting on the Forums -

Clearly define your post:

Make certain that the intent of your post is known and can be easily read and understood by others. Your post might be a request for assistance, a question about a particular project, or a snippet of code just begging to be shared; please include all necessary information that might aid the audience in a response.

There are a few things to consider when being concise in your posting:

• Choose an appropriate forum
• Use a short clear title - save the details for the actual post
• Details are important, please include them in your post don’t rely on the title of your post to convey the purpose behind your post.

Posts incorrectly assigned will be moved, duplicates removed, and other actions fitting the situation.

Questions about products or programming:

Should your post contain a question about a product or programming it is customary to include all details pertinent to answering the question. Please provide details about the product, your source code, intended purpose (if there is one), and other specifics such as firmware versions and operating systems.

No cross-posting:

Cross-posting is: 1) submitting a post to one forum or thread, and then submitting a second linking to the original post (without changing content or intent), or 2) creating an identical post in more than one forum or thread. When the same content is found in more than one post, even under different subject lines, the forum moderator will remove one (or more) of the redundant posts.

Bumping threads:

Bumping refers to an individual member posting on their own thread, or others posting on a thread, for the single purpose of maintaining its position on the forums. Typically the bumping-post is made which adds nothing of significant value, or it's repeating previously posted content or thanking someone else for a contribution. Keeping your post 'top-level' on the forums by bumping it up is frowned upon as forum's tactic and doing so may be met with moderation. This also pertains to old threads being revived for no reason. Keeping a thread alive, or reviving an outdated thread, is discouraged, especially when the original topic is kept overly-general.

Identity:

Be yourself, and that’s not just a pep talk. Your identity, on these forums and in real-life, can be as private as you want it to be; however pretending to be someone else, or posing as multiple people, in order to parade or inflate a concept, product, or idea on these forums is not allowed. If you are caught shilling, or being otherwise deceptive, your account(s) may be subject to ban.

Signature Line Graphics and Avatars/Profile Pictures:

We do not permit the use of banner images in the signature line of the Parallax Discussion Forums, nor will we permit the signature line to become overly flashy or distracting; signatures will be served in plain text, HTML options are disabled to remove any clutter overly flashy signatures may cause.

Avatars must be appropriate for public viewing. We understand the importance of individuality; however we also have many younger forum members, so we ask that forum avatars and the information shared on the forums remain at a “PG-Rating.”

What is and is not suitable is at the sole discretion of the moderators and staff on the forums. They reserve the right to remove any signature element, or avatar image they deem inappropriate without prior notice.

Posting non-Parallax related topics:

Although this forum is intended for ongoing discussions about products designed by Parallax Inc, other topics can be created; however discussions regarding outside products or programming may not receive any technical attention.

Content on the Forums -

Stay on topic:

Please maintain the integrity and focus of the original poster’s intent for their forum’s post; if a topic derails or if a thread is hijacked it will be subject to moderation. At anytime you feel the discussion requires further consideration on a specific topic it is okay to start a new thread for that purpose, so long as it adheres to the rules and intent of the Parallax Discussion Forums.

Contribute to the conversation:

It’s good to agree and show your support, but please try to avoid posting useless information. If you don’t have something to contribute then consider not posting. This ruling includes images, emoticons, and memes; they are wasteful on the servers and are subject to removal.

Removal of posts/locked posts/relocation of posts:

Parallax Discussion Forums’ moderators hold the right to remove, lock, or relocate errant or belligerent posts. In some cases this action will warrant public notification or warning; however not all corrections made will require such action; we can choose to conduct these actions privately. If the inappropriate behavior continues after warnings have been issued, failure to comply will result in a temporary and/or permanent ban.

PG-Rated forums:

Although the actual ruling for a PG-Rating is “Parental Guidance suggested”, we’re using the term a little more loosely. No pornographic material or things of a suggestive nature; if subjects relating to an explicit situation are raised it will be subject to moderation. This also goes for overly graphic and violent material.


Code:

Mind the licenses of the software you're using and treat them according to their restrictions. Code uploaded to this site without consent of the author or license holder is subject to removal without notice. Code snippets are to be treated as MIT licensed, minus the requirement to include the license text and mandatory attribution, unless under another existing license.

We leave it to the good will of the community to resolve other cases amicably and to when applicable note known licenses

Uploads:

You are responsible for the files you upload to our forums; know what you’re uploading and what may be carried along with those files. If we find that you’ve uploaded a virus, illicit material, or cause a breach of license or contract the offending files will be removed without notice and your account may be subject to moderation.

Linking:

Links to off-site material that contains misleading information, aim to offer false services, slander other users, or offer salacious images and videos will be removed and the content’s author may be subject to moderation. Over-linking to an off-site service or product will be dealt with as spam and shall be removed.

Interactions on the Forums -

Be polite:

Polite lively debate is welcome. ‘Flaming,’ rude behavior, and personal insults are not productive and will not be tolerated. Swearing is absolutely not allowed. Members of the forum who engage in this behavior will be subject to a warning or permanent ban from the Parallax Discussion Forums.

Copying and quoting posts:

When replying to a post, it is not a requirement to quote the original content; quoting is a tool you may implement to highlight certain aspects of someone’s comment. Do not quote someone as a form of harassment, or to otherwise belittle the poster; these forums are intended to educate and inform others.

No multiple screen names:

Do not create multiple accounts; it is considered poor forum etiquette to use additional logins to support or degrade any other posting. If you are caught posting with two accounts you will be subject to moderation, warnings, temporary or permanent banishment, and other serious action could be taken against you. See “Identity” above.


Negative discussion of other members:

Do not ridicule other members of the Parallax Discussion Forums or otherwise make them feel uncomfortable. Bickering, mockery, bullying, and all other imaginable forms of negative social interactions will not be tolerated as it detracts from the intended purpose of these forums. Negative discussion will be met with moderation.

Baiting:

Do not insult someone so that they feel compelled to defend themselves. If you feel that other forums’ members are baiting you, please contact a moderator before trying to verbally joust on our forums. In most cases a moderator will be able to resolve the situation from an unbiased perspective.

Ignore Feature:

Feel free to use the ignore feature accessible through your account settings, also be aware that other forums’ members may have you on ignore. Ignoring another member is not considered harassment, but publicly flaunting the fact that you’ve ignored a specific user is unnecessary and discouraged. If we have reason to believe you are using the ignore feature to this extent the offending interactions will be dealt with as harassment.

Thread hijacking:

If your reply to an original post on any thread has the intent to move the topic of discussion away from the original post, it is considered hijacking and will be subject to moderation. This also includes nonchalant replies with little or no substance that fail to meet the request of the original poster.
Political or religious beliefs:
The Parallax Discussion Forums is not the venue to discuss religious/non-religious agendas, nor is it a place for political rants or arguments. As stated above: the forums were created to promote and allow ongoing discussions about, but not limited to, products designed and developed by Parallax Inc. If you wish to discuss the existence of things divine or the most recent upheaval in the legislature of man, find another forum. If you want to speculate about the terrible or benevolent dealings of other persons, Countries, or powers - find another forum.

Private messages:

All private messages (PMs) sent to other members of the Parallax Discussion Forums must adhere to the same guidelines as the rest of the forums. Do not take your aggression to the ‘private’ realm. If you are being harassed through private messages, please alert a moderator; we will investigate and action will be taken as necessary.

For questions or clarifications on our forum rules please ask our Forum Moderators by e-mail (forummoderators@parallax.com).