This FAQ is broken up into four parts:
- Posting Guidelines
- Reporting Posts
- The Registration Process
- Questions/Problems Using the Forums
Posting Guidelines
The USCHO Fan Forum is a place where all college hockey fans can come and express their opinions and thoughts. It is a gathering place for the disciples of the world’s greatest sport.
To maintain a high level of content on the board, we have implemented an authorization scheme that will easily allow everyone to discuss college hockey in an environment that all can enjoy.
Please observe the following message board regulations. Your decision to post to the board signifies your acceptance of these regulations.
- Personal attacks, defamation, libel or flaming will not be tolerated.
- Profanity is not allowed.
- Be yourself! Do not pose as a player, coach or other known personality. Similarly, do not pretend to be another poster, or change the content of another user when quoting them. Let others speak for themselves.
- Please keep woofing to a minimum.
- No copyrighted material may be posted to the board. “Fair use” quotations are acceptable, as are links or pointers to material that is copyrighted by other sources.
- No bandwidth hijacking. This means, for example, posting a picture that is hosted on a server that isn’t your own, and without the permission of the owner. Each view of the USCHO Fan Forum thread in question results in bandwidth used by the owner of the image.
- No advertisements may be posted to the board. USCHO needs to maintain the integrity of those who have chosen to sponsor the web site.
- Although we condone properly linking to third-party websites, users who repeatedly post links to the same website (particularly those for which they are employed or have an ownership interest) in an effort to drive users to that website will be deemed excessive self-promoters and permanently banned from the Fan Forum. Individuals who wish to direct traffic to third-party websites are invited to inquire with USCHO.com for advertisement opportunities.
- The use of HTML is acceptable within reason, however, be sure you “know what you are doing.” Posts with an unreasonable or incorrect usage of HTML will be removed.
- No private or off-topic conversations may be posted to the board. These should be conducted via e-mail or in other appropriate forums.
- No rumor mongering will be allowed on the board. Unfounded rumors may be damaging to the people involved and may be removed.
- Thread-Killing, or flooding a thread with inappropriate or unrelated posts, is prohibited. These posts will be removed. If you feel a thread is inappropriate, report it to the moderators.
- “Troll” posts will be deleted. If a post is intended for honest discussion, it will be allowed, but if the point is merely to generate anger and hostility in other posters, it will be removed. All decisions regarding these posts will be made at the discretion of the Fan Forum Administrative staff.
- Only one thread regarding a particular topic will be allowed. Duplicate threads discussing the same or very similar topics will be either merged or deleted.
- Attacking the moderators on the message board for editing, deleting, closing or moving your posts will not be tolerated. If you feel you have a legitimate grievance e-mail the USCHO Fan Forum Admin using the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page. Complaints anywhere else will be deleted
or moved. If you attack the moderators you can expect to be suspended or banned. - If a Fan Forum User attempts to circumvent a suspension (for instance, by registering a second account while the first is suspended), the suspension will be lengthened.
Problematic posts should be reported using the Report Post feature.
USCHO reserves the right to edit or remove any messages on the basis of content. USCHO also reserves the right to deny any user his or her posting privileges after any violation of these rules or a problem that may arise but which is not specifically covered by these rules.
The USCHO Fan Forum is provided as a forum for college hockey fans and USCHO visitors. Any message posted to the board is the opinion solely of the person posting it and not that of USCHO or any other source.
Reporting Posts
If you believe a post needs to be brought to the attention of a Forums Administrator, you can use the “Report this post to a moderator” feature located at the end of the post. This is the best way to do this as it informs the Administration exactly which post is the problem. It is also the only way to be sure that an Administrator is aware of the problem.
As you might imagine, administrating the Forums takes a lot of work, so please use this as a last resort and only if you are sure the post in question presents a problem.
When a post is reported, an Administrator will look into the problem as soon as possible. Actions that may or may not be taken, may include removal of the post or thread in question and suspension (temporary or permanent) of the user(s) responsible for the problem. These actions are taken by an Administrator privately and normally we do not respond to the person who reported the post.
As mentioned above, USCHO reserves the right to edit or remove any messages on the basis of content. USCHO also reserves the right to deny any user his or her posting privileges after any violation of these rules.
The Registration Process
When you sign up as a new user, you must provide a valid email address. A confirmation email is sent to this address with instructions you must follow to confirm your registration. After you do this, you are placed into a moderation queue awaiting approval by a Forums Administrator. Approval takes place on a regular basis. Our goal is to approve new users at least once a day, but sometimes it is not possible to do it for several days.
When your registration is approved, you will be sent another email informing you that you can now use the full features of the Forums, including posting. But until that time, you can still log in and use certain features such as having the system “remember” you and flag new posts since your last visit.
Questions/Problems Using the Forums
Many questions may be answered by looking at the FAQ list on the Forums itself. Below are answers to other common questions.
Q: How do I participate on the USCHO Fan Forum?
A: To take part in the interactive features on our site, you need to register for a username and password. You are then free to participate as you wish. Only one username is allowed per user, so if you attempt to register another one, it may be removed or suspended without notification.
Q: How do I get a username and password?
A: Go to Registering for a Username and agree to the terms and conditions of the USCHO Fan Forum. You will then be asked to fill out the form to receive your username and password. You get to choose your own username and password, and you must provide a valid email address. You can change your password by editing your profile.
Q: I registered, but I still cannot post yet. Why?
A: See “The Registration Process” above. If you have received the confirmation email and followed the instructions, you still must be approved by a Forums Administrator. New users are approved on a regular basis when an Administrator is able to perform this function.
Q: I forgot my username and/or password. Can you tell me what it is? Should I register again?
A: Passwords are encrypted on the server for your protection, so we are unable to tell you what it is. You must initiate a new password request by filling out the appropriate form at the USCHO Fan Forum. This will result in an email to the address we have on file for you with instructions explaining how to set a new password. If you have also forgotten your username or would like to edit it (which is strongly discouraged, and requests to do so may not be granted), contact an Administrator.
Since only one username is allowed per user, you should not register again. The right way to resolve this problem is to reset your password or contact an Administrator for help if you have also forgotten your username.
If the email address we have on file for you no longer works, you should attempt to change it in your profile. If you also do not remember your username and password, contact an Administrator for help and provide as much information as possible (old email address, username, etc.).
Q: I tried to use my username and password, but the system wouldn’t allow me. What is wrong?
A: There are several common problems. Please pay particular attention to No. 3 below as it seems to be a common problem for some users.
- You may have spelled your username and/or password wrong. Make certain you are spelling it correctly.
- Both the username and the password are case sensitive. If you have any capital letters in your username or password, you must enter them as capitals, or the entry will be rejected.
- Even if you are entering the correct username and password, sometimes data corruption occurs on the browser end. If you are sure you have tried the correct entry, this is likely your problem. Make sure you have logged out of the Forums, then clear your browser cache and cookies, restart your browser and log in again.
- You do not have cookies enabled in your browser. Without cookies, the system cannot provide you the full features of the Forums.
- The email address in your profile is not working. If we discover this, such as if you subscribe to a thread to have replies emailed to you and the email bounces, we have no way to contact you to alert you to the problem, so we may suspend your posting ability temporarily. You can update your profile with a valid address and contact an Administrator to have your posting ability returned to you.
If you still have problems posting, contact an Administrator. Be sure to include the browser name and version (i.e. Netscape 4.7), as well as the type of computer you are using and the operating software.
Q: What is the policy on thread size?
A: Because of the costs involved with server space and so on, threads that reach 1000 replies or more may be closed to new posts. This will enable them to be purged from the database eventually and keep the amount of disk space used at a manageable size. If a large thread is closed and you wish to continue the discussion, you may start a new thread for that purpose.
Q: What is the “Community” Forum for?
A: The Community Forum was started as a place for people to discuss things not related to the other forums. Its intent is to serve as a place for people to come together in ways that may not involve direct discussion of issues related to college hockey.
Q: How do I post attachments? How do I use the private messaging system?
A: Both of these features are disabled on the USCHO Fan Forum for various reasons. They are not available to you.
Q: How do I change the tagline underneath my username?
A: You can edit this in your profile. However, this feature is not enabled for new users until they have been active for a certain period of time.
Q: I don’t like the way posts are displayed within a thread, with the newest posts first. Can I change it so the posts are shown chronologically with the oldest one first?
A: Yes, this is possible in the latest version of vBulletin. Log in and go to your profile (or click “User CP” at the top of any page), then click “Edit Options” on the left hand side. Page down till you reach “Thread Display Mode” and change it to “Linear – Oldest First”.
Q: I want to contact a user, but his/her email address is not shown when I click on the email link. Can you help?
A: Users can choose to not have their email address public in their profile. Because of privacy issues, if someone has chosen to do this, unfortunately we cannot provide their address to you or forward a message from you to them. If you need to contact the user, your best bet is to post on a thread you know they read and get their attention that way.
Q: A user on the Forums emailed me and is harassing me. Can you do something about it?
A: Unfortunately, no. Even if the other person obtained your address from the Forums, such contact takes place outside the realm of the Forums and is between you and the other person. If the problem is severe enough, you should handle it through your service provider or that of the other person. You may also wish to edit your profile and make your email address private so other people cannot see it.
Q: Who administrates the USCHO Fan Forum? What are the guidelines for posting?
A: The administrative duties are handled by a variety of people that make up the Fan Forum Administration staff. Posting guidelines can be found here.
Q: I am trying to research some old posts. However, when I select “show all topics” or “show the last year,” I only get topics dating back about a month. Why?
A: If you can’t find it, it means the message has expired and it is no longer in the database. The Forums are “purged” on a regular basis to keep the size of the database down. You can try the Search feature of the Fan Forum.
