Must Read Before Posting - The Invitation System

[Koroush Ghazi]

The Forums have been shut down and made read only. Details are provided here. Therefore no new posts and no new registrations are possible - the information below is no longer valid.



The TweakGuides Forums now work on an Invitation System. While anyone can read the contents of the forums or use the Search functionality, you must become an 'Invited Member' to be able to post in the main forums. After much thought and discussion, the Invitation System was devised as a way of allowing the community to screen new members to ensure as much as possible that we only have Invited Members who are intelligent, mature and genuinely interested in being a productive, long-term part of the TweakGuides community.

To understand why such a system has been adopted, please read the Forum Philosophy. Also make sure to read the Forum Rules before attempting to join. If you don't agree with them or feel you can't follow them, do not join.

The Invitation System

The way the Invitation System works is spelled out below. Please read the following steps carefully before posting anything:

1. Any member of the public who wishes to join the TweakGuides Forums must first Register an account as normal. If you have any problems with registration see this Registration Problems thread. If you have an existing registered account and it hasn't been banned, don't create a new account, use your existing one. If your Reputation is below 6, you must follow all the procedures below to become an Invited Member - being an existing member does not automatically entitle you to be an Invited Member.

Note: If you are from a major hardware or software company or a major games developer, please Contact Us using your company email address if you wish to become an Invited Member. Keep in mind you can't join simply to promote your product.

2. Once you've registered an account, you can only post on the Introductions forum. You will not be able to post anywhere else for any reason, nor can you post a reply in someone else's introduction thread - you'll get an error if you try. Only full Invited Members can post on all parts of the forums.

3. You must then create only a single new thread in the Introductions forum which introduces you to the Invited Members and provide details about yourself to demonstrate why you should be considered a good candidate for joining a mature, intelligent, productive community of people. Though not mandatory, I recommend including answers to the following questions:

• What is your general background?
• How did you first discover TweakGuides?
• What are your current interests?
• What do you feel you can contribute to the forums?

You can also provide links to any websites/blogs you run, any posts you've made here or on other forums, etc. There is no set minimum or maximum as to how much you can write. Be descriptive and detailed, but not excessively so (e.g. around 6 paragraphs). Note that your potential contributions to the forum don't have to be tech-related. This introduction should give the community enough information about you and your posting style to be able to determine whether they want you to join the community. If you're using an existing account from before, don't just post a simple hello and assume that is sufficient - you must post as though you are reintroducing yourself.

Do not post any other kind of thread or post, such as a tech question, forum query,
complaint or general comment.

4. Invited Members may then comment or ask questions in your thread, which you are encouraged to answer. It's in your best interests to answer any questions honestly. If no questions are asked, or if you've already answered a question, Do not post again in your thread later just to bump it or to get attention. Don't post a new thread either. Any form of bumping or attention-getting will only see your post(s) deleted, your thread(s) locked, and you will be banned.

5. Invited Members will then use the Reputation System to vote anonymously on whether to make you a full Invited Member or not. The process could take hours, days or weeks - please be patient. Keep an eye on your Reputation total in the top right corner of your post - if at any time it reaches 6 points or above, you will be made a full Invited Member automatically, and can then post in the main forums shortly thereafter (usually within an hour). Moderators will tag the thread title with '[Invited Member]' once a person reaches Invited Member status, though note that you don't have to wait for this tag to start posting.

Demotions: If at any time in the future your Reputation falls below 6 points, you will lose your Invited Member status and will be demoted back to only being able to post in the Introductions forum. In this instance, you can post an explanation in your own original Introductions thread about why you may have been posting inappropriately, and why you deserve a second chance. Invited Members may or may not accept this and vote to promote you again. Whatever the outcome you must accept this.

Members who don't follow the procedures above will have their threads locked and will be banned.
They will not be allowed to join the forums in any way in the future.

To prospective members Please be patient - again, the entire process above may take hours, it may take days, it may take weeks. In particular it might take several days for many of the Invited Members to read and vote on your introduction. Invited Members also only have a limited number of Reputation points they can hand out each day. If you are truly interested in joining the community here then it is up to you to regularly check the forum and keep an eye on your status and Reputation total as there is no automated response given if you become an Invited Member. While you're waiting, I recommend reading the stickies and other useful information in the forums, especially the Forum Rules, so that you become completely familiar with how things work here.

The Invitation System is not a test to determine if you are a good or a bad person. Only people who make a good case written in clear mature English, who feel they can contribute something useful to the forums on an ongoing basis, and who demonstrate that they can follow the procedures on this page and are patient will wind up becoming full Invited members. There is no other way of joining. If you are not accepted as a full Invited Member, you will have to accept this, as it is a decision made by the community, and it is theirs to make. There is no appeal mechanism; you can't just repost another introduction or bump your existing one - you get one shot, so use it to state to your case clearly, maturely and in detail. If in doubt about whether you can genuinely contribute to these forums, don't post an introduction.

If you're simply here to seek tech support or "urgent help", or to post an "important comment", or to try to debate about the system or force the forums to suit your posting style, then I strongly recommend that you don't waste time trying to register or join the forums - try one of the many other forums around which may better cater to your needs. Once again refer to the Forum Philosophy for details of why things are run this way here.