FISO Forum Etiquette updated 8 Jan 2010 - Read before Posting

The aim of the fiso forums is to provide the structure for a friendly but vibrant fantasy sports community. We hope you enjoy your stay and have fun talking with other Fantasy Sports fans.

However we would remind you that when registering for fiso, members agreed terms and conditions (T&Cs) confirming that they would not post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, sexually-orientated or any other material that may violate any laws. Forum etiquette also asks members to be polite, be mature, keep their language clean and respect the opinions of others (even if they disagree). We hope you enjoy contributing but please keep these rules in mind so that the enjoyment of others is not spoiled.

If any member notices a post that contravenes the T&Cs or forum etiquette then please use the 'report post' icon (the red exclamation mark (!) at the lower right hand side of each post). This will highlight the post for forum moderators to look at. The onus is on the members to report posts, rather than posting their opinion on the topic itself or expecting a forum moderator to find the post. A number of members have volunteered to moderate the forums to help deal with posts that contravene the terms & conditions and that a forum etiquette is maintained.

In order to deal with a small minority of members that don't respect the T&Cs and forum etiquette, there is a 'step method' of action that will be taken against members who break these rules and conditions, starting with private messages, moving on to warnings and suspensions and finally deactivation. The details can be found at moderation-of-the-forums-t69354.html

Guidelines on Forum Etiquette

The basic guide to etiquette is this: be polite, be mature, keep your language clean and respect the opinions of others (even if you disagree). Further detailed guidelines are below. If in doubt on Forum Etiquette then please feel free to contact a Moderator who will be happy to help. You can see which Moderators are currently online by looking at the end of the Forum Index page.

Lurk to Start With

Lurk (anonymously observe) before you leap. When you jump into a forum, do not post any comments right away. Try to read and catch up with what is going on and observe what people are saying. After you feel comfortable and think you are ready to add useful information/comments to the conversation, please do so. If you are looking for certain information you may find it has already been posted on the relevant forum so have a look through the recent topic titles and the Sticky/Announcement threads on the relevant forums or use the forums' search facility - located via the top menu bar. At the very least, please read the Latest Topics page before posting - you may find your question/information has already recently been answered/posted.

Post on the Appropriate Forum

There are a number of different forums on these message boards - the full list is on the Forum Index page. We appreciate that there are a large number but please try to use the appropriate forum when starting a new topic. Messages relating to a specific fantasy football game should be posted on that game's own forum and if a forum has not been set up for that game then please use the 'Other Fantasy Football Games' Forum. If posting your team line ups, e.g. for rating, guidance or advice purposes, each of the major game forums has a Rate My Team (RMT) forum for specific team advice/queries.

Player or team news (e.g. injury news) should be posted here. Football topics not related to Fantasy Football should be posted on the Football Talk forum. Many other major sports have their own Fantasy Forums. We also have a Betting and Gambling forum, a Poker Society forum and a FISO News Forum. We suggest you navigate using the Latest Topics page, which will also help you understand the use of the various forums.

Keep On Topic

Do try and keep to the topic of the thread. If you want to raise a new issue then consider whether a new topic is more appropriate.

Personal Disputes

The forums are not to be used for personal disputes, heated debates, personal attacks or aggresive/abusive name-calling against other members, flame wars etc. You are expected to treat each other with respect in the forums and take any personal disputes to a private mode of discussion off the forums. If you should find that your discussion is becoming too heated or someone is becoming far too passionate about their argument, please take the discussion to private message or email. The forum software also provides a foes option if you wish to hide all posts from selected members (you can still click to display a foe'd post).

Personal Topics

Personal topics are threads that, whilst posted in public forum, are intended for a discussion between only a few members. These kinds of topics are frowned upon and will be locked/moved/deleted by Moderators. Public posts should be open and inviting to all members. Personal discussions among a select group of users should take place in private message - use your messaging facilities- or see the 'pm' icon next to a user's post.

Respect Other Members

Sometimes people can write something that you may find offensive. Before launching into a public condemnation though, please consider that the person may not have intended to cause offence. It is very easy to misinterpret a post on forums. There is absolutely no need to resort to insults. Respect others' views even if you disagree with them.

No Trolling

What is a troll? It's a person who posts something which is bound to stir people up and then sits back and watches as dozens of people jump in and start arguing. Sometimes trolls get their friends to join in or post under different names. Generally they will do anything it takes to get attention. If you see a message like this, report it and please try and refrain from replying to it - it may well be edited/moved/deleted by Moderators anyway.

Power-Posting

Power-posting is when board members post 'empty' messages to the board, in order to simply increase their number of posts more quickly. Examples of power-posting are replying to a message with only 'LOL' or 'I agree', but failing to contribute anything further to the discussion. If you reply to a message, make sure you have something to say. Consistent power posting clutters up the forums, clutters up the 'new posts' function, and uses extra bandwidth and server space. While we don't mind people using bandwidth to chat usefully on the board, we do mind people using it just because they want a more impressive 'post counter'. If you're not sure if you're power-posting, take a moment and think it over before you post. If all your post contains is a 'LOL' or an emoticon, it's a power-post. If it adds something to the discussion, it isn't.

Shouting/Caps Lock/Bold - Posting Styles

Posting in capitals or large text is considered as shouting so please refrain from over-use. Likewise posting in bold or colour should be used sparingly, for example where part of your post needs stressing. Please try to keep your posting style in an easily readable format. Please do not use text speak.

Word Censor

This filter is there for a reason (mainly to prevent common swear words appearing on fiso) and any attempt to purposely circumvent its action will be treated as breaking the forum terms. Occasionally an entry in the filter may have an unintended side effect and change an obviously acceptable word. If this happens, please PM admin so that the issue can be looked into.

Ignore Spammers

Spam is a blight upon the face of the net. Nobody likes it. However, it is hard to avoid. Despite our best efforts, you will very occasionally see spam on the forums. Complaining about spam in public increases noise, but not signal. It may make you feel better, but it doesn't help. Report the spam post using the 'report post' button.

Advertising/Solicitation

Advertising for the sake of advertising is not allowed. If you have something to advertise that you think will be of interest to the fiso community then firstly contact 'admin'. If you wish to post links to your Fantasy Sports related website on the fiso forums then please first provide a link back to http://www.fiso.co.uk

Links

Links to relevant news sources are encouraged. In particular, when posting injury news please provide the source for the information. If you wish to post links to your Fantasy Sports related website on the fiso forums then please first provide a link back to http://www.fiso.co.uk

Live Football Match Feeds

DO NOT post direct links to English/Scottish Premier League Matches or cup matches. Also no direct links to UEFA or FIFA competitions. These include direct media links and p2p application links. Do not ask for or request app names in posts for these competitions.

Do not Post Fixture Lists

Dataco think they own a copyright which may prevent non-licenced sites quoting their fixtures, although the legal position is uncertain. You can link to other websites publishing the fixtures who have a Dataco licence such as the BBC.

Chairing Mini-Leagues

Please note the following thread when deciding whether to join or set up a Mini-League where a prize may be won by the Chairman of the mini-league:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27293

Financial Dealings with other FISO Members

Any financial dealings (e.g. ticket sales, prize M/Ls, holiday apartment letting, etc.) are not sanctioned by FISO. Both sides of any deal are taking the full risk themselves and that post count, length of membership or status does in no way indicate trustworthiness of a fiso member.


About FISO:

FISO was created in 2000 and the FISO Forums were started in August 2001 for the UK Fantasy Sports Community and moved to these php bulletin boards (phpbb) in October 2005. FISO stands for Fantasy & Interactive Sports Online.

For details on the username ranking descriptions based on number of posts see:
viewtopic.php?t=1578