Code of Conduct

After much hesitation and consideration I have decided to set up a Code of Conduct as is the custom on moderated forums. I hope you will not take it in an ill sense - I know that everyone who participates on this forum has but the best intentions and would never abuse the forum in any way and I'm quite sure that those in search of scandals or hated discussions will find it more easier to insult others on non-moderated forums where they will not be banned for injurious behaviour.

For your own comfort please read through the following simple rules.

General: see here

Obtaining and giving information: see here

Advertising and submitting links: see here

Language: see here

Moderation: see here

General:

Please stay at all times polite and respect other people's views and opinions. It is easy to get too carried away in a discussion but remember, it's not an offence to have a different opinion - indeed it would be a very boring world if we were to agree all the time.

Please use private messages (pm) or other private form of communication for sorting out personal conflicts.

Do not post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, racist, insulting, hateful, threatening, sexually-oriented, pornographic, or any other material that may violate any applicable law. Doing so may lead to you being immediately and permanently banned (and your service provider being informed). Links to sites with such contents are equally forbidden.

Obtaining and giving information:

If you are seeking information have a quick look around before you post your question (you can use the forum's built-in search ).

When starting a new thread please use descriptive titles to help others determine whether they should consult your thread when seeking specific information.

If you're organising a get together, please do so in the "Going out" section and please edit the title of the thread to include the date once it has been settled. (Use at the top of your first posting - mind you don't delete any of your text). This is required in order to help newcomers and occasional visitors determine which are the past and which are the coming-up events.

The forum has sub-forums (referred to as categories or sections) with different themes. Before starting a new thread try to find the most appropriate category. These are not strict categories, they serve to help other members find the threads they are interested in. No harm done if you post it in a less suitable category, if it's very much out of place the moderators might move your thread to another category - in this case you will be informed by a private message (pm).

For general chat you can use the "Free wheel" or the shoutbox on the main page.

Advertising and submitting links:

You may put up short ads and submit links in the "Ads and links" section. This section is primarily designated for putting up non-commercial ads (e.g. individuals looking for private teachers, place to stay, etc. and corresponding offers coming from individuals too) and for promoting other non-commercial sites. However if your ad or link bears with special relevance to Hungary or Budapest it will be accepted even if it is not non-commercial. Other types of commercial ads or links may be accepted too if they have other important aspects than making money.

The "Ads and links" is also the place to promote your forum. Mind you reciprocality is required.

Excessive, repeated advertising will be regarded as spamming so please don't double post your ads and no need to repeat your threads - just give it a descriptive title and people will find it.

Language:

The language of the forum is English. However, for many of our members this is not their mother tongue. They might have difficulties in expressing themselves, might even feel clumsy using a foreign language. You are asked to help non-native speakers feel more at ease by not criticising their English and making efforts on understanding what they have to say.

Please bear in mind that it is very hard to sound polite using a foreign language. Non-native English speakers might seem less polite (even rude) due to their lack of facility with the language. Often they will limit their communication to basic sentences (which can have an air of harshness) and many Hungarians will use the imperative when in fact conditional would be more appropriate in English. Having learnt English as a foreign language is of course no excuse to offend or insult others but let's not be too hasty with telling somebody off who doesn't speak English perfectly.

Generally one's mother language and one's original culture is reflected in the English one speaks. What might seem rude in English might be very polite when translated to another language. For example Hungarian grammar requires the use of an exclamation mark at the end of an imperative sentence - which means that all of my above sentences beginning with "please" should have been finished with an exclamation mark had I written the Code of Conducts in Hungarian.

Text which is in a language that none of the moderators understand will be removed. Sorry but we have a certain responsibility over the content of the forum.

Moderation

The moderation of the forum is done by the administrators (Alice and TJ) and the moderators (who if any will be presented in a separate thread) - all referred to as moderators.

The moderators will try their best to maintain the forum; however, they are but humans too - liable to make mistakes, misinterpret or misjudge situations. If you are not satisfied with a decision made by a moderator try to get in contact with the person via mp or e-mail to settle the misunderstanding.