Military Times Forums FAQ

Help these boards stay friendly and civilized by reading and following our rules of engagement:

THE GOLDEN RULE

A good rule of thumb is to never say something in the message boards that you wouldn't say in front of a group of people, or face-to-face.

THE BASICS

Do not violate OPSEC
Loose lips sink ships.

Advertising and solicitation
Posts that include advertising, solicitation or promotions may be removed. Members intent on spamming our communities may find their posting privileges revoked without additional warning.

Disruption
You're welcome to voice your opinion here, and it would be a boring place if you didn't. But if you disagree with a comment that's been made, keep it civil. Posts designed to instigate or disrupt discussions or that contain offensive material may be removed, along with other messages posted in response. Please don't use obscene or offensive language, hate speech or engage in personal attacks of other members. Bashing services on branch-specific forums or any forum is not acceptable within our communities. Posts made with the intent to belittle, harass or otherwise disrupt a community will be removed. Repeated instances of such harassment and disruption may result in a revocation of posting privileges.

Graphic sexual language and images
Graphic sexual language and images are not acceptable. Find another site for that. Posts will be removed with posting privileges suspended should your word choice and/or photos become too graphic. Social norms are the accepted guideline here, but as with all things in these forums, we have the final say.

Hyperlinks
Including links to informative and helpful sites is part of Internet communication. Choosing to click on a link is your decision. We do not screen links. However, posts may be removed if a hyperlink is not in the following format -- www.wheredoesthislinkgo.com or .org or any number of acceptable addresses. The key here is no hidden agendas. Tell us where the link goes so our members may make informed decisions on whether to click or not. Remember: We do not screen links in posts, but may remove a post if the link is determined to be inappropriate.

Mild vulgarity
We don't really mind mild profanity. We've been known to let one fly, ourselves. However, if it becomes excessive or you direct it at another person, that's no good.

Religious content
Religious content is prohibited on MTF. We may let some content slide, but reserve the right to close or delete any religious topics, threads or discussions, if they become disruptive to the forum.

Personal information
We want to get to know you but remember these message boards are public and anyone could be reading. Please don't share information such as address and phone number, yours or someone else's. Be safe.

Post removal and reporting
We don't pre-screen or regularly review message board posts. If you feel a post, conversation or user requires our attention, let us know by using the Report Bad Post button (it's on the top right of every message board post). We reserve the right to remove, without notification, content that doesn't comply with our guidelines. Continued violation of these guidelines, or an active punishment such as a ban, may result in a permanent loss of posting privileges on our message boards.

Private Messages
Important word here is private. Private means not for public consumption and it's just common courtesy not to post the contents of private messages on the public boards. Posting private communication may be viewed as member harassment and/or disruption which may result in the suspension of posting privileges.

Spam
Posting spam (the same post or information multiple times in one message board or many) isn't allowed and will be removed. Posts containing nudity, sexual acts or related photos, videos, links, etc. will be removed and posting privileges revoked.

Are you at least 13 years old? In order to use our message boards, you must be at least 13 years old. By registering here, you are telling us that you are at least 13 years old and not subject to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA - http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/coppa1.htm).

Q&A

What happened to my post?
There are a few things that may have happened:
1) You've misplaced it. You can search for a previously posted message by keyword or by user name. Note: It may take a minute or two for your message to appear if you very recently posted it.
2) It's been moved. Threads which are posted in the wrong message board may be moved to the proper place.
3) Posts that violate these Community Guidelines or our Terms of Service are subject to removal, along with any messages that may have been posted in response. We encourage you to read the full Community Guidelines before posting in the message boards. If you believe your post may have been removed and wish to discuss the reason for its removal, you may write to discussions@atpco.com. You must include your username and the url to the message board where the post was created.

How should I deal with disruptive behavior in the message boards?
A few suggestions:
1) Ignore disruptive posts -- if you reply, you're only encouraging unruly discussion. You also have the option of adding users to your own Ignore list.
2) Report violations of the Terms of Service and/or the Community Guidelines by using the Report Bad Post button found on each post.

What does it mean to be off-topic?
Some boards are for discussing current news and politics, while others are for chitchat. Posts that do not fall within the topic presented in the first post of the thread can disrupt discussions. (For example, a post about what cell phone plans are good if you deploy overseas is off-topic in a conversation about the Secretary of Defense resigning. True story, btw.) Please read the first post and other posts to get an idea of what the conversation is about before you post. Off-topic posts and their responses may be removed without notification.

Do message boards expire?
There will be times when a conversation becomes closed. Closed message boards are read-only, which means you may not post any new messages to them. There are also times when a message board will be retired. Retirement may occur because there has been little to no conversation in the board or the topic is no longer relevant to the community.

By submitting to The Army Times Publishing Co. ("we" or "us") the attached photograph(s), text, video footage or other materials (the "Materials"), you acknowledge that our Terms of Service apply to your submission and our use of the Materials. You also hereby grant to us, our affiliates and licensees, a royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide right to copy, edit, adapt, distribute, perform, display, and/or use, the Materials, including any derivative works created from the Materials, in whole or in part, for any purpose and in any manner, form, format or medium, now known or later developed, including without limitation, on the Internet, in print and on-air, and/or in any advertising or promotions. In addition, you grant to us the royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide right to use your name, likeness, and biographical information in connection with the use of the Materials. You also grant to us the right to sublicense to any person or entity the unrestricted right to exercise any of the rights you have granted to us in this agreement. You represent that you are at least 18 years old or older, that you have the right to grant us all the rights granted herein and that the Materials are your original work and are not owned by any other person or entity. You also represent that the Materials, the creation of the Materials, and the use of the Materials do not violate any law or regulation and do not infringe the rights of any person or entity, including, but not limited to, any copyright or trademark rights and/or rights of privacy or publicity. You represent that the Materials you submit to us are real, not staged, and are as described by you at the end of this agreement. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Army Times Publishing Co., our parent company, affiliates and licenses, from any loss, claim, damage or expense arising from the use of the Materials or your breach of this Agreement, including the above representations. You understand and agree that you will not have any right of approval over the use of the Materials pursuant to this Agreement and you will not receive any compensation as a result of any use of the Materials or the rights granted pursuant to this agreement. You also understand and agree that nothing in this agreement obligates us to use the Materials. This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between The Army Times Publishing Co. and you with respect to the subject matter of the agreement and supersedes all previous and contemporaneous agreements, proposals and communications, written oral. This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to any principles or conflicts of law.

Here you can find answers to questions about how the board works. Use the links below or the search box above to find your way around.

The Blog system gives you your own personal space at Military Times Forums. Depending on how the administrator has configured the blog, you will be able to create your own entries and control who may view them.