Frequently Asked Forum Questions, and Rules for the About.com U.S. Military Forum

Note: For questions about the U.S. Military, see our U.S. Military FAQ

Q. What's the purpose of this Forum?

A. The purpose of the U.S. Military Forum is to provide a place for discussion for everyone interested in the United States Military. This includes active duty, retired, veterans, National Guard, Reserves, family members, or just plain folk with an interest in the U.S. Military.

Q. Can we post messages about other subjects, or are we restricted to military matters.

A. While I fully expect a majority of topics to be about the military, you're free to post messages about other areas, as well. Um....well, kind of. I'd like to keep individual threads of discussion "on-track." So, if someone starts a discussion about F-16 Fighters, please don't answer with facts about the B-52. If you wish to discuss the B-52, start a new conversation thread, instead.

Q. What's the difference between posting a message in the Forum and sending an E-mail?

A. When you send an E-mail, it's private. Only the person you send the e-mail to can see it. When you post a message in the Forum, it's public, and anyone can see the message and answer it.

Q. Do you prefer that questions to you be posted in the Forum, or via e-mail?

A. Unless the question is of a private nature, one that you don't want others to know about, I prefer that questions be posted in the Forum. That way, you'll not only get the benefit of my answer, but possibly the answer from other "military experts," as well. I personally check the Forum several times per day, so it shouldn't take me long to answer.

Q. Can you help me with my homework assignment?

A. Well, I can't actually do your assignment for you, but if you have an assignment about the US Military, I should be able to point you in the right direction to find the information you need.

Q. Are there "rules of behavior" on this forum?

A. Just the standard rules for any civilized society:

* No profanity, as this Forum is accessible to people of all ages. If the word can't be said on public broadcast television under FCC rules, then it can't be said in the US Military Message Forum.

* It's okay to disagree with someone's idea, but please, no name-calling or personal attacks. For example, while it's okay to say, "I think that idea is stupid," it's not okay to say "You are stupid." Do not apply "labels" directed at a specific forum person. Don't say, "You're nothing but a right-wing conservative." You are free to debate the issue, but personal labeling and attacks only serve to shift focus from civilized debate to meaningless attacks.

My staff have been instructed to enforce the spirit of the "no personal attacks" rule. In other words, if you tell someone "you're lying," that's the same in my book as saying "you're a liar." The simplest way to stay within the guidelines is, possibly, to pretend that you're in a (classy) bar/lounge, and engaging in conversation/polite debate with other patrons. If you told someone, in such a bar, "you're lying," you would likely earn a punch in the nose. Simply conform your messages in our forum the way you would be expected to engage in polite debate in such an atmosphere (without earning a punch in the nose), and you will rarely run counter to the spirit our rules.

I define a "personal attack" as anytime the focus of a message or statement is directed toward perceived negative qualities of a member, rather than content of the member's message. This can sometimes be hard to define, especially in a spirited debate. It would be okay, for example to say, "The facts don't support your theory." I would even accept, "You don't know what you're talking about." However, if you said, "You're stupid," or "You're a total ignoramus," those would clearly be personal attacks. Remember the "punch in the nose" rule (above).

* The About.com US Military Forum is a public message board and everyone is entitled to his/her opinions, whether or not you agree with them. Don't post messages such as "If you have not been in the military, you should not post messages here."

* Please DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. On the Internet, that's considered SHOUTING, and I think we can have a civilized conversation without shouting.

* Please do not post personal information about other people, such as full name, location, address, phone number, etc. Most folks do not appreciate their personal information plastered all over the Internet for thousands to see. While we have no rules which state you cannot post personal information about yourself, you'll want to think twice about it -- it's usually not a good idea.

* The Forum software allows use of different font styles, sizes and colors. While it is perfectly okay to use these features to provide emphasis on specific parts of your message, or to add a degree of individuality, please refrain from using excessively bright colors or significantly enlarged font in your entire posting, in an attempt to make your message stand out from others. This makes these messages difficult to read. We understand that some members may use slightly larger font or colors other than black because of vision problems, but let's not get carried away. My staff has been instructed to edit messages, which -- in our opinion -- are difficult to read or distracting due to excessive font size or colors.

* Do not criticize other poster's spelling or grammar. Usually such practices are nothing more than a cheap attempt to distract away from the topic of the debate by pointing out perceived inadequacies of the education/knowledge of the poster. In other words, I consider such to be "personal attacks."

* Do not threaten any member of the Forum with legal action or threaten to report them to any "authority." If you see something posted that you feel you must report to some authority, you have the perfect right to do so. But, don't use the Forum to threaten such action. I consider that to be a personal attack.

* This is a "No Spam" board. Please do not post any advertisements here. They will be removed as soon as they are found. This includes "invitations" to visit other web sites or message boards, whether or not they are commercial, profit, or nonprofit. The About.com U.S. Military Site is a commercial site which exists because of paid sponsors. If we allow you to advertise your site for free, it would be extremely unfair to our sponsors who have to pay to advertise their sites. You MAY provide links to other sites, if the information there is relevant to the discussion at hand. We also allow links to online newspaper articles, for the purpose of generating topics of discussion (Please do not copy & paste the entire article, as that is a copyright infringement. You may copy & paste a small portion of the article, with a link to the site where the article resides).

* Do not post copyrighted material on the Forum unless you have the copyright holder's permission, and a statement to that effect is contained within the Forum post. Under "Fair Use," it is permissible to post a small portion of the copyrighted material (no more than two paragraphs), with a link to the complete article or web page, for the purposes of discussion or debate.

This includes displaying of photographs or graphics from other websites. Please do not display such photos on the message forum, unless the site clearly states that such photos are "public domain," or the photos come from an official U.S. Government Web Site (.gov or .mil). U.S. Government information is not protected by copyright.

* Please post all messages in English. My Staff and I read all messages to ensure they comply with forum guidelines. Having to translate messages from languages other than English increases our workload and detracts from other tasks.

In addition to these rules, please see the About.com general guidelines, and the user agreement.

Q. Who makes the determination as to whether a rule has been broken?

A. Me.

Q. What happens if I break a rule?

A. In most cases, I, or a member of my staff will give a gentle reminder to abide by these guidelines. In some cases, we may delete or edit the message in question. In a few cases, we may restrict message posting privileges or even take action to terminate an account's access to the message forum.

The Forum rules and their enforcement are not a subject for debate. I have implemented rules that I feel are conducive to civilized discussion & debate. My staff members use specific guidelines, issued by me to ensure the rules are followed. There are plenty of message forums on the Internet where conversations are allowed to degenerate into "You suck!," "No...You suck even more" type of arguments. This forum is not one of those places. As such, if you are warned, or if one of your messages are edited or deleted, please do not whine about it. Take it in stride, and move on.

One final point: I reserve the right to deny access to anyone that I, in my sole opinion, feel is a disruptive influence in the forum. That's my polite way of saying that I won't tolerate "trolls," or anyone who's primary purpose appears to be trying to "bait" others into breaking the rules. It's the equivalent of the sign over the counter in the store which reads, "We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to Anyone, for Any Reason."

Q. Where can I find out more information about the US Military?

A. You can check out over 20,000 pages of information about the U.S. Military on our Main Page.

Rod Powers