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These guidelines are global and apply to every area of this site. Mentors may choose to enact specific guidelines for individual forums, which are to be taken as an extension to the global guidelines when posting and visiting that specific forum. These specific guidelines are usually sticky topics placed at the top of the specific forum.<br /> <br /> Application and interpretation of these Guidelines is subject to the discretion of the Physics Forums Mentors (moderators). Posts that violate these Guidelines are routinely removed.<br /> <br /> We reserve the right to close the accounts of persistent violators of these Rules of Conduct at any time and without warning.<br /> <br /> All messages express the views of the author, and neither the owners of Physics Forums nor its developers will be held responsible for the content of any message.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 15px"><b>Short Summary:</b></span><br /> <br /> Most of the guidelines are common sense and basic courtesy. Other special guidelines are the following:<br /> <br /> <ul> <li>We wish to discuss mainstream science. That means only topics that can be found in textbooks or that have been published in reputable journals.</li> <li>Homework must be posted in the <a href="https://www.physicsforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=152" class="internalLink">homework forums</a> and an attempt must always be provided. Furthermore, one must use the homework template.</li> <li>Full solutions on a homework problem should <b>never</b> be given. Only hints and explanations are allowed.</li> <li>Be civil, productive and aim for high quality of participation.</li> </ul><br /> <span style="font-size: 15px"><b>Mission Statement:</b></span><br /> <br /> Our mission is to provide a place for people (whether students, professional scientists, or others interested in science) to learn and discuss science as it is currently generally understood and practiced by the professional scientific community. As our name suggests, our main focus is on physics, but we also have forums for most other academic areas including engineering, chemistry, biology, social sciences, etc.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 15px"><b>General Posting Guidelines:</b></span><br /> <ul> <li>When posting a new topic, please select the forum that best relates to the subject matter of your topic. If you are unsure, contact a mentor or the admin. <br /> <br /> </li> <li><b>Language:</b><br /> All posts must be in English. Posts in other languages will be deleted. Pay reasonable attention to written English communication standards. This includes the use of proper grammatical structure, punctuation, capitalization, spacing, and spelling. In particular, "I" is capitalized, there's a space after (but not before) a comma, a period, and other punctuation. Multiple exclamation marks are also discouraged. SMS messaging shorthand ("text-message-speak"), such as using "u" for "you", "plz" for "please", or "wanna" for "want to" is not acceptable.<br /> <br /> </li> <li><b>Multiple Posting:</b><br /> Posting the same topic (or homework question) across multiple forums or multiple threads is considered spamming and is not allowed. (No cross-posting.)<br /> <br /> </li> <li><b>Thread hijacks and off-topic posts:</b><br /> Do not hijack an existing thread with off-topic comments or questions--start a new thread. Any off-topic posts will be deleted or moved to an appropriate forum per administrator or mentor discretion.<br /> <br /> </li> <li><b>Reopening Locked Thread:</b><br /> Do not re-post comments from a locked thread without explicit permission of a mentor.<br /> <br /> </li> <li><b>Bumping</b><br /> Do not "bump" one of your threads to the top of a forum's thread list by posting a basically empty message to it, until at least 24 hours have passed since the latest post in the thread; and then do it only once per thread.<br /> <br /> </li> <li><b>Fonts:</b><br /> When posting a new topic do not use the CAPS lock (all-CAPS), bold, oversized, non-standard, or brightly colored fonts, or any combination thereof. They are hard to read and are considered yelling. When replying in an existing topic it is fine to use CAPS or bold to highlight main points.<br /> <br /> </li> <li><b>Replying to a Post:</b><br /> When replying to a post, please use the correct button! If you wish to quote a previous post in your reply, use the "Quote" button; if you do not, use the "New Reply" button. Do <b>not</b> use the "Report" button to reply to a post; this sends a message to the Mentors (moderators), and is normally used only to report spam or other posts that you think violate the Guidelines.<br /> <br /> </li> <li><b>Quoting a Post:</b><br /> When you quote from a post, please delete large sections that are not directly relevant to your response, to make reading easier, but do not distort the original poster's meaning in the process. You may add colors or change the font of words or phases for emphasis, provided that you state explicitly that you have done so. Other forms of purposeful misquoting are dishonest and are not permitted.</li> </ul><br /> <span style="font-size: 15px"><b>General Contents Guidelines:</b></span><br /> <br /> <ul> <li>Please clearly state what you wish to discuss. In general, one should attempt to flesh out questions and arguments adequately enough that readers will have a good understanding of the issue.<br /> <br /> </li> <li><b>Personal Information:</b><br /> Refrain from disclosing personal information about yourself or third parties, information such as hometown, real name, email address... The staff may edit out such information if posted. Also, do not post personal communications, such as emails or conversations, with third parties. 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