If you are new to Astronomy magazine’s Reader Forums, welcome! Below is an outline of our general forum rules. If you ever see any of these being violated, please use the “Report Abuse” link that’s found in the lower right-hand corner of every single post in our forum. An automated message will be sent to our moderators and the infraction will be dealt with.
Thanks for participating in our forums. Your contributions make our forums a great resource for astronomy enthusiasts from around the world. Your assistance policing our forums helps keep the environment positive and enjoyable for people of all ages.
Now, to the rules:
Please keep discussions on topic (that is, astronomy-related).
Your forum signature should not be used as a place to express your personal beliefs (religion, politics, marital status, sexual orientation, etc.). Remember, this is a forum tied to our common bond of astronomy; don’t let your personal viewpoints on unrelated topics interfere with the common reason we’re all here.
No advertising. Our forums should not be used as an advertising medium for companies who want to promote their business or products, or by individuals who want to promote their items for sale or their eBay auctions. Our users are the drivers behind this policy. They don’t want the useful information in our forums watered down with posts that are nothing more than advertisements. If you’d like to advertise on our site, please visit our Advertise With Us page.
No swearing or foul language. And we don’t care if you use symbols to mask the words. The meaning is still conveyed, and we don’t want it in our forum. Please keep in mind that we have readers of all ages. This isn’t a tavern.
No personal attacks or name-calling. Please keep conversations cordial. We understand that there will be differences of opinion. Please don’t let those differences turn ugly. Accept that others might not have your same point of view, and don’t sink to personal attacks. Nothing is gained by doing so.
No political discussions or signature messages. We know politics sometimes affects astronomy. However, we’ve found that political discussions almost always turn into arguments. We have a common interest in astronomy. Don’t let political differences destroy that common bond.
No religious discussions or signature messages. This is for many of the same reasons as the political discussions and signatures. We all have our own personal views, and this isn’t the place to share them. Remember, this is an astronomy forum.
No inappropriate images or videos. If you choose to post photos or links to videos, please keep them astronomy-related and use your best judgment.- Don’t use our forums as a means of promoting your forum (or online group, sweepstakes, prize drawings, contests, etc.). Within your forum profile, you’re allowed to share your own Web site and Blog URL. Leave it at that. (To update your forum profile, log in to the forums, then click your username where it says “Welcome back so-and-so” near the top of the forum.)
Please respect copyright material. If you want to share copyright material with our users, please link to it. Don’t take a story from another Web site and post it in our forum. Don’t copy a photo if you don’t own the rights and use it in our forum.
For further guidelines, please visit Frequently Asked Questions or our Web Site Usage Policy.