Memphis/Shelby County Emergency Management Agency

The Courtesy Rules

Repeated violation of these rules will result in an email from either a moderator or the administrator. If you still fail to comply with these rules, your access to the boards will be either revoked or restricted for a short period of time.


1. Do not type all in caps unless you have a reason too. Caps are reserved to express volume or anger. It is flat out hard to read and can easily get on people's nerves. Do not capitalize the first letter of every word in a sentence as it is also extremely hard to read (This Is Really Annoying To Read, SO IS THIS, SO DON'T DO IT!!!!)

2. Try to keep all your posts in the correct section. The different forums should be fairly obvious as to what posts belong where, but if not, the moderators will be able to move them into the correct forum and you should get the hang of it pretty quick. If you keep posting in the wrong forums, you will get on people's nerves and you may receive an email from one of the moderators.

3. Moderators/Administrators: They are the ones that keep this site organized, clean, and running smoothly, they move threads, they edit threads, they settle disputes, and they have a world of responsibility. Please respect any moderators wishes if they ask you to stop something, or change something that is not in accordance to the site rules. Do not make public threads about other members or moderators if you have a problem, issues can be resolved via PM. Moderators do not get paid, they volunteer their time and effort in making this site the great resource it has grown to be. If you have any personal issues with a moderator or do not agree with what they ask you to do then contact the administrator.



Mandatory Rules
Violation of these rules will result in immediate banning from the boards for an indefinite amount of time. These rules are enforced very strictly and violations will be acted upon immediately.

1. Respect- Treat everybody with respect. Be kind towards one another and the site will be a much happier place. This site thrives on the friendliness of its members and anyone who disrupts that peace will be seriously frowned upon. If you do not treat people in a respectful manner, you will first receive a warning from the administrator, if you fail to change your habits, you will be banned for an indefinite amount of time.

2. Flaming- Absolutely no personal insults. Any insults will be immediately removed and the poster will be warned or banned at the discretion of the administrator. Insults include any derogatory words about a persons age, sex, race or religion. Light hearted and friendly joking are acceptable, but as soon as someone becomes offended or the conversation turns sour, the post will be immediately removed.

3. Flame Wars- Do not attempt to start or become involved in a flame war. In the event that fighting should break out before it is able to be locked or deleted, you need to either try to settle the conversation down or stay out of it all together. Any people flaming will be banned for at least a month. Keep the peace and make the board a better place. We look down on all malicious posts.

4. Locked Threads- Do not bring back locked topics. Once a topic has been closed for discussion, it is meant to stay that way. You will receive a warning for any violations and repeated violations will result in a temporary ban on your account. It is also unacceptable to create a post demanding a reason for why a post was locked/deleted. Once a post is closed, simply move on.

5. Multiple Posting- Do not post multiple threads in different sections of the site. There is no need for you to make a post of it in CERT, General Discussion, and Whatever. Choose one section and stick to it. Also refrain from taking a thread that is clearly a technical question and creating it in Whatever assuming it will get more replies/attention. Any such posts beyond accident will result in a warning and the thread will be moved with a re-direct link.

6. Free Posting ( aka Post whoring)- Post whoring is a term used by many here and at many other message boards, Post whoring is when someone will reply to as many threads as possible for the sole purpose of raising a post count, this can include making worthless threads, only replying with smiley faces more than necessary, and creating "post count celebration" threads. Having a high post count does not always make you more respected or known, its the quality of your posts that make the difference and its the quality of posts that your fellow members will appreciate your contributions by.

7. Controversial/Questionable Threads- We do allow threads in the whatever section that involve moral issues and politics, but it is highly expected that you are to remain calm and to post with common sense while following the courtesy rules. If someone does not agree with your point of view then give up, once a thread turns sour, then it will be either sent to the Recycle Bin or to The Edge. Please do not ruin the thread for others that want to have an intelligent debate. Leave flames, name calling, and emotion driven comments to yourself if they are in violation of the courtesy rules.

8. Not Work Safe(NWS)- These type of threads are allowed (mainly in The Edge forum) but must be within good taste, this is a family oriented site. If you are planning on posting an adult based thread you must include the heading: NWS or "not work safe" in the title of the thread itself so that our members browsing at work will not get into trouble. There is to be no nudity or sexual pictures in signatures or avatars, as these can be downloaded to a temporary internet file without the member actually even seeing it on the screen, especially an avatar from a member that has a high post count and posts in various sections. Any adult content must be displayed as a hyperlink to another site. All links containing nudity must be titled as nudity. (eg-Here's the link...Nudity. It is ok as long as it does not become a routine habit by members, if it does become a problem you will receive a warning or a PM from a moderator or administrator.


9. Trolling/Sub Accounts- If you have more than one registered name at MSCEMA's forums and are found trolling or causing trouble and controversy your alter-ego will be permanently banned and your primary name will receive a warning or temp-ban based on the severity of your actions. If you are banned under your normal user name and sign on to post from your alter-ego name, not only will we block both names, we will block the IP address as well. If you are banned for any reason then you must wait your time out like everyone else, failure to cooperate may result in a permanent IP block. If you need to speak to one of the administrators you can email them and or arrange to speak to them through instant messages about the situation.



Signature Rules
Keep your signatures within the standards below or your signature will simply be deleted and you will need to recreate a scaled down signature to fit our guide.

Max Image Bytes: 25kb
Max Image Pixels: 500(wide)x120(tall)
Total Lines (text and picture): 15 (one floppy disk at 1024x768 resolution) One line of text is 16 pixels high

The total amount of lines should not exceed 15, this is including the picture, so if you have a picture that measures 160 pixels high, then you used up 10 lines of text, leaving you 5 lines of text for typing. Smaller signatures are easier on the eyes and is less cluttered. Please stick to simple signatures that people will notice you by. Complexity is clutter, also remember no nudity in signatures.

If your signature is found in violation you will receive a PM from a moderator and be asked to re-size it. If you ignore the request then it will count as a warning, and each attempt ignored will count as a subsequent warning. If no action is still taken, then the sig will be physically removed by the administrators.


Please obey all the rules above and make this forum a much friendlier place on the web. Have Fun!!