The "official" forum news

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

We were long unhappy with the registration method on this forum. The captcha just did not seem to work well. We now replaced that with a question system to determine if you are a bot or a human. So if you were frustrated before, forgive us and try it again here.

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We also (re)activated the option to vote a forum posts down (check at the low right of a post, you will see a red - and a green + icon) . Click on any of those and the score for that post will change. Now for the big thing. This is NOT intended to show you do not agree with a post, opinions differ and where somebody might like product A, somebody else might not, right? It's intended to show how much you value the post. How much you feel the other should read it. There is a forum option that hides all posts with a negative score, that helps the reader to hide the posts that are just noit very valuable. If we see a posts that seems valid, well constructed and polite getting a negative score we'll check it out, do notify us when you think something is wrong.

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The moderators have also decided on a new system of warning users that do not behave as we would like. The forum has the option to set the warn status. If we feel you have done something that's not okay, we will increase your warning status. You'll be informed why but it is no big deal. If we got a serious issue we might set a cool down period as well, but it does not permanently ban you until you get the top score of 10. Then you're gone. So this system is a bit more friendly then just banning users directly.

There is no problem telling us in strong words that you do not agree with something. Or that you feel that there is a bug to be solved. We're grown ups, we can take it. But this is not a forum like on Avsim that used by simmers to communicate with other forums. These are the Aerosoft forums, we pay for them, we use them commercially to promote and support our products. Idle chat is very welcome in any form and we got very relaxed rules. What's allowed and not is actually very simple. Imagine you are a guest at a party. A lively party. All that you would say in public with the host listening in is fine. Going on and on and on about the fact you do not like a project and will not buy a product will not get you an invitation for the next time. Saying you don't like it, not going to buy it in reasonable terms is fine, of course!

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We have seen an increase in banners of large sizes. We don't like those. They eat up bandwidth for everybody, screw with the layout, sometimes are obnoxious in content. It's okay to show you are a fan of this and that. But lets do so in a small banner. Please?

[SailingPilot 0]

Mathijs and Shawn, as this important email (and others regulating forum management and in/acceptable forum

behaviour and attitude) will unavoidably be lost in the stacks of subsequent forum mail for newcomers, may I suggest

that you install a column "Aerosoft forum policy" where rules and announcements are available for newcomers and

even "old" readers?

Btw: I very much agree that Aerosoft, as forum owner, has a right and even duty to regulate behaviour of its

netizen. Not surprisingly for a new technology, people uneducated in its usage tend to test its limitations (esp.

including flames). But it is Aerosoft´s legal duty to protect the majority from illicit behaviour of a small minority.

Thanx for caring: sailingpilot (January 6, 2010)