Corona Forum Rules and Guidelines

02 April 2013

Corona Forum Rules and Guidelines

“With great power there must also come… great responsibility!”  —Stan Lee

Last month we upgraded our forums. The new software has many new features and abilities that our old forums did not. This is a great thing, but in rare cases it leads to abuse of accepted online etiquette.

Forum rules are written with the hope that moderators will never have to enforce them. The problem is that forum rules are usually not all that visible and it’s easy to forget them. So, we are posting them here as a reminder.

Without further delay, here are Corona Labs’ official forum rules:

1. Be polite!

Posts may not include personal attacks or links to offensive or illegal material. Remember that we have members in various age groups, so keep things professional. Instead of posting an attack, post something positive that contributes to the conversation.

2. Post only once

Duplicate posts may be considered spam and are subject to removal. On rare occasions, the forum software will “hiccup” and double-post, but in regards to intentional multiple posts, this practice is frowned upon.

3. Post to the appropriate sub-forum

Posting in the correct place makes your post easier to find and more valuable for the community. Moderators may use discretion and move your posts if they are clearly in the wrong sub-forum.

4. Use clear topic titles

Use “Help with collision detection” rather than “Help me!” or “Big Problem!”. The clearer the topic title, the more likely you are to get assistance from the community and begin a productive discussion.

5. Do not “hijack” threads

When your post takes the thread off-topic from the original question, it’s rude to the person who originally posted. In this case, it’s better to ask your question in a new thread.

6. Do not expect an immediate response

This is a community forum and the members — both Corona developers and Corona staff — get to your posts when they are able to. Posting twice or duplicating posts in other forums (see #2 above) is actually counter-productive and is not likely to bring about a resolution faster.

7. No profanity

We will not tolerate profanity or inappropriate words. Our new forum software supports the automatic replacement of inappropriate words using a pre-specified word list. This default list can be very aggressive and it may include words that are not appropriate in all contexts. If you find a censored word that you don’t believe should be censored, simply contact Corona Labs and we will review the situation.

8. No trolling

As a rule, we don’t want to censor your posts when you’re expressing an opinion, except in the case of specific points listed above. As long as you are civil, professional, and make valid points, we will not remove posts. However, if you are posting solely for the sake of being disruptive, we reserve the right to remove posts and/or block accounts. Likewise, for the sake of basic openness, general transparency, and safety of the community, user accounts and posts originating from anonymous accounts, including those behind anonymity services, are liable to be blocked and all posts removed.

9. Use code tags

Please surround code using standard BBCode tags for entering code. The new forum software uses square brackets, not HTML-style <>…</> tags or click on the Code editor button in the editor’s button bar. It’s the blue <> button (see the diagram).

10. Post in English, or use one of the language-specific forums

We encourage developers across the world to use Corona and participate in the forums, and we’ll do our best to accommodate those who don’t speak English natively. However, if you’re posting in the “main” forums, you will get better results if you post in English, even if it’s not grammatically perfect.

11. Use readable language and please don’t “shout”

Please do not use “text speak” or ALL CAPS. All CAPS is considered “shouting” and is not polite. Shouting may result in posts being hidden or removed.

12. Avoid large fonts and crazy colors

If you use a very large font, you are effectively shouting. If you make your text all yellow and orange, it will be difficult to read. We want to keep the forums pleasant and readable, so outrageous formatting will not be tolerated. However, for the time being, we will allow basic formatting because moderate, sensible use can enhance posts.

13. Please limit “bumping”

Bumping of older posts should be kept to a minimum. A general guideline is to wait a couple days, or longer over weekends and holidays. There is no guarantee how quickly posts will be answered in the forums. Sometimes it takes longer for someone with specific knowledge of your issue to see the post and respond.

14. No signatures

We have removed the ability to automatically include signatures below your posts. We find that they usually clutter up the forums, and they can be used for unrelated marketing purposes. We’d rather people just sign with their name.

15. No advertising or spam

This is not an advertising platform for other services, with two notable exceptions:

1. You can use the Corona Marketplace forums to promote things that are legitimately related to Corona and mobile development, for example third-party services, templates, libraries, contractor searches, development partnerships, etc.
2. You can post about recently released or soon-to-be-released Corona made apps in the New Apps / Works In Progress forum.

Otherwise, spam will not be tolerated, and any account that posts spam will be promptly blocked and all posts removed.

16. Avoid private messages to Corona staff

Please avoid sending private messages to the staff. Instead, please ask your question in the appropriate forum. While we appreciate you reaching out to us, you’ll get better responses by posting for the entire community to see. If you need urgent technical assistance or customer support regarding your account, please use the contact form.

17. Avoid posts that are not useful to Corona Labs’ developers

Our forums are intended for discussion that’s beneficial to Corona developers. Excessive off-topic posts or posts promoting competing platforms may be grounds for post removal or banning from the forums.

18. Miscellaneous

By posting in a thread, you understand that you may be subscribed to the topic and receive email notifications when updates occur. Similarly, by posting in the forum, you agree that you have read and understand all of the rules outlined above.

This summarizes the rules for the Corona Labs forums. Posts that do not adhere to the above guidelines may be edited or removed. Repeated violations of the rules may results in your suspension or expulsion from the forum.

Please note that the views expressed by forum members, moderators, or administrators are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Corona Labs Inc.

Finally, we want to be flexible to the needs of the Corona community. These rules are subject to change. If they do change, we’ll try our best to clarify what changed and why. Our goal is to provide a welcoming space where the Corona community can learn, ask for help, and engage in useful, constructive discussions about app development and related issues.