Board rules

These rules are disclosed to clarify the various responsibilities of all community members here on ~RF Group Tas~. They shall be adhered to by everyone to ensure that our board runs smoothly and provides a fun and productive experience for all of our community members and visitors.

  1. What Is Expected Of You

    1. Photo's posted on this forum are copyright to "RF Group Tasmania" and/or the original authors and you MUST seek full permission before using or copying any part of them. #
    2. In regards to rule 1-a above, any number plates, faces or identifying marks etc must be blurred to protect the parties in question, unless you have permission to display such. #
    3. In the case of using photo's or information from other websites, it is 'courtesy' to provide a link to that website with the copied piece of information, please respect that. #
    4. Lets keep everything friendly & civil, please refrain from using any abusive language or making personal attacks, if you have an issue take it up with the person in private, if that fails seek a Team members intervention. #
    5. When posting please always use common sense, if it is or might be illegal, could aid in criminal activity, hinder emergency services, or endanger another persons life, please keep it off the forum. #
    6. You are solely responsible for what you post. Should this cause any legal action or problems, and if requested to, then any details we have on you (including PM's) will be forwarded to the appropriate authorities. #
    7. Some boards have there own specific rules, please check and abide by them at all times. #
    8. Discussing the programming of radio's to 'illegally' transmit on frequencies for which you are not licensed is not permitted, however programming a radio for receive only channels is fine. #
    9. Please do not post any inappropriate content, i.e. pirated software, hacking, cracking or pornographic material etc. #
    10. While we don't expect you to sign-in and post every single day, we do expect you to make use of your account at least once every three (3) months. We will randomly check and remove any inactive accounts without warning or notice. #
    11. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, however it does not mean they are wrong, please respect this and if need be 'agree to disagree'. #
    12. In regards to 1-j above:

      Those who have special requirements, or for genuine reasons need extended time, will be looked after providing we are made aware of the fact this requirement is needed. #
  2. What You Can Expect

    1. When asking for forum support please be specific and provide clear details of the problem or issue, including any error messages etc, the more you detail the issue the quicker we can provide help. #
    2. Be sure to ask your support or help question in the appropriate boards so as it can be easily found by others who may be having the same issue or problem. #
    3. Please be patient when asking for help or support, all members of these boards give support of their own free-will and due to many factors it may sometimes take a while to respond. #
    4. Where possible please ask your question on the forum, remembering that private support only helps one single person, whereas support asked on the forums benefits everyone, however account related questions should be done via PM or email. #
    5. Please note that removing your own account is not possible at the present time, therefore if you wish to have your account permanently removed you will need to contact us and ask for it to be done, stating the user-name and email used when registering, failure to ask this will see you continuing to receive email and other correspondence from us. #
  3. Police (TASGRN) & Pager Discussions



    1. TASGRN / Tasmania Police:

      In light of the recent changes to the TASGRN, discussions on the network itself and its users, such as Tasmania Police, are now permitted on the forum, however, please always use common sense when posting about these topics and if you are unsure as to the suitability of your post, then please speak to a Staff member about it, they will guide you on if it is suitable or not.

      While discussions on the TASGRN and its users are open at this time, please be aware that under no circumstances are there to be any posts or discussions on trying to break/hack or circumvent the encryption or any other unlawful methods/ways that will allow people to listen in, any such posts are strictly forbidden and should such posts be made, they will be removed immediately with or without notice and the poster will be given one warning only, any further such posts will see the posters account removed from this forum for a specific period of time, and in extreme cases permanently.
      #

    2. Pager Discussions:

      Because some information contained in Pager messages may be of a sensitive or private nature, or not intended for a third party, we must ask all members to abide by special conditions as set out below and to use common sense at all times.


      *Manually posting messages that you have decoded is permitted providing that you do not post any of the following:

      • Exact messages as decoded (i.e. word for word, unless it does not show any of the below)
      • Any recognisable names, for example family names, full names or nicknames
      • Actual addresses, though rough area is ok, i.e. Suburb or Town but no exact or precise numbers / locations etc
      • Any personal, private or sensitive details, please use your common sense here!!!
      • Any personal or private Capcodes, only registered Agencies i.e. T.F.S, A.T, SES, Media etc are permitted.

      Providing you omit the above, or simply star them out ****, and just give a summary of things then there will be no problems and do feel free to report what you decode, for example: "3 car accident on the Bass Highway, 1 patient trapped, second car is on fire, late model Toyota, but all occupants are safely out of it", or "73 y/o male with broken leg, fallen over curb in Launceston", this in no way identifies anyone or gives any personal or sensitive information out.


      At this stage, Frequencies, Capcodes, software and other decoding techniques / methods can also be freely discussed as well, but within reason of course, however if people start to stray into 'uncharted' areas then we may have to amend this rule, so again just use your common sense and if in doubt just run it by a Team member prior to positing it, just to be sure.


      However, be warned now, should a member of the Team deem your post inappropriate or of a too sensitive nature, then they will edit and or remove it at their discretion, with or without prior notice.


      *Important Note: RF Group Tasmania frowns upon and discourages the use of live pager streams by our members, unless precise steps can be taken to filter out or block Ambulance Tasmania messages or other such sensitive pager messages, this is due to personal and private info which may be shared over the paging network that is not intended for a third party or is of a sensitive nature, also be mindful that as some pager messages may travel over the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) this then comes under the Telecommunications ACT which makes it illegal to intercept and rebroadcast any such transmissions, however should you choose to ignore this caution we ask that you NOT share your live stream address on our forum, those who disobey this may have their accounts suspended or removed until they comply.


      In regards to breaking any of the above rules, depending on the severity of the actions, members who do so will be given one warning only, if a second warning needs to be given then that member may find one the following occur:


      1. A one (1) Month temporary suspension from the whole forum.
      2. Temporary suspension from the Pager Decoding board for a period of time.
      3. Access to the Pager Decoding board permanently removed.
      4. Permanent lifetime ban from the entire forum.


      In regards to actions 1 or 2 above, if a member tries to circumvent a temporary suspension in anyway, a permanent ban will be immediately enforced, if after a suspension a member continues to break the rules, this too will lead to an immediate and permanent ban from the forum.
      #
  4. Spamming & Advertising

    1. This forum has a zero-tolerance on spamming, it's not permitted here under any circumstances. #
    2. Advertising is to be done only in the appropriate boards, if your unsure or there is no board appropriate please speak to a Team member. #
    3. Blatant advertising of one's own sites or forums is frowned upon and may incur a warning. #
  5. Moderation

    1. The Team may be required to read specific private messages in an investigation to verify a rule breach or illegal actions through the private message system. #
    2. The Team reserves the right to edit and or remove any post at any time on these boards. The determination of what is construed as inappropriate or not permitted is up to each individual Team member and not users, just remember that access to our forums are a privilege and not a right! #
    3. We also reserve the right to ban anyone who wilfully violates any board rules, if you have an issue with a direction given take it up in private with who ever issued it, if that cannot be resolved seek intervention from an Administrator, fighting or arguing about it will only make matters worse. #
    4. Back seat moderating is not only annoying but also counter productive, so leave it up to the Team. If you notice an issue which may be against any board policy, please use the 'Report This Post' feature located on every post and a Team member will investigate and address the issue. #
    5. While our Terms & Conditions cover most common situations that may occur, they cannot anticipate everything. Consequently we reserve the right to take any actions we deem appropriate to ensure these forums are not disrupted, abused or cause problems in any way. #
  6. Warning & Ban Policy

    1. If a member breaches a minor board rule they will be 'cautioned' via Private Message by a Team member. This is not counted toward the users official warning count. #
    2. If the member continues to breach the same forum rule, or any others, an official warning will be issued by a Team member. #
    3. We work on a "3 strikes" policy here, unless otherwise stated. That is you will only be warned 3 times for any and all offences in a three month period, should a fourth warning be necessary in that time then an immediate temporary ban for between 1 - 14 days (or longer), decided upon by the Team member, will be issued. #
    4. Any attempt what so ever to circumvent a temporary ban, including but not limited to, changing email addresses, changing IP, re-registering, or by any other means or methods will lead to the permanent banning of all accounts and user-names associated. #
    5. Arguing with Team members after having received a warning will lead to an immediate additional warning. Please remember that a Team members word is final. #
    6. Repeat offenders will be issued with a permanent ban that will not be lifted. #
    7. Any members who feel they have been unfairly treated, warned or suspended are encouraged to contact an Administrator or the forum owner. Please be sure to provide all relevant evidence if you expect it to be taken seriously. #
  7. Newly Registered Members

    1. Because of past problems, and to help protect the forum and it's members, all newly registered members will be placed into a special 'Limited' group and will be required to have a minimum post count of 15 before some areas and features of the forum will be made available to them, the following is what will be off limits / restricted until that post count is reached:
      Boards
      • Emergency Services (Includes T.F.S, A.T & S.E.S)
      • Pager Discussions
      • Buy & Sell Section (Includes Classifieds, eBay & Online Auctions)
      • Controversial / Debate
      • Incident Reports
      • Military & Associated Forces
      Features
      • Send Private Messages / emails
      • Change user-name, email & password
      • Post attachments
      • Download files
      • Deleting of own posts
      • View profiles, member list and online list
      • Search the forum
      • Plus others

      A forum is a place to share knowledge and to contribute and help others out as a community, if nobody contributes or gives something back, even something small, then the community and it's knowledge will soon be short lived, a forum exists only because of what people put in or give back, and all we ask is for our members to contribute in any way they can and to be as active as much as they can, we don't expect you to be active every single day, but if your genuinely interested then to try and be active when you can, even new members and those with no previous knowledge can offer something back to help others out, or simply to ask questions and get the conversations flowing and started.

      For what we offer in return, we believe this is more than fair to ask of our members, those who are genuinely interested in being actively involved in discussions and sharing information and helping to build our community will have no problem in attaining the minimum post count needed to open all features and areas of the forum, however those signing up who are not overly interested, just want a 'stickybeak', or just after a 'free ride' can make do with what they already have access to, which might we add is still over 20+ boards including a 'Public' help board, unfortunately past members have abused the privilege of what is offered to them by constantly taking and never giving anything back, that is not how we work and the more who have this attitude the harder it is to keep this forum open and alive.

      To be honest, we much prefer quality and quantity of posts over having a large looking membership of inactive people, sure it might look nice having hundreds of members on a forum, but if only half of them are ever active then what's the use or point? This is another reason for the minimum post count, to try and seperate those who are genuinely interested in wanting to be active members helping to build our community, and those who just want to take and never give anything at all back, again we don't expect members to post every single day, but to at least make an effort to be active now and then or to give back at least a little of what they take.

      Important Note: If you supplied a valid registered and verifiable Amateur callsign when registering then we may choose to waive the above and put you into a full member account straight up, however we will check and verify you are who you say you are and that the callsign listed does indeed belong to you, and we have plenty of ways to do this!
      #
  8. Public Help Board

    1. Sometimes you only need to ask one question or only need a small bit of help, and rather than wasting everyone’s time in registering as a member when you don't want or need to, you can instead use our Public Help board. This board allows non members to ask basic only questions or seek basic help to do with the scanning & radio hobby.

      However, you need to be aware of some important facts before using it.
      • All help in this board is given on a voluntary basis only, there is to be no expectations on the amount of help you will receive, or when you will receive it.
      • Those who help out do so on their terms, as well as decide how much or how little help is given, and when it is given.
      • All posts to this board are moderated before they show up on the board, this is to stop spammers, rubbish, and abusive posts.
      • Helpers are to be treated with the utmost respect at all times, if you're rude, abusive, argumentative, demanding, in anyway disrespectful, or cause trouble you may be permanently banned from using this board.
      • A helpers word is final, further arguing will see you lose the privilege of using the board for a set period as determined by the helper.
      • This is NOT a general 'chit-chat' board, so please do not turn it into one, those who try to do so will be banned from using the board.
      #
  9. Regular Supporters

    1. Any members who make donations on a regular basis (at least once a year) will be exempt from any account clean ups, they may also be exempt from other restrictions as well. Those who are long time regular donators (3+ years) will have full access to all of the forum and its features regardless of their post count, as well as receiving the special title of VIP.

      Those who also contribute regular information via email, be it new frequencies and users, additions to our site, changes / edits to the site, or any other information / content that benefits members may also be exempt from any account clean ups as we also consider this being an 'active member'. This may also apply to those who contribute or offer special services to our forum and its members. #