Rules & Guidelines

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The Mando Hangout exists to build up the online mandolin player community and create an enduring repository of mandolin resources.

Anyone with an interest in mandolin is welcome, so members come from many different walks of life in terms of age, religion, location, income, etc. With all of these differences, it's important for each member to act responsibly in order for this site to succeed.

Members are prohibited from posting the following:

Personal Attacks: If you don't agree with what someone posts, debate their post... not the person who posted it. Criticizing a concept is ok--criticizing the person is not.
Profanity or Racial/Religious Slurs: Keep in mind that these forums are visited by people of all ages and backgrounds. Besides.. a foul mouth doesn't impress anyone.
Pornography or "Adult Material": not sure if it's acceptable? It probably isn't. :-)
Posts Containing Only Links: If your post contains a link to another site, please explain the purpose of the link or write some thoughts about what you're linking to.
Political or Religious Topics: Posts which are political or religious in nature are generally prohibited, although non-argumentative posts are allowed at the moderators' discretion (ie, a "Please pray for so and so" topic is fine).
Duplicate Posts: Posting the same topic to multiple forums is viewed as spam. Please select the best forum for your topic, and only post it there.
Posts Questioning a Moderator's Specific Actions: If you disagree with a moderator's actions, contact them or the site owner (Eric Schlange at eric@mandohangout.com). Please note that discussion of overall site policies is allowed, and should generally be placed in the "Improvements and Suggestions" forum.

Post in the Correct Forum: Please take the time to read the forum descriptions and post your new topics to the appropriate forum. A moderator may see fit to move your post to a more appropriate forum--you will be automatically notified if your post is moved.

Multiple Accounts are Not Allowed: if you have more than one myHangout account, you risk having your membership revoked.

The Classifieds system and Swap Shop forum are governed by an additional set of rules available here.

In addition to the rules above, all Mando Hangout users must abide by the Terms of Use.

Guidelines and Recommendations

Search Before You Post
If you want to ask a specific question, please search the site using the search tool at the top right of all pages to make sure the answer isn't already out there! If you search and find some answers but believe they're incomplete or out of date, feel free to create post a new topic.

Courteous Communication
Communicating on the Web in an all-text medium is a challenge, and it's always good to think twice before you hit that "Post" button. Realize that each time you reply, you're replying to a real person, with real feelings just like yourself. Try to write messages that cannot be easily misunderstood or misconstrued to mean something you didn't mean. And please, please use descriptive subject lines when you post a new topic!

Stay On Topic
Off-topic posts are not expressly prohibited, but keep in mind that they are generally considered bad form. Try to avoid hijacking topics, as this can lead to bloated threads and disorganized discussion.

Positive Framing
Instead of posting the name a product with the question, "good or bad," try framing the question as "pros and cons." This is more civil and will invite discussion without placing value judgments that probably aren't intended. Another approach might be "What do you like about (insert product name here)?" In the same way, try to frame your responses as your opinion without implication that another opinion is incorrect.

Help the Moderators!
If you see a post that you believe violates any of the forum rules, please notify the moderators by clicking the "Report Post" link. This is the preferred method of reporting. If necessary, you may also contact Eric Schlange (the site administrator) at eric@mandohangout.com, or contact any of the moderators. We will handle the issue as promptly and correctly as possible, and ask that you be gracious if we don't handle the issue as you think we should.