Member rules- please read before posting

[JonSidneyB]

Howdy all -

EDCF was created to provide a friendly, collaborative place for people to contribute their interesting finds and knowledge of every day carry items. Our membership has grown rapidly, and we hope it's because people feel comfortable here.

Every member agrees to a user code of conduct in signing on with EDCF. We'd like to emphasize some of those points here to better clarify our expectations of board behavior. THE VAST MAJORITY of our members are polite and helpful, and are already abiding by these rules.

1) The Golden Rule - It's well known but bears repeating. Act as you'd wish others would act. A little mutual respect goes a long way. BAITING, TROLLING, and FLAMING are not considered mutual respect, and never have been. Repeat violators will be banned.

2) a. Regarding the language used on this forum, common courtesy and respect for others should prevail. Foul language is unnecessary and unacceptable. Regarding the language used on this forum: If you wouldn't say it to your grandmother, mother, clergyman, or a kindergarten class, then it doesn't need to be said here. This guideline also applies to acronyms and abbreviations which would contain the same questionable content were they written out completely. Language edits are at the discretion of EDCF staff. Comments that are overtly and inflammatorily racist, sexist, anti-religion, political, criminal, or otherwise bigoted or hostile in nature are not welcome and are subject to editing. Members who persist in posting such will be warned and possibly banned.

b. EDCF forbids the posting of personal communications including, but not limited to, Personal Messages and email.

3) Links, graphics, photos, or any other media posted should follow the same rule of thumb as above. If grandma would have heart failure viewing it, we don't need it.

b. Images may not be hotlinked. You "hot link" an image when you link it directly to its source and the source is not owned by you (akin to stealing an image). This may place a heavy burden on other sites, and it is strongly discouraged. If you find an image that you like, please save it to your hard drive and use an image-hosting service before posting it. An alternative to hotlinking is to provide the url of the image you want to post.

4) Spamming is never welcome under any circumstances. Spammers will be banned posthaste.

5) Illegal or criminal activities or discussions that encourage such are not welcome under any circumstances. This forum is about preparedness, safety and the legal use of firearms, knives and other tools/items lawfully carried by responsible citizens. Any promotion or advocation of violence or flaunting of law breaking will not be tolerated.

6) The EDCF Staff reserve the right to make decisions deemed in the board's best interest. If there are questions or concerns about actions taken, they may be addressed through PM not on the open forum. Questioning Staff action in a post, rather than PM, could itself be considered grounds for termination of membership. All administrative decisions are final.

7) Weapons-related Dual-purpose Items and Their Discussion on the Forum
The proper forum location for discussion of dual-purpose items, where one of the purposes by design is for use as a weapon, will be considered on a case-by-case basis when the primary use is not clearly defined. A dual-purpose item, defined as one that has functionality both as a tool and as weapon, can be discussed outside of the Security Devices area if the majority of the discussion is on its tool aspect. An example would be a pen designed specifically by the maker to also be a weapon. This item might have every bit of writing utility as pens not designed in this manner. The weapon's capability can be mentioned as part of the description of the design, but discussions that primarily deal with the weapons aspect of the device are more appropriate in the Security Devices area.

Along these same lines, items presented for discussion that are blatant attempts to obfuscate their primary use as a weapon in an attempt to circumvent any applicable laws are unacceptable. The true test of such an item will be "what is its primary function and intent for use"? The Staff will be the final authority in making the determination.

8) Unofficial Clubs/Guilds Within the Forum
There will be no more special clubs/guilds started within this forum. Those already in existence at this point will not be affected by this ruling at this time. Some of our members believe that the development of clubs and guilds, while no doubt unintentional, tends to divide individuals into separate groups and foster a sense of elitism. This concern has resulted in some members leaving the forum. The forum should remain a place where everyone feels welcome, regardless of his or her expertise or level of experience in the subject of EDC, or type or quantity of items owned. Numerous forums, manufacturer sponsored and public, which cover specific brands and even models of the equipment we all carry, already exist. The overall theme of the EDC Forum has to remain open to the discussion of the carrying of the tools and equipment, the variety of combinations that involves, and the considerations given to preparedness that unite us as a group. We are individuals who meet here to share experiences and knowledge and have fun in the process. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

9) In order to post in the Buy + Sell + Trade area (MarketPlace Boards), you must be of LOADED POCKETS (15 posts) status or higher. We are doing this to weed out potential fly-by-night sellers/traders and to encourage people who want to do business here to establish a presence on the boards. Any commerce or invitation for commerce should be contained within the MarketPlace boards. Posts that contain invitations to bid, sales promotions, offer of services, or feelers outside of these locations will be edited or deleted. A link or promotion in your sig line, as long as it meets the current restrictions, is fine. Please see the FAQs for sig line restrictions.

Threads to determine the value of an object are fine as long as they do not turn into sales threads. If you want to sell an item later, please start a separate thread in the MarketPlace.

10) Raffles, Giveaways, ContestsThese events are a special part of what makes EDCF so fun. Our members have proved to be very generous when it comes to contests, raffles, and giveaways, and we hope to have many of these for years to come.

If you would like to sponsor or organize one of these events on EDCF, you'll need to contact a board administrator to clear it first. Once it's been cleared, we'll do our best to promote it like mad, and may all EDCF members be winners in the end.

11) Have a good time during your visits here!


Our goal is to keep this site as work-friendly and as people-friendly as possible. Your help in the accomplishment of this goal is much appreciated. Please see the FAQ section for further guidelines and information.

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Original EDCF User Agreement

You agree, through your use of this forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, adult material, or otherwise in violation of any International or United States Federal law. You also agree not to post any copyrighted material unless you own the copyright or you have written consent from the owner of the copyrighted material. Spam, flooding, advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are also forbidden on this forum.

Note that it is impossible for the staff or the owners of this forum to confirm the validity of posts. Please remember that we do not actively monitor the posted messages, and as such, are not responsible for the content contained within. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented. The posted messages express the views of the author, and not necessarily the views of this forum, its staff, its subsidiaries, or this forum's owner. Anyone who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to notify an administrator or moderator of this forum immediately. The staff and the owner of this forum reserve the right to remove objectionable content, within a reasonable time frame, if they determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, please realize that they may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately. This policy applies to member profile information as well.

You remain solely responsible for the content of your posted messages. Furthermore, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the owners of this forum, any related websites to this forum, its staff, and its subsidiaries. The owners of this forum also reserve the right to reveal your identity (or any other related information collected on this service) or revoke/review your membership status in the event of a formal complaint or legal action arising from any situation caused by your use of this forum.

You have the ability, as you register, to choose your username. We advise that you keep the name appropriate. With this user account you are about to register, you agree to never give your password out to another person except an administrator, for your protection and for validity reasons. You also agree to NEVER use another person's account for any reason. We also HIGHLY recommend you use a complex and unique password for your account, to prevent account theft.

After you register and login to this forum, you will be able to fill out a detailed profile. It is your responsibility to present clean and accurate information. Any information the forum owner or staff determines to be inaccurate or vulgar in nature will be removed, with or without prior notice. Appropriate sanctions may be applicable.

Please note that with each post, your IP address is recorded, in the event that you need to be banned from this forum or your ISP contacted. This will only happen in the event of a major violation of this agreement.

Also note that the software places a cookie, a text file containing bits of information (such as your username and password), in your browser's cache. This is ONLY used to keep you logged in/out. The software does not collect or send any other form of information to your computer.

In creating an email address to join EDCF, do not use EDCF or EDCforums or the like in the address. Potential members who do so will not be approved until the address is changed.