Community Guidelines

Our forum is operated as a “members help members” platform, and we emphasize appropriate and respectful interaction with each other. To ensure this, we must comply with specific basic rules and reserve the right to block or delete users and content if they violate them.

General Communication

1. Respectful interaction with each other.Behind every virtual discussion partner is a real person who always deserves respect regardless of circumstances. This is especially true whenever opinions and views diverge. Insults or other statements that disparage the other person or their views are inappropriate without exceptions.
2. Stand by your written word.Everyone has their ideas about how something should look or work. They also have the right to express their own opinion, but this works both ways; you’ll have to accept that not everybody will agree to anything you wrote.
3. Friendly attitude towards others.You may or may not know every participant of the forums. However, we strongly encourage everyone to keep the atmosphere friendly and informal.
4. Properly written texts are important.We regard appropriate spelling and grammar as a minimum level of respect, enabling others to understand your thoughts quickly and easily. Formatting, especially text colors, should be used sparingly, and paragraphs are strongly recommended to make it easier for readers to follow along. There are more than enough freely available tools to have your texts corrected. Being in a hurry or “typing fast” is never a valid argument for illegible texts! Remember that others also take some of their valuable time to read your text.
5. Written words are easy to misinterpret.When communicating with a person, gestures and facial expressions are usually used to clarify the intended meaning of potentially ambiguous statements. Getting written words wrong is straightforward, especially if statements can be interpreted differently depending on the context. Smileys are barely a substitute because even these can easily be misunderstood. This applies even more to irony or sarcasm; it is difficult for a discussion partner to classify them correctly, and it can also alienate third parties. A statement like “You’re a moron.” can range between a “friendly insult” and a straight verbal assault, making it very easy to irritate others.
6. Abbreviations are often anything but helpful.The use of abbreviations in typical expressions such as “e.g.,” can save time for both the writer and the reader. Nevertheless, they should be used sparingly, especially if it can be assumed that not everyone is familiar with this abbreviation. Contributions in the forum are likely to be read by third parties many years later and should then still be understandable.
7. Accept that others will disagree.The guiding principle “Opinions are like noses – everyone has one” precisely describes a fundamental problem: regardless of the topic, there will always be someone with an opposing view. In some cases, discussions may reach a point where any attempt to find common ground becomes futile. If this happens, agreeing to disagree and moving on is highly recommended; there is nothing to gain from fighting this over. Repeating the same arguments over and over often leads to avoidable conflicts in which neither side can win anything. Don’t try to have the last word at all costs; call it a day and move on.

Unwanted Contents

Our forum deals primarily with the operation of our products, and the more general focus is very much on the technology and its handling. We want all users to exchange ideas and opinions in our forums, including but not limited to contrary views.

Unfortunately, the proper moderation of content apart from the core topic can become quite challenging for us. Therefore we exercise our right as operators of this forum to remove excessively controversial contributions, or those that fall under the following listed characteristics, from the discussion flow.

1. No marketplace offers (search/offer) or exchange requests.Marketplace offers of any kind are undesirable on this platform; this expressly includes trading of licenses and user accounts.
2. No advertising.This regulation includes advertising websites, forums, services, or other products. “Referral” links are also considered advertising. Exception: A link to the own website within the signature is permitted, if this is either powered by our software products or is heavily focused around these.
3. No content or links to sites that infringe copyrights.Including statements intended to mislead others into infringing copyright laws.
4. No discussions on political or religious topics.There are suitable platforms (on the Internet) to discuss one’s views and beliefs with others; our forum is not the appropriate place for this.

Signatures, avatars and profiles

The following conditions apply to the signature:

1. The signature should not disrupt the reading flow excessively; formatting should be used extremely sparingly.
2. Website links, including plain text, are prohibited. Exceptions apply to websites that are either powered by our software products or are heavily focused around these.
3. The signature should not exceed five lines of text in regular font size.

Avatars and profile pictures exist for self-expression, allowing other discussion participants to recognize a user more quickly. Some basic rules apply:

1. Trademark or image rights of third parties may not be infringed; the use of third-party content requires the express consent of the rights holder.
2. Pictures of strangers may not be used as avatars or profile pictures, including but not limited to relatives or friends.
3. Photographs of one’s persons should be appropriate for all age groups; nude or too lightly dressed photographs are not permitted.

Have you introduced yourself to the community?
Click here to do so or to welcome others into the OTR Van forums.

Thank you so much, and welcome to the OTR Community!