Our mission is to help mtn. bike enthusiasts and foster a healthy community. The message boards are the core of our community. As a result, we would appreciate it if people read and abide by these guidelines. The Mtbr staff and volunteer moderators monitor the message boards, removing inappropriate content. The purpose of these guidelines is to explain what kind of messages are "inappropriate," and therefore will be deleted. We are explaining these guidelines beforehand, so if a message is removed everyone will understand why it was removed. In general, we err on the side of leaving messages up. The entire site is premised on sharing product information, so as one might imagine we are strong proponents of free speech. That being said, here are some specific reasons why we remove certain messages: The message insults or degrades another member of the community. The message contains profanity, offensive language, or racial epithets. The message is an advertisement or spam. (NOTE: It has been an "unwritten" rule for us to let it slide, when people who buy an Mtbr Classified ad, post in the forums. However, due to the recent increase in these ads, we will now be locking these types of posts. And you may NOT post an ad in more than 1 forum. ADDENDUM: Posting "What's It Worth" type threads may be considered spam and may be deleted at the moderator's discretion. Check our Classifieds section for similar bikes/parts for value.) The message contains obscene or pornographic images/photos/text/videos. The message promotes illegal activity (at our discretion). The message has been posted to more than 2 boards. Posting the same message to multiple boards is spam, and all posts may be removed and the user may be banned. Please post to the most relevant board only, no more than 2. The message is posted as "flame-bait" and is posted to incite flames and insults. In addition to #3 above, please do not post Classified Ads/Want Ads/Trade Ads in the message board forum. Please post these in our Classifieds Section. Threads that keep getting "bumped" back to the top with "hey, bumping this post back up" type posts will be locked. If you do not have anything new/informative to add to the post, please do not attempt to "bump" a thread just to keep it at the top. A note about avatars and signature files: Inappropriate/obscene or distasteful avatars may be removed by us at any time. You may also be asked to change your avatar, should we deem the avatar to be inappropriate. Please do not post ads for bikes or parts in your forum signature, they are NOT allowed. Also, users registering multiple accounts and posing as different people is NOT allowed and one or all of your accounts may be banned without warning. Unfortunately we must reserve the right to remove messages. However, we truly love this community, so we will only remove any given message if we judge that it's in the best interest of the community. Please feel free to ask questions or direct comments to us. Manufacturer/Retailer Posting Guidelines: All Manufacturers / Vendors / Shop Owners / Sponsored Riders should declare their status as a Retailer / Manufacturer in their signature Online selling of parts, components or bikes will be accompanied by a paid ad and properly labeled as "Ad" with a link to the paid classified ad or mtbr sponsorship. Any one reviewing or testing products and / or components online must state whether they have a vested interest in the product up front. They should state whether they bought the product or they got the product free or with an industry deal or are prohibited from saying negative things about a product. All links in a signature for articles for sale should be removed before posting. No "under the signature" shilling or free advertising allowed. However, if you own or work for a bike shop, you MAY put a link to your shops website main page to show your affiliation.(this bullit point updated by gregg 6/7/07) Manufacturers and Industry folks are encouraged to respond to any questions directed about their product. This is the perfect opportunity to inform and 'set the record straight.' Bottom line: Participate and post content in mtbr. Don't use mtbr to get free money for your business. Sponsoring mtbr assures our survival and is very affordable. Contact forrest@mtbr.com and jthomas@consumerreview.com for more info. Sincerely, Francis Cebedo, Founder Gregg Kato, Site Manager