• John’s Rules of the Road for “the Forum.” (forum decorum)
Rule 1. You can post anything you like to “the Forum“.
Rule 2. The moderators and I can delete anything we don’t like from “the Forum“. (However, we don’t believe in censorship.)
Rule 3. I am not, nor is anyone else, responsible for what is said in “the Forum“.
Now that we’ve dispensed with all the rules, I’d like to give you my ideas on what the John Bridge Tile Forum should be — what it should do and what it shouldn’t do.
On posts that offer technical advice on home improvement/home repair topics, including tile and marble, a name and valid email address is requested . In other words, if you are holding yourself up as an “expert,” or if you claim some authority on a subject, we want to know who you are in case someone wants to check your credentials. If you represent a company, we want to know the name of that company. You can enter this information in your user “signature” along with a link to your company’s web site. We value input from reps, and we encourage your participation. We do not, however, allow wholesale advertising or product promotion unless you are a paid advertiser. If you are here only to hawk your goods, or if you attempt to spam us in any other way, your comments will be deleted and your registration canceled.
We ask that tile professionals, reps, installers, etc., stop by the Professionals’ Hangout to introduce yourselves. We are eager to make your acquaintance.
Although “the Forum” has evolved into an advice board dealing mostly with ceramic tile and marble questions, that is not how I envisioned it. I would like it also to serve as a community forum for anything and everything. If you have announcements or notices to post on any subject whatsoever, go for it. The Mud Box is a good place for that.
You will find it possible to post live links. Just type in or paste a valid url (http://, etc.), and when you post the message, the link will be given life. If you want to post a link back to your own site, that’s okay, too. Unsolicited commercial posts, sales pitches, etc. will usually be deleted by the moderators. You can place a link to your commercial site in your signature, though.
You can post photos and other images to the various boards. You can post images stored on your hard drive by clicking on the “manage attachments” button near the bottom of the forum reply form. To post images and photos that are stored on the Internet, follow the instructions in “the Forum FAQ” area. The link can be found in the dark blue links bar just under the page header.
We do encourage you to post images directly from your computer directory. Photos stored on other sites disappear frequently. Images posted directly to our server will remain forever. Nothing is ever deleted from our database except for undesirable material.
You must have made three or more posts before you’ll be allowed to post links. This policy helps protect us from spammers and pornographers.
We ask you not to copy and paste articles and documents from other web sites. First, it is a violation of copyright law (which I am very keen on, being a publisher) and second, it’s a waste of space and bandwidth on our server. The correct and polite way is to post the url of the article or document you wish to draw attention to. A brief one or two sentence quote might accompany the posted link.
I love to argue, and I think that differing views on technical procedures, etc. are key to understanding fundamental processes and techniques. So healthy argument is encouraged. I’ve been setting tile and marble for over 30 years, and I am amazed at how much I don’t know. There are other pros and experts who show up around here, and I’m sure they feel that way, too. I’ll argue their ears off, but I’ll come away with some new knowledge each and every time.
What is not encouraged and what will not be tolerated is unacceptable social behavior, to include mean spirited or rude posts on any subject. Indecent or disgusting language will likewise not be tolerated.
Our general policy is to not delete anything that has been posted. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, though, and there is nothing preventing us from barring a person from the site.
“Political speech,” as defined through the years by a succession of justices of the Supreme Court, is protected on this web site no matter how upsetting it might be. The founders of our nation felt so strongly that open, unfettered speech is necessary to a strong society that they specifically protected it in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. I have no intention of trying to second guess those distinguished old guys.
Still, though, political speech that is intended merely to inflame others (to insult or degrade fellow users), will not be condoned. Though we are fortunate to live within an open and free society, this little corner of it is not a democracy. It is a privately owned website. Topics not related to tile and stone are relegated to the Mud Box.
No one can be held responsible for outcomes resulting from advice posted here. Advice is just that. There are no guarantees. Professional suggestions are offered here free of charge and free of liability for their outcomes. We are in cyberspace. We cannot control what goes on in the “real world.” I urge you to work safely and to use needed protective devices when doing any type of construction work.
©2013 John Bridge and Associates LLC - All Rights Reserved
Forum Rules
• John’s Rules of the Road for “the Forum.” (forum decorum)
Now that we’ve dispensed with all the rules, I’d like to give you my ideas on what the John Bridge Tile Forum should be — what it should do and what it shouldn’t do.
On posts that offer technical advice on home improvement/home repair topics, including tile and marble, a name and valid email address is requested . In other words, if you are holding yourself up as an “expert,” or if you claim some authority on a subject, we want to know who you are in case someone wants to check your credentials. If you represent a company, we want to know the name of that company. You can enter this information in your user “signature” along with a link to your company’s web site. We value input from reps, and we encourage your participation. We do not, however, allow wholesale advertising or product promotion unless you are a paid advertiser. If you are here only to hawk your goods, or if you attempt to spam us in any other way, your comments will be deleted and your registration canceled.
We ask that tile professionals, reps, installers, etc., stop by the Professionals’ Hangout to introduce yourselves. We are eager to make your acquaintance.
Although “the Forum” has evolved into an advice board dealing mostly with ceramic tile and marble questions, that is not how I envisioned it. I would like it also to serve as a community forum for anything and everything. If you have announcements or notices to post on any subject whatsoever, go for it. The Mud Box is a good place for that.
You will find it possible to post live links. Just type in or paste a valid url (http://, etc.), and when you post the message, the link will be given life. If you want to post a link back to your own site, that’s okay, too. Unsolicited commercial posts, sales pitches, etc. will usually be deleted by the moderators. You can place a link to your commercial site in your signature, though.
You can post photos and other images to the various boards. You can post images stored on your hard drive by clicking on the “manage attachments” button near the bottom of the forum reply form. To post images and photos that are stored on the Internet, follow the instructions in “the Forum FAQ” area. The link can be found in the dark blue links bar just under the page header.
We do encourage you to post images directly from your computer directory. Photos stored on other sites disappear frequently. Images posted directly to our server will remain forever. Nothing is ever deleted from our database except for undesirable material.
You must have made three or more posts before you’ll be allowed to post links. This policy helps protect us from spammers and pornographers.
We ask you not to copy and paste articles and documents from other web sites. First, it is a violation of copyright law (which I am very keen on, being a publisher) and second, it’s a waste of space and bandwidth on our server. The correct and polite way is to post the url of the article or document you wish to draw attention to. A brief one or two sentence quote might accompany the posted link.
I love to argue, and I think that differing views on technical procedures, etc. are key to understanding fundamental processes and techniques. So healthy argument is encouraged. I’ve been setting tile and marble for over 30 years, and I am amazed at how much I don’t know. There are other pros and experts who show up around here, and I’m sure they feel that way, too. I’ll argue their ears off, but I’ll come away with some new knowledge each and every time.
What is not encouraged and what will not be tolerated is unacceptable social behavior, to include mean spirited or rude posts on any subject. Indecent or disgusting language will likewise not be tolerated.
Our general policy is to not delete anything that has been posted. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, though, and there is nothing preventing us from barring a person from the site.
“Political speech,” as defined through the years by a succession of justices of the Supreme Court, is protected on this web site no matter how upsetting it might be. The founders of our nation felt so strongly that open, unfettered speech is necessary to a strong society that they specifically protected it in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. I have no intention of trying to second guess those distinguished old guys.
Still, though, political speech that is intended merely to inflame others (to insult or degrade fellow users), will not be condoned. Though we are fortunate to live within an open and free society, this little corner of it is not a democracy. It is a privately owned website. Topics not related to tile and stone are relegated to the Mud Box.
No one can be held responsible for outcomes resulting from advice posted here. Advice is just that. There are no guarantees. Professional suggestions are offered here free of charge and free of liability for their outcomes. We are in cyberspace. We cannot control what goes on in the “real world.” I urge you to work safely and to use needed protective devices when doing any type of construction work.
Please enjoy the John Bridge Ceramic Tile Advice Forums.
-John Bridge-