faq README: Everything you'd want to know about PHP Freaks

[Philip]

This topic is everything you'd want to know about PHP Freaks and some frequently asked questions.

 

Table of Contents - You can find the answers to these questions below in this thread:

• General Rules and Terms of Service
• What is the purpose of this forum?
• Can you delete my post / thread / account?
• I don't like my username, can I change it?
• Why can't I edit my profile?
• What do those user badges mean? How do I get one?!!?

[Philip]

What is the purpose of this forum?

 

The purpose of this forum is to provide a means of communication between the staff and community.

 

Please consider the following, before posting:

 

You may post in this forum to....

• Ask a question, comment or concern about the main site.
  Examples are:
  • Requesting a feature for the main site.
  • Reporting a bug on the main site.
  • Requesting an article, tutorial or other main site content.
  • Telling us what an awesome/terrible job we are doing!

  [*]Ask a question, comment or concern about the forums, IF it has to do with something administrative (NOT IPB code related).

  Examples are:

  • Requesting an xyz forum.
  • Reordering of forums.
  • Reporting broken/outdated links/stickies.
  • Requesting new stickies.

  [*]Ask a question, comment or concern about site or forum policy.

  Examples are:

  • Regarding acceptable content.
  • Interpretation of main site or forum rules.
  • Requesting addition/removal of a rule.

If your thread conforms to these things, before posting.....

• Read the general rules and terms of service. These rules cover general conduct, as well as policies concerning your personal account/content.
• Read the stickies! There is a very good possibility your question/comment/concern has already been addressed!
• Look for similar threads! Even if it hasn't made it to sticky status, it may still have been addressed in someone else's post. We don't expect you to scour through pages and pages of posts, looking for something posted who knows how long ago. But at least look on the first page or two...
• Put some thought into your post! If you want something added or removed, be it feature, content or policy, don't just tell us; tell us why.

You may NOT post in this forum to....

• Make suggestions about altering the forum's core coding. If there is an IPB mod out there you'd like to see implemented here, you can suggest it. If there is not a mod, we may consider making our own mod, if it sounds cool enough. But note that we are not associated with the IPB development team or community. We simply use their board, just like other people. So if you are looking for a way to have IPB code changed or extended for your own site, you are in the wrong place!
• Report a forum bug. Note, there is a difference between some setting that could be changed (or is set a certain way because we want it to be), vs. a genuine bug in the forum software. If you are looking for clarification about ability to do something (like edit posts) then refer to stickies/rules, or ask if you do not see your issue addressed there. But for genuine bugs in the forum software...again, we are NOT part of the IPB team/community! Go report it on their site!
• Make posts that belong in other forums. This includes, but is not limited to, asking for help on your script, where to find xyz script, or arbitrary threads from "So...what's your favorite xyz" to "What do you think about xyz site?" We have a variety of forums that cater to all sorts of things. Use them!

 

 

 

 

If you do not follow these rules....

Your thread may be deleted, closed or moved to its proper location. A warning or other action may be issued to you. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse!

[Philip]

Can you delete my post / thread / account?

 

This post is primarily targeted at people who have posted asking for help as these seem to be the people who most frequently ask these questions.

 

All PMs or emails to staff members regarding deletion requests will henceforth be ignored as they are answered in this thread.

 

Q: Will you delete my post/topic?

No.

 

Q: Why won't you delete my post/topic?

Imagine if everybody requested their posts to be deleted. If everybody did this there would be no community left, which means you couldn't get the help you required. Secondly, at about 700 posts per day, we would be very busy deleting posts if that was the case.

 

Time is not really an issue, however. There are other reasons why we deny your deletion request.

 

You've come to this forum asking for free help. You don't pay anyone any money, neither PHP Freaks nor the volunteer who is spending his/her spare time on helping you. We think that when you are getting such an awesome service for free, it is only fair that the help you have received is publicly archived for anyone to use. We also think that is a reasonable and very small price to pay.

 

There is also another reason. As already mentioned, people have been helping you for free. By deleting your topic we are also deleting their work. That would be unfair.

 

But I'm a citizen of the EU and GDPR gives me the right to demand you delete my post/topic!

Actually it does not. It gives you the right to have your personal information scrubbed from our databases and that does not include the content you have posted. If you so request we will delete your account and anonymize your posts/topics, however their contents will otherwise remain intact.

 

Q: But I didn't even get sufficient help, so why can't you just delete it?

We are not interested in forming a committee with the purpose of finding out whether someone received adequate help or not each time someone asks.

 

Q: But what if my client finds it?

So what if your client finds out? If the topic reveals that you are incompetent at doing the work your client pays you to do, then you should not have taken the job in the first place. At least be adult enough to admit you have received help instead of relying on lies and deception. Remember that anything you post will be publicly available, so think before you post!

 

Q: But what if my teacher finds it?

If your teacher finds it and you were supposed to do it yourself, it's your own fault for cheating.

 

Q: Aren't you guys human?

While the real identity of all staff members hasn't been verified, we are pretty certain that all our staff members belong to the homo sapiens species (except for @.josh..whatever (s)he/it is, it's not human...).

 

Really though, trying to shift the blame is pretty pointless. Before you registered, you agreed to our Terms of Service stating that you will grant us an irrevocable license to use content you post using our systems. For added convenience we added a big red notice on all post forms informing you that we will not delete the things you post.

 

You posted knowing these terms.

 

Q: But my post makes me look immature/foolish/stupid/unintelligent. Won't you delete it?

"Think before you speak" is a good rule to remember that applies both in real life and on the internet.

 

Q: Won't you make an exception just this time?

Sure! Like we'll make an exception for everybody else who asks... No.

 

Q: So what should I do?

If you're unwilling to accept that your topics here will be archived publicly, you should hire a consultant to help you in private.

 

This rule blows!

Maybe it does, but we did not force you to visit this web site.

 

Basically, think of your posts as emails. You cannot alter emails once they have been sent either. Nor can you take them back (delete them). Think of your post like a speech transmitted live on television. You cannot change what you say there either. Consider what you write before you hit the "post" button. Your post is probably not so important that it cannot wait one minute while you do that.

[Philip]

I don't like my username, can I change it?

 

We used to not allow username changes, then we started to do them manually. With our switch of forum software we allow you to change your display name on your own.

 

To do so, you need to have 100 posts and can only change your username once per year. You will not be able to change it to a name that is already in use (even the user is not using that account anymore.) No exceptions. Your new name should reflect professionalism and if deemed inappropriate, it will be reverted. 

 

You can make the change in the User Control Panel "Display Name" tab. It will show you more information about if you've used your 1 time or not, or if you cannot see that page, you likely do not have enough posts.

[Philip]

Why can't I edit my profile?

 

In order to prevent spam, we've disabled the ability to edit your profile. This includes changing your avatar, your signature, etc. This will be lifted once you hit 10 posts. You should not spam your way to those 10 posts though!

 

If you are in need of editing your profile right away, contact an administrator and we may help you out, depending on how nice you ask.

[Philip]

What do those user badges mean? How do I get one?!!?

PHP Freaks Staff

This is the "Staff" of the PHP Freaks community, the members who actively help out and make decisions around here. There is no formal application process for becoming a Staff member of PHP Freaks. Nominees are picked by current PHP Freak Staff. We actively look for people to join our ranks and we do have some criteria that must be met before considering someone, but in order to keep people from trying to "cheat the system," we refrain from making our methods public. If you wish to be promoted to one of these groups, our best advice to you is to be an active member of the community, be a ninja, help others, etc... and in time you will be noticed.

 

 Guru

The Gurus are a group of people who have been around for a while, are active, and have shown to be very knowledgeable in one or more areas of interest of PHP Freaks. Gurus take part in making decisions to shape the community, have limited moderator permissions, and have permissions to post blog posts and tutorials on the main site.

 

 Moderator

In addition to Guru responsibilities and abilities, the moderators can modify, lock, and delete any post or topic. They are responsible for enforcing the rules and may issue warnings or ban any member. Questions regarding a particular moderation action or warning should always be made to whomever did it. If a resolution cannot be found then you may appeal to an admin. The mods have a great deal of influence in the decision making on PHP Freaks.

 

 Administrator

In addition to Moderator responsibilities and abilities, the admins are responsible for running the server, and they have root access to our servers. They are the highest authority on the forum, and are those who ultimately have the final say in any matter. Questions regarding the operation of the website, questions/help with your account, etc. should be made to an administrator.

 

Other Groups

 Staff Alumni

This group is composed of people who were former staff members of the PHP Freaks community. They no longer possess any authority or special privileges on PHP Freaks.