I know it's late in the thread, and most topics now seem to be jovial, and enjoyable. However, I think that the atmosphere here is very conjenial, and appriciate the efforts of the moderators to keep it that way.
I'm a member of at least 10-15 forums (mostly shrimp related), and the rules vary greatly. The most rigid has to be
www.petshrimp.com. Having said that, I find that I get the best technical information from that forum. There is chitchat, but most is serious, and focused, which I also apriciate. Mustafa's rule #1 is, search before asking. If someone askes a question that has been answered, and answered, lather rinse repeat, then the he posts that they need to search the forums, then he locks the thread, and they are warned. If someone is a repeat offender, depending on sevarity of the offence, he'll ban someone. I know people who've been banned, and while I may personally like them, they did not abide by the clearly stated rules.
If you find a rule hard to follow, don't join. It's that simple. That's why I'm not a girl. I can't stand romance novels. Couldn't get 10% through Twilight.