Rules

Using the forums

When on Oz Volvo, whether you are posting in discussions or private messages, it is important that you understand and follow our rules. They're designed to ensure that everyone has a positive experience using and contributing to the forums.

General rules

Keep it civil, and don't be a dick. Don't attack people for any reason. If you disagree with another member, be constructive and on-topic. Do not engage in personal attacks.
Stay on topic. If you want to talk about something tangentially related to the thread, start a new thread and link to it. If you think a thread should be split into multiple threads, please flag it.
Avoid stating opinion as fact. Prefix with "in my opinion", "I think that", "to me it seems that", etc.
Don't make defamatory comments (or otherwise post defamatory media). Australia has anti-defamation laws, and the person targeted may decide to pursue you. Contact the mods immediately if defamatory statements have been posted to the forums.
Don't post any illegal content, or discuss doing anything illegal. We will report discussions of this nature to the Police.
No trolling at any time for any reason.
Avoid using foul language. Posts with exessively foul language will be removed.
Do not use slurs, including racist, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted slurs, ever, for any reason.
Do not operate multiple user accounts without prior approval of @jamesinc (if you are a dealer and wish to separate your business and personal accounts, this is okay, just notify @jamesinc first).
Use the "Flag" button by every thread and comment to report content that you think breaks forum rules. This will bring it to the attention of a moderator. Do not send private messages to @jamesinc, as he will simply tell you to use the flag button.
Avoid thread spamming. Respect the time of other people posting in and reading the thread.
In on-topic threads, allow the OP (original poster - the person who created the thread) to steer the thread according to their needs.
Never post personally identifying information about individuals.
You must be a minimum of 15 years of age to use the forums

Off-topic (OT) section

You can talk about almost anything here. The on-topic rule still applies except where the thread has no specific topic, such as in the monthly Bruce thread.
Threads should still be in some way relevant to the community. Volvos, general automotive topics, or topics specifically relevant to Australian Volvo enthusiasts are all examples of appropriate OT content.
Specifically, no skin (e.g. "girls") threads. The Internet is vast, go elsewhere for this sort of thing.

For Sale / Wanted / RADAR

Read this thread before posting an ad
Post titles should try to follow standard formats. It is important that you start with the source (for RADAR posts) and the state where the item is located, in square brackets, e.g. [gumtree][NSW] 1990 240GL wagon - auto - $1000 or [TAS] 1977 244DL - yellow - M46 - $1500
Update the thread title when the item is sold by putting [sold] at the start, and use the Flag button to ask a moderator to update and close it.
Keep comments related to the item being bought/sold.
Include photos. For cars, include photos of the exterior and interior. This will also help get your item sold.
Oz Volvo is not a marketplace. We do not verify for sale/wanted threads, and take no responsibility for any issues that may arise between buyers and sellers. If a buyer or seller is acting in bad faith, report them to the mod team.

Moderation

Moderators can be distinguished by the shield and mallet symbol that appears near their usernames, symbolising their role as community defenders, and wielders of the ban hammer.

Moderators can use their own discretion to:

Move or remove off-topic comments
Remove offensive or inappropriate posts
Move threads to appropriate categories
Ban users (both temporarily and permenantly)
Remind users of the rules, and reprimand users, either privately or publicly, when they break forum rules
Remove threads that are not constructive, difficult to moderate, or otherwise problematic.

Moderators have discretion to remove any content they feel is causing problems for the community or the forums, including for reasons not explicitly stated here, and are not required to provide reasons for removing content (though they generally will). You are not required to agree with moderator decisions, but you are required to respect them.

Moderators are required to moderate with a degree of impartiality. If you feel a moderator is treating you unfairly, contact @jamesinc. If you feel @jamesinc is treating you unfairly, contact @egads (she/her) or @AshDVS.

Banning

Moderators are instructed to, in the first instance, attempt to educate users regarding the forum rules. If a user repeatedly flaunts the forum rules, they can and will be banned. Bans may be temporary, or they may be permenant.

Advertising and qualified specialists

Oz Volvo is proudly free from banner ads and promoted content. However, if you represent a business and wish to advertise your products or services, you may do so by following these rules:

If you participate in the forums as a representative of a business, including if you mostly just use the forums to service parts requests, contact @jamesinc for permission.
If you are a qualified specialist, e.g. a Volvo tech, and would like to be recognised as such, contact @jamesinc.
If you want to post a thread offering products or services for sale, you may only do so in the RADAR section of the forums. Your post must be immediately related to Volvos. For instance, you are a wrecker selling Volvo parts, or you are selling Volvo-related merchandise. Your post must relate to specific products or services. For example, you may advertise "Joe's wrecking here, we have an 850 wagon in the yard, contact for parts available", but you may not advertise "Joe's wrecking, always getting new stock in, phone for prices!".
Participate in the forums. When people comment on your threads, comment back. Put useful information in your threads. That makes them more useful to the community and we will be appreciative.
You may not create threads solely to promote your business except by prior approval of @jamesinc.
You may not put a URL or marketing message as your account name or username or other user profile fields.
You may not advertise by sending users direct messages.

Use of Personal Information

Oz Volvo does not share personal information with third parties, except where compelled by law to do so.

Ownership and licensing of user content

By submitting user content to Oz Volvo, you grant us a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, unrestricted, worldwide license to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, perform, or publicly display your user content in any medium and for any purpose, including commercial purposes.

You agree that you have the right to submit anything you post, and that your user content does not violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret or any other personal or proprietary right of any other party.

Oz Volvo's Privacy Policy explains how we may use or share information submitted by you or collected from you.

Account deletion

Should you ever wish to delete your account, contact a moderator. Note that, due to the collaborative nature of a forum, not all content can be deleted. When your account is deleted, your public posts and comments remain, however your username and profile photo are removed from them and they simply appear as "deleted user" posts.

If you wish to raise an issue in relation to these terms, please contact the forum administrator, James Ducker, at james@ozvolvo.org.

Data Sovereignty

All Oz Volvo content is hosted on servers located in Australia.

Last updated: 2024-05-29";