About This Bulletin Board (Forum)

Q. How do I work this @%#! thing?
A. Please see Boards How To's. If you're still having problems, see Support. If all else fails, write to your Guide.

Q. Do the terms bulletin board, board and forum all mean the same thing?
A. Yes, they are used interchangeably.

Q. What may I post here?
A. Topics, advice, questions and comments related to job searching, employment, and careers in the science and technical arenas. Jobs, job fairs and job-wanted messages too. For more information about posting, read the FAQ about what is inappropriate. After you log on, read the Start Page.

Q. What can't I post here?
A. See the FAQ about what is inappropriate.

Q. How long does my post remain here?
A. If there's room, for about six months. If it's a particularly helpful, "evergreen" post, instead of getting deleted it'll go into the Archive folder. If congestion occurs, older posts may be deleted or moved sooner.

Q. May I remove my post?
A. Yes. The forum allows you to delete your post. If you have any difficulty, send email to your Guide. Please include the subject, your member name and the date of your post. (Do not send your password. That's only for you to see.) Just check your post for this information.

Q. Do I need to register?
A. No, not if you just want to read posts. For guest access, click where advised on the Forum Homepage. But, among other benefits from About.com, registering authorizes you to post and reply, and links your email address to your member name so that others may respond to you privately. For example, if you post a job-wanted message, employers may reply to you privately to ensure you receive priority. If you ask what you can expect to earn as a technician, other technicians can tell you by email without revealing their salaries to all in Cyberspace. Your Guide will not give out your email address elsewhere. (See the Privacy Policy.) Go to the Forum Homepage to register.

Q. Is my registration information private?
A. See About.com's Privacy Policy.

Q. Why won't my logon work?
A. Your user name and password are case sensitive, so you must type them with exactly the same combination of UPPERCASE and lowercase characters each time you log on. Try again. If you can't remember your user name or password, just register again.

Q. Is this forum moderated?
A. Yes, frequently by your Guide. For example, spam, work-at-home scams, and other inappropriate posts will be removed ASAP.

Q. Is this forum safe for my kids?
A. Probably not. Although your Guide makes every effort to remove offensive and inappropriate posts in a timely manner, the forum is not intended for kids.

Q. What are the rules of behavior?
A. You can't go wrong if you follow Netiquette, the conventions of politeness for the Internet. Please be especially kind and patient with beginners. For general information, see The Core Rules of Netiquette, excerpted from the book Netiquette by Virginia Shea. For more specific information, see the forum guidelines and the other FAQs above and below.

Q. What's inappropriate or offensive for this forum?
A. Includes, but is not limited to, business opportunities, promotions, advertisements, scams, schemes and anything that requires a donation, fee or investment. Some examples are banner ads, promotions of commercial Web sites, and work-at-home, management-trainee, chain-letter, pyramid, MLM and get-rich schemes. You know who you are! Also not allowed are false claims, hypes, profanities, slander, libel, personal insults, threats, sex, porno, copyright and patent infringement, spamming, shouting, unfriendly flame wars, and anything not related to job searching, employment and careers. Inappropriate posts will be removed. Persistent abusers will be banned and complaints will be filed with their Internet service providers.

Q. Where may I advertise my products or services at About.com™?
A. See Be an Advertiser. Promotions and advertisements will be removed from the forum, as it's your Guide's responsibility to screen and list resources in the best interest of our community.

Q. May I suggest a career resource on this forum?
A. If you are a recruiter, employer or employee who knows of openings at your company, you may post reputable job listings if you follow the guidelines. Please suggest all other resources by email. Why? Because unscrupulous people often pretend they are regular audience members praising Websites, when in fact, they are affiliated and attempting to steal traffic from your community rather than trying to help you. Since some are so good at this con game, it's hard to tell the difference. So please let your Guide first screen resources in the best interest of our community, for inclusion in Subjects, Articles or Silicon Valley Career Resources where everyone can share them. Promotions, advertisements and similar abuses of this policy will be removed from the forum. For information on advertising your resource at About.com, see Be an Advertiser.

Q. Why so much ado about behavior, advertising, promotions, etc?
A. The purpose of this forum is to provide free advice, services and opportunities for technical job seekers. While they are excellent resources, forums are sometimes abused by those who have little respect for others and the purpose of the forums. Guidelines help to keep this forum an informative and enjoyable place to visit by discouraging offensive posts, and the electronic equivalent of junk mail, crank calls and telemarketing. Thanks for helping to keep Job Searching - Technical a reputable resource!