Acceptable Use Policy

Cable Forum's ethos is to provide support and assistance to those using or interested in UK Cable Services. The Virgin Media and other IT areas of the board are thus our priority. Cable services cannot be viewed in isolation, so topic areas exist for other technologies. We recognise that a healthy site requires stimulus for it's community and hence the other discussion areas are provided.

Our origins were under the nthellworld website banner. The name change to Cable Forum was triggered by a desire to take a more balanced and proactive view. Inevitably forums attract more posts from those who are dissatisfied than happy with matters, and we recognise that people will wish to be critical. All we ask is that content is balanced and factual with the aim of helping members to understand the issue, and perhaps suggest resolutions.

When starting new topics, please select the correct board area. Each does have an established description for it's typical content. Try and select a thread title that reasonably describes the topic. For example is seeking assistance, putting a title of "Help" alone, won't encourage many to read the message. Please check with the search function that a topic on the subject isn't already under way, as we don't like duplicates. However if after a few months a thread has become inactive, starting a new topic may be preferable to bumping an old one.

Everyone is welcome to participate in threads. We simply ask that topic starters and subsequent replies are balanced and objective, and remain within the subject matter. If starting discussions, ideally provide a link to a web article, or other source that prompted your posting. Similarly links may be appropriate to back up your stance during a debate. If you are seeking assistance with a problem, try to be descriptive as to the difficulties and how they occur, the equipment involved and what steps you have tried to resolve it.

Members should debate the topic of the post, rather than their opinion of the person making the post. Please try to offer constructive comment, be that for or against the issue. Avoid getting dragged into mud slinging and show some respect for your fellow forum users. It's is all too easy to hide behind a keyboard and yet you would never contemplate saying something to someone if face to face. Take particular care if quoting a user that any generalised comment you might make is not taken by some as being aimed at the quoted individual. We will take a harsh view of anyone whose behaviour is aggressive or insulting, or where content could cause alarm, harassment or distress. There is a user ignore feature on the board which can be used to hide posts from members that you persistently disagree with. You can be contentious, provided that you can show objectivity and relevance to the debate.

Users have a short period of time when they may edit their posts, after which only the Cable Forum Team may make changes. Please be mindful when posting content that we do not remove content or close threads simply because a forum member no longer wishes it to be available. By posting the user is the author and accepts responsibility for the content, Cable Forum is simply the publisher.

Our forum etiquette guide elaborates on some matters.

We do not allow any content that is objectionable. This includes postings which are racist, extreme religious or homophobic views, invasive of privacy or confidentiality, potentially libellous or defamatory, incite an illegal act, abusive, harassing, threatening, adult or illegal. It should be obvious that malware, pornography and similar matter is prohibited.

All site content should be in English. We ask that users avoid text speak abbreviations, shouting (capitalised text), and ideally use proper punctuation. However we are not grammar police and recognise the content of the message is more important than the way it is conveyed.

We try to have a family audience policy for all content on the site. Posts should aim to comply with this. If a reasonable parent wouldn't want their internet aware child to read it, it shouldn't have been posted.

We will not allow the discussion of methods of circumventing the obtaining of services from Virgin Media, or other company, without a proper subscription, or their authorised equipment.

Copyright should be respected. Please only quote small passages from articles on other sites and provide links back to them.

We know that many users will seek to download content such as films and music which they may not own. We cannot condone piracy. Some general discussion of the principles may be acceptable, be we cannot allow detailed "how to guides", or links to sites that harbour such material.

There should be no need for swearing or other bad language. If a reasonable parent wouldn't want a word uttered by their child, then it shouldn't be used on Cable Forum.

The site does have a profanity filter but regular asterisk use in posts will be unwelcome and an indication that your language is inappropriate. The filter is extensive but not every unsuitable word or variation of it will be caught. Please don't try and circumvent the filter by use of alternative spellings.

Please use the correct names of products, company and trade names. This especially applies to Virgin Media, their equipment and services.

The use of variants and derivatives of names will be frowned upon, even if it is an attempt at humorous dissatisfaction with an item. This is not intended to be restrictive. Misnamed products would not show up in the search criteria of users who seek assistance but are unfamiliar with the slang terms.

Images may be uploaded to the site, or sometimes linked from other sites, as part of attachments to posts, or for display in signatures and avatars. File size restrictions will apply to keep our database to a manageable level, and also in respect of those who may have limited bandwidth.

In some cases users wish to link to images on third party websites. Please be mindful of the file size. We also ask that linked images are no wider than 800px to avoid distortion of the forum display format. Oversized image links may be edited or removed. Images to dynamic content, such as gamer statistics are unwelcome as they rely on the third party server which can affect page loading times.

Images do need to meet our general rules for appropriate content which would not cause a parent undue concern. Adult, including partial nudity, or offensive images will not be acceptable.

The forum has a private messaging (PM) system allowing members to converse with each other out of the public eye, for those who choose to enable it's use. The amount of messages that can be stored is limited and we do not guarantee to retain these, and you will lose all access if your account is closed.

The general forum use rules apply to PMs and thus if it shouldn't be posted publicly, you shouldn't be sending it via PM. A Report PM function is available where a copy of the PM will sent and made visible to the Cable Forum Team.

PM's are private to the sender and recipient. They cannot be viewed via the forum software by anyone else including the Cable Forum Team. PM's should not be republished anywhere on this forum or elsewhere without the prior consent of both sender and recipient.

Kindly refrain from using unsolicited PM's asking for assistance with difficulties you may be having. Such PM's will frequently be ignored. In general requests for assistance are best posted in public, with confidential information removed, so that all forum users can offer advice and any solution is subsequently available to all.

The reputation system is a simple way of indicating approval of a post. It also allows a brief comment of why the reputation is awarded to be left to the post's author. Reputation is private and should not be discussed in forum posts. Reputation can be given by clicking the symbol.

Giving reputation adds, or subtracts, points from a forum member. These are displayed for a user as a series of pips and stars. Established forum users with good reputation themselves will be able to award higher reputation points. To encourage our site's support of cable customers, reputation given is greater in the technical than general forums. Users may choose to disable their reputation pip display, but this will not prevent others from sending reputation comments.

Issuing a red or negative reputation can create discord. You must leave an appropriate comment. We do not allow tit for tat or revenge reputation. Red repping a Team member because of moderating actions you disagree with is not permitted. Similarly don't give reputation because you were asked to do so by someone else, or in sympathy for someone who is complaining of a reputation they received. Please do not be a rep whore by seeking reputation from others.

Reputation should observe the site's general terms of use for public posting. The Cable Forum Team can see these comments and will take action where these are considered inappropriate. We can remove reputation comments, but will do so only if the Team considers the system has been abused, not just because a recipient is unhappy.

For detailed information on the reputation system see this article.

Links are encouraged from our members which assist with providing solutions to member problems or are in context with the thread topic and discussion. Content of third party sites is not endorsed by Cable Forum and we are not responsible for anything found on such sites. Links to sites must only have content that complies with our own site's standards.

Cable Forum takes a dim view of parasites who join this site to spam. Every effort is made to deter spammers. When spam is detected accounts and content are removed.

Spam is simply an unsolicited promotion. The promoted item may be a website, commercial product or other service. Sometimes it will be for individual reward. There does not need to be financial gain although this is usually the motivator. Links to other websites whether as part of post content, user signatures, or profile pages, will be viewed with suspicion. However spam does not necessarily need to include a web-link, just identifying something to encourage others to then search for it could be unwelcome. We will never allow referral links. If in doubt seek prior approval from a member of the team.

The articles section of the board is intended to provide a point of reference and knowledgebase. We encourage our members to provide quality content for inclusion.

All article posts are moderated and will require team approval before they become visible. Discussion of article content, and any issues requiring further assistance should be made in the main forum areas.

Whilst Cable Forum Team members may have other duties, all will be involved in moderating the board to ensure topics, posts, and other behaviour meet with our required standards.

Moderation will normally, but not always, be indicated by a post in bold font. Thus bold font posting is not permitted for general forum activity. Any post which is made in a bold font by a Cable Forum Team member, is a moderating decision and instruction that must be observed by all board users.

Moderation instructions carry equal weight regardless of the Cable Forum Team member involved. These must be observed by all board users. Do not debate these publicly, or by use of the reputation system. If you wish to challenge, then contact the moderator by PM. If contacting a moderator, remember to be civil.

Team members are entitled to post on the board in their own personal capacity to participate in discussions and offer their own views. Team members will try to avoid moderating in a thread in which they are already involved as a poster, although this may not be possible if other team members are unavailable at the time.

For forum management purposes we reserve the right to move or merge threads or posts and close threads. We can delete content but will normally only do so for matters that are off topic or otherwise breach our rules.

Where users consider that a post, or private message, has broken the site's terms of use, they should use the reporting function. This is normally indicated by the symbol.

Reported posts will create a message for the Cable Forum Team. The Reported Posts link in the top navigation bar indicates to members the status of all reports, including the moderator involved. Clicking on the moderator name will detail any action taken, although sometimes there may be a delay if the Team is discussing an issue.

Reported posts should not be discussed publicly, and the outcome detail we provide will be limited. Please remember that the function is only to be used for urgent matters such as spam, and problematic (harassment, fighting, or rude) posts. Non urgent matters such as posts in the wrong forum area, should simply be PM'd to a moderator, for them to deal with in their own time.

The vast majority of our forum users abide by the site's terms of use and will never need to worry about the warning (infraction) system. However, for a minority the system is used to provide a means of enforcing the site's policies.

Think of warnings as you would points on a driving licence. Different transgressions will attract a varying tariff of points. Too many points can see your account suspended. Complete bans occur for serious issues, or if multiple active points have accrued. Over time points will be regarded as spent. Users can view their warning history using their account's User CP.

If a warning is issued the user will receive a private message. This details the reasons for the warning. Users may discuss the warning with the Team Member issuing it by private message. If the user considers it appropriate they may appeal, again by PM to the site owner's, but the issue should first have been discussed with the Team Member involved. Please remember to be civil in any correspondence.

All warnings are logged and all Cable Forum Team Members will have sight of the reasons for issue, and any discussion that takes place afterwards between the user and issuer. The Team often discusses and reviews warnings. Frequently warnings are only issued after a team consensus.

We do not discuss warnings or reasons for them publicly. They are not to be viewed as a badge of honour.

For more detailed information on the warning system, including the points please see this article

The User CP link in the forum's navigation bar (top of each page) allows a user to control a number of aspects of their profile including the information visible to other board users. Please use this wisely. Content should be brief. Signatures repeated on each post should be concise with a small font size and limited line count. Images need to meet our standards and links should not be considered as spam.

Cable Forum only allows one user account per person for life. Treat it with respect as we rarely allow someone to return if they have broken our rules. We have methods of identifying potential duplicated accounts.

User names can be changed, on request to the team by PM. This is subject to the new name's availability. We will not keep changing names so pick one you like.

On occasion users wish to leave the forum. Many people simply cease using their account which will become dormant. Accounts cannot be deleted by members themselves. Occasionally a request to the team will result in our removing the account so it cannot be used. Note that where accounts are removed by us, your posts will not be taken down and our database will retain some information in accordance with our privacy policies on your previous usage of our site. If users who have asked for deletion of their account subsequently return to the site under another account (as many do), we reserve the right to link their old account details to the new one.

Please ensure contact details for your account, especially email addresses, are current. Accounts can be rendered unusable if emails cannot be issued such as password notifications. You will also not receive messages for subscriptions, PMs and other notifications. Users with invalid email settings may find their accounts suspended and any subscription settings deleted.

Cable Forum is an independently owned and operated web site. We are not beholden to Virgin Media or any other organisation. The site and it's members are free to praise or criticise, provided any content is within this site's terms of service. Some employees of Virgin Media may be members of the Cable Forum Team, but their role is independent of and outside of their contract of employment.

The Cable Forum Team are made up of volunteers appointed by the site owners. If there is a vacancy for a Team member, we will invite applications from forum users by a posting on the message board. All applications are then vetted by the existing team. Please do not seek appointment when we are not directly recruiting.

Cable Forum Team Members are listed from a link on the bottom navigation bar on the forum's home page.

Please remember that Team Members are here to promote the smooth running of Cable Forum and have many tasks that they undertake, often whilst multi-tasking other duties away from the board. The Team will attempt to deal with matters in a reasonable time, but are not to be at the beck and call of site users who should not expect immediate action and resolution to issues that arise.