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Forum Guidelines

Discuss anything that doesn't fit elsewhere on the site. As a reminder, religion, politics and weaponry are prohibited.
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MoT
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Forum Guidelines

Post by MoT »

Welcome! These forums are here for anyone to post on. We do not limit registration to anyone. We hope you find this website and its forum an informational and enjoyable place to visit.

Our forum is considered to be a "self policed" forum. That is to say, our staff is instructed to only moderate when required and react to issues, rather than seek them out. In exchange for this light handed approach, we need to trust our members to govern themselves, and use the "Report Post" feature when they find something that violates our rules or general "family friendly" environment.

These rules are to be seen as general governing principals and you need to understand that the specific language is unimportant. Alan Greenspan put it best when he said "Rules cannot take the place of character." The following outline is just that; it outlines and embodies the character of the environment we wish to enjoy with our fellow enthusiasts.

We choose staff members very carefully, selecting those individuals we believe understand the "spirit" and character of our community. We trust these folks to make decisions and judgment calls that always keep within that spirit. In other words: read these rules to get a feel of how we run this place and do your best to keep within that feel. If a staffer contacts you in regards to these rules and guidelines, always remember they do so in order to keep this place within those guidelines and that their judgment is to be respected as such.

If a member is found to have deliberately broken one of the following rules or guidelines, then a staff member may issue a warning or an infraction, depending on the violation.

Forum Rules/Guidelines

  • Avoid personal attacks and be respectful of our members. If you don't agree with what someone posted, debate their post... not the person that posted it. "Flaming" in any form is strictly prohibited. "Derailing" someone's thread for the purposes of negatively affecting it is strictly prohibited. And if someone does choose to disrespect, flame or derail, anyone who responds in kind is just as guilty. Bottom line is to respect each other, and each other's posts. If you don't like what someone posted, figure out how to say so without disrespecting them, flaming them, or derailing their post. If you can't do so, use the Report Post feature and let the staff handle it, or simply move on to the next post. But no matter what, do not contribute to the problem.
  • Expressions of hatred based on race/ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, disability, and/or religion are strictly prohibited. Any such expressions, whether directed at another person or at a group in general, may be grounds for immediate banning. Seriously, don't even think about going there.
  • Adult material will not be allowed in any way, shape, or form. Ask yourself before posting or picking that avatar or that signature, "would I want to explain this to my 6-year-old niece?" If the answer is no, don't do it. Other likely examples include videos of people and/or animals being hurt or killed, as well as illegal activities.
  • No Duplicate Threads. Pick the one and only one best place for your thread or announcement to be seen by the world. If we see a topic plastered all over the place the staff member who has to clean it all up will be very cranky.
  • Politics in any form are prohibited. There are thousands of political places to visit on the web. This ain't one of them. Our members come here to talk watches and the community that surrounds them, not to put up with "your" political propaganda.
  • Religion in any form is prohibited. Religion is a volatile subject and not welcome here. You can be true to yourself and your beliefs without the need for religious expression. Please do so when you're here! The exception to this rule, which is subject to staff approval, is your avatar or username. These things are expressions of your personality and some leeway is allowed.
  • Guns, Knives, weaponry. MoT's Watch Deal Forum understands that hobbies can converge. However, we have chosen not to host the aforementioned materials here. Please refrain from posting content containing them.
  • No unauthorized advertisements. If you post something for sale, and you are not a Brand or Brand Representative, that something may not be related to your source of income in any way. Got parts you're not using for sale? No problem! Do you sell these parts or services and make money on them as a matter of course? Big problem! Make sure you're a Brand/Brand Representative before mentioning them here (this includes - but is not limited to - direct posts that may or may not include links or pictures, avatars, quotes and/or signatures that advertise). This includes unauthorized affiliate linking.
  • No one may solicit users for any purpose external to the forum. Our member base is not a resource to be "mined". Ignore this rule and you may find yourself banned without warning.
  • Privacy of your fellow member is paramount. Posting any personal information of another member will not be tolerated. In addition, impersonation or misrepresenting yourself will also not be tolerated. Any private information posted by a member about another will be edited or deleted. Any member that misrepresents themselves may find themselves banned without warning.
  • Multiple accounts are not allowed. Get caught with more than one account and all accounts will be banned, and you will be reported to your ISP as harassing our site.
  • Embedded vs Linked Content. All rules regarding content apply to anything you directly embed in your post AS WELL AS anything you link too. Posting a link to rule breaking content is the same as showing it directly in your post. Either way, you're breaking the rules.
  • If you post it, the world owns it. Any material entered by any member on MoT’s Watch Deal Forum is considered as being available on public domain and should be treated as such. No material entered by any member is to be considered representative of Mot’s Watch Deal Forum, its staff or its data providers. In other words, you are posting at your own risk. As such; all material entered and/or submitted to MoT’s Watch Deal Forum database are considered the property of MoT’s Watch Deal Forum, its community and the world in general.
    Any thread that has been closed or moved is not up for review. Restarting a closed or moved thread will earn the restarter an infraction. If you have a question, bring the issue up with a member of the staff privately.
How Do The Staff Do Their Jobs?

These forums are managed on the basis of moderators having discretionary authority to make decisions as circumstances require. While this gives them considerable authority, they make it a point to be transparent to the membership and consistent in their attitudes and decisions. Furthermore, when new things necessitate changes in standard general practices, they will try to ease the affected parties into the change as gently as possible without penalty during the learning process.

This is not the forum where you should be looking for a "show-me-the-rule" discussion to have any rightful place. This forum does not work that way. The staff is far more concerned with maintaining the spirit of the community rather than the letter of any law. If any member chooses not to live within that broad spectrum, it is the staff's job to first remind, either publicly, privately or both at the staffer's discretion, and guide them back onto an acceptable path. If transgressions continue, moderators and admins will usually graduate first to formal warnings, followed by formal infractions which increase in severity. Again at the discretion of the staff. However, should a moderator or administrator decide to go straight to severe sanctions and skip the intermediate steps, that is also a reserved prerogative.

Decisions taken by staff members are often group decisions. Remember there is an entire forum here that is invisible to all but the staff here. Very often, when a situation presents itself that the situation will be discussed in a roundtable before action is taken.

Private messages to staff members about staff issues, the business of this forum, infractions received, etc. are subject to review by the entire staff if that staff member chooses to share it. Oftentimes a member brings up an issue where the situation will be better resolved if everyone gets a chance to go over it as a group.

Thank you for choosing to be a member of MoT’s Watch Deal Forum. The staff hopes you find this place to be welcoming, enjoyable and informative.
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Re: Forum Guidelines

Post by MoT »

Brand/Brand Representative Guidelines

Each Brand/Brand Representative will receive a branded forum in the “Brand Showcase” section of the site for the purpose of promoting their own brand and products / services, announcing new product launches, promotions or contests, and conducting market research / surveys. These activities are strictly limited to the assigned branded forum and may not be conducted elsewhere.

In addition to posting content to their own branded forum, Brand Representatives are free to contribute to non-branded forums, so long as their posts are general in nature, on topic and do not constitute a sale post. They may make mention of their products an services in already-existing non-branded threads where 1) the product or service is relevant to the thread topic, and 2) they believe the product or service will be well-received by the members reading the thread (subject to forum moderation if deemed necessary).

Brand Representatives are protected under the same guidelines that apply to the general membership but are held to a more restrictive standard with regard to their freedom to comment on other vendors or their products. We do encourage discussion and debate over vendor products and services, and Brand Representatives are allowed to engage in this debate provided they at all times remain respectful, objective and focused on the products / services. Disparaging content in any form (including direct comment, innuendo, smarty-pants remarks, surprisingly catastrophic test results, poisoned cigars or any other creative tactic that the creator thinks is too clever or subtle to be caught by the staff) will not be tolerated and may result in punitive action up to and including account suspension. The spirit of the law is what matters, and final judgment is left to the staff as to violating content and the sanctions that may be imposed. This applies both to forum posts and direct messages sent to members. In short: Say nothing negative about any other Brand/Brand Representative or their products.

Brand Representatives may offer community-specific discounts, promotions, and contests provided they are offered freely and open to participation by all members without restriction.

Who is considered to be a “Brand Representative”?
Any member who represents, profits from, or is employed by a vendor is considered to be a Brand Representative. Additionally, ordinary members who choose to engage in conduct that is deemed so extreme that they are a vendor's proxy combatant or shill, be it out of enthusiasm for a vendor's cause, or any other reason can result in those members being treated as Brand Representatives under these guidelines.

What is a “branded forum”?
A branded forum is one that is provided to Brand/Brand Representative to allow promotion of their brand and products. Branded forums are restricted to the “Brand Showcase” area.

What is a sales thread?
If the thread is substantially about something you are selling, its a sales thread.
If it is substantially about something you plan to sell, it is a sales thread.

Why Do We Do It Like This?
We are the fastest growing community of watch deal hunters. As such, brands want to be here to have access to our members. Furthermore, our members value the community and quality of their experience here and feel that both would be diminished if they had to wade through advertising to get to the information they are expressly seeking. ManOnTime’s Watch Deal Forum is different from other forums in this regard and members like it that way.

This does not mean that Brand/Brand Representatives are unseen. Brand/Brand Representatives may comment on their own products as they see fit in threads all over the forum. That means participating in the dialogue, where your products may help with the issue under discussion and you explain how and why. Be advised though that blatantly advertising, talking at people as opposed to talking with them, could be considered an intrusion into their conversation at best, or spam at worst. Bottom line: Be a part of the community and not a billboard.

No matter where your posts are, they still go onto the New Posts screen, which is the among the highest visited screen on this site. People will see what you have to offer. If they do not respond its probably not because they haven't seen the thread. You are allowed to 'bump' a thread once in a 24-hour period, assuming no one has posted into that thread in that 24 hours.

ManOnTIme’s Watch Deal Forum reserves the right to reject a Brand/Brand Representative for Supporting Vendor status or to terminate an existing relationship for any reason.
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"Remember no man is a failure who has friends." - Clarence Odbody
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MoT
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Re: Forum Guidelines

Post by MoT »

Helpful Links
Join us on Discord and interact live with your fellow members (click the icon):

Want to ensure your favorite watch site can keep the lights on? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/motswdf

Your friend in time,
Matt - MoT

Click Icon To Contact Me:


"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." - Ray Bradbury
"Remember no man is a failure who has friends." - Clarence Odbody
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