Announcement - Coming up starting Saturday (08/14/2010)

[HighTechRedneck]

Fellow bus nuts, when this forum started it was a small group of friends discussing buses.  It has grown to be a very large group of friends mostly discussing buses, but also a wide range of shared interests.  We are seeing many new members joining who are 1st time bus nuts, including many who are younger than most of us were when we first became addicted to these wonderful metallic beasts and that bodes very well for the future of the hobby.  The forum has grown to have many thousands of threads containing a mind boggling amount of bus nut knowledge and experiences that will no doubt help future bus nuts for many years to come.  This is all good!  We are glad to be a part of it and excited about the direction it is all going.

A few threads, situations, and offline discussions have demonstrated that with all this growth has also come the need to develop a more thorough and formal "Terms of Use" document similar to those found on many other sites.  It has been great having a half page of text that could be read in under a minute.  But as things grow, it has become evident that we need to cover all the bases.  Not doing so would be irresponsible and careless of us given the important repository of knowledge this forum has become.

So, we have carefully drafted a Terms of Usage and a Privacy Policy that is consistent with common practice among many sites and yet customized to fit the needs and context of this forum and BCM.  Starting Saturday, 08/14/2010, the next time you visit the forum you will be prompted to review and accept the new Terms of Use.  It replaces the Member Agreement you saw when you first registered.  This prompt won't come up again after you review and accept the terms.  But you will be able to review the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy anytime by clicking a new menu bar button labeled "Forum Rules."  You are also encouraged to check the "Forum Rules" thread at the top of the All Topics board from time to time.

BCM and the Moderating Team thank you for your participation in this forum and know that it is you, not us, that make this a great place for bus nuts to share their knowledge/experience and ask questions.

[cody]

Mike, this is an outrage, first we have rules next we'll need to buckle our seat belts during bingo night, I'm appauled, I'm affranked, dammit here comes the banjos, I told you we can't do this, if I want to hold my seat belt in with duct tape I can do that, THIS IS AMERICA DAMMIT, what were we talking about anyway? Oh yeah banjos!!!!, why not guitars why just banjos we have enough banjos now, just wonder thru a swamp in georgia and listen carefully, and accordians what do you have against polka's, next they'll be outlawed too, you young whippersnappers think that just because you've got your parking spot at the proctology clinic your more important than those of us that dare polps, a polp wouldn't have guts to show up and even if it did a good bowl of chili would tear it out by the roots, so there, put that in your pipe and smoke it, where did I leave my meds, somebody is always taking my meds and hiding them and who moved the couch and chair, and why is my car in the driveway next door.

[JackConrad]

Banjos, did you say banjos. I don't want to hear banjos when we are kayaking. Oh yeah, we WILL paddle faster if we hear banjos.   Jack

[HighTechRedneck]

Cody, yew parently ein't fum around h'yah or yew wudn't be slightin dem banjos.  Da last accordian playin feller dat tried ta play one of dem dare polka tunes got his self stomped out back a yonder barn.  Geetah's is might fine.  Fiddle's too.  Accodian's iz even fine, but we h'yah draw da line at dem durned polkas.

[Tenor]

That is the sound of brakes squealing, right?? 

[Dreamscape]

Cody, you quak me up! Are you on dem funny pills again!

I'm sure glad Mike decided to do this on Saturday and not on Friday the 13th!

Paul

[robertglines1]

disappointed! reinvent the wheel?? more truth to Cody"s post{  read between lines/ if its not broken don't fix it.Bob

[HighTechRedneck]

... if its not broken don't fix it.Bob

That is a philosophy I generally do try to follow in most things.  Unfortunately as was pointed out in some recent threads, the existing one was broke.  And on closer legal analysis, it was more broken than originally suspected.  Those breaks left unattended, just like with mechanical problems on our buses, can cause more serious problems and potentially even lead to catastrophic problems that can endanger the existence of the business and the forum.

[Eric]

Broken? Fixed? I thought there was going to be PIE at this meeting? Where's the Pie?

[robertglines1]

I'm not a lawyer or a certified mechanical or electrical engineer so does that mean I'm not legaly qualified to post?  I liked it here because of the absence of better than everyone professionals..we will wait and see...to many rules...Graduate from the school of hard knocks..just me Bob...will wait and see....enough big brother!

[HighTechRedneck]

Please do wait and see before thinking too harshly of us.  It really isn't bad. And no, it doesn't put judgmental requirements on who is qualified to post.  I'm not particularly fond of lawyers either, but in this day an age, there are too many of them looking for opportunities.  And there are too many people these days that when they get upset, their first thought is to "get even" via a lawyer.

One area previously neglected that the Terms of Use does spell out is the issue of copyrights of posts.  In short, the perosn posting keeps copyright ownership of what they post, but grants an irrevocable license for us to publish it on the forum and in the magazine (typically in the "bus chat" feature).  And it even details a method for excepting your posts from being published in the magazine in case someone doesn't want their posts used.

One thing I can say with pretty good certainty, anyone that uses Google mail, Yahoo mail, Yahoo Groups, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, shopped online, or has any kind of software on their computer (including the opertaing system and web browser) has already agreed to much more stringent and complex agreements than this one.

[RickB]

I think the posts regarding this issue prove beyond a shadow of a doubt.... once and for all... Until the cows come home...

That we bus owners aren't right in the head. 

I'd be afraid of us if I wasn't one of us... er ..well, you know what I meant.

P.S. The fact that each of you knew what i meant proves my point exactly.

RB

[Nusa]

Banjo's make excellent emergency paddles...so take one on your next trip!

[kyle4501]

Badges?
What badges?
We don't need no stinking badges.

   

BTW,
I don't think the new "terms & agreements" will 'change' anything concerning how most of us use this board - but rather, they will explain things better up front so there are no fewer surprises later.

[happycamperbrat]

I get the banjos, that makes perfect sense to me! I even understand the need for the copyright thing. What about the posts and time for the poster to be able to edit it?