Hello everyone,

Starting today, Fodor’s Forums are following updated guidelines. The revised guidelines clarify what behavior is and isn’t appropriate for the Forums and what actions will be taken by the moderators if members choose not follow the guidelines. They should help answer the question we receive the most: “why was my thread/comment pulled?”

You can review the revised guidelines here: http://www.fodors.com/faq/joining.cfm#join2

As always, we ask for your help in enforcing these guidelines. If you see any activity that is not in line with the new guidelines, please alert the moderators by using the gray triangle button or sending us an e-mail at [email protected].

We feel that these guidelines will lay the groundwork for an even stronger online travel community. If you have any questions or concerns with these guidelines, please contact me at the e-mail address above.

Best,
Amy_D

I would like to see added to that something like -
As a courtesy to your readers please use common business English sentence punctuation and word capitalization. This makes reading and understanding your posts much easier. Try your best on grammar and misspellings however we do understand that English is a second language for many posters.

regards - tom

Tom, you shoulda put a comma after "mispellings," And it should be "try your best on spellings, not mispellings. LOL!

Thanks, Amy. Love point 4 and 7 in your guidelines!!!

You're write LAL. And you misspelled "mispellings" -twice-!!! But agree, not as bad as my errors. I try anyway, some posters don't even.

regards - tom
ps - I know it should be "right"
And I figure it is useless anyway, who ever bothers to read posting guidelines?

Sorry, I just have to ask - Tom if you want people to capitalize appropriately why do you not capitalize your 'T' in your sign-off? Just curious!

LAL - contrariness, the rebel in me, my alter ego?
But, I agree, makes more sense to use "T", think I'll start. Hope it doesn't confuse a lot of friends here. We'll see if any comments/questions about it!!!

FWIW, if you hadn't already known, I struggle with writing anything. Spelling, grammar, style, structure, everything I have to work and re-work. I've have great difficulty in learning another language. Always have, think that half of my brain is missing . I'm an engineer by education and occupation so technical stuff and problem solving I readily accept. Example- just this weekend I modified my Canon printer to print directly on CD/DVDs. It can't be sold in USA with that capability but is sold with it in Europe. Mine now thinks it is in Europe.

regards - Tom

Many thanks for the heads up on the revised rules.

They look good to me, though I hope we'll be allowed to continue to post tangential content here on the Africa board, in particular I'm thinking about the threads concerning conservation projects and news?

Whilst some of the threads aren't specifically about travel, the content is very much something many of us take into consideration when planning our safari trips.

PS Tom was the write right error tongue in cheek? Whilst I find poorly written posts (poor spelling and grammar, confusing language, lack of capitalisation and punctuation) more difficult to read (and sometimes off-putting) I'd hate to see something in the rules about them as there's too much chance it would put off potential posters, worried that their English skills may not be sufficient.

Kavey- the write/right was on purpose hoping to get LAL excited about another mistake by me . But I'm sure most every one of my posts has at least a punctuation mistake, probably with the use of commas. Not to mention dangling participles .

I agree with you about putting off potential posters. Lord knows we need them here!!! That's why I said do you best on spelling and grammar, I know how hard English is. But how hard is it to simply capitalize "I", begin a sentence with a capital letter and end a sentence with a "period"? Common to what, 80% of the worlds written languages? Not to mention the worlds universal language for business - English. You know the posts I'm aiming at, those that don't capitalize -any- word and maybe no sentence punctuation. Those are the sloppy writers who care more about their ease of, or habit of, writing than their readers they are trying to communicate with.

But I know I'm spitting against the wind. And like I said, wonder how many new (or current) posters read the guidelines anyway, 50%?

regards - Tom

True!

Regarding CAPITALIZATION:

"R" in regards should also be "R" as it is at the beginning of a new sentence and also a greeting.

To me, and I am not a native speaker, I have no difficulties in understanding despite the lack of CAPITALIZATION.

I appreciate the content and the effort posters put towards the content.

I focus on other priorities.

And finally - nobody is OBLIGED to read anything which touches a personal nerve.

SV

Ahh, SV got me!!!!
I wondered who would .
Oh, I forgot to mention that also not good "form" is using all caps, every word letter caps. No no to that also.

But think I'll leave "regards" like that (little r) because I'm oh so too perfect already!!!

(Sure is slow around here now days. Where's Rocco when we need him???)

regards - Tom

Rocco was a very articulate writer, that's for sure.........

PS: Tom, if you care about running ..... I think he's writing on the Runners World Forums. Atleast, as of 6 months ago when I last checked their site for specific reviews.

Thanks Hari, but no, think instead I'll wander over to safaritalk and see if much new there. Haven't checked it for a couple weeks.
regards - Tom

Tom -- your signoff now looks crooked! I realize I like it better as little r little t but I guess since I brought it up & you changed it because of my comment I better hush!

Agree about the all caps being awful. So funny how you actually hear the words shouted inside your head as you read them.

Oh rats, I agree, I also think it looks funny. Those unintended consequences bite again!! Soooo, I'm going to cap the r also!!!! Will also make SV happy!!!!

Regards - Tom
ps - now it looks a bit pretentious. And I realize why I did not cap the r and t before. Most posters do not sign off, maybe I should not either??

Go back to your old tried & true way. We'll forgive the non-caps

Actually your signature is a big part of your posting personality & I would sincerely miss the old "regards - tom"!!

Ok, then, by POPULAR DEMAND it is back to "regards - tom"!!!!

regards - tom

r - t

By the way - not that it bothers me: ps souldn't that be also PS

SV