The aim of the forum is to allow like-minded enthusiasts chat with each other and to exchange news and views on the fireworks scene. However, there are some topics and activities that are not acceptable. The purpose of these rules is to clarify these for you so that we can all get on with each other and live happily ever after.

Here is some guidance on what is considered as acceptable posts in our forum:

	Discussion of firework related matters.
	Discussion of fusing and any other activity legal for PROFESSIONAL operators is welcomed, between professional operators, in our Professional forum. See below for more details.
	Commercial plugs and announcements are allowed providing these are made in an open and transparent manner. See below for more details.
	Off-topic discussion is welcomed in the "Non pyro chat" forum.
	Any other post that does not breach these rules.

Here is some guidance on what is considered as unacceptable posts in our forum:

	Posts containing abusive language or posts which are offensive.
	Making your own gunpowder or the modification of fireworks etc. These activities are potentially illegal (and dangerous).
	Posts that contain links to offensive websites or sites that contain such content.
	Any other posting we consider to be unacceptable. As moderators and owners of this forum we have the final say in these matters.

Please note the following:

	We reserve the right to edit or delete any post, for any reason, with no notice, as we see fit.
	Although the forum is moderated, we cannot always guarantee to notice an unacceptable posting. We would ask for members cooperation in notifying us of any posting that they feel is not acceptable.
	We reserve the right to stop any discussion in the forum if we feel it is breaching, or may lead to a breach, of forum rules. This could include removal of the message or "locking" the discussion. Our decision on these matters is final.
	We welcome members who are under 18. However, we do not condone the sale or use of fireworks to or by minors. Posts referring to the use of fireworks by minors may be edited or deleted.

The forum has a PM and e-mail option to contact other members privately. Please use this sensibly. All messages and e-mails sent through the forum are logged.

We cannot guarantee the security of the PM system and we accept no responsibility for messages sent through it.

To maintain the performance of the forum, stored user messages over a certain age may be deleted or a limit placed on the number of messages (including sent items) that you can store.

Here is some guidance on what is considered as unacceptable use of the PM system:

	Abusive or threatening messages including private flame wars.
	Spamming or mass-mailing other members.
	Any other activity carried out through the forum messaging system that we deem unacceptable

We reserve the right to remove or modify the PM system for any member if we deem it necessary.

An avatar is a picture that appears with your member information to the left of each of your posts. A signature is text or graphics (or a mix of both) that appears underneath each of your posts.

We encourage members to express themselves with avatars and signatures whilst at the same time ensuring these do not distract unnecessarily from forum posts.

We also make a distinction between commercial and non-commercial use of avatars and signatures. Commercial use is where these facilities are used to display a company name, logo, contact details, a URL, hyperlink and so on.

AVATARS:

Non-commercial avatars can be GIF, JPEG or Flash files and can be animated. You should not upload an avatar that could cause other members problems eg. pornographic or offensive.

Firework trade members and retailers etc. are welcome to post a commercial avatar which could include your company name, logo or URL, irrespective of whether you advertise on UKFR. However, commercial avatars must be static and NOT animated.

SIGNATURES:

Signatures must not contain more than one image with maximum dimensions of 600x100 pixels.

This image must be a static image. Animated GIFs and Flash are not allowed in signatures. Please be sensible with image file sizes as large files will slow page loading.

Non-commercial signatures can contain an image or text, or both. They should not be used to post anything that may cause other members problems eg. pornographic or offensive.

Commercial signatures are restricted depending on whether you support UKFR through advertising. If you are not an advertiser, you are still welcome to post your company name, contact details and link to your site, but this must be in TEXT ONLY and no more than two lines.

If you are an advertiser you are welcome to use an image and link in your signature but it must not exceed 600x100 pixels and must not be animated. Advertisers are limited to one banner advert per advertiser - if you have more than one staff member who is a forum member, you will need to decide who carries your advert. This is to prevent the forum filling up with multiple commercial banners.

If you intend to participate in the Professional Forum you are encouraged to state your credentials or company details in your signature.

PLEASE NOTE:

All users have the ability through the forum's "My Controls" and "Board Settings" option to choose not to display avatars, signatures or both. If you find avatars or signatures distracting or they slow page loading for you, consider using this option.

Our decision on whether any avatar or signature is acceptable, is final.

As per our main membership conditions we cannot guarantee the uptime of the forum in any way, or its reliability. From time to time it is necessary to close the forum for administration or security reasons.

We reserve the right to take any action we deem necessary. This could include but is not limited to, removal of your posts, removal of your forum user ID, a temporary ban from the forum, legal action against you, removal of posting rights or membership level or changing what facilities in the forum you have access to.

We are pleased to offer a sub-forum for the discussion of any activity relating to professional fireworks. However, as some activities are legal for professionals but NOT for the general public (such as fusing), you must be a bonafide professional operator or crew member to participate in this forum.

The general rule of thumb is this: If you are a professional firer, and the activity you wish to discuss is LEGAL for you to undertake, then the post is OK.

If you post in the professional forum we reserve the right to challenge your credentials, publicly or privately. As a matter of courtesy we recommend your first post there includes an introduction by yourself stating who you work/fire for.

We should point out to NON-professional members that the activities discussed in the professional forum may NOT be legal for a member of the public to undertake.

We give priority to paying advertisers as they support the continued operation of our website. Paying advertisers may post in the "Trade" forum where posts will be more visible. We can also duplicate this information into the What's New and Newsletter sections if required.

If you are a paying member but NOT an advertiser, you may post commercially (plugs) providing this is done in an honest and transparent manner and does not breach our forum rules.

For example, the following would be acceptable:

	A post telling other members about your company or the services you offer.
	Details of your latest special offers.

The following would not be acceptable:

	Posts with company names or URL's in the SUBJECT line. You must not do this, as this information may be copied or syndicated to other parts of our site and is a service that we only offer to ADVERTISERS.
	Posts which hijack an existing thread. Please do not posts details of your products or services in an existing thread unless you have been ASKED or invited to or it is RELEVANT to the thread.
	Fake customer endorsements, for example, pretending to be a satisfied customer.
	Excessive commercial posting. Please limit any commercial posts (as a guideline, no more than one a fortnight). If you wish to post more, become an advertiser and help support our site - we'll give YOU loads of support in return.
	Misleading posts.
	Posts linking or referring to commercial sites that we DO NOT SUPPORT. This could include sites who have breached our copyright, stolen our content and so on.

Occasional commercial posting and responding to members requests for information about suppliers or stockists is fine but if we suspect from the pattern of your posting that you are using the forum for a sustained marketing campaign, but you do not support our website through advertising, we reserve the right to remove your posts and ask you to advertise before allowing you to make any more.

We hope that by allowing limited commercial plugs by non-advertisers that our service to members and the trade will improve, but we draw your attention to the fact that we have zero tolerance to anyone who abuses this. We reserve the right to delete or edit a commercial plug for any reason, or withdraw this service. Our decision is final.

The changing nature of the site and forum means that these rules are likely to be changed from time to time. It is your responsibility to ensure your use of the forum complies with these rules, and we may change these rules as we see fit. We will provide a link in the main forum to these rules and also post a message in the forum, if these rules have been changed at any time.

ENJOY the forum. Members can sometimes disagree or fall out, and debate can become heated. This is going to happen and we support and encourage debate and interaction between members. But be friendly about it. Flame wars and/or forum abuse, or commercial trade abuse, isn't nice for us, other members or the fireworks scene.

Please bear in mind also, that in most cases where posts are edited or moderated, this is not personal. In running this forum we are aware that posts are under scrutiny from numerous sources, within and outside of the fireworks trade, and by the media. We often have to make decisions that are not popular, but are done because we feel on balance that such a post might do the fireworks cause more harm than good.

Have fun and post loads - Pete.