Welcome To Inspired Expat!

Wed Nov 20, 2019 9:24 pm

Welcome to Inspired Expat!

Here I will explain :

1 Who is this forum for?
2 What do we discuss?
3 How do we conduct ourselves? (Forum Guidelines)
4 Reporting problems
5 Promoting a product, service or platform
6 Editing your profile

1 Who is this forum for?

If you...

* Want to move abroad long term or permanently
* Already live as an expat

* Want to split your time between more than one country
* Already split your time between two or more locations

* Want to travel a lot
* Already do a lot of travel

...then this forum is for you!

2 What do we discuss?

Here we talk about :

* Reasons for wanting to travel or live abroad
* What to consider when deciding which countries are most desirable
* The pros/cons and differences between countries, cultures and lifestyles
* Practical and day to day issues pertaining to travel or living abroad

3 How do we conduct ourselves?

Please always bear in mind the 2 underlying principles of this forum :

* Productive conversation, free of drama and chaos
* Free speech, within reason

I don't want to have a long list of rules, all I want is for everyone to adhere to those principles.

Productive conversation, free of drama and chaos

When starting a thread, please make sure that the topic isn't already covered by another thread. And there's not much point in starting a thread about something which no one really has much to say about. If there's something you want to discuss but which doesn't merit its own thread, try to find a relevant existing thread, or post in the Anything & Everything thread (it's in the General Chat section). I don't want this forum clogged up with lots of pointless and frivolous threads. Please use your judgment.

I don't mind if conversations go off on tangents from time to time, or become a bit silly, as long as they don't degenerate into unproductive nonsense or big squabbles. Arguing is fine, swearing is ok, and if you don't get on with someone that's no problem. That's life. But all I ask is that you use common sense and try to keep it within reasonable limits.

For the sake of keeping the forum free of drama and chaos, I would advise that you take any excessively recurring, long term, or serious arguing to private messages.

If anyone sends you a private message and you don't want to talk to them, it's your responsibility to ignore or block them.

I or a moderator will step in only if the conversation degenerates to the point where it becomes hard for people to keep focused and productive. If a thread starts to look embarrassing, that's when I'll start cracking skulls. The default punishment will be a suspension for a few days or temporary posting restrictions. Bannings will be reserved for anyone who I feel has no agenda other than to cause drama or chaos.

Free speech, within reason

Don't feel like you have to step on eggshells with me or the moderators, or kiss our asses. Feel free to express your opinion. I don't care if it's politically incorrect or unpopular. Just speak your mind.

You can talk about and say whatever you like, within reason.

I want this to be a useful and enjoyable forum for us all. Occasionally I may have to be harsh but most of the time I prefer to be lenient.

I reserve the right to use my judgment and act in the best interests of the forum. If I feel that someone is deliberately trying to "break the rules without breaking them" or play games and be disruptive, I will be harsh. However if you're a normal, reasonable person and you want to use this forum for what it's intended, you'll fit right in.

The reason why I haven't made a long list of dos and don'ts is because I hope and trust that members will naturally behave in a way that is beneficial for themselves and others. Also it is not hard to notice if someone is trying to be an ass. I will judge each situation individually. Use your judgment and please be sensible.

4 Reporting problems

If someone is being a bit of an ass but they're not doing it excessively or repeatedly over a long time, just let it go. But if you think that they're behaving very unreasonably or deliberately creating problems, go to the home page of the forum, and see who is moderating that section. Then contact that moderator.

5 Promoting a product, service or platform :

Most forums don't like people showing up and promoting something. We're a bit different here. If you have a product, service or platform (i.e. blog, youtube channel, whatever) that you want to promote, you are allowed to do so.

But there are certain conditions.

You can mention or promote your product, service or platform :

* In your signature
* By creating a thread in the Promote section of the forum. This is the only place where you are allowed to start a thread about whatever you want to promote.
* You can also do it on normal threads, as long as :
- It's relevant to the topic of the thread
- You don't keep going on about it repeatedly. If people ask you about it, by all means tell them, but otherwise don't keep on.

6 Editing your profile

If you click on Profile at the top or left side of every page, there you can edit your :

* Avatar
* Signature
* Email address
* Password
* Contact info
* Watched topics
* Preferences and other settings

I suggest you do this early on. It's all pretty easy to figure out.