Welcome - Please Read These Rules

[Isk8NYC]

BOARD RULES 

Don't spam the board - you'll be banned. 
Any non-skating related advertisements or promotions will be considered spam.
If you have your own skating-related website or blog, you can put it in your signature.
Refer to it now and then, but if it feels like you're only posting to push your site, you're doing the spam dance.

Use your good manners and no one gets hurt.
It's okay to disagree, but do it in a agreeable way, please.
Insulting or personally attacking other members is not allowed.
If you want to tell the world who you are and where you skate, okay.  Not smart, but okay.
Do NOT expose others' identities or locations.

NOTE REGARDING JUNIOR MEMBERS: Any post that reveals TMI about an underage member will be removed.
(added 3/2013)

No flaming, baiting, or trolling allowed. If you don't know what this means, look it up on the internet.
This is a nice forum, so let's keep it that way.  No cursing, porn, offensive language or comments, please.

Attachments, Photos, Avatars
Anything offensive will be removed and a violation will be issued.
Keep it small or it will be resized.  If an image changes the screen size, it's too big.
Signatures should be two lines or less.

Spam posts will be deleted.  Repeat offenders may be banned.   
These rules may change at any time, but they will be posted here.

Kinder and Gentler version a/o 9/3/2010

[Isk8NYC]

All new users must be approved by an admin/moderator.  Registrations may take up to 2 days to be approved since we vet registrations against known spammer databases.  This has practically eliminated spam on the board.

Our registration system validates applicants' details against a database of known spammers. 
If a user posts inappropriate advertising, their email and IP address may be submitted as a known spammer.


Forum Restrictions:

To protect our privacy and contributions, guests can't see the On Ice Skaters' forum.  Only logged-in members can read all about you or your skating practices.  If you post about your workouts, only members can read the sweaty details! 

Added 7/13/2013:

We recently added two members-only forums for video critiques and sharing success via video.  These forums are only open to our members over the age of 16.  Members upload the videos to their own online sharing site (YouTube, Facebook, photobucket, Google+, etc.) - skatingforums does not host images or videos.  Links are posted on the site.

The Non-Skating Discussions board is only available to signed-in members, just to afford a little privacy.

The "Introductions" forum is not available to guests or members that are "Watching the Skaters." (tsk, tsk, peeping toms!)  Therefore it is restricted unless a member has contributed one or more posts to the board.  Just trying to keep personal info private.


There is a Coaches-only forum called the "Coaches Lounge" that merely requires a PM to me for access rights.

The Admins and Moderators maintain their own, secured forum that's obviously restricted to all others.


Updated 7/13/2013

[Isk8NYC]

In the interest of not spoiling the results while allowing "real time" discussions, here are a few simple guidelines to use when posting information about current/recent competitions:

New Threads:
∙ New threads should include the word "(SPOILERS)" in the title. It gives the viewer a fair warning.
∙ Please make the first post innocuous, so when a viewer runs their mouse over it, they don't get a blurb with a spoiler in it. This post can just say "WARNING: THIS THREAD CONTAINS SPOILERS!"
∙ Your "real" post can then be the second post and hooray, we're off and spoiling, chitting and chatting!

Existing Threads:
∙ If you want to talk about the action during or after a competition (this includes warmups, btw), make sure the thread has the "SPOILER" warning in the title.


Be discreet if the thread you're in is not a spoiler thread.  Don't give away the information.
Word it carefully and discreetly, or use the spoiler tags.

Spoiler Tags:

[ spoiler ] text containing spoiler [ /spoiler ] (no spaces)
[spoiler] text containing spoiler [/spoiler]

- or -

when creating/editing a post, use the SPOILER icon
to insert the tags
[spoiler]testing[/spoiler]

[Isk8NYC]

NAME LENGTH ISSUE

IT HAS BEEN POINTED OUT THAT THE SYSTEM TRUNCATES MEMBER NAMES OVER 14 CHARACTERS LONG.
WE'VE NEVER HAD ANYONE RAISE THIS AS AN ISSUE BEFORE, BUT CONSIDER THIS FULL DISCLOSURE.

NEW MEMBERS: WHEN YOU REGISTER, DON'T PICK A NAME OVER 14 CHARACTERS LONG, PLEASE.

[Isk8NYC]

CURRENT EVENTS:

If there is a news article regarding legal actions related to skating, please post a summary/credit and link in a topic within the "Media Center" forum.  A moderator will close the thread for discussions. 

Gossip, heresay or incorrect/inappropriate information often comes out during discussions of these topics and sometimes the conversation becomes quite heated.  While it's important to be informed of current events, becoming part of legal proceedings is not an option.  Too much information or incorrect information can quickly put our privately-owned and operated board at risk.

[Isk8NYC]

If a post is inappropriate, please use the "Report to Moderator" option in the lower right-hand corner of the post.

A short comment about why you feel it's inappropriate (ie. "SPAM", "TMI") would be appreciated.

[Isk8NYC]

For the newer members among us, our community has a private weekly practice thread where we share what went well and not-so-well at each practice.  It doesn't matter whether you're working on forward swizzles or double axels - everyone and anyone is welcome to contribute.   

Added 7/13/2013:

Skatingforums.com conducts a monthly "Gamified Skatingforums Challenge" topic.  The originator provides several challenges in skating to be performed on ice by members.  It's just for fun and bragging rights.  The challenge has several themed (spins, spirals, figures, jumps, etc.) elements to be performed, ranging from easy to difficult.  There is something for all skaters to achieve, plus a little push to get to the next level.  A limited-time poll gauges participation and members are on their honor when reporting their achievements.  The "On-Ice Skaters" forum is used, so any contributions, tips or videos are only viewable by logged-in members.

No one ever criticizes another member for being a beginner, so please don't let that hold you back.  Feel free to say you're frustrated or concerned, happy and overjoyed.  This forum is closed to guests and non-members, so only our community can view the information in this (and a few other) forums.  You are among friends.

These threads serve a more important purpose as well: they record progress.  While you may think you're "only" doing crossovers now, a year from you might be doing dances and freestyle.  Looking back is a great way to motivate yourself to keep going forward.

It's fun for our members to enjoy each others' continual progress in skating.  It is often inspiring and motivating, especially other beginners just starting out.  For example, I remember when a certain beginner started posting about her swizzles and one-foot glides.  Now she's working on scratch spins and jumps.  That's WITH several months of "no ice" due to an unexpected rink closure.  I still follow her progress to this day and I think it's great.

If you are really struggling with something, ask for some tips and someone is bound to answer.  Be patient, though, because most of our members have other responsibilities beyond the board.  Thursdays and Fridays are usually pretty quiet.

So join us and enjoy the ride!  That's really what skating's all about.

The members-only practice threads can be found in the "On Ice Training for Skaters" forum, along with tons of other information: http://skatingforums.com/index.php?board=6.0
(Log in to view and post)

Search for #spinclinic to find all of our spin clinic threads, or #jumpclinic to find all of our jump clinic threads. #gamified will bring up some of our skating challenges.

Updated 10/24/2017