Specific FAQs to TalkSurf.com

1. How is TalkSurf.com different from other forums?

2. Clean, modern interface. There’s very little clutter on the TalkSurf.com UI. We intend to keep it that way. Easy to read and easy to write.

3. We’re focusing on engaging the pro athletes, instructors, equipment makers, and other aficionados of these sports, so we get great information from those truly knowledgeable.

4. There’s big connection to Maui and Oahu, as those are the capitals of water sports involving waves, and that is where Justin has been based many years.

5. Our strategy is to give sponsor prizes for content contributors as well as to raffle prizes for sign ups.

6. Will I get spammed if I sign up?
   Absolutely not. See Why Register and About for more information regarding why your information is safe with TalkSurf.com

7. How do I add an image to a post?
   Drag and drop an image into the editor, or use the upload image button.

8. How do I add a video to a post?
   Place a link to the video on a line by itself and the video will be inlined in the post.

9. How do I suggest a new category? How do I become a moderator? How do I become a sponsor?
   Email us at info@talksurf.com.

10. Do you take advertising?
    We don’t take advertising. However, we are looking for prizes to award to top content contributors as well as to randomly raffle to registered users. Please email us if you’re interested at info@talksurf.com. If you contribute a prize, you’ll be acknowledged on our “Sponsors” page which is linked in the header.

11. Why do I need a username? You can refer to a user in any post by @some_username, such as @justin and @steve. If you click on a username, you’ll be taken to the profile page.

12. Should I use Facebook or Google Authentication?
    Those are very convenient so you don’t have to worry about remembering your password. We will never post to your Facebook account without your permission. Having a Facebook account linked to TalkSurf.com allows you to easily share a post with your friends on Facebook.

General Forum Information

This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion (about sports involving waves)

Please treat this discussion forum with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.

These are not hard and fast rules, merely aids to the human judgment of our community. Use these guidelines to keep this a clean, well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.

Improve the Discussion

Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the discussion or might detract from its usefulness, think over what you want to say and try again later.

The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.

One way to improve the discussion is by discovering ones that are already happening. Please spend some time browsing the topics here before replying or starting your own, and you’ll have a better chance of meeting others who share your interests.

Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree

You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But, remember to criticize ideas, not people.

Please avoid:

1. Name-calling.
2. Ad hominem attacks.
3. Responding to a post’s tone instead of its actual content.
4. Knee-jerk contradiction.

Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.

Your Participation Counts

The conversations we have here set the tone for everyone. Help us influence the future of this community by choosing to engage in discussions that make this forum an interesting place to be — and avoiding those that do not.

Discourse provides tools that enable the community to collectively identify the best (and worst) contributions: favorites, bookmarks, likes, flags, replies, edits, and so forth. Use these tools to improve your own experience, and everyone else’s, too.

Let’s try to leave our park better than we found it.

If You See a Problem, Flag It

Moderators have special authority; they are responsible for this forum. But so are you. With your help, moderators can be community facilitators, not just janitors or police.

When you see bad behavior, don’t reply. It encourages the bad behavior by acknowledging it, consumes your energy, and wastes everyone’s time. Just flag it. If enough flags accrue, action will be taken, either automatically or by moderator intervention.

In order to maintain our community, moderators reserve the right to remove any content and any user account for any reason at any time. Moderators do not preview new posts in any way; the moderators and site operators take no responsibility for any content posted by the community.

Always Be Civil

Nothing sabotages a healthy conversation like rudeness:

1. Be civil. Don’t post anything that a reasonable person would consider offensive, abusive, or hate speech.
2. Keep it clean. Don’t post anything obscene or sexually explicit.
3. Respect each other. Don’t harass or grief anyone, impersonate people, or expose their private information.
4. Respect our forum. Don’t post spam or otherwise vandalize the forum.

These are not concrete terms with precise definitions — avoid even the appearance of any of these things. If you’re unsure, ask yourself how you would feel if your post was featured on the front page of the New York Times.

This is a public forum, and search engines index these discussions. Keep the language, links, and images safe for family and friends.

Keep It Tidy

Make the effort to put things in the right place, so that we can spend more time discussing and less cleaning up. So:

1. Don’t start a topic in the wrong category.
2. Don’t cross-post the same thing in multiple topics.
3. Don’t post no-content replies.
4. Don’t divert a topic by changing it midstream.
5. Don’t sign your posts — every post has your profile information attached to it.
6. Rather than posting “+1” or “Agreed”, use the Like button. Rather than taking an existing topic in a radically different direction, use Reply as a New Topic.

Post Only Your Own Stuff

You may not post anything digital that belongs to someone else without permission. You may not post descriptions of, links to, or methods for stealing someone’s intellectual property (software, video, audio, images), or for breaking any other law.

Terms of Service

Yes, legalese is boring, but we must protect ourselves – and by extension, you and your data – against unfriendly folks. We have a Terms of Service describing your (and our) behavior and rights related to content, privacy, and laws. To use this service, you must agree to abide by our TOS.