Tweet
CNGchat Terms of Service
Welcome to CNGchat.
We want you to get the most from CNGchat. While we make every effort to ensure these forums are enjoyable and valuable, the ultimate responsibility rests with those who contribute. As with any community, CNGchat's standard of living depends on the goodwill and consideration of its citizens.
The rules are based on respect and good manners. CNGchat is a moderated board. Posts that mean-spirited or don't comply with our rules will be removed, and members who violate the rules may be suspended or have their memberships revoked. Use common sense and you'll feel right at home.
- Disclaimer
- Getting Started
- Browse First
- Get to Know the Moderators
- Use the Search Feature
- Create Descriptive Titles
- Post Your Thread to Just One Forum
- Stay on Topic
- Welcome Newcomers
- Respect our Diversity
- Guard Your Privacy
- Guard Others' Privacy
- CNGchat Events
- Selling Personal Items esp. Cylinders / Commercial Messages
- How to Report Bad Posts
- User's Grant of Limited License
- Industry & Regulatory Representatives
- News Professionals
- Multiple Usernames
- Avoid Bumping Very Old Threads
- Signatures
- Examples of Actions That Will Lead to Disciplinary Action
- Deliberately Misquoting Other Posters
- Anonymous pot shots
- Posting Private Emails and Messages Without the Author's Permission
- Attempting to Defraud any Member
- Discussing Specific Moderator Actions
- Personal Attacks
- Obscene or Offensive Language/Material
- Furthering Non-Certified, Unsafe & Illegal Activity
- Invasion of Privacy
- Posting Copyrighted Material
- Padding Post Counts
- Post Stalking
- Repeated Posting of Disruptive Posts
- Abuse of Private Messaging and E-mails
- Discipline Purposes
- CNGchat Rights
Disclaimer
NEVER rely on information or opinions posted on CNGchat to replace the information that you receive from your vehicle professional. While CNGchat is full of great information, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information provided on the boards.
CNGchat is founded on the principles of support, empowerment, information and entertainment. Use good judgment when considering how to use information derived from the forums and consult industry experts before doing anything that might affect your vehicle or put your own safety at risk. Remember that what's right for one person may not be right for you.
CNGchat is not liable for any loss or damage caused by information obtained through our forums.
Getting Started
It might be intimidating at first to post a message. No problem. You're welcome to hang out and read posts until you feel comfortable. Of course, we encourage you to join the discussions. We have a very supportive community and we welcome your contributions.
Before you can post, you must register with CNGchat and establish a username. Your username is a unique and consistent identifier. Your username may not be a Web site or email address. If you register your username as such, your account will be closed, and you will need to reregister. If you have concerns that a new username is very close to your own, contact an administrator.
New members are given limited permissions until they have contributed to the community. This is to prevent forum spammers from showing up here hawking the latest snake oil, but perhaps more importantly it encourages new members to dive in to the discussions. For example, you must first post meaningful comments on existing discussion threads and be a member for a short while before you can create a new discussion thread or topic. Custom signatures, the use of our blog features, private messaging and photo albums are also opened up after you have been with us for a bit. Please contact a forum moderator or administrator if you have legitimate reasons to skip ahead and we will advance your permission level to full membership access.
Browse First
Before you post, browse the board to become familiar with the community. Read the forum descriptions to determine where your post best belongs. Misplaced threads will be relocated by moderators.
Get to Know the Moderators
Our volunteer moderators are responsible for welcoming new members and assisting all members. They have been screened and were selected to serve based on their judgment and ability to uphold the CNGchat rules. If you have questions, contact a moderator. The moderators for each forum are listed at the bottom of that forum. Moderators are also labeled as such under their usernames when they post, and a full list can be found here.
Moderators contribute to threads just as other members do. They are held to the same standards when posting as any other member.
They do moderate their forums and look for rule violations. They may delete and edit posts and close threads without notice. They may discipline and suspend members who fail to adhere to the rules.
Moderators understand that the various CNGchat forums have slightly different tones. What's acceptable in one forum may be considered out of line on another. Senior Moderators are available to handle problems in unmoderated forums.
Sometimes there are openings for new moderators. If you are interested, find out more about becoming a volunteer by contacting one of the admimstrators or moderators.
Use the Search Feature
Before starting a thread, use the search feature to see if there's a recent thread on your topic. Many questions come up repeatedly on CNGchat. If you're wondering about a specific part for your F-150, for example, there's a good chance a thread - or 10 - already exists. The search link is located in the navigation menu near the top of the Forums page. Keeping information on the same topic confined to as few threads as possible helps members quickly find the information they need.
Create Descriptive Titles
Make thread titles as specific and descriptive as possible. Sometimes posters will start a thread with a very general title such as, "Guess what?" or "Need some advice". Be as helpful as possible in your thread titles, and if you want to improve or change your thread's title after you create it, ask a moderator in that forum for help.
Post Your Thread to Just One Forum
Don't post the same thread more than once. Our members read many forums, and weeding through the same message in multiple forums can be frustrating. Duplicate threads will be deleted, combined or locked. This also goes for posting the identical text into multiple threads. We all need to rant every now and then, but please keep the comments specific to the topic at hand. Plastering the same comment all over the forums will result in a ban.
Stay on Topic
Please keep your posts on topic. Posts that stray from the subject of the thread may be removed. Members who consistently post off-topic comments are subject to discipline and banning.
Welcome Newcomers
CNGchat is friendly, informative, fun and thriving. When newcomers arrive, welcome them. By helping folks learn, you provide a shining example of what this community is about, and you help ensurethat CNGchat continues to flourish. New members may not understand CNGchat and its history as well as you do. Remember we were all newbies once.
If you notice a poster, newcomer or not, asking a question that has been answered previously or is answered in the forum FAQs, please be patient. If you wish to reply, do so in a helpful manner, avoiding simply saying: "Do a search."
We suggest this form of reply and a template for it is here: "Your question arises from time-to-time in this forum. One thread which discusses it is here [INSERT LINK TO THREAD OR FORUM FAQ] and using CNGchat's advanced search feature to search this forum with the terms [insert relevant term(s)] will yield other threads. If you are finding difficulty using the search feature, please send a private message or email to a forum moderator for help."
Respect our Diversity
CNGchat members come from all walks of life and all parts of the world. We are as diverse in our makeup as we are alike in our passion for alternative fuels. Because we all bring a unique perspective to the forum, our collective experience is broadened, and we gain new insights.
Our diversity demands that we respect each other. Due to the inherent constraints of the Internet, humor, sarcasm, language and slang can be easily misinterpreted - especially when crossing cultural boundaries.
When posting a message, pay extra care to how it might be interpreted. And when you come across a post that offends you, read it with an eye toward giving the poster the benefit of the doubt.
If you have an issue with a post, please contact the member privately or contact a moderator. Do not make a situation worse by publicly responding.
Guard Your Privacy
Keep personal information personal. If you want to share your personal information with another member of the community, do so via e-mail or private message.
CNGchat respects members' privacy. None of your personal information will be posted on the forums unless you post it yourself.
Guard Others' Privacy
With the exception of public figures, do not post names, addresses, phone numbers or e-mails of other CNGchat members. This information will be removed by moderators. Respect the privacy of non-management industry employees by not referring to them by name.
Posts that ask members to submit personal information will be removed. This includes, but is not limited to, communications that ask for personal information submitted via e-mail, mail, telephone, surveys, or research studies unless this request is specifically asked for from a recognized administrator of CNGchat.
CNGchat Events
Many CNGchat members get together socially. Events announced on CNGchat must be open to all community members (no women-only events or gatherings limited to those under age 30, for example). CNGchat is not a dating service, and posts of that nature will be removed.
Commercial Messages
Personal items for sale owned by the CNGchat member may be posted in the CNG Marketplace forum. Use of this web site for commercial purposes is limited to those who have partnered with us and are authorized to make products and services available to the community. We welcome all from the industry to contribute by providing helpful answers to our community's questions; sharing experiences, and otherwise providing a positive environment for others to gain knowledge of alternative vehicle fuels. Commercial sponsorships of forums as well as limited advertising space is available. Please contact us for details. Posts selling CNG cylinders / tanks must include the expiration date for each item. Posts offering expired or damaged clyinders will be removed and member become subject to the disciplinary process.
How to Report Bad Posts
Our volunteer moderators read as much as they can on CNGchat, but they can't get to every post so your help is appreciated in keeping CNGchat a polite community. If you see a post that does not comply with the rules, report the post by clicking on the report post icon, which looks like a warning triangle, and is located at the perimiter of all posts. Your message will be sent to forum moderators who will review the post.
User's Grant of Limited License
While members own the content and interest in their posts, posting on CNGchat grants CNGchat and its subsidiaries the right to reproduce the content in any medium without notification or compensation. Members' posts cannot be printed or duplicated in any way by a third party without the consent of the authors. Once you submit a post, CNGchat has no obligation to remove or edit that post's content.
Industry & Regulatory Representatives
Several alternative fuel professionals and industry regulators post or lurk on CNGchat. We welcome their participation, but be aware your posts may be read by representatives of various industry companies and regulatory agencies including the EPA, DOT, CARB, etc.
News Professionals
Many news stories have been generated by reporters who read CNGchat. Reporters may contact members through private mail or e-mail, or they are welcome to contact CNGchat administrators for assistance. It's up to members whether or not they wish to respond.
Anonymous Pot Shots
New members who show up here just to post derogatory comments regarding other members or businesses will have posts removed and be subject to discipline.
Avoid Bumping Very Old Threads
Unless there is a compelling reason, avoid bumping threads that are more than six months old. Often the information is out-dated and it clogs the forums, making it difficult to find current threads.
Signatures
We do not wish to restrict your right to display personal views, ideology, etc. but do ask that you remain respectful of others in your signature lines.
Members whose signatures include any spam links will be subject to disciplinary action
Follow these rules when creating your signature: - Use the normal posting font size.
- Limit your signature to two lines.
- Text should comply with our regular posting rules. No all-caps, no alternating caps, etc.
- Do not make your signature too long or obtrusive through overly creative use of punctuation, color, etc.
- Avoid putting your username in your signature as it's already on the top of each of your posts.
Should you wish not to view signatures, you may shut them off. To do so, go to User CP and click on Edit Options on the left-hand side of the page. Scroll down to Thread Display Options and remove the check from the Show Signatures box.
If you have any questions as to whether something is acceptable, send a private message to a moderator.
Examples of Actions That Will Lead to Disciplinary Action - - Deliberately misquoting other members
- Using more than one CNGchat account to mislead posters
- Using the CNGchat forums primarily for commercial purposes
- Posting private emails and messages without the author's permission
- Attempting to defraud any member
- Discussing specific moderator actions
- Personal attacks or threats on other members or groups
- Obscene or offensive language/material
- Furthering illegal activity
- Invasion of another's privacy
- Posting copyrighted material
- Padding post counts
- Post stalking
- Repeated posting of disruptive posts
- Abuse of private messaging and emails obtained through CNGchat
- Poaching the CNGchat community to promote competitive sites
- Using the forums primarily to bash or ridicule specific companies, products or services
Deliberately Misquoting Other Posters
You may use the quote feature to respond to specific posts from other members. However, changing the meaning or words of a quote while still attributing it to the other member is a violation of CNGchat's rules. Anyone doing so will be subject to the disciplinary process. (The use of ellipses to show a quote was abbreviated is allowed, so long as the original meaning is not lost.)
Using Multiple CNGchat Accounts to Mislead Posters
Members are allowed one CNGchat account. Multiple accounts will be closed and involved members will be subject to the disciplinary process.
Posting Private Emails and Messages Without the Author's Permission
This is an invasion of privacy, possibly unlawful, and members who violate this will be subject to the disciplinary process.
Attempting to Defraud any Member
Anyone who uses CNGchat in an attempt to defraud a member will have his or her membership revoked.
Discussing Specific Moderator Actions
On-board discussion of moderator decisions - including post deletions and member discipline - is not allowed and will be removed. Members will also be subject to disciplinary action. Similarly, posts announcing a member's return to CNGchat after a suspension or ban are not allowed. If you have a question about a moderator action, contact the moderator directly or John Mitton.
Personal Attacks
We encourage a healthy exchange of opinions. If you disagree with another member, challenge the opinion or idea - not the person. Personal attacks, insults and "flaming" will not be tolerated and will be removed, and the violator will be subject to disciplinary action. You may challenge others' points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully. Attacks against groups or classes of job holders will not be tolerated.
Do not retaliate or respond to a personal attack. Too often, when an initial attack is made, others join the fray and, instead of becoming part of the solution, become part of the problem. Do not accuse others of being trolls. Should there be members whose posts you don't care to read, you can put them on your ignore list. To do that, click on User CP and then on Buddy/Ignore Lists in the Miscellaneous section on the left-hand side of the page. Enter the name of a CNGchat member in one of the fields under Ignore List and click the Update Ignore List button.
If you feel that you are being attacked or harassed, contact a moderator.
Obscene or Offensive Language/Material
Any posts containing communications or hyperlinks that are knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, obscene, profane, threatening, harassing, offensive, vulgar, abusive, hateful or bashing - especially those aimed at sexual orientation, gender, race, color, religious views, political orientation, national origin, or disability - will not be tolerated and will be removed. Individuals who post offensive material or links to such will be subject to disciplinary action.
There is no public list of prohibited words; if you believe a word is questionable, don't use it. If you find a questionable message in any of the forums, contact a moderator who will determine whether the message meets our objective of offering a friendly and flame-free community for alternative fuel vehicle owners. Using spaces, symbols, acronyms and other methods to express vulgarities while avoiding CNGchat's censors is still a violation.
Posting to CNGchat is a privilege, not a right.
Furthering Non-Certified & Illegal Activity
Posts that further illegal activity (i.e., description of or links to sites which promote the installation of non-EPA-certified conversion kits, expired or non-DOT-certified tanks, intentional circumvention of safety devices or protocols, etc.) will be removed without notice and posting members' CNGchat accounts subjected to revocation.
Invasion of Privacy
Members posting another user's private information, including but not limited to phone number, address, name or license plate, etc., will be subject to disciplinary action.
Posting Copyrighted Material
Information copyrighted or owned by any individual or entity other than the person posting should not be posted on the forums without the consent of the owner. If such an event occurs, the individual posting the information shall be held solely responsible. CNGchat shall not be held responsible for information posted by a member that may violate copyright law. If there is a news article or other piece of information you'd like to share from the web, credit the source of the information and/or give a brief two- to three- paragraph recap of the news and provide the appropriate link to the source.
Padding Post Counts
Posting meaningless information in an effort to increase one's post count is not permitted. Posts will be removed and the post count reset. Members who engage in this are subject to disciplinary action.
Post Stalking
Some Internet chat boards have had situations where a few members have in the past followed others around the board and posted sarcastic or hurtful comments in response to many of their posts. We consider this harassment, and will delete such posts. Anyone engaging in this activity will be subject to disciplinary action. If you suspect you're being stalked in this way, contact a moderator.
Repeated Posting of Disruptive Posts
Posters who repeatedly post items that create disruption within forums will be subject to disciplinary action.
Abuse of Private Messaging and CNGchat E-mails
CNGchat's private messaging and e-mails obtained through CNGchat while "private", still fall under the rules established here. They should not be used primarily for commercial purposes, to send spam, or to threaten or harass members, moderators or administrators. Members who use them to circumvent the rules of the community will be subject to disciplinary action. If you receive this type of communication, report it immediately. Do not publish it on the board.
Communications of CNGchat members to CNGchat moderators are subject to review by other moderators and CNGchat administrators at the discretion of the moderator recipient when deemed necessary for consultative purposes. Moderators reserve the right to share such private messages with other moderators and/or the staff, administrators and owners of CNGchat at any time.
Discipline Purposes
The purpose of discipline (temporary or permanent banning from forum access) for violating the rules is not to punish members, but to protect CNGchat users and to facilitate effective discussion in CNGchat forums. Moderators and administrators may consider all relevant facts before imposing discipline, including the likely effect of the member's conduct on the forum, the experience of the member, the nature of the violation and the history of discussion in the forum. Discipline may be imposed even if the member did not intend to violate the rules or even if similar conduct was tolerated earlier in the same or other forums.
CNGchat Rights
CNGchat reserves the right, but not the oblication, to remove any content posted on our site at any time for any reason and to organize topical forums in order to best serve the majority of our visitors and members. CNGchat reserves the right to revoke members' accounts. Decisions as to whether content violates our rules will be made by moderators and administrators.
CNGchat reserves the right, but not the obligation, to delete messages that violate applicable laws or that may be harmful to others. CNGchat does not have the ability to restrict conduct or communications that might violate our rules prior to transmission on the Internet, nor can we ensure prompt removal of offending forum posts.
CNGchat reserves the right, but not the obligation, to limit access to specific forums to members who meet experience requirements or other criteria and to change those requirements at any time.
The content of messages does not constitute approval or necessarily reflect the views of CNGchat. You participate at your own risk on the forums, in chat and in e-mail. You take responsibility for postings under your identification and use the information provided here at your own risk. CNGchat takes no responsibility for the content or opinions posted here.
CNGchat reserves the right to send occasional messages that may be of interest to its members via e-mail or other methods.
CNGchat reserves the right to makes changes to the rules without notice. As it's impossible to address every issue that could arise on these forums, just because an issue is not covered in these rules, does not mean it will or will not be allowed.
By posting to a forum or chat on CNGchat, you agree to abide by our rules.
If you still have questions about behavior on CNGchat, contact us.
Otherwise, head over to the Forums and start chatting!