Registration Agreement

PLEASE NOTE:
When you register, your password may be sent back to you in a plain text email. If this makes you paranoid, please DON'T use a sensitive password.
I or the other admins or members CANNOT see your password though, EVER.
If you lose it, we can't recover it for you. You'll need to set a new one.

***PLEASE READ THIS!*** You should get an email activation link immediately after registering. If you DON'T get an email, or you get an email saying your account needs to be approved, then that means the system has automatically identified your account as a spammer, based on some global database. Accounts on this forum are NOT "approved", it's email verification.
This could be because you share an IP address with a known spammer. If this happens, please email dave@eevblog.com with your username AND email address used, otherwise your account will just get eventually deleted. If you just wait your account WILL NOT get approved, as I have no way to know you are genuine and not a spammer.

HOTMAIL USERS: The system does not like Hotmail email addresses, and it's very likely you will not get an an activation notice. Use another email, or you'll have to contact me to get it activated manually.

Copied from the signup user agreement, and placed here for reference:

I hates rules, but unfortunately we have to have some for this forum:
1) Play nice with the other nerds
2) No personal attacks. This is the biggest rule on this forum. If you don't follow it, you are not welcome here.
3) Conduct yourself as you would in a public place. If you wouldn't swear like a drunken sailor in public, try not to do it hear either. Young hobbyists may be on this forum too, there is no age limit here.
4) Don't take things too seriously, chill out, life is short, have a laugh.
5) This is an electronics forum, so try to stay on-topic. The usual hotbed topics of politics, religion, and guns will not be tolerated, please do not start them nor contribute to them. This is not general interest discussion forum.

Understand that many people, from many countries, many cultures, and many languages use this forum. The meanings of words and the way people communicate varies enormously. If you are offended by a remark, don't just assume the poster meant it to be offensive. Assuming that they didn't mean any offense is always a good first step.
People rarely get banned from this forum, and likewise moderation of posts is rarely required.
Don't take troll bait, and if you don't like someone or are offended by something someone has said, just ignore them. Life is too short, really.
When in doubt, keep it technical.
The goal for this forum is for it to be essentially self moderated, try to lead by example. Post moderation will only happen when absolutely necessary.
The main rule is NO PERSONAL ATTACKS, they will not be tolerated here. If you can't follow that simple rule, you are not welcome here.

Open sharing of ideas and content is important. Links to and promotion of other forums and content IS ENCOURAGED! (this isn't a jealously protected forum, unlike some others)

Privacy:
- You can be anonymous on this forum, your real name is not required, but many users chose to use their real name in order to gain industry reputation.
- By joining and posting on this forum, you assert that you are aware that this is a public access forum and that your posts may be quoted, archived, and otherwise shared forever. It is not possible to remove this information, and if done so will break the quoted data structure of the forum. Be aware that it is not possible to delete your entire profile and all your messages associated with it once your posts have been quoted.
- By posting on this forum you grant the forum owner and forum users non-exclusive, royalty free rights to use and quote your published text and material. You cannot at a later date ask to have your content removed on grounds of Copyright. If you do not understand this then do not post on this public access forum.
- As a courtesy you are free to delete or edit your own posts at any time. However, once someone has quoted your text (or it's archived by another website), you can't remove that, and only under *exceptional* circumstance will moderators be able to manually remove quoted posts for you.
- Administrators and moderators cannot see or retrieve your password, and they do not need it in order to access your account for admin purposes. Never send an administrator or moderator your password!
- Administrators and moderators cannot read or access your personal messages to other members.
- The forum software places a cookie, a text file containing bits of information (such as your username), in your browser's cache. This is ONLY used to keep you logged in/out. The forum software does not collect or send or gather any other form of information to or from your computer.
- Your email address is never made available to the public, search engines, or users.
- Please note that when you are logged in your IP address is recorded. This is used solely for the purposes of tracking and matching spammers and sockpuppet accounts. Only moderators and admins can see your IP address
- This forum has secure https support and is enforced.
- We do not and will never use, distribute or sell your personal information. We only collect the information that you enter (which can be anonymous), and it is done solely for the purposes of operating this forum resource you signed up for.

Enjoy the forum.
Dave.

The default legal crap that came with the forum. Sounds reasonable enough:
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You agree, through your use of this forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, adult material, or otherwise in violation of any International or local laws. You also agree not to post any copyrighted material unless you own the copyright or you have written consent from the owner of the copyrighted material. Spam, flooding, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are also forbidden on this forum.

Note that it is impossible for the staff or the owners of this forum to confirm the validity of posts. Please remember that we do not actively monitor the posted messages, and as such, are not responsible for the content contained within. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented. The posted messages express the views of the author, and not necessarily the views of this forum, its staff, its subsidiaries, or this forum's owner. Anyone who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to notify an administrator or moderator of this forum immediately. The staff and the owner of this forum reserve the right to remove objectionable content, within a reasonable time frame, if they determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, please realize that they may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately. This policy applies to member profile information as well.

You remain solely responsible for the content of your posted messages. Furthermore, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the owners of this forum, any related websites to this forum, its staff, and its subsidiaries. The owners of this forum also reserve the right to reveal your identity (or any other related information collected on this service) in the event of a formal complaint or legal action arising from any situation caused by your use of this forum.

You have the ability, as you register, to choose your username. We advise that you keep the name appropriate. With this user account you are about to register, you agree to never give your password out to another person except an administrator, for your protection and for validity reasons. You also agree to NEVER use another person's account for any reason.  We also HIGHLY recommend you use a complex and unique password for your account, to prevent account theft.

After you register and login to this forum, you will be able to fill out a detailed profile. It is your responsibility to present clean and accurate information. Any information the forum owner or staff determines to be inaccurate or vulgar in nature will be removed, with or without prior notice. Appropriate sanctions may be applicable.