Community Rules

Community Rules

Since our community was founded in 2005, we have worked hard to establish an accepting, tolerant community based on mutual trust and respect, centered around the founding members’ shared interest and experience in the Special Operations Community. Team work, mutual respect, and shared vision are hallmarks of the Special Operations Community and of our site. Whatever your background, you are welcome here if you live up to our rules and norms, respect yourself and other members. Whatever your background, if you cannot live up to these standards, you will not remain a member here. Welcome to ShadowSpear. By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws. The owners, administrators, moderators, and staff associated with the ShadowSpear Special Operations community reserve the right to remove, edit, move, or close any thread. ShadowSpear also reserves the right to remove any account without providing an explanation. Although the administrators and moderators of ShadowSpear Special Operations will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and the the owner, administrators, moderators, and staff associated with the ShadowSpear Special Operations community will not be held responsible for the content of any message, attachment, posting, or use of the site for any reason.

1. Usernames: We recommend using a pseudonym on the site. You can use your true name, but just be aware of the potential consequences. If you registered on this site through a social media platform and want to change your name, you may do so within your settings. Do not choose a military-related user name unless it accurately describes your credentials. For example: Do not choose "NavySEALWannabe1" if you are not a Navy SEAL and do not upload the SEAL insignia as your avatar.

2. Profiles: We require members to fill out their profile. Military members must include their background (such as career field) and civilian members can tell us what they do for a living (student, etc). All personal profiles must be safe for work. For your own protection, we strongly recommend that you do not put sensitive personal information in your profile. You are encouraged to adjust your privacy settings to control who may view your profile.

3. OPSEC/PERSEC: Be aware of Operational Security(OPSEC)/Personal Security (PERSEC) at all times. The good guys aren't the only ones reading this board. It is your responsibility to avoid making posts that violate OPSEC or someone else's PERSEC. You are responsible for your own PERSEC, but are free to post details based on your level of comfort. If you choose to sign up with your real name, you should be aware of the associated risks; however, this remains your choice. You may change your username at any time in your personal settings.

4. Prohibited Posts: Pornographic, racist, hateful, and illegal material is prohibited on ShadowSpear. Illegal material includes classified (as well as publically compromised or documents marked U//FOUO), copyrighted music, videos, etc. For threads that are not safe for the work environment, you must choose the Not Safe For Work (NSWF) prefix for the thread title; however, yhe NSFW tag is not a free pass to post whatever you want. Your post still must not contain the any prohibited content. We realize some postings/memes/comics/etc. that don't fall into the above categories might be deemed offensive to some, but given the differing senses of humor on the board you have the option to ignore or dislike a post and move on.

5. Profanity: Using profanity in the forum is fine; however, do not increase the font size of those words or use them in thread titles. Gratuitous use of profanity is unprofessional and should be avoided.

6. Advertising/Fundraising: You may not advertise/post/link/use an avatar to highlight your business/website without first receiving permission from the staff (via the Help Desk). Verified members may post charitable fundraising posts without staff permission. Contact a staff member if you think you have something that warrants an exception to this policy.

7. Personal Conduct: This is primarily a site by, and for, professionals and you should act accordingly. Keep in mind that the way you post is the only way we "know" you. Do your best to post in a professional and coherent manner. Do your research and utilize the site “Search” function before asking questions or starting new threads. Heated debates are fine, just keep them professional. Do not dog pile members and do not resort to personal attacks, including intense sarcasm or mockery. It is not your duty to respond to every post. Everyone on the site comes from different backgrounds and levels of expertise. Additionally, we recommend the use of emojis when appropriate, since tone and intent are often misinterpreted on the Internet. Political debates are fine, providing they are kept professional. This is a military forum, which should account for 90% of member postings. You won't change anyone's political affiliation, religion, or beliefs, so be respectful and step away as necessary.

Site Staff: The formal leadership of the site is provided by the site administrators. Moderators are expected to be neutral arbiters, and site members are expected to follow their guidance. Staff members may communicate with you in public or via private conversation about your behavior. They can also issue you warning infractions, which could lead to a thread ban or a temporary site ban. If you have a problem with a member of the staff that you are unable to resolve, you are free to report your issue to the site owner, @ShadowSpear.