These terms govern use of the Internet forum at https://bobj-board.org. To use the forum, you must agree to these terms with bobj-board, the organization that runs the forum.
The organization may offer other products and services, under different terms. These terms apply only to use of the forum.
Can you summarize for me? I don’t have a lot of time to read this…
In brief, our rules for posting are:
Be sure to read the rest of this page if you have any questions, especially regarding our No Advertisement policy.
Be Polite
What does this mean?
Treat others as you would like to be treated. No personal attacks will be tolerated. You may be warned after your first offense; repeated offenses may get you banned from the board. Spirited discussions are allowed and even encouraged. But please keep your focus on the topic and not the poster. Moderators and Administrators have final say in this matter.
Some members may not use English as their primary language. Please grant them a little extra leeway when reading or responding to their posts.
Don't Advertise
Why can’t I advertise?
We take this very seriously. This resource is free to all members. In order to keep it free, we do not allow any unpaid advertising of products, services, resources for hire, or open positions. We may provide such services for a minimal fee in the future, but make no guarantees to do so.
What if I am looking for work? Or trying to fill a position?
Job Offers and Requests For Work are not allowed on this board. This type of posting will immediately and without explanation be modified or deleted. An affiliate site BOB’s Jobs use to be a dedicated resource created for this type of activity (does not exist anymore). You are welcome to see if that site meets your needs in this area.
What about links?
Members may not use the forums for the sole purpose of directing other members to web sites in which they have a commercial interest in. These include but are not limited to commission or referral hyperlinks. You may not post such links, nor may you use them in your signature. Disguising a link does not make it legal, and we will find it eventually.
Can I suggest a service if I have used it? Or recommend a company?
Maybe. In general, members may not use this service to recommend or praise other products or services, or any company, unless they have directly used them before. This includes companies recommending other companies. On the other hand, if you have successfully implemented a third-party solution to a particular problem, others will want to hear about it. Posting a referral for your own product using an assumed name or by hiding your identity is not allowed.
What if I am looking for opinions on a service that I or my company offers?
Members may not solicit the membership for feedback or suggestions on their product or services. Build your own website and your own board if you want to get feedback from your users. This policy may be waived if prior permission is granted by the board administrator. Moderators may not grant this waiver.
What about my signature? Can I put a link there?
Signatures are provided as a way to personalize your presence on the board. They are not intended as a way to circumvent the no advertising policy of the board. However, you are allowed to include a link to your company’s home page as well as a slogan or brief sentence about what your company provides. Slogans should be a simple one-line phrase, for example, “The Internet’s Best Hosting starting at $9.99”. No scams or unenforceable offers like “Earn $5,000 a month selling ice cubes to Eskimos” are allowed. Banners or other large graphics are not allowed in signatures.
What about posting images?
You can post screen shots in certain formats by using the Attachments feature of our board. A thumbnail will automatically be created for the image that you upload. Image attachments are subject to the same rules as regular attachments as far as file sizes and quantities.
If I use a logo, how large can it be?
Please be considerate of folks with less bandwidth and keep image posting to a minimum. The board moderators have the right to change your image to a link, or remove it altogether if it violates our posting policies.
Don't Spam
What is spam?
According to a popular legend, the use of spam to refer to unwanted content originated from a Monty Python skit. A couple entered a restaurant, where every item on the menu included spam… even the menu item for spam! As a result, spam is generally considered to be anything undesirable. Some examples of what we consider spam are found below.
Off topic posts
Posts unrelated to the forum topics are not allowed. Members should post their messages to the relevant forum. Messages posted in the wrong forum will be moved or deleted as deemed appropriate by a moderator or administrator.Cross-posting
Cross-posting the same message on multiple forums is not allowed. Our board structure is fairly simple. If you aren't sure where to post your question, simply put it in the most likely spot. A moderator may move or even split your topic if deemed appropriate."Me Too" Posting
A "me too" post is a post that doesn't add anything to the discussion. If you agree with a previous post, that is fine. But unless you have something else to add we do not really need to hear it. Simply nod your head ! :yesnod: and move on to the next topic. Please note that this is **not** intended to suppress active discussions. If more than one solution or viewpoint has been presented, feel free to take a side. But please be sure to state your reasons why you are taking that viewpoint. Saying "me too" or "I agree" without providing supporting details does not really add value.Post "Bumping"
Bumping is defined as posting two or more times in succession without adding anything new to the issue you are trying to address. This is often done in an attempt to attract more attention to your topic. **You may not bump your topic until at least one business day has passed.** This would equate to 24 hours during the week, or 72 hours on weekends. If you were the last person to post in your topic then you can edit that last post to add additional information if you feel the need to do so. Post bumping is considered spam, and such posts are subject to being removed by the board moderators.What happens if I do post something considered spam?
Posts considered to be spam will be deleted and repeat abuse will get you banned. If one of your posts has been deleted or if you have been banned and you can’t understand why, please contact a moderator.
What if I email instead of posting on the board?
Our member list is not a resource to be used by any individuals, groups, or businesses. Members may make their email address public on this board, but that does not give you the right to collect those addresses and use them for your own purpose.
Don't Break the Law
Copyright Infringement
Do not post material that is owned or copyrighted by another party. You may post links to that material or provide excerpts with proper annotation and credit.Specifically, do not copy or otherwise reproduce a technical bulletin from SAP Business Objects that requires a password to view. You may paraphrase and/or reference the bulletin by resolution number, but do not copy / paste an article in its entirety. The same goes for any other site that provides content related to the products from SAP Business Objects.
Do not post product key codes - evaluation or otherwise - on this board. If you have problems getting a code, or a code that has expired, then you must go to SAP Business Objects to resolve your issue. Posts that include key codes will be edited by a board moderator or administrator with or without an explanation.
Illegal Services
Do not post requests for illegal services. Not only do we frown on that, it’s probably just stupid.
Pornography
Legal or not, we do not allow posting of or links to pornography, pornography related materials, or anything else that may be considered offensive. If you aren’t sure, don’t post it. Moderators will remove any offensive or illegal material.
Other things we frown on
- Posting instructions or requests for instructions on how to commit illegal acts
- Posting material that contains viruses, trojan horses, or other undesirable content
- Impersonating a moderator or other member of the board
- Attempting to hack or otherwise disrupt our service and/or servers
- Distributing unsolicited email to member email addresses
- Anything else that we haven’t listed here that your mother would not approve of
Use Common Sense
What does this mean?
Our policy, subject to the restrictions listed above, is to provide open forums for discussion, exchanging problems and solutions, and having a little fun. Because of this policy, we cannot determine the accuracy of or be held liable for anything that may be posted in the forums.
Who validates the information posted here?
Opinions, advice and all other information expressed by our members are the opinions, advice, or other information provided by that member. You rely on such information at your own risk. All members are urged to verify and validate any and all information provided here and not rely solely on advice or opinions given in the discussions.
Moderators and Administrators
Who decides if a post has violated any of these rules?
The moderators and administrators of this board.
What if I disagree with their assessment?
All of our moderators are volunteers. As such, they deserve your respect. If they have edited, moved, or deleted one of your messages, you are allowed to ask why. You are not allowed to whine about it.
Who do I contact if I have a problem with any of these items?
If you have any queries or comments, please contact the board administrator using the About page (each admin and moderator can be contacted by private message)
Using Attachments
Who is allowed to upload post attachments?
Only registered and logged in members may attach files to their posts. Members may be limited with a quota; once that quota is reached no additional attachments will be allowed.
Are the files safe?
bobj-board.org does not scan or validate any file attachments. Under no circumstances will
bobj-board.org be liable for damages incidental or otherwise caused by an attachment to a post on our board. As a result you use any material downloaded from a post AT YOUR OWN RISK. You are responsible for having a current anti-virus program. And using it. Uploading viruses or worms may result in loss of attachment privileges and/or being banned from the board.
How many attachments can I post?
At the current time registered members may add up to three attachments per post. You should consider combining multiple files into one zip file if you need more than that.
How big can file attachments be?
At the current time individual attachments are limited to 256K each. This means that a post may have up to 768K in total attachments if all three slots are filled.
Do I need special software to upload files?
No. If authorized and under your quota, you will see additional fields on the posting form. One of those fields is linked to a Browse button. Click that button, browse your computer to find the file you want to upload, and click the Add Attachment button.
What type of files are allowed?
At this time we allow BusinessObjects documents (REP), BusinessObjects Universes (UNV), compressed files (ZIP), text files (TXT), Microsoft data files (XLS, DOC, PPT, and MDB), and Adobe (PDF) files. Executable programs, macro code, or other possible program files must be zipped prior to uploading.
Who is allowed to download post attachments?
At this time only registered members are allowed to view or download attachments. We may review this policy in the future.
Why would I want to post an attachment?
You may provide a file attachment in order to support your question (or answer). You may want to provide a screen capture of an error message. There may be any number of reasons to use this feature.
What about my data?
That is an excellent question. You and you alone are responsible for any data that you upload. You should carefully review your company policy regarding sharing or publishing data prior to using this feature. You understand that any member of BOB may view or download your data. bobj-board.org will not be responsible for any issues resulting from you posting proprietary or confidential information.
What is the wrong way to use attachments?
Do not use attachments as an alternate way to communicate your question. Unregistered users cannot benefit from the discussion as they cannot see the attachments. BOB will not properly index your question in the search database. And many users will not download attachments from people that they do not know. Use attachments as supporting information only, not as the sole way to communicate your issue. Our board moderators have been instructed to delete or lock topics that do not follow this rule. Thanks for understanding.
Attachment Administration
Who manages the uploaded files?
The board moderators may at any time edit or remove an attachment that is not deemed appropriate material for this board. Members that are found uploading illegal or inappropriate material will likely have their attachment privileges revoked and may be banned from the board. The ability to attach files to posts may be removed at any time without advance notice.
How long do attachments remain on BOB?
When a post or topic is deleted the related attachments are also deleted. At this time bobj-board.org does not plan to “age” attachments but we reserve the option to institute a pruning process for attachments that have not been referenced or downloaded over some period of time.