This document describes the types of content that is acceptable in the Hackers Facebook group. HX (our abbreviation for Hackers) is a bit different from other Facebook groups, so we'd appreciate it if you'd take a minute to read this.
Be civil, and keep posts relevant to hacking: creating and building new things, discussing things related to hacking, and celebrating hacker culture.
HX is a new community. As a common trend, a community site that becomes popular will decline in quality. Our hypothesis is that by making a conscious effort to resist decline, we can prevent HX from falling into this trend. We don't know whether this hypothesis is correct, but it has held up for a surprisingly long time already.
The most important principle on HX is to be thoughtful - civil and substantial. Essentially there are two rules here: don't post crap, and don't be rude. Both types of posts will be closed swiftly, and if you continue to post them, you might be banned from the group.
An insightful comment can point out some consideration that hadn't previously been mentioned, perhaps from personal experience. There's also nothing wrong with submitting a comment saying just "Thanks" if you believe it would be more polite than simply liking the post/comment. That said, what we especially discourage are comments that are empty and negative: name-calling, derailing the conversation, spam, etc.
A crap post is one that does not genuinely add value to the community. Keep in mind that your post may show up in the feed of thousands of other members. Posts on HX don't have to be about hackathons, because good hackers aren't only interested in hacking, but they do have to be something HX would enjoy or find interesting.
When having discussions, remember to respect each other and take the opinion of the other side into account instead of name-calling or insulting the other person. It is okay to be offended, but it is not okay to be purposefully offensive. We give everybody the same level of respect.
If a post doesn't follow our policies, an admin will close it. If an admin judges your repeated behavior to be intentionally against the rules, they may ban you. The administration policy describes what actions we take against posts.
Don't post irrelevant things or spam. Don't use HX to try and conduct illegal activity, get free things, or post your referral link. Politics are on topic, but only if it is related to tech. For example, if a politician makes racist comments, that is off-topic for this group. While topics like that are important to discuss, there are many other outlets for it to be discussed. A group for hacking and tech related topics is not one of them.
If the admins believe your post should be removed and the content policy does not cover its removal, they may do so. If this type of post is likely to occur again, the policy should be amended to prohibit it.
Don't post something that is readily available online. HX is not a tech support forum, nor is it the place to go if StackOverflow gives you a negative rating. There are specific subgroups for most technical topics. Nobody wants a bunch of questions on their Facebook feed.
Questions that could easily be found on Google, Yahoo, Bing, or AltaVista shouldn't be asked on HX.
Vague posts pollute their comments instantly as people ask for more information that should have been in the original post. Include everything you would ask if you saw your post asked by someone else. If you're posing a question, try to respond to it yourself. If you need help, say what you've already tried. More importantly, make sure your question is evident: don't make people guess as to the meaning of your post.
Jokes/memes are allowed in comments. A joke/meme as top-level post is only allowed if it is not a repost, if it promotes some type of constructive discussion, or if no discussion is promoted, but the joke has some substance to it (i.e. the joke could otherwise be stated in text and still be on-topic, but is funnier as a joke).