RMS is a free and extremely useful resource. Use of the site is a privilege, not a right. Whilst the items above are guidelines and not strict rules, repeated misuse of the forum and blatant disregard of these guideliness will lead to a warning and/or a ban. The forum is there for everyone to enjoy and benefit from, not to abuse - so please exercise some common sense, follow the guidelines below, and hopefully RMS will continue to improve as one of Northern Ireland's leading car enthusiasts' websites.

Please note that postings on the RMS Forum are not moderated before they are published on the site. If you spot a spam, illegal, offensive, racist, libelous post or anything contravening the rules below, please use the report post button as described below or the contact form to alert the admin.

If you have any issues or problems with another member's posting on the forum, please use the report post button which is located under every users post. Do not PM or email a moderator in this case.

If you have another issue, problem with abusive PMs or wish to speak to a moderator directly, firstly look for any moderators that are currently online. Their names are highlighted on the forum homepage in the "Who's online section". Alternatively click here for a list of moderators. If you have a problem that cannot be resolved by a moderator, use the contact form (here) to contact the administrator.

The moderators apply the use of an infraction system, which automates the dicipline of unruly forum users. Based on a penalty point style system, any user can receive points on their user account for breaching forum rules.

• 8 Points activates an instant 2 day ban
• Accrue 12 points for a further 7 day ban
• Accrue 16 points for a further 10 day ban
• Totalling 20 points and the ban will be permanent

Warnings will expire after a certain amount of days, known as the warning maturity. Obviously these are for normal warning circumstances, and the moderators may deem that action may need to be taken outside of the warning system, including immediate banning without warning of any user.

If a warning is issued, the offending user will receive both a PM and email (in case of banning, email only) from the moderator who actioned the warning explaining the type of warning and if applicable, the post or thread that it concerns. Back chat due to a warning may result in an immediate ban.

Registration to this forum is free! We do insist that you abide by the rules and policies detailed below. If you agree to the terms, please check the 'I agree' checkbox and press the 'Register' button below. If you would like to cancel the registration, click here to return to the forums index.

Although the administrators and moderators of RMS 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 neither the owners of RMS, nor Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. (developers of vBulletin) will be held responsible for the content of any message.

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 of RMS reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason.

Further rules, explanation of procedures and complaints can be found on the Terms of Use page by clicking here. You are also agreeing to the terms on the 'RMS Terms of Usage' page, and it is easily accessable by clicking the rules link on the forum menu bar.

1. Shouting
Please do not post in CAPITAL LETTERS (otherwise known as shouting). This makes threads difficult to read and is generally frowned upon by most other users.

2. Duplicate Posts
Please refrain from creating duplicate posts as this will clog up the forum and again make it difficult to read. If your original post has not had the response you desired, leave a polite reply to it to remind members that you're still awaiting a response. See spam section below also.

3. Search Facility
A number of topics are reposted on RMS from week to week. This applies particularly to technical questions which have already been covered. When posting up something that you feel may have been covered before, please use the search facility in the menu bar above to check if the topic has been covered before. Reposts are usually locked and/or deleted by moderators.

4. Aggression
We appreciate that by its very nature, a forum will be a lively area in which to have discussions and debates and as such, these may sometimes become heated. However, any aggression or pointless bickering usually degenerates into a tit-for-tat scenario and the thread is subsequently locked. We would ask that all members respect the forum and other forum users; if you have any grievances, contact a moderator using the Report button. Do not cause offense to any other member through post or PM or any other part of the site. This includes, but is not limited to, swearing at a member, being racist (in any form), discrimination against a member (in any form.)

5. Common Sense!
It would be quite easy to fill a page here with the types of behaviour which would contravene forum rules - racism, sectarian references, personal attacks, etc. The best way to use the forum is simply to apply a little common sense and treat people online with the same manners and respect as you would in real life. The forum rules clearly state what is allowed and not allowed on the forum in more detail.

6. Txt Speak
It has been noted that the use of 'txt spk' has increased somewhat on this forum (amongst others) recently. Most members find it frustrating and difficult to read, and it usually takes just as long to type a sentence using txt spk as it does to type it in proper English. We would ask that all members refrain from using text spk of any kind on the forum. Txt spk developed as shortcuts for texting on mobile phones; computers have a full keyboard for a reason!

7. Multiple Identities
One user account per person. If any user is found to be using multiple accounts, these accounts will be removed and the offending user will potentially face a permenant ban from the forum

8. Advertising and Trade Enquiries
Use the contact form or PM 'Cooper' only for any trade information. Alternatively see www.reallymeansounds.com/trade. Remember - Do not advertise ANYWHERE on the site without prior permission or having a paid up trade account. This is including but not limited to: posts, signatures, avatars, through the Private Message (PM) system, through the social networking system

9. Spam
Do not spam the forum AT ALL. Flaming topics intentionally or creating threads with no real reason or topic can result in points and/or a ban.

10. External Links
Do not post links to illegal content, including torrents.
Do not promote sites similar in nature to reallymeansounds.com through posted links, PMs etc on the forum without specific approval from the forum administrators. PM Cooper in this case.

11. Thread Titles
When posting a new thread, please ensure that the thread title is descriptive of the thread content. "Have you heard about..." type titles will most likely ensure the moderators delete the thread - a "Westlink Road Works Removed Today" title is much more descriptive.

12. Falsified User Details
When you register on RMS, you are expected to provide correct and valid information in your user profile. Falsifying said information is considered to be attempting to defraud other forum members. In this case your account may be banned without warning.