|
The guiding philosophy behind WXSpots is to provide a community forum to share
actual weather observations and our interest and enthusiasm for weather. With that
in mind, we have developed the following posting guidelines:
1. Weather Observations (top area) should be made ONLY for your
local county/area and should be your first-hand observations. Relayed observations from your area are okay if received
from a credible source.
2. The "Check if
Severe" check box should only be used for actual severe criteria being observed
(damaging winds, hail, wall cloud, funnel cloud,
waterspout near land, or any kind of damage. Directly observed intense tropical
effects can also be posted as "Severe".
3. Relayed weather reports from spotters, the
NWS, or Amateur Radio Operators outside of your local area
may be posted to QuickChat only for events
affecting a large area. (EX: Tropical Systems,
Mesoscale Discussions, Watch Boxes). These reports should be posted in the
QuickChat area for easy access to all online users. Local storm reports may be
posted IF being used as an open discussion. Please
use discretion. If the information isn’t useful to a large group, or if folks
aren’t going to think wow, that’s really interesting, it probably isn’t
postworthy.
4. If a local forecast/analysis is
being made, that forecast should be directed directly to the state, county or
group and sent via the Messenger form.
5. The
primary use of QuickChat is for an open community environment, however regional
forecasts/analysis may be placed in the QuickChat area for easy access to all
online users. Again, please use discretion and be sensitive to other QuickChat
activity.
6. Since Weather Warnings are
streamed into WXSpots automatically and available from a variety of sources, the
posting of Weather Warnings or unextraordinary forecasts is generally
discouraged. To see Weather Warnings, simply go to "Settings", and check off
"Display Automated WXWarn Data". Please download the WXWarning Program from www.wxspots.com
as a support tool to WXSpots.
7. The creation
of "Weather Net Groups" within the Messenger is highly encouraged to discuss
active events for a region. To create a group, simply open WX Messenger by
pressing "CTRL M" or by clicking "Send Messages" on the main WXSpots screen and
read the directions. Once created, send a message to QuickChat inviting anyone
interested to join your group. Be sure the name of your group is displayed in
the "To:" field prior to continuing.
8. The QuickChat area is used for informal communications with
all users. It’s a great way to
communicate in a “non invasive” way because it does not force the form to the
front and only makes a light, “splat”
type sound (as if a bug just hit your windshield) that can easily be disabled. The intent for QuickChat is to initiate
general interest conversations. If the
conversation is not of general interest, please continue using a group on the
Messenger form.
9. The message group
WXChat has a similar intent to QuickChat in that it is intended
for general interest conversations. It will fire the two tone
audio alert and move the message screen to the front, so please
be sure your conversation is of interest to the majority of users.
Users who do not wish to participate in general interest weather
conversations should remove WXChat from their group message list.
Your
donations to help support the server costs and the ongoing development
of
both WXSpots and WXWarn are gratefully accepted!
Website
Design & Maintenance by
Scott
& Kimberly Davis
N3FJP
& KA3SEQ - www.n3fjp.com
Copyright
2007 - 2009
|