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Microchip Forum Guidelines

The Microchip Forum Terms of Use, the Microchip Website Terms of Use, and the Privacy Policy (collectively “Terms of Use”) govern your use of the Microchip forum located at http://www.microchip.com/forums/ and all of its sub-domains (the “Forum”).  These Terms of Use are not exhaustive and may be modified by Microchip, in its sole discretion, at any time.

By registering, accessing, browsing and/or using the Forum, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to abide by and comply with all terms, conditions and notices contained in or referenced by the Terms of Use.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF USE, DO NOT REGISTER, ACCESS, BROWSE OR USE THE FORUM.

Additionally, please check the Terms of Use each time you access, browse or use the Forum for any modifications.  Your access, browsing and use of the Forum following modifications to the Terms of Use constitutes acceptance of the modifications.

A.   Your Use Obligation - All posts must be polite, constructive, and on topic.  By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when accessing, browsing and using the Forum, you will:
  • 1. Be respectful of all users at all times. Treat people respectfully. There are many "newbie’s" and students coming to these forums. While some think they can get others to do their work for them, most just need hints to get pointed in the right direction. We don't recommend that this site be a "crib sheet" for lazy students, and if someone is asking you to do their homework, they can be politely refused.


  • 2. Respect Forum staff. If you have an issue with our moderation, please open a ticket by Reporting Abuse (report abuse), describe the issue and provide a link back to the thread or post in question.


  • 3. Not post material with adult content, pornography, violence, illegal activity, profanity, or advertising for items not related to the topic.


  • 4. Keep posts professional and to the point. Microchip encourages participation from users located all over the world. Degrading, berating and demeaning comments, including comments on another user’s English and/or writing abilities is inappropriate.


  • 5. Flaming (“flames” are messages that personally attack, call people names, or otherwise harass another forum member or any person), personal attacks, or condescending messages will be removed at the moderator's discretion. If the thread is deemed "flame-bait" (appears to be intended to start an argument or is likely to cause an argument rather than enhance the technical discussion), it will be locked or removed without notice and may result in the user(s) being warned and/or banned.


  • 6. If a thread turns into an argument, it can be locked or removed without notice. Sometimes a moderator may split the thread or delete certain portions in order to keep the discussion going, but if a thread degenerates or diverges from the Terms of Use it may be truncated or removed and may result in the poster being banned.


  • 7. SPAM and unsolicited advertising is not allowed. Active users in good standing are allowed to have links to personal sites in their signatures, in their profile, and may post them in threads on occasion, as long as the content of those links does not include materials Microchip deems inappropriate and relates to the topic being discussed.


  • 8. Strive to communicate with other users as simply and effectively as possible, including:

    •       ●     When writing a post, space paragraphs with a blank line in between them for better readability.

          ● Don't write posts in all UPPER CASE LETTERS, it may be perceived as screaming to users reading your post.

          ● Do not shorten your words to acronyms or abbreviations. It is very difficult to read and understand.

          ● Use color and font properties for highlighting portions of your text, and not for all of the text in your post.


  • 9. Preview your text before posting. Typos and other errors can cause miscommunication between users on the forums.


  • 10. If you find a post you feel is inappropriate or in violation of the Terms of Use, please submit a ticket by Reporting Abuse (report abuse) to inform the moderators and administrators of the site.


  • 11. Be selective in your use of images. Although images may help to explain something more clearly or indicate a problem you are experiencing better, not everyone has the same bandwidth for viewing images. If an image is the best way of communicating information, please keep your image to less than 100kb.


  • 12. Refrain from using Private Messaging for support as it does not allow for the knowledge to be shared. It is also unlikely that users will respond to these requests.


  • 13. Rank posts that you find helpful so that users can identify them.


  • 14. Users should only have one active account. If you feel you have justification for requiring a new account, please submit a ticket and explain your situation and request.


  • 15. Any attempts to undermine or cause harm to a Microchip or its servers is strictly prohibited. Microchip will be the sole arbiter as to what constitutes a violation of this provision.


B.   Technical Support.

    When asking for technical support:

  • 1. There are no stupid questions. Everyone was a new user once.


  • 2. Try to give information in the title of your post. Instead of using a title like "it's broken," use a title that is specific, such as "Unable to stop chip from resetting." A clear title will attract more views to your thread, as it gives a clear indication of the content of the post.


  • 3. Searching the Forum is a quick way to see if someone has had your issue and if it has been answered. In a forum as large and active as this Forum, there's a good chance your question has been answered before, and you can get the information you want quickly.


  • 4. When requesting help, please include as many details as possible. If you do not know how to find out the information that a user is requesting, you might want to ask them how to find the information they have requested. Attach screen shots or other files if it might be helpful.


  • 5. It is always nice to tell those who have helped you that you appreciate their assistance. It is extra nice if you then share the information with another user that has the same issue. If your question is resolved (which we hope is always the case), it would be helpful for others if you label which procedure worked for you by quoting or clearly referring to it. Giving feedback rewards the person helping and the posting of a successful resolution of a problem will help others understand the root cause.

    When answering technical support issues:

  • 1. Be considerate to the person asking the question. Once again, everyone was a new user once.


  • 2. Try to avoid acronyms and jargon when giving instructions. New users may not be able to follow you, and many will not ask you for an explanation in order to avoid looking ignorant. "STFU" and "Go look on Google" are two inappropriate responses to a question. If you don not know the answer or do not wish to help, say nothing instead of being rude. Politely showing someone how you searched or obtained the answer to a question is encouraged.


  • 3. If the user's question has been covered in one of the community documents, please give them a description and the links.


  • 4. Code tags are not available on the site because SPAM attacks have prevented us from allowing it. If you want to include code, place it in a .txt file and attach it to the thread.


  • 5. There is often more than one solution to a problem, choose the one you think will be the easiest for the user. If you're uncertain if a procedure is correct, it's helpful to mention that. If your procedure has inherent risks, tell users. Try to think as a new user and choose the simplest solution.


  • 6. Explain each step of the solution. If possible, try to teach the user while providing a solution.


C.   Violation of Terms of Use.- Failure to fully comply with the Terms of Use or attempts to circumvent them may result in: (1) Microchip editing a post, topic or thread, moving, reclassifying, or deleting any post or other material; and/or (2) Microchip temporarily or permanently banning users and/or ISPs. Microchip has sole and exclusive discretion in determining whether a violation of the Terms of Use has occurred and what actions will be taken as a result. Microchip will not be liable in any way for any such responsive actions. The above-described actions are not Microchip’s exclusive remedies and Microchip may take other legal, equitable or technical action it deems appropriate.


All material posted or uploaded to the forum remains the property of the original poster and Microchip Technology, Inc., is the licensed distributor of such content. The administrators of this site reserve the right without notice to access or view all such material (including posts, profile information, emails sent through the forum software, and Personal Messages (PMs)), to edit the subject of a post, or to move, reclassify, or delete any post or other material that is deemed inappropriate, disruptive or fails to conform to these forum rules, or to ensure proper indexing and searchability. Note that, from time to time, topics may be removed for being inappropriate even though your individual post in that topic may have been appropriate.

The web-master, administrators and moderators of this forum will preserve forum content when possible. However editing, reviewing and deleting content may be necessary, and if so will be done at the discretion of the web-master, administrators and moderators when the forum code of conduct has been violated. Moderators may delete accounts if they remain inactive for an extended period of time.

While the administrators and moderators of this forum will attempt to remove or edit any generally objectionable material as quickly as possible where acceptable, it is impossible to review every message. Therefore you acknowledge that all posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author and not the administrators, moderators or web-master (except for posts by these people) and they will not be held liable.

The IP addresses of all posts are recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. You agree that the web-master, administrators and moderators of this forum have the right to remove, edit, move or close any post, topic or thread at any time they see fit following the guidelines . You agree that the web-master, administrators and moderators of this forum have the right to send a private message with a warning and/or censor any forum user who is in violation of forum policy.

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