Hotspotoutdoors

All complaints, argumentative/sarcastic posts, posts suggesting someone should not share information, name calling or labeling folks and aggressive posts are unwelcome here. If your post contributes to an argument or defensive behavior it will likely be considered aggressive. Please treat everyone here as if they are your friend.

Warning to Potential Sponsors - Quality & No Hype Policy Here
If you are considering being a sponsor please understand that you must have a high quality product or service or our staff WILL NOT talk about it on good terms. We demand that our staff recognize their reputation is on the line with any appraisals or information they give. We and our staff will not talk about your service or product unless we or they believe it is of the best quality. Being a sponsor will have no bearing on their evaluations. We do not allow any commercial or solicitation posts unless it is in the Sponsor Showcase forum or the Store Sales Forum. The only exception is for Platinum level sponsors whom we may create one thread to use in the Ice Fishing or Open Water Forum depending on which they sponsor.

We are not a public free for all forum and we expect high quality posts from our members. We want the forums fun and packed with outdoor information and pertinent facts on fishing and outdoor activities as well as ALL products and services regardless if they are sponsors or not. Please do not steer folks elsewhere for information or ask for any contact information. Non-sponsors are not allowed to place their pictures or contact information in the forums or have their staff do the same or post about their products in the forum.

We do not normally ban folks here. We do understand that some may not read these rules as was required and we will give those folks a chance to do so. If you make a statement indicating you may be banned or censored for your post or if you posted something might be deleted if you posted it then you very likely will be banned as you indicate by your post that you are purposely violating forum policy.

If you can follow the criteria above and below we welcome you aboard. If not, please do not post.

KEEP POSTS FUN. Please DO NOT use the forums for complaints, issues or problems that can or should be resolved with the manufacturers customer service department or for service complaints. DO NOT use the forums for leverage on your issue or to grind an ax. Never consider ANY information posted as accurate information to base decisions on. That is the reason we do not allow posts that are negative toward any person or business. There are all kinds of motivations to post a negative post that is not accurate and can cause harm and benefit the poster in some way. Our forums would quickly move towards the negative side and we want the forums to be fun and positive for the most part. We reserve the right to edit or delete posts that tend to cause problems. If your post contributes towards steering a thread off topic or in a negative direction you may be put on hold until you agree to correct that behavior in writing.

If you have a question about a post or member you cannot find, please use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the forum. DO NOT use the forums for this purpose. You will be temporarily put on hold until you read forum policy if you do.

Do not direct folks to unauthorized - links, web addresses, other sites, e-mail addresses, phone numbers or other contact info. No unauthorized store sales posts allowed outside of the store sale forum.

If you see someone posting in violation of this policy, please use the Notify link in the offending post or the "Contact Us" link at the bottom left of every forum page to notify us of the forum, topic, and offending user. The offending user may be put on temporary hold or banned permanently. Please, do not argue with the offending user in the forums.

If you are put on temporary hold you will need to send your name, phone number and complete address using the "Contact Us" linkin the forums before you can be re-instated (or e-mail to admin@fishingminnesota.com). More instructions on re-instatement follow below somewhere. To be re-instated ALL directions must be followed . We want to make sure you read and agree to follow the policies for posting here.

Considering the real-time nature of this forum, it is impossible for us to review messages or confirm the validity of information posted. Never consider ANY information posted as accurate information to base safety or any decisions on. Even Pro Staff can be innaccurate or mis-word things. DO NOT use any posts to make decisions that may affect your safety. Please remember that we do not always actively monitor the contents of and are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily our views or any entity associated with this forum's view. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by using the Notify link in the offending post or the "Contact Us" link at the bottom left of any page. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please realize that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately.

You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this forum to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, refers to alcohol, inaccurate, abusive, potentially inflammatory, sarcastic, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy or otherwise violative of any law. You agree to keep race out of your posts, it has no place in these forums. You agree to no spam posts or multiple for sale posts for the same or similar item in the FREE for sale forums. You agree to only place items wanted or for sale in the HSO Classifieds at HSOList.com. You agree to use the following guideline with respect to fish pictures: We're looking for fish pictures in good taste that encourage selective harvest principles, so the fish picture rule is as follows: Fish pictures must at least appear to be in a natural setting where the fish was caught. They must not look frozen, stiff, bloodied or like they were just poured out of a bucket. No pictures with alcohol beverage containers, cigarettes, stringers or fish in a bucket are allowed. Pictures of fish mounts, fish inside a fish house and live-release tournament pictures are OK as well. No other dead fish pictures are allowed. You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this forum. You also agree to allow Fishing Minnesota or associated entities to use and keep any posted material in e-mail newsletters, web postings, or any FishingMinnesota.com business activities. Any use by outside parties is strictly prohibited without written permission from Fishing Minnesota and the responsible party for the posting.

WE SUPPORT AND RECOMMEND CPR AND SELECTIVE HARVEST

Although this forum does not and cannot review all the messages posted and is not responsible for the content of any of these messages, we at Fishing Minnesota reserve the right to delete any message for any or no reason whatsoever.

You may be put on temporary hold for an action below that may result in your post being deleted.

* If your post is off topic or attacks a post for sharing information or violates our sense of family values it may be deleted.
* If your post is asking the value of an item or items and we can reasonably assume you are trying to sell it will be deleted. Please use the classified for sale forum for that purpose.
* If you have multiple usernames and use them for ANY deceptive practice your posts will be deleted.
* If you attack or reprimand or demonstrate a negative attitude toward someone for keeping fish lawfully or your post isn't helpful with respect to explaining CPR, your post will be deleted.
* A sarcastic, innaccurate or propaganda post towards a sponsor or advertisement will be deleted.
* If you were put on hold be sure to read and agree in writing to follow the complete forum policy contained on this page and send your agreement along with your username in writing (there may be more directions below. We need to ensure your read all of these policies).
* If you had a post against someone sharing any kind of good fishing information it may be deleted.
* If you had a post that tends to cause arguments it may be deleted.
* If you had a post commenting/directing about yours or any post/avatar being deleted, missing or censored it will be deleted (Use the "Contact" Us link at the bottom of the forum for questions).
* If you have a censorship or deletion question or statement, you must use the "Contact Us" linkfor it, not the forums.
* If you had a post referring to a competing website it will be deleted.
* If you had a post referring folks to call or e-mail you and we could assume you may be sending folks to a competing website or trying to go around forum policy it will be deleted or edited.
* You must get approval for all video links or any links put on the forum. Contact your forum moderator or use the "Contact Us" link to get approval.
* Do not use code, tactics or tricks to skirt the edges or get around any of the policies. The spirit of the policy will be upheld when we see a violation.
* If you had a post commenting on the above type posts it may be deleted or edited.

Any violation may result in you being put on temporary hold until you read and agree to follow the forum guidelines here.

If you have an issue, comment or question with respect to a deleted/locked message or topic you agree to use the "Contact Us" linkto bring it to our attention and will refrain from using the boards for this purpose. Many times a locked topic has been moved to a more appropriate forum.

If you've followed the site since the beginning, you'll know that we've removed very few members permanently. Please do not discuss or mention members no longer posting. Anyone permanently banned from this site is persona non-grata.

You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Fishing Minnesota, HotSpotOutdoors, IceLeaders, InDepthHunting and their agents or associated businesses with respect to any claim based upon transmission or use of your message(s).

Please note that advertisements, promoting, giving contact info, referring to another website or linking to another website/product/service without permission, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are not allowed on this forum. Contact information and pictures are reserved for sponsors only. Please click here if you would like to be a sponsor.

You must put "Items Wanted" or "Used Items for Sale" or "Puppies/Dogs For Sale" or "Free Things" in the appropriate for sale Forum ONLY. If you want to find a price for something do not indicate that the thing is for sale or wanted.

If you have questions on any policy here you must use the 'Contact Us" link towards the bottom of every thread to ask, Please don't post your question in the forum we may not see it and it is not allowed.

A few policies we hold important here:
1. No Personal attacks on other members. Keep your posts positive and helpful when responding to others.

2. No attacks on businesses. We can't alaways tell what is true and who is just grinding an ax. Therefore no negative comments on business are allowed.

3. No giving out unauthorized contact info or sending folks to unauthorized sites. Spamming promoters have forced this.

4. No unauthorized phone numbers or e-mail addresses may be posted. Spam promoters have forced this as well.

5. No unauthorized commercial or promotional posts. If your post tells you to go somewhere to get a product/service or gives contact info it's commercial. If you use supperlative or other terms that appear to be promoting a product/service that's promotional. Use the "Contact Us" linkto ask before posting. If you own a business we will be happy to have you as a site sponsor to help keep this site FREE for all users. Please click here if you would like to be a sponsor.

6. Because some who run a commercial outdoor related business may use others, no unauthorized use of your e-mail address. Please use the "Contact Us" link and we will be happy to have you as a site sponsor to help keep this site FREE for all users.

7. Folks who come here are here to share information about outdoor pursuits, not bash it or whine about it. Please keep your posts positive.

8. If you have an issue with the way the forum is run, post edited or deleted, please use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of almost every page. Constructive criticism is welcomed using the "Contact Us" link. It's what helps keep the forums improving. If a post is edited/deleted and you have a question or issue with it, please use the the "Contact Us" link for your question or issue. Remember, we may delete a post or topic for any or no reason.

We may not agree, but the forums are no place to argue about forum management. Please use the Contact Us Link at the bottom of the page. Violation of this rule will result in the violator being banned.

9. We encourage conservation and good family values.

10. Keep it honest and try to share info as well as receive.

11. Most important-KEEP IT FUN!

GoodFishin : ) We also reserve the right to reveal your identity (or whatever information we know about you) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any message posted by you.

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