Community Guidelines

Building a welcoming and helpful Linux community together

Code of Conduct

thelinuxforum is a community-driven platform where everyone should feel welcome and respected. We expect all members to:

  • Be respectful: Treat others with kindness and respect, even when disagreeing
  • Be helpful: Share knowledge and help others learn and grow
  • Be constructive: Provide constructive feedback and criticism
  • Be inclusive: Welcome newcomers and users of all skill levels
  • Be honest: Provide accurate information and disclose conflicts of interest

Zero tolerance for: Harassment, hate speech, spam, personal attacks, or any behavior that creates an unwelcoming environment.

Writing Great Reviews

✅ Do:

  • Share your personal experience with the tool
  • Mention your use case and environment (distro, desktop, etc.)
  • Discuss both positives and areas for improvement
  • Be specific about features, performance, and usability
  • Keep reviews focused on the tool, not other reviewers
  • Update your review if the tool significantly improves or changes

❌ Don't:

  • Post duplicate reviews for the same tool
  • Review tools you haven't actually used
  • Use reviews to promote competing tools
  • Include offensive language or personal attacks
  • Post the same review across multiple tools
  • Give ratings based on factors outside the tool (e.g., support tickets)

💡 Example of a helpful review:

"I've been using htop for system monitoring on Ubuntu 22.04. It's incredibly fast and the color-coded display makes it easy to spot resource hogs at a glance. The tree view for processes is especially useful for understanding parent-child relationships. My only wish is for better GPU monitoring support. Highly recommended for anyone who finds 'top' too basic."

Submitting Tools

We welcome tool submissions from the community! To ensure quality and consistency:

Submission Requirements:

  • Linux-focused: Tool must be relevant to Linux users
  • Active development: Recently updated or maintained project
  • Complete information: Name, description, category, website/GitHub link
  • Accurate details: Correct pricing model, license, and package availability
  • No duplicates: Search existing tools before submitting

Review Process:

  1. Submit your tool with all required information
  2. Our team reviews for completeness and accuracy (usually within 48 hours)
  3. Approved tools are published to the directory
  4. Rejected submissions receive feedback on how to improve

Voting on Reviews

Use the helpful/unhelpful voting system to highlight quality content:

Vote Helpful if:

  • Review provides useful, specific details
  • Personal experience is clearly shared
  • Balanced perspective with pros/cons
  • Helps you make an informed decision

Vote Unhelpful if:

  • Review is off-topic or irrelevant
  • Contains spam or promotional content
  • Lacks substance or specific details
  • Appears to be fake or dishonest

Note: Voting is anonymous and helps the community identify the most valuable reviews. Your votes contribute to the reviewer's reputation score.

Moderation & Reporting

Our Moderation Approach:

  • All submissions reviewed: Tool submissions and reviews are reviewed before publication
  • Community reporting: Members can report problematic content
  • Fair enforcement: Clear communication and opportunity to appeal
  • Privacy respected: Reporter identities are kept confidential

Report Content if You See:

  • Spam or promotional abuse
  • Harassing or offensive content
  • False or misleading information
  • Copyright violations
  • Personal information exposure
  • Duplicate or low-quality submissions

To report content:

Use the "Report" button on any tool or review page, or contact us at moderation@thelinuxforum.com

Reputation & Badges

Build your reputation by contributing quality content to the community:

How to Earn Reputation:

  • +10 points: Each approved tool submission
  • +1 point: Each helpful vote on your reviews
  • -1 point: Each unhelpful

Reputation Tiers:

🌱

Linux Explorer

0-49 points

🤝

Community Helper

50-199 points

⭐

Linux Expert

200-499 points

👑

Linux Master

500+ points

Achievement Badges:

🛠️ Tool Contributor ✍️ First Review 👍 Helpful Reviewer 📝 Prolific Reviewer 📦 Tool Curator

Questions about these guidelines? Contact us

Last updated: December 2024 | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service