Welcome! Pentrace is the world’s premier Web site devoted to pens and the people who use them. We hope that you will consider yourself to be a member of a community — a diverse worldwide community whose members share some interests and opinions but (quite naturally) disagree on other things.

Despite the annoyance of occasional troll postings on our boards, we feel that mandatory registration inhibits free discourse. But free discourse doesn’t mean the freedom to be nasty or rude. Conversing on a message board can be difficult at times because you can’t pick up body language and other visual cues. Please treat other Pentracers politely, with the same courtesy and respect you expect from them. If you wouldn’t say something in person, don’t say it on the board.

Please keep your comments consistent with the subject and purpose of the conversation thread. Occasional off-topic postings are not forbidden, but Pentrace is not a political, religious, financial, tabloid, or self-help forum. Deliberate disruption — such as consistent off-topic commentary — will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to edit or remove postings and whole conversations that are of an abusive or disruptive nature.

Most especially, do not post messages that contain personal attacks against other Pentracers. We encourage spirited discussion and debate, but remember that disagreeing with an idea is different from attacking an individual. (Don't “shoot the messenger.”)

The Pentrace messsage boards are provided as a venue for conversation, and we do not necessarily agree with the opinions expressed in any posting. We do not accept legal liability for any posted material.

We encourage you to use your real name, but we understand that under some circumstances a pseudonym may be appropriate. Under no circumstances, however, is it ever appropriate to deliberately use someone else’s name. Remember that postings with real email addresses will have more credibility than those without.

Do not post material that is protected by copyright — such as complete articles copied from another source — unless you are the copyright holder or have permission from the copyright holder. Fair use allows the posting of small excerpts. If you are a copyright holder and believe that material posted on Pentrace violates your copyright, please send email to copyright@pentrace.com witth specific information about the location of the material on Pentrace and about your copyright.

If you are not a paid Pentrace sponsor, do not post advertisements or other commercial self-promotional material (including links to commercial pages on your own site) on the Chat (Yellow) Board. If you are interested in becoming a Pentrace sponsor, please contact Donal Higgins at donal@pentrace.com.

If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact Donal Higgins at donal@pentrace.com.