[Sticky] Please Read First — Welcome to RPLS.com!

Welcome aboard! If you've found your way here, you've found the online home of the land surveying community — a place surveyors have gathered since 1996 to talk shop, swap hard-won knowledge, puzzle through the tricky calls, and generally look out for one another. We're glad you're here.

This is the Member Introductions forum, so before you head off into the rest of the boards, please do us a favor and say hello.

Start with a quick introduction

Hit Add Topic right here in Member Introductions and tell us a little about yourself. There's no wrong way to do it, but folks usually mention:

• Where you survey and how long you've been at it
• Whether you're licensed, running a crew, in the office, a student, or somewhere in between
• What brought you to RPLS.com
• Anything you're hoping to learn, find, or share

It doesn't have to be fancy — a few sentences is plenty. It just helps everyone know who they're talking to.

A few house rules (there aren't many)

RPLS has run on one simple rule since day one: be nice. Just about everything else follows from that. To keep the place worth coming back to:

• Treat people with respect. You can disagree — surveyors always will — just do it without getting personal. Leave the mud outside.
• Search before you post. Odds are good your question has come up before, and the answer may already be waiting for you. If not, ask away.
• Keep it on topic and in the right spot. Post where your question belongs so the right people find it.
• No spam or self-promotion here. We've got proper places for buying, selling, hiring, and advertising — this forum isn't one of them.
• Keep it professional. This is a public, working community. Assume clients, colleagues, and future employers might read what you write.

Read the complete Community Guidelines here.

Getting the most out of the place

A few things worth doing early:

• Fill out your profile and add an avatar. People trust a name and a face more than a blank silhouette.
• Look around and join in. Ask questions, share what you know, lend a hand — the more you put in, the more this community is worth to everyone, you included.
• Browse the Marketplace for job openings, gear for sale, and wanted listings.
• Find a Surveyor is our directory — a good spot to get found by the people looking to hire.

That's about it. Introduce yourself, be good to one another, and welcome to RPLS.com. Glad to have you with us.