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The Pyro Universe forums are an open community of pyrotechnic users. We discuss the legal and safe use of fireworks in an open and trusting fashion. Our discussions are viewable to anyone on the internet, including unregistered guests of the forum. Discussion or posting of illegal activities, unsafe pyrotechnic practices, the manufacture of bombs, M-80s, or other federally banned explosive devices, pornographic material, and spam on the forum will not be tolerated. Also, if any person falsifies their profile information, has multiple accounts, uses someone else's account, uses false, spoofed or anonymous IPs, tries to present a fake or different persona to the community, or tries to reregister as a new or different account for whatever reason, we will assume the person is being dishonest with us and is trying to harm our community. Such people are unwelcome and will be banned. If necessary will we file abuse reports with your ISP, email provider and your employer (if your employer's IP is being used).

General 

If you register, you must post.  Since registering is only required to post, I assume that people who register and do not post (or do not even confirm their account in the first place) are actually spam bots trying to post automated advertisements (dozens of such spam bots try to register each day), or kids attempting to register with a fake email address in order to ask how they can blow up their neighbor's mailbox.  If you have not logged into your account for an extended period of time, I will assume you no longer want it.  Thus, your account will be deleted if: 

- You register but fail to click the email activation link within 1 week
- You activate your account but do not make a first post within 1 month
- You do not log in to your account for 6 months

If you have trouble activating your account after you sign up, please email me and I'll fix it.

Please do not register for the sole purpose of posting YouTube/Ebaum's videos, random non-pyro links, or advertisements for your fireworks-related products.  If your first post is simply a plug for your company (fireworks related or not), it will be deleted, and subsequent attempts may earn you a suspension.

Do not register multiple accounts or register under fake/anonymous/spoofed IPs. We welcome all serious firework enthusiasts, dealers, as well as federal, state and local authorities, but we expect you to be honest and identify yourself as such. If you lie about your identity, we will assume you are trying to disrupt or harm the Pyro Universe community.  Anybody caught impersonating another member, a company employee, or federal official, as well as those using proxies, will be banned.

Users are allowed to create and use one and only one forum account. Period. If you are discovered to be using multiple accounts, both will be banned.

Research first.  Before you post a new thread to ask a question, use the forum's search function to dig through the archives a little and make sure your question hasn't been answered before.  With over 13,000 threads and well over 170,000 posts, odds are that it has.

Avoid reviving old threads.  Please don't revive threads from last year just to add a late comment.  If a thread hasn't had any new posts for 2-3 months, just start a new one.

Do not excessively advertise.  If you have a firework-product or service that you'd like to mention, please do so only once.  Do not post a new thread (or revive an old one) every time you update your page or change your prices.  If you are interested in purchasing a banner spot, please go here for further information on ad rates. 

If your company is having a sale or some other limited-time deal, you can post a free ad in the "Sales & Specials" forum

Do not abuse the private messaging system.  If you register simply to bombard members with PM solicitations (fireworks-related or not) you will lose the ability to use private messages.

No personal attacks, insults, or flames. In other words, get along.  I don't mind sarcasm and arguments, but just remember that everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  You can disagree, but please do so in a civil manner.

No excessive swearing.  I don't mind if you swear, but try to keep it to a minimum. 

No racism. I absolutely will not tolerate any hateful remarks posted towards any particular race, ethnic group, or minority.  We have enough of that garbage already in the world, as it is.

No obscene material. No posting porn or any other sort of offensive/sickening images, sounds, or animations.  If posting a NSFW (not safe for work - IE, something that you wouldn't want to have come up on your computer at work, such as women in revealing clothing) image, please post a link to the image rather than imbedding it directly into your message.

No posts on making fireworks, dissecting fireworks, or mixing chemicals.  Do not post instructions on how to construct, modify, or disassemble fireworks (legal or illegal), salutes, bombs, etc.  Especially M-80s or other flash-powder devices.  This includes discussion on mixing pyrotechnic chemicals.

Post on the correct board. If you want to talk about your favorite consumer firework, go to the "Consumer Fireworks" board.  If you want to talk about the professional firework show you saw at some theme park, go to the "Display Fireworks" board.  

Don't cross-post. Do not post the same message on multiple forums. Find the one it belongs on, and post it there only.

Don't re-register if you are banned. If you've been banned, then there's a reason for it.  If you wish to discuss it, email me.  Do not register another name and start posting again.

Be sure your avatar is appropriate.  No naked women, no middle fingers, no "F" word, etc.  I think all members should be mature enough to use their own judgment when selecting a picture.  If you abuse this, you will lose your avatar privileges.

Do not ask to be a moderator or administrator.  Currently, I am not looking for new moderators. If I ever do, I will ask you personally about it.

If you don't like another member, use the ignore function.   That way you won't see their posts.  Someone who is "being annoying" or otherwise typing in a fashion that irritates you is not against the forum rules, and is not a good reason for you demand that they be banned  If somebody is continuously harassing you (via PMs, for instance) or threatening you, please contact me so I can deal with it.

If you have an issue with a moderator or  administrator (including myself, Colin), please email me and calmly explain the issue in an intelligent and civilized fashion - do not post a thread/message complaining about it.  I am a reasonable guy, and am always willing to listen and do my best to help work things out.   I have no problem with you contacting me to discuss something in a civil manner, but if you result to swearing or insulting me or any of the other moderators, making Nazi/facism-related analogies, or complaining about being denied your "right to free speech", your request will be ignored.

If your thread (or post) is closed or deleted... and you wish to discuss it, email me.  If this occurs, do not post another thread/message on the forum asking why it was closed or deleted.

If you see somebody else breaking the rules, you can either politely remind them, or use the "Report Post" button at the bottom of their message to notify a moderator.  Don't start a flame war.  Just because a new member posted in the wrong board doesn't mean you have to chew them out.  

Don't be a grammar/spelling nazi - with the exception of people that type L1K3 TH15!!!, don't continuously harass/insult somebody for misspelling something or using incorrect grammar.  Chances are that despite their mistakes, you probably understood what they were trying to say.  

Don't harass newbies or younger members.  Just because somebody is new to Pyro Universe doesn't mean that they're new to fireworks.  The goal of this place is to help people learn, not make fun of their lack of experience.

Legal Information & Rules

Unfortunately, our enjoyment of fireworks is something that many people and organizations would like to have outlawed. Fireworks are one of the few - if not only - consumer products that that significant portion of the American public would like to make illegal rather than educate the public on safe and proper use. Even though fireworks are responsible for only a minute fraction of injuries in the United States (far less than many other everyday consumer products), every injury just adds fuel to the anti-fireworks community's cause and brings us all one step closer to having fireworks outlawed in even more local cities, counties, and states. At the federal level, powerful anti-fireworks organizations such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have publicly stated that they would like to see all consumer use of fireworks eliminated, and is currently engaged in an campaign to shut down pyrotechnic supply companies such as Firefox and Skylighter (major suppliers of fuse and pyro chemicals). This would severely cripple - if not destroy - the hobby of fireworks making, which is practiced safely by thousands of people across the country.

The United States Government keeps a very close watch on all things that are explosives related, especially after the September 11th attacks. These forums are undoubtedly monitored by the CPSC and BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) due to their popularity in the fireworks community.  Pyro Universe is founded on the safe, legal use of pyrotechnics and has nothing to hide from law enforcement agencies, and as such, discussions of illegal practices are not tolerated.  It is up to all of us as fireworks enthusiasts to practice our hobby safely and legally before it is legislated out of existence. Therefore: 

Do not draw attention to currently overloaded items.  

Currently, federal law imposes the following limits on 1.4G consumer fireworks:

• 500 grams of composition in a single item (such as 500 gram cakes)
• 60 grams of composition in an aerial shell
• 50 milligrams of flash powder in ground salute (such as firecrackers)
• 130 milligrams of flash in an aerial salute (such as cake shots)

Despite this, every year certain fireworks are manufactured (sometimes intentionally, sometimes not) with more than the allotted amount of composition (most commonly aerial devices that contain more than 130 mg of flash, the composition responsible for loud report).  These devices are not considered to be 1.4G, and are known as overloads.  Many of these slip past American inspections each year and make it to the shelves of retailers/wholesalers.  Because they are labeled and packaged just like every other consumer firework, it is impossible to determine whether or not they are overloaded unless the device is cut open and its powder content measured - though most seasoned pyros can tell just by the sound of the report.  Fireworks companies caught selling these - even if they are unaware - can face stiff penalties.  

When somebody mentions the name of such any device on the public forum, the authorities read the post, locate the dealer, barge in, confiscate as many items as they can, impose massive fines, and otherwise do their best to shut place down permanently as part of their crusade to end consumer fireworks in America, even if the owner honestly had no idea that his products were overloaded (likely because of a labeling mistake in China).  This hurts the owner as well as everybody in the region who bought fireworks from that store, and the subsequent blown-out-of-proportion style media coverage ("Highly explosive stockpile of TNT fireworks found in rural store!  Is there a connection to terrorism?  More at 11!") further demonizes fireworks, and may even threaten future legislation to legalize fireworks.  This has already happened a couple of times on this forum during the last couple of years: somebody posts about an overloaded item located within a very specific geographic region, and within days the local firework dealer gets raided by the CPSC.

Discussion of older, classical overloaded items, i.e. those that have long since been either toned down or reclassified as 1.3G (such as Thunder Kings and Battle of the Colors) is fine.

Do not solicit suggestions for overloaded items:  On the same token, do not post asking for "hard breaking shells", "salute shells", "loud cakes", nor ask for items that are "similar to"/"just like" other overloads (eg, "I'm looking for something just like a thunder king.")

Don't use the PM system for trying to obtain illegal fireworks.  Many members of Pyro Universe are licensed importers, wholesalers, manufacturers, and/or display operators.  Do not send them private messages and ask for them to "hook you up" with 1.3G fireworks or otherwise break a myriad of state and federal laws by supplying you with devices that you're not licensed to use.

 No discussions of current/future illegal activity. The "Pyro Events" forum is a great place for fireworks lovers to find others in their area and organize a group trip to a fireworks outlet to make large purchases. There's nothing wrong with that. However, it's unfortunate that people will often break the law in doing this.  Some people take this a step farther and actually sell fireworks to others without having the proper facilities, insurance, or permits.

I do not condone the breaking of laws when it comes to fireworks, but I cannot physically stop you from doing it. However, I do not want you talking about future plans to do so on these boards. Remember that this is a public forum; authorities can use any information here without a warrant. You are not anonymous when using the internet, and it is not difficult for CPSC agents or state authorities to find out who you are and where you live, and then come to your house (or show up at your shoot site) to confiscate your stash (as well as documents, computers, and anything else they feel is "fireworks-related").  If the media decides to cover it, their bad press and the resulting public outcry will add even further incentive for lawmakers to outlaw fireworks.  Your actions affect a lot more people than just you.

If you live in a state where fireworks are illegal and insist on obtaining and lighting fireworks illegally, please do not reveal your location, do not solicit help in crossing borders, taking back roads to avoid police, or otherwise make public any specific plans to do anything illegal.  

No discussions of unsafe practices.  Most people are aware of how to properly use fireworks.  Despite our best efforts to observe safety guidelines, I know that some of us have had some sort of minor fireworks injury or mishap, or have just played around with fireworks in a flat-out idiotic manner. But for heaven's sake, don't go bragging about it on the boards :

"I was shooting bottle rockets at the neighbor from my window, but one flew back inside my house and scared the hell out of my cat! Ha Ha Ha!!"

That's real terrific. But that's the type of story you share in private with your closest pyro buddies, not the entire Internet. As fireworks lovers, we have a bad enough reputation that stems from a tiny percentage of law infractions and injuries by a few idiots. Don't make it worse by making yourself look like you're not competent or mature enough to use fireworks safely.

The bottom line is, we all need to be careful about what we do with and what we say about fireworks. Let's not give the anti-fireworks community any more reason to push for the eradication of our beloved hobby. I want us, as a community, to always be able to use fireworks, and to do that, everyone on this forum must take seriously their responsibility and do their part to preserve fireworks. If you insist on making plans to break the law, then do it off-line. I don't want to know about it, and I don't want it here.  If the moderators or I see posts containing such material, it will be edited/deleted, and you will be given a warning. If it continues to happen after that, you will be banned from the forum.

I want these boards to be a source of fun and educational discussion about fireworks, and these rules are designed to ensure just that.  It may seem like a lot, but most of them are common sense, and all of them are necessary for preserving this community.  I have been part of several forums over the years, and I've seen first-hand how quickly an unmoderated forum can get out of hand and become completely useless.

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