Research Stir Social Network for Science Forces
Connect with Scientist, Sponsors, Collaborators and Fans
RESEARCH STIR FORUMS TERMS OF USE
Introduction:
To become a member of the Research Stir Forums, you must agree to this Forums Terms of Use (Terms). This Terms applies in any and all areas of the Research Stir Forums and is a supplement to the Research Stir Terms of Use, which also applies here.
The purpose of the Research Stir Forums is intended to connect scientists, science supporters and science fans to open discussions in variety of science related topics. New user groups and new categories can be created instantly to promote scientific research collaboration, research resourcing and the awareness of current science support shortages.
Research Stir also intends this to be a place where caring scientific research community can develop and enjoy one another’s company. To achieve this, we strive to maintain an atmosphere that can be enjoyed by all and we ask all members of the community to be respectful at all times. To achieve that we ask you to use etiquette and politeness. Treat other members with kindness, gentleness and respect. If all members keep this approach, the rest of the Forum Terms of Use won’t need more than a cursory mention.
All posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author of each post. Those liable for the content of posts and private messages are the ones submitting the material, and not the administrators, moderators, webmaster, the Research Stir community, or anyone else.
This is a moderated forum, but only in the sense that we act to deal with content that violates the forum Terms when we become aware of it. The staff of this forum attempt to edit or remove any objectionable or illegal material as quickly as possible. However, with the volume of activity we have on our site it is impossible to review every message.
Users agree not to post anything abusive, rude, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, advertising or marketing related, or sexually-oriented. Material that suggests illegal activity or contains illegal content is also forbidden. Such threads will be closed and offending users will be banned from forums. Since, our forums may be used by people at work and students and we want to ensure they will not encounter material that will cause them problems or cause their access to our site to be limited, so all content should be safe for people at work and for students.
Users posting any content that violates this Terms may have their posts edited or removed, may have their account or IP address banned temporarily or permanently, and could have a report filed against them to their internet access provider or to proper law enforcement authorities. The IP addresses of all users are recorded to provide evidence or assist in enforcing these Terms.
Finally, you agree that forum staff have the right to remove, edit, move or close any post or topic (aka thread) at any time they see fit following the guidelines outlined below. You agree that the staff of this forum have the right to send a private message with a warning and/or censor any forum user who is in violation of forum policy.
I. FORUMS GENERAL POLICY:
1. Respect the Forums Administrators and Moderators. We have limited time to respond to request assistance with forum issues. If you believe an error has been made in moderation or other staff actions, please contact us through the contact form below and help us understand your perspective.
2. Forbidden content and actions:
a) Messages containing violent, sexually oriented, or illegal content or links to sites with this content will either be deleted or saved beyond the Forums as evidence. Messages with links to or suggesting illegal activity will also be deleted. Posting or linking to any of these could result in a ban.
b) Trolling (posting in a way that provokes emotional responses) are always forbidden.
c) Attacks and derogatory terms of any kind are not welcome.
d) Flames (messages that personally attack or call any people names or otherwise harass) along with any generally condescending posts will be edited or removed at the moderators discretion.
e) If a thread is flame-bait (appears to be intended to start an argument or is likely to cause an argument rather than enhance discussion, as in trolling), it will be removed without notice. Individual flame-bait comments in a post may be deleted or edited at the moderators’ discretion.
f) If the thread turns into an argument, it can be closed to further comment or removed without notice. On occasions a moderator may split the thread or delete certain portions in order to keep the discussion going, but that is not always possible due to our limited time.
g) Spam (unsolicited advertising): Spam will be removed and IP will be banned. If you have legitimate research items or services as per our Classified Terms of Use post your stuff on our Classifieds instead. You are allowed to post links to other sites in threads on occasion (if it truly relates to the thread topic) as long as the content of the site linked does not include material that violates this Terms and if you are not posting any other form of advertising.
h) Profanity. We have users of all age groups and of all tolerance levels where profanity is concerned. A language filter is in place to catch most major forms of profanity that may accidentally be used. Do not attempt to circumvent the language filter by using variations or slight misspellings of profanities.
i) Politics is a forbidden topic in the forums. Please find another venue to exercise your freedom of speech in this topic
j) Religion may be referred to only if it truly relates to scientific topic discussion in a thread. Religion itself cannot form any independent thread as it cannot be a User Group or subgroup subject. As with politics please find another venue to exercise your freedom of speech in this topic
3. Please keep discussions on topic. Do not act to achieve thread drifting or intentional steering.
4. Reporting Posts: If you have found a post or receive a private message that you feel is inappropriate or that violates the forum Terms, please use our contact form below to notify us. Do not attempt to moderate discussions or correct other users yourself.
5. Posting Images: please use thumbnails or keep your image to a small size and less than 100kb.
6. Posting Links: You may post links to sites with content that is acceptable according to this Terms. Advertising links are not permitted in forums.
7. Your avatars image must comply with the content guidelines of this Terms. A discreet image from your religion is permissible if it is not ostentatious, disruptive, provocative, or for the purposes of proselytizing. Political avatars are not permitted at all.
8. Users may only have one active account. If you feel you have justification for requiring a new account, please contact an administrator to discuss your situation. Users who have multiple accounts without approval of an administrator may be banned.
9. We discourage private messaging. It is unlikely that users will respond to questions via private messages. It is also against the intent of the forums to create open scientific community.
10. On occasions we may close a thread. Frequent reasons a thread may be closed, include:
- The thread has run it’s course and posts have begun repeating themes
- The thread has degraded into an argument
- The thread topic is a duplicate of another current and active thread
- The thread is very old.
11. Appeals: If you have a complaint about administrator/moderator action or believe an action was taken in error, please inform us through the contact form below. We will try respond promptly.
II. GUIDELINES ON TOPIC CREATION
Non adherence to these guidelines and misconduct on forums can lead to a ban from the forums.
1. When creating a topic (thread), make sure it is posted in the correct section. Always, try the section you feel it is best suited in.
2. Formulate the title of the thread properly. Make sure it fits the topic, is to the point, and try to use normal spelling. Don’t overuse capitals or exclamation marks.
3. When posting a topic, wonder whether the thread is indeed a contribution to the User Group, and has something new/different/interesting to offer. If it doesn’t, it may be considered Spam, and moderators may delete it.
4. The creation of a thread with the intent purpose of advertising another website is discouraged, especially in the case of ‘one-posters’, who merely join and post with the intent of advertising.
5. Don’t reply to your own post if you forget to add something, i.e., post two consecutive posts. Instead, edit the initial message.
6. Do not repeatedly post on the same subject. If members didn’t respond the first time you posted it, chances are they’ll like it even less the second time around with a new post. If you’ve made great improvements, at least reply to your original topic. Don’t go starting a whole new topic on the exact same subject.
7. Do not post the same topic or similar topic on multiple boards across the forums, most, if not all, will be deleted. If you posted a topic in the wrong forum, contact a Moderator through the form below to have it moved.
8. Make your replies meaningful. If your reply won’t offer any significant advice or help contribute to the conversation in any fashion it may be considered spam and removed.
9. You are responsible for your posts. Make sure you credit the original author(s) if you make a reference, or citation. Assuring that people know where they can find the original source is encouraged.
10. Posts containing large amounts of copied content are discouraged. A small (quoted!) paragraph, with a link to the original source is preferred.
III. DISCLAIMER
The above rules are subject to change without notice.
Last Updated: 17 July 2012.
