Announcement: TOS, Posting Guidelines, Link to Forum Rules

Discussion in 'Announcements & Community Discussions' started by Dark Star, Jul 20, 2013.

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  1. Dark Star

    Dark Star Senior Admin Staff Member Donor

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    MISSION STATEMENT

    PoliticalForum.com is a public forum website, open to individuals of all political persuasions, dedicated to the discussion of politics in general. People from all walks of life are welcome to join the discussions in the tradition of vigorous respectful debate. The purpose of this forum's rules and guidelines is to help create an environment that is inviting to as wide a spectrum of people as possible from all parts of the world, but that does not restrict the ability of users to express their political views, even if those views are inflammatory or unorthodox. In a world often filled with intense political turmoil and polarization of beliefs, PoliticalForum.com attempts to bring opposites together to relate their views and learn from one another.


    GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

    Please remember that we we are not able to monitor in real time the contents of posted messages, and are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this website or any entity associated with this website. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to bring the post to our attention by using the “report post” function.

    We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please realize that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately. If a post is particularly objectionable (i.e., a threat, incitement to violence, or other potential safety issue), we suggest checking to see if a staff member is online, and sending them a PM. This will usually get more immediate attention than using the report post" function.

    Although this website does not and cannot review every message posted and is not responsible for the content of any of these messages, politicalforum.com reserves the right to delete any message, or remove a member's posting privileges. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless politicalforum.com, and its agents and administrators, Xenforo (the makers of the Xenforo board software), and their agents with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s).




    TERMS OF SERVICE (TOS)

    You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this website to post any material or topic which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, deceptive, inaccurate, insulting, abusive, inflammatory, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually graphic, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, an incitement to violence, or otherwise in violation of any law, including stalking or otherwise harassing individual members. Quotes, links, graphics or videos (and content contained therein) in your post are considered an extension of your post and must also meet these same standards. By accepting our Terms Of Service (TOS), you agree that once you post, send or otherwise make publicly available any content on politicalforum.com, you expressly grant us, and hereby represent that you have the right to grant us, a perpetual, irrevocable license to quote, re-post, use, or publicly display such content without any notice or compensation to you of any kind.

    Politicalforum.com reserves the right to share your identity or whatever other information we know about you in the course of a legal action or inquiry by a law enforcement agency.

    We reserve the right to terminate or restrict your access to or use of politicalforum.com, without notice or liability, for any or no reason whatsoever. Upon termination of your account, you will not be entitled to any refund of any donations or other prepaid amounts. All decisions regarding the termination of accounts shall be made by us at our sole discretion. Posting any message or image in the public forums, albums, groups, personal messaging system, or any other area of our website constitutes acceptance of our Terms Of Service.



    THE INFRACTION SYSTEM

    In order to facilitate the enforcement of the TOS, and to better track repeat offenders, this community makes use of an infraction/warning system. This system is not to be considered the only method for TOS enforcement, and use of the infraction system in no way overrides, nor circumvents, any policy herein outlined.

    Infractions are assigned a point value. Accumulation of points can lead to a member being automatically banned for a pre-determined time frame. Infractions have a pre-determined time for which the points are active, but warnings do not accrue points.

    All individual moderator actions and decisions (bans, warnings, infractions, edits, deletions, thread closures, etc.) will remain strictly confidential between staff members and the individual members concerned. They must not be discussed publicly in any way.

    As you know, our moderators are volunteers, and moderating is not a perfect science. They have been instructed to enforce the policies and procedures while exercising as much restraint as possible and in such a way to encourage free expression of opinion. Your support of their volunteerism is appreciated, and publicly attacking moderator or other official staff action on the forum may result in suspension of posting privileges or even a permanent ban. Questions can be asked by private message. Suggestions or questions are welcome in the Community forum at any time.

    If you have any sort of complaint or other issue regarding the website or a staff action, please post your concerns in the Feedback forum (where your post will be visible only to you and the staff), or send a private PM to an administrator. The contents of confidential PMs will not be shared with anyone except the site owner.


    GENERAL GUIDELINES REGARDING THE CULTURE OF OUR POSTING COMMUNITY

    Political Forum is committed to two principles that are often contradictory. We are absolutely dedicated to the principle of free speech, but equally committed to the principle of civil discussion. As you can imagine, these two principles often conflict, and our moderation policies and practices are intended to always find a balance point as close as possible to the zone where they overlap. We try to always land in an area that has at least a little bit of both. Sometimes it's easier than other times. Sometimes we're going to miss, and even when we do get it right not everyone is going to agree with our interpretation. But our promise to the members is that we will always do our best to be as fair and impartial as is humanly possible.

    Members are allowed to express any opinion or belief they like on the forum, even if others find that opinion itself offensive in some way. However, comments must not be constructed deliberately just to offend or inflame. Please familiarize yourself with our rules and posting guidelines before posting on politicalforum.com. Also keep in mind that all of these rules apply not only to forum posts, but all other areas of the website - including (but not limited to) social groups, private messages, signature, albums, and reputation comments.

    Given that a certain degree of civility is the foundation of productive discussion, Political Forum will not tolerate insults, personal attacks, or flaming. You do not have to respect the other poster, and you do not even have to respect their point of view - but you do have to address them in a respectful manner.



    A WORD ABOUT RACISM

    The subject of racism has often been a volatile and contentious one on Political Forum. We encourage members to familiarize themselves with our official position on racism.

    To begin with, racism itself is not against our rules. Members of our community are allowed to be racists if they wish. Furthermore, there is no rule against the expression of racism - if someone wishes to express a racist belief or opinion, they are allowed to do so.

    Where we draw the line is at the expression of racial slurs, or comments that - in the judgment of a moderator or administrator - are intended to provoke other members rather than contribute to a productive discussion. These actions will not be tolerated, and may lead to permanent banning. If you are uncertain where the line is between the legitimate expression of an opinion and a racial slur, we suggest erring on the side of caution.

    Link to Forum Rules
    http://www.politicalforum.com/index.php?help/terms
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 19, 2020
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