Forum Policies


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Section 1: Terms of Service


(This is the form you agreed to when signing up, since there are some who just click "I agree" and don't read it. This is posted here so you can actually see what you missed.)

 

In order to use these forums, users are required to provide a username, password and email address. Neither the Administrators of these forums, or the Moderators participating, are responsible for the privacy practices of any user. Remember that all information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to share any of your personal information. Any user who finds material posted by another user objectionable is encouraged to contact us via email. We are authorized by you to remove or modify any data submitted by you to these forums for any reason we feel constitutes a violation of our policies, whether stated, implied or otherwise.

 

This site may contain links to other web sites and files. We have no control over the content and cannot ensure it will not be offensive or objectionable. We will, however, remove links to material that we feel is inappropriate as we become aware of them.

 

These forums give users two options for changing and modifying information that they provide in their profile:

Users can login with their username and password to change any information in their profile.

In case of lost password, users must choose the "Forgot Password" link on the login page.

 

Cookies must be turned on in your browser to participate as a user in these forums. Cookies are used here to hold your username and password and viewing options, allowing you to login.

 

By pressing the "Agree" button you certify that you, the user, are 13 years of age or over. You are fully responsible for any information or file supplied by this user. You also agree that you will not post any copyrighted material that is not owned by yourself or the owners of these forums. In your use of these forums, you agree that you will not post or email members of this forum with any information which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, pornographic, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violates any law.

 

By posting material on this forum you agree that ULCO has the exclusive right to move, delete, store, copy, or modify any material posted in connection with the normal operations of this forum. You retain full responsibility for material you post and agree to hold ULCO harmless and to defend ULCO against any and all actions that may arise regarding the content of materials posted by you.

 

ULCO claims no ownership interest in the intellectual property rights of any material posted by you on this forum.

 

By posting material on this forum whether it is forum posts, photographs, or files of any nature, you agree that ULCO has a perpetual license to copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, transmit, upload, download, store, and display in public said material in the normal course of the forum operations.

 

This forum is for your personal and non-commercial use only. You may download materials on on this forum for your personal, non-commercial, use only. No other permission is granted to you to copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, upload, download, store, display in public, alter or modify these materials except in the normal course of your use of this forum.

 

By posting on this site you agree that the post does not contain material that is protected by copyright, or that your post meets the ‘fair use’ clause of the Copyright Law of The United States (17 USC.) ULCO responds promptly to requests to enforce the DMCA and any posts made by you for which we receive a take down notice will be promptly deleted.

 

Any previous copyrights transferred to ULCOnline under the previous rule are hereby returned to their original owners, and now fall under our current policies regarding works posted on this forum, where applicable.

If you do agree with the rules and policies stated in this agreement, and meet the criteria stated herein, proceed to press the "Agree" button below, otherwise press "Cancel".

 

Please remember that we 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 forum. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. 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.

 

Use of this forum constitutes acceptance of original Terms of Service, Rules, and Policies. Admins may change the policies, as they see fit, at any time, for any reason, and without notice. However, every effort will be made to make you aware of changes that may occur. Continued use of this forum after any revisions constitute acceptance of modified terms and policies.

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Section 2: Operating Statement Information, Warnings, Suspensions, Banishment

 

The Operating and Mission Statements of the ULC Online Forum are written by the ULC Forum Innkeepers and can be viewed here.

By posting on the ULC Online Forum you are responsible for knowing and abiding by the Section 1 Terms of Service, The Section 2 Operating Statement and all subsequent forum policies posted in this thread.

 

Be respectful. You have some room to challenge opinions and state your own. Behavior should not cross the line into personal attacks and insults, or you risk having your account suspended, deactivated and possibly banned. It's understood that everyone has a different interpretation of what "attacks" and "insults" are. On this forum, interpretation is up to Moderators and Administrators. There is a progressive punitive system in effect for individuals who do not observe the forum policies, and unless otherwise noted, this is how it works:

 

  1.  First offense: Warning. The member being warned will be notified via PM or email.
  2. Second offense: Suspension of 2-7 days, depending on the severity of the offense. In severe, extreme, or aggravated instances of rule violations, an indefinite banishment may be found to be more appropriate. The member will be notified via email.
  3. Third Offense: Banishment or indefinite suspension.
     

If the member in question feels they have been wronged on any violation, they are welcome to make an appeal and the Volunteer Staff will begin an investigative process to determine appropriate action on the claim. However, this does not guarantee a reversal of any decision - only a second look.
 

Moderators are not exempt from policy or corrective action. All concerns regarding the actions of Volunteer Moderator Staff that appears to be outside of policy or operating protocols should be taken to the Admins of the forum for investigation. Likewise, Administrators are also not exempt from policy or corrective action. Concerns regarding the actions of Volunteer Administrators should be taken to the Innkeepers (owners), Brother Kevin and Senior Lightworker Lucas who will investigate and take appropriate action on the claim.

 

If there is an extenuating circumstance, an individual's account may be temporarily suspended until there is sufficient personnel available to handle the situation.

 

Any individual who registers an account - with or without the intent of posting - while suspended will be permanently banned. Previously banned members registering on this forum will be deactivated. Anyone who registers an account with the intent to impersonate an existing forum member will be permanently banned.

 

 

Edited by Senior Lightworker Lucas
policy updated July 9, 2017
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Section 3: About Your Moderators and Administrators

 

Moderators maintain their assigned section(s). They are responsible for monitoring the topics and the post content within their assigned forums to ensure that ongoing discussions meet the standards of policy.  They participate in archiving old topics, moving topics to more appropriate areas, and to serve as a link between Admin and forum members, For issues or concerns, members should first go through an available moderators (a chain of command of sorts).

 

You cannot delete your own posts. Moderators can however. Their protocols for deletion need to meet certain criteria. Deleting is not permitted unless the post contains information that breaks any of the rules listed in this guide, excluding normal forum maintenance duties. A warning will be issued in most cases first, but moderators interpret the rules listed in this post on a case-by-case scenario.

 

Typical moderator responsibilities:

  • They will go through - at their convenience - and archive outdated topics and possibly delete topics that serve no purpose.
  • They will move topics to areas that are more appropriate, as they come across them.
  • They will address any immediate concerns or questions you have (they're volunteers, though, so don't abuse them).
  • They will monitor the sections and topics for appropriate content (per forum policies.)
  • They will let you know if something appears to be getting out of hand in your post replies. I urge members to listen to a Moderator's suggestions. They were chosen for those positions for specific reasons.
     

If you have doubts about a post...re-consider. Ask if you're unsure. The PM function works for any member on this forum (and is currently capped at 100 messages).

If you have issues with anything, you may contact the Mods or Admins.

 

  • "God-Mod-ing" will not be tolerated. Moderators are no better than anyone else; they've just been given extra responsibility to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable experience.
  • Come directly to an Administrator if you have an issue with a moderator or the policies of the moderators - we have an open door policy.
  • Criticism or humiliation of the volunteer staff (or any member) in open forum will not be tolerated.
  • If you have an issue there are avenues such as using PMs or direct forum email to try and  resolve issues. Don't let something grow into a problem.

 

The function of Administrators is the day-to-day responsibility for running and maintaining the forum, providing guidance and direction to Moderators and other members as needed, and enforcement of forum policies and rules.

In the performance of moderating/administration duties, it may sometimes be required for a moderator/admin to quote portions of posts, or show examples of posts, that violate forum policies. This is acceptable only within the confines of those duties.
 

Forum participation is highly encouraged on this forum, and one of the best ways to do this is to get to know your moderators. They are there to support you. And again, the admins have an open-door policy on any issues you may have. We are here to make sure the forum is run fairly and equitable, and order is maintained so you have an enjoyable experience. Enjoy.

 

 

Edited by Senior Lightworker Lucas
policy updated July 9, 2017
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Section 4: Inappropriate Language

 

Mild profanity is not filtered; stronger language is. Deliberately subverting these filters will not be allowed on this forum. Special characters and other methods to bypass the (curse) word filters on this forum is unacceptable. This includes using *(or other characters/symbols) in place of another letter normally in that bad word. If you type (for example) *ss, and ass is on the list, you will receive a warning. If you MUST type a bad word, use ** (no letters before or after) and you'll be fine.

 

Assuming that ass is on the profanity filter, the filter will replace the word with "**".

 

Typing *** to convey the meaning of the word on the filter is not acceptable, and warnings WILL be issued. In most cases it is wise to choose another word.

 

You can either type the word, and let the filter fix it, or type ** and nothing else (including suffixes such as ing, etc.)

 

Use common sense when posting. If we see the word "ass" 45 times in one paragraph, we're liable to do something about the post. Use it in moderation and consider the context.

 

Using similar sounding words, phonetic spelling methods, or non-English languages to circumvent the forum filters is not allowed. They're just other methods and using any method to post a word that is normally filtered will result in a warning.

 

Please note that while minor cussing is allowed, racial epithets, ethnic slurs or name-calling of any derogatory fashion is strictly prohibited. This is taken more seriously than minor curse words.

 

Profanity filters are not perfect. Occasionally it will filter a word that is completely acceptable in the context where it is used. Subverting the filter for this purpose will not cause you to receive a warning if, in the sole opinion of the administrators, your intent was acceptable language.

 

Edited by Senior Lightworker Lucas
policy updated July 9, 2017
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Section 5: Excessive Posting (Spamming) and Solicitation

 

Please try to think about your topic and include relevant information in your posts. Give give your fellow members time to respond to a newly created topic.

 

Repeated rapid-succession posts to cause topics to "bump" or creating 'empty' and irrelevant/out of place content similar to what would go into an email spam folder will be suspended or banned immediately - no warnings.

 

Posts containing solicitations for money are not acceptable. Soliciting money will be warned, suspended or banned immediately, at the discretion of the admin. This includes banners - in entries or signature lines - that solicit, or link to a site that solicits, for money or the raising of funds for any cause, pay-per-click links, and links or advertisements that do similar.

 

Advertisements for companies, organizations, websites, or services that are not related to ULC or the membership of this forum are generally prohibited. Member websites are allowed, as will sites where members have HOMEMADE items or services for sale or trade.

 

This policy will be construed to cover site or site addresses that either redirect (for any purpose) or are found to be malicious or cause disruption, intentional or not, of the end-user; normal technical issues, such as outdated browser software, are not considered disruptive in nature (unless technical issues are exploited, such as security flaws of outdated browser software). Violators will be warned, suspended, or banned at admin discretion.

 

Members who use the e-mail function of the board to send out solicitations can be banned immediately. This includes collecting member e-mail addresses for the purpose of soliciting or scamming the membership. Continued violations could result in notifying the member's internet service provider.

 

Edited by Senior Lightworker Lucas
policy updated July 9, 2017
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Section 6: Harassment

 

  • If you feel you are being harassed on this forum, take the issue up with the offender in private email. If it continues, publicly ask them to stop, on this forum.
  • If a person is harassing you repeatedly, please notify a moderator or admin. The person doing the harassing will be spoken to first. If the harassment continues, that person will be warned, then banned. If the Administration sees post content that they feel is "attacking" or harassing other forum members, they will be warned once, then banned. If a member is being attacked by another member, the member being attacked must report it, if they feel it warrants intervention. We will not accept reports on behalf of another member.
  • This forum is no place for personal attacks. There is no reason why a person can't come here and feel safe, knowing that they aren't going to be repeatedly harassed. This is an equal opportunity website.
     

 

Section 6b: Flaming

 

  • Posting person-to-person damnation/cursing, or ill-wishing a person's present physical state of being and/or surroundings such as their health, job, family, home, belongings, et al, (i.e., "I hope your spouse dies," "Rot in hell.") will be subject to corrective action.
  • On the system of honor encompassing the doctrine of the Universal Life Church, you agree that you will not circumvent making direct dialogue with a forum member you are in disagreement with to influence the outcome of the status of the relationship by using personal, impersonal, or incorporeal sources of energy, i.e., spell casting/ritual. This is not a control over what you can or cannot do in regards to your diety/ies, et al; we can only ask this on the honor system.
  • However, posting that you have completed a process of, or intend to interfere with a forum member's livelihood by doing so is subject to corrective action.
     

 

Section 6c: Conduct of Posts
 

  • Any post that, in the sole opinion of the administrators, has the appearance of belittling, disparaging or humiliating a participant is maligned with the vision and mission of this forum.
  • Further, if any topic or reply is designed to entice a specific negative response, it shall be considered "baiting" and is inappropriate for this forum.
  • Pointing out someone's inaccurate statement is ok, if done in a respectful manner.
  • Respectful debate is encouraged. Engagement created for inviting arguments is not.
  • Violations of conduct can result in a warning with or without penalty.

 

Section 6d:  Outbound Links and Information

 

  • Topics started here on the forum are created for the purpose of generating social interaction. You are welcome to post outbound links to accompany content related to a topic. Outbound links are supplemental for participants to use as reference.
  • Creating a topic to only post an outbound link will generally be considered spam and the topic will be deleted. Creating a topic with an outbound link containing few words, or containing phrases that are intended as SEO link-back strategy is also considered spam and will be deleted. 
  • News and information links leading to material which appears to be misleading or is considered outright misinformation recently termed "fake news" will be deleted. Context included with outbound links in a post or reply will be taken into consideration to differentiate what is considered satire, strong bias, opinion, op-ed, hypothetical/hypothesis, theory or pseudoscience.

 

 

 

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Section 7: Hotlinking (bandwidth theft)

 

Hotlinking is the linking to of images located on someone's server (website), other than your own, resulting in unauthorized data transfer. All forum members are reminded that using any image or words from another site without permission may violate the host site's Terms of Service Agreement and subject you to possible legal action. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have permission before using anything from another site for a quote, avatar or signature picture.

 

If the administration is notified that a member is hotlinking, that member will be warned. If that member fails to comply by removing the hotlinked content, they will be banned. Many sites will allow you to use the images, free of charge. Some even allow hotlinking, though most require you to upload the images to your own server space. It is your responsibility to make sure you have permission.

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Section 8: Topics in Appropriate Areas
 

  1. Appropriateness of Topics on the Forums.

Post your topics in the appropriate section. If you are asking a question about the legality of performing a wedding ceremony in your region, that post should not be in Computer Tech Assistance.

Each forum has a description that offers ~keywords to help suggest if the topic fits best there. Please read the full descriptions and keywords on the forums that are candidates to post your topic in.

Some subject matter for topics are "crossover" and may fit in several places. When posting a topic that has multiple areas, please consider who the audience is that you want to be presenting your topic to, or who you would like to most receive a response from. No group is excluded from posting a reply and all will be welcome to reply, regardless of the forum area or their ideology. It does help to keep in mind who the audience for your topic is.

 

Examples:
If you hope to hear from all forum members about what their thoughts are about "What Does God Mean To You?" Interpath / Interfaith Dialogue may be most appropriate.

If you hope to hear primarily from Pantheists or Polytheists for the question "What Does God Mean To You?" posting the question in a forum where polytheists hold discussion will focus the question to be answered according to a polytheists experience within their practice. Others who do not study the same practice will also add their thoughts and questions and are welcome and encouraged to.

 

 

Edited by Senior Lightworker Lucas
policy updated July 9, 2017
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Section 9: Personal Information

 

The posting of another person's real life information is prohibited. The fact that the information that you post of another party is available elsewhere will NOT be accepted as justification.

This is really a two-part rule. The only person you can post information on is yourself. Don't, however, divulge any private information such as your Social Security Number or credit card numbers. This forum is not the appropriate place for that information. Do not divulge any login/password information- ULCO Staff including Moderators and Administrators will never ask you for your password.

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Section 10: Chat Room Policies

 

[The Chat Room feature is currently unavailable.]

 

We have recently installed a chat room for our members. Chat as much as you want; start fights and get warned. Repeat offenders will be banned. Logs from all chats reviewed daily and normal forum rules apply to the chat room, as well. Too much member abuse may result in the chat room being removed with out notice. The profanity filter in the chat room is currently disabled. HOWEVER...this does NOT mean that you have free reign on profanity! Words that are acceptable in the forum are acceptable in the chat room. If abused, the profanity filter will be reinstated (and it's more restrictive than the forum filter); this includes bypassing the profanity filter.

 

 

Edited by Senior Lightworker Lucas
information updated July 9, 2017
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Section 11: Multiple Accounts

 

Members are not allowed to have more than one account registered. Any accounts found to have the same IP address, registered to the same e-mail address, thought to belong to one individual will be suspended immediately, for a time period to be determined by the Administrators. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for households, subject to Admin approval.

 

If your household has more than one person in it who would like to visit the forum with their own account, the IP will show as the same. In such a case that another user in the household is creating or has an account, they must use a different email address. The sharing of accounts in one household especially to post or reply is not considered to be a straightforward activity. Only one user is permitted to post on a username.

 

Admins will delete any extraneous accounts. Any individual who registers an account - with or without the intent of posting - while suspended will be permanently banned.

Previously banned members registering on this forum will be deactivated.

Anyone who registers an account with the intent to impersonate an existing forum member will be permanently banned.

 

 

Section 11b: Account Removal

 

It is not necessary to request that your account be removed. You may simply stop pointing your browser at this site. Inactive accounts are periodically removed as a part of regular housekeeping. If your account is removed and you wish to return simply re-register as a new member. However, if you feel the need to announce your departure to the entire forum and you do so in a derogatory manner, or violate any forum rules when doing so, your account will be marked as banned and you will not be allowed to re-register in the future.

 

 

Edited by Senior Lightworker Lucas
information updated July 9, 2017
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Section 12: Copyright Infringement

 

Please do not post an article from another website in its entirety here on this forum. Partial information and a referencing link to the entire article is welcome.

 

Articles, texts, and any other information not written by the poster must be properly credited to the author of said work. You are permitted to post articles, so long as they are within the scope of the forum policies. If you did not write the article in question, you must provide the author's name and source of the article. (A link will do, where applicable.)

 

Posts that do not have proper sourcing information will be removed at admin discretion.

 

Most of the people on the forum are knowledgeable enough to understand copyright protection laws in general.

 

Any works reproduced here are the sole responsibility of the poster. The posters are responsible for any liability or damages occurring due to the posting of copyright materials. ULC Online takes no responsibility stemming from the posting of copyright materials by the posters on the forum.

 

Should an article be contested by an author claiming copyright infringement, the article will be immediately removed from public view during the investigation. If the author is determined to have cause for concern regarding an article, it may be deleted from the forum and the poster penalized in accordance with forum policies.

 

If you find an article of interest on the internet that you'd like to share, this is the "Approved" way to do so: Post a paragraph or two, and a link to the source so that people, if they are so inclined, can click on the link and read the rest for themselves.

 

 

Edited by Senior Lightworker Lucas
information updated July 9, 2017
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Section 13: Illegal Activities

 

Discussion about organizing or participating in activities that violate the law might include, but are not limited to, advocating or asking for information regarding software piracy or unauthorized emulators of software or hardware, sharing or distributing viruses, licenses, registration information, software, software keys, "cracks," or other information designed to do harm to or allow unlawful access to any computer hardware, software, networks, or any other systems, as well as any other criminal activities, including the sale of non-legal items.

 

Linking to or providing information on sites that contain promotion of, endorsement of, participation in, knowingly allowing others to, conspiring to, or otherwise advocating the commission, attempted commission of, or intended commission of illegal activities or actions will result in immediate and permanent banishment from this forum and may subject members to appropriate legal action(s), depending on local, State, provincial, territorial, or state (country) laws, regulation, and appropriate treaties.

 

 

Edited by Senior Lightworker Lucas
information updated July 9, 2017
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Section 14: Embedded Media

 

Use of media in posts is the responsibility of the poster.

If you wish to link media in your post it will automatically be available in the post.

(What this means is that if someone posts a link to a YouTube video the forum software now will automatically embed that video right into the forum post.)

This causes anything in the media that would normally be considered against the rule, language, discrimination, name calling, etc, to be displayed in your post.

Please review the entire media clip before posting.

Any words, signs etc., that would breach the rules of a normal post will be handled as if the content was written in text as a transcript and placed on the forum. All other rules/policies are included such as language, copyright etc.

Any media content will be deemed as your own content as if you posted it Yourself.

 

 

Edited by Senior Lightworker Lucas
information updated July 9, 2017
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