Forum Rules
Introduction: By registering at Freelance Water Cooler, you are privileged and encouraged to contribute in any form. However, there are terms and conditions that we feel to be extremely fair, outlined here. Please read them before posting on the forum. By registering as a member with the forum, you agree to all of these terms and conditions and understand that we also reserve the right to penalize or ban anyone who breaks the rules outlined here or disrespects the terms and conditions laid out. Before breaking one of these rules, terms, or conditions, feel free to send a message to the user ‘freelancewatercooler’ or the moderator of an affected thread. These rules can be changed at any time but registered members will be notified of the change.
1) REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION
a) Freelance Water Cooler does allow users to have more than one identity on the forum, but please do not lie to an administrator or moderator if asked about it. Remember, we can view your IP address.
b) Please participate. Share information, pictures, videos, or anything else necessary with others and thank members for their contributions. Though “Lurking” is completely acceptable, registration and participation is highly recommended.
c) Please clean out your messages regularly. There is a limit as to how many messages can be in a private mailbox.
d) Please use English when posting. Freelance Water Cooler proudly hosts members from all over the world but this is an English language forum. We understand if English is not your primary language but encourage your best attempt to speak English. Please consult an administrator or moderator if you need assistance.
e) Before making a request, please search for the content first. We do not appreciate multiple threads about the same information.
2) BANNED CONTENT
a. Anything irrelevant to the thread a member is posting in will be removed or moved to a more relevant category, end of story.
b. Insulting a member is not acceptable. A discussion or argument is acceptable, but please keep it civil. Questioning the sexual orientation or size of a member’s brain is not an acceptable way to argue a point. Posts that are made in an insulting manner will be edited or removed and threads that have uncontrollable heated arguments may be locked. If you have an issue with someone, take it up with them personally and leave it out of the forum. Any heated arguments that have crossed that line will result in warnings and/or bannings at administrator discretion.
c. Profanity is not acceptable. Freelance Water Cooler hosts professionals of all types, and we want to keep discussions as professional and civil as possible. If the word you wish to use ends in ‘-uck’, please make sure it is equivalent in appropriateness to ‘yuck’ or duck’ before using it or it will be removed and you will be warned. If you plan to use a word that rhymes with ‘itch’, it has better not begin with a ‘b’. Do not speak to a member of the Freelance Water Cooler forum in a manner that you would not speak to your grandmother or you will be warned.
d. Racist and hateful content is not acceptable. End of story. Any blatent racist or hateful content will cause immediate, permanent banning from the forums without question or discussion. Arguments are acceptable, even heated arguments, but if the hate line is crossed, there is no return.
e. Sexual content is not acceptable. There are places to post sexually explicit information and material. This is not one of them. Any sexually explicit discussion or material being posted will result in the immediate banning of all individuals involved without warning or question.
f. It IS acceptable to promote your own products or services. We are here for business and we all want to make money, after all. However, any excessive postings may be considered spam. Also, please wait until you have posted a few more helpful posts and become part of the community before trying to sell yourself.
g. With section f stated, spam is not acceptable. Do not post messages with just a link in it or with unrelated solicitations. Spamming members by e-mail or private message is also not acceptable. Any spam will be removed and the member will be warned. Links included in posts MUST be relevant to the post. Any links you like can be placed in signatures, relevant or not.
h. Bumping posts is not acceptable. If your post has quickly become old news and has not been picked up by the members, they probably cannot help you or your post is not interesting to them and bumping it will only cause annoyances anyway. It will be to the sole discretion of a moderator whether you have bumped a post or not. A post that has been bumped may be removed, locked, or predated and the member may be warned.
i. We want to encourage you to use our forum to benefit your business, but we are not the press. Do not post press releases.
j. Reposts are not supported. Members who repost will be warned and the post will be removed, moved, or merged with another post. Before posting something you “found” or “thought of”, just make sure it has not been posted yet by doing a quick search. We understand that people are human and that duplicate information may be posted. We are prepared to give allowances for that and only penalize those who have genuinely reposted, either out of laziness or maliciousness.
k. NOTE: The staff here has the final say as to what is appropriate or not, relying on the judgment of the administrator or moderator. You can appeal a judgment call made by an administrator or moderator by sending a message to member ‘freelancewatercooler’, the site’s username.
3) FORUM GUIDELINES
a. Begin new threads in the most relevant category possible. If you are not sure where to post something, ask a moderator. If you do not ask a moderator for help and the post is placed in the wrong category, it will be moved and you will be warned.
b. Be civil with members and staff. Handle disputes personally; leave the forum members out of it.
c. Make replies to threads relevant.
d. You may link to anything you want in your signature. Any links in your post must be relevant to your post.
e. Do not attempt to change another member’s post. The only way to do that would be by way of hacking the site or the member’s username, both of which will create automatic banning from the forum.
f. Do not pretend to be anybody you are not. Members can be automatically banned for that. Using an alias instead of a real name is fine, but your alias should be something like “Biscuit” to be acceptable, and not “Donald Trump” or “Michael Jackson”, unless that is your actual name, which may require claim verification if there is a problem.
g. Username changes are permitted, but you will have to contact a moderator to complete such an action.
h. The staff here also has the final say as to what actions are not appropriate. Rules will be changed immediately to accommodate the new decision of the staff unanimously agrees and the member will be verbally warned.
4) PENALTIES
a. Warning – We correct your wrongdoing however we see fit and then issue you a warning. Warnings are only valid for 90 days. If you receive three warnings within a 90 day period, further penalties may be incurred.
b. Temporary banning- After three warnings have been issued within 90 days, you may be temporarily banned for a period of days, weeks, or months. Upon renewal of your account, you are expected to be on your best behavior or face permanent banning.
c. Permanent banning- After three warnings have been issued within 90 days, especially warnings for more serious wrongdoings, or if a temporary ban does not fix the issue, a permanent ban may be in order. Upon permanent banning, you will never be allowed to be a member with our forum again. We never expect to have to do this, but we reserve the right in extreme cases to take extreme action.
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