Because the purpose of the Community is the harmonious interchange of ideas and information between community members and between communities, certain guidelines of behavior need to be followed. By entering the Community you agree to the following terms and conditions for participating in the Community:


Rule 1
In communicating to others in the Community follow customary manners as they are (or at least as they should be!) followed in real life. In other words don't insult other members, don't make statements that are grossly offensive including blatant expressions of bigotry, racism, hatred, or profanity and don't indulge in abusive or harrassing behavior or personal attacks. This includes not indulging in racial, ethnic, sexual, or religious slurs, disruptive behavior of any kind or making lewd comments.

Rule 2
The Community is a set of places where people are not discriminated against on the basis of personal beliefs, sex, age or race and a place where people are not attacked for these things. One intention of the Community is to provide an oasis for rationality, pleasant discourse and harmony rather than tirades and insults against those who disagree with your views.

Rule 3
The public meeting places are not sex-chat spaces. This means that you must not engage in sexual activities or sexually-explicit chat that would generally be considered offensive or inappropriate in a public place. What you do in the private spaces is your own business - what you do in the public spaces becomes everybody's business and appropriate actions will be taken to prevent violations. These actions include gagging offenders, removing them from the community for a certain period of time and, in extreme cases, exiling them forever.

Rule 4
You may not promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities, or  promote physical or mental harm or injury against any group or individual. You also may not indulge in activities that infringe upon anyone else's copyright(s).

Rule 5
The Community is not responsible for the content of these meeting places. That responsibility lies solely with the people using the spaces since they are the ones dynamically creating the content.  The opinions and views expressed in these meeting places do not necessarily reflect those of the Community.

Rule 6
Due to legal requirements the Community does not monitor these meeting places, but the community itself, in the interests of fostering positive community spirit, has decided what it will and won't accept in these spaces and various security persons do check on the spaces from time to time. We do not wish to be forced into using filters by the foolish and thoughtless actions of the minority.

Rule 7
Members can be held legally liable for the contents of their speech, and may be held legally accountable if their speech includes, for example, defamatory comments.

Rule 8
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Community for any loss, liability, claim, damage, and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from or in connection with the contents of your speech and your use of these communities.

Rule 9
Your uploaded avatars, and your participation in conferences and chats, are subject to review, modification, and deletion without notice by Community Leaders or others responsible for community activities.

Rule 10
Avoid excessive shouting (use of all caps) or flooding (continuous posting of repetitive text) in the Chat areas.

Rule 11
Impersonation of the Community Sysops or staff members is prohibited. False representation of yourself as a the Community employee or sysop can result in immediate termination of your the Community account.


WHAT CAN I DO IF SOMEONE IS VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION FOR
PARTICIPATING IN THE COMMUNITY?

Right now the software provides the following protections for you:

1.) You can choose any user(s) to ignore and thus not see their communication
2.) You can refuse private messages and
3.) Contact an Ancient One who will warn the offender and take the appropriate action if the inappropriate activity continues.

Have fun :)