Rules
Rules
The following things are absolutely forbidden:
- Racist, sexist, homophobic and other discriminatory language
- Posting offensive or pornographic material
- Defamation
- Posting anything that contitutes a criminal offence
- Impostering (i.e. articles written in the name of another person)
- Posting “spam” of any kind, i.e. advertising and information that is not relevant to the discussion
- Assuming the identity of another existing person. You may use a nickname, but please do not use the name of a famous person.
You must do the following:
- Address other participants by their nickname, even if you know their real name
- Keep postings short, focussed and relevant to the topic being discussed
- Focus your contribution on one issue
- Keep quotes as short as possible. Paraphrase if necessary.
- Think about the information that you post. Please post only relevant information and documents.
- Topic titles should be succinct so that a reader can decide whether they want to read on or not. If the topic deviates from the original title, the title can be modified accordingly
- Ensure that any images you post do not have copyright restrictions preventing their use, and accredit them (i.e. note the source) where necessary. Posting short extracts for informational purposes is okay; anything beyond that is illegal
- Comply with the laws of the country you are in and with the regulations laid down by your service provider
Other dos and don’ts:
- Avoid asking other users questions of a personal nature
- Try not to write posts longer than 2,000 characters (including spaces)
- Take your time to familiarise yourself with the structure and nature of the site and the various functions of the system. You will also find guidance and advice in the "Help" section.
Netiquette
In addition to the above rules, please adhere to the following guidelines to preserve a pleasant atmosphere and ensure constructive discussions:
- Demonstrate respect for others, using moderate conversational language (write only what you would say to someone face to face)
- Remember that the written language has limitations: intonation, feelings, irony etc. can be expressed only by clear indications (e.g. icons, underlining, asterisks). Read posts carefully before answering to try to detect any sarcasm or humour to avoid misunderstandings
- Remember that others cannot always respond to your posts immediately
Enforcement measures
Moderators can ensure that rules are adhered to by:
- Deleting topics, posts or comments and informing the author where small, inadvertent violations occur
- Issuing a yellow card (or caution) for moderate violations, using discriminatory, threatening or insulting language; repeated obvious disruption of the discussion; repeated falsification, i.e. posting in the name(s) of others
- Issuing a red card for repeated violations or a single serious violation, including postings that amount to a criminal offence or wilfully sabotaging the system.
Only the administrators and moderators are authorised to impose concrete sanctions and give out yellow or red cards.
Moderation
Moderators actively participate in the discussion on this platform. Consequently, at weekends and from 9pm to 9am CET the next morning the forums will be closed. All comments, ideas and contributions posted between these times and at weekends will still be saved by the system but published either the next morning or sporadically by the moderators.
Moderators are responsible for enforcing the rules and applying the enforcement measures, above. Be aware that they cannot be held responsible for all problems or conflicts between users.
