GRG Message Board Terms of Service

Message Boards: Terms of Service and Netiquette

Before posting on the Germanna Research Group message board, please understand that the following rules are terms of your use of the message board:

• No personal attacks or insults about ANYONE.
   
• No posts with the intention of eliciting negative responses (flaming).
   
• No advertising or any form of commercial solicitation without the permission of  the Germanna Research Group.
  
  
• No material that defames, slanders, abuses or threatens others.
  
  
• No material that contains vulgar, obscene or indecent language or images (this includes the use of replacement symbols like "a$$")
  
  
• No posts containing negative comments about other groups or individuals.
  
  
• No statements that are bigoted, hateful or racially offensive.
  
  
• No material that advocates illegal activity or discusses illegal activities with the intent to commit them.
  
  
• No unauthorized copyrighted material. The Germanna Research Group is not responsible for user control copyright infringment (see Digital Millenium Copyright Act).
  
  
• No posts which are deemed inappropriate by the Germanna Research Group in the sole determination by the Germanna Research Group. 

The Germanna Research Group reserves the right to suspend posting privileges if in Germanna Research Group's unilateral opinion a poster is posting inappropriate material.

Statements or postings that violate the above terms will be deleted upon discovery. Users who violate the Terms of Service may receive a warning or be immediately suspended at the sole discretion of the Germanna Research Group. Depending on the severity and number of violations, the user may lose their account temporarily or permanently. Account suspensions are at the sole discretion of the Germanna Research Group.  More than one account is not allowed. Re-registering without permission constitutes trespassing and is illegal.

Any user posting on the the Germanna Research Group  message boards is implicitly agreeing to these rules, regardless of whether they have been read or not.

Messages posted on these boards are not necessarily the views or opinions of the Germanna Research Group.

NOTICE: You are NOT anonymous on our message boards! Your IP address will be logged and you are accountable for what you post. We can easily find out who you are. Severe violations of our terms of service may result in legal action being taken against you.

"Netiquette" - Helpful Tips for Posters and Readers

• These are privately owned message boards - You do not have "freedom of speech" here. We expect you to behave as if you are a guest in a friend's home, and imagine that you are speaking face-to-face with those with whom you interact. Our boards are read by many people and you should conduct yourselves accordingly. Please mind your Ps and Qs.
  
  
• New to the Internet? Many first time Internet users make the mistake of posting in ALL UPPERCASE CHARACTERS when they start posting or interacting with other users. Please understand that, on the Internet, USING ALL CAPS IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING and deemed by the Internet community as very rude. If you post in ALL CAPS, 'expect' to be corrected. If you're just plain lazy, don't use any capital letters at all. Many in the Internet business type in all lowercase.
  
  
• Don't believe everything (anything?) you read. These are only message boards, and are not at all part of the official content on the rest of the website. It doesn't take long to figure out who knows what they're talking about on these boards and who does not. By default, you should assume unsubstantiated posts are untrue and work from there.
  
  
• Do a quick check of the message board before posting to see if the question you are about to ask or the article you just read and were about to post has already been posted.
  
  
• Familiarize yourself with the rest of the Germanna Resarch Group websites. There is a LOT of easily accessible information here, so please don't be lazy and waste space by asking questions when the answers are one or two clicks away.
  
  
• Do NOT use HTML in the subject line of your post. The Germanna Research Group alone reserves the right to do this for important announcements.
  
  
• Keep your posts on-topic. This is not a board to discuss politics or gossip.
  
  
• If you can make your entire post fit in the subject line, then do so! This saves people an unnecessary couple of clicks.
  
  
• Do not make posts such as "hey, so-and-so, check your email!" or similar posts. This is not your personal message
  board, and making such posts only causes posts of interest and value to the rest of the community to roll off the board.
  
  
• Most people who visit the Germanna Research Group message board are interested in information and discussion on historical topics so please limit your posts on off-topic matters.