The 'flue

The Rules

Last updated: March 13, 2005

The 'flue is intended to be a community. We are made of a dynamic and international group of members, from all ages, races, and backgrounds. There are two primary and often conflicting goals in the service we provide for you, the members of this community:

• Ensure that members are free to express themselves in an environment of creativity, learning, and fun.
• Protect the members of the community to the best of our ability from discrimination, and prejudice.

The following is an outline of standard etiquette that we expect all of our members to adhere to. The rules apply to all aspects of the site.

Community Rules

Profanity will not be tolerated. If they can’t say it on Sesame Street, you can’t say it here. If you need to swear to make your point, you don’t have a point.

The 'flue does not tolerate remarks that are in any form of bigotry. These include but are not limited to racist slurs derogatory remarks about philosophies and religions, or offensive remarks based on gender or sexual preference.

Personal insults against 'flue members will not be tolerated.

The use of emoticons for the sole intent of flaming, or insulting, another member will not be tolerated.

Members and visitors have to keep an open mind. Satire and irony may at times appear to violate rules. Clarifying such comments in private before bringing them to the attention of the administration is a good idea. Don’t be thin skinned.

Personal, or private, issues between two or more members are to remain private. The insistence on making such matters public may result in closed forum threads and warnings. If the nature of the problem involves the 'flue itself, you may ask the Administration to mediate the situation to an acceptable resolution.

Violations are defined as specific attacks on an individual or group. Violation of the rules will result in a warning, sent via the 'flue private message system. Administration will take further steps, including suspending an account, as situation deems necessary.

Accusations of offenses, questions or comments regarding specific administrative actions, and copyright violation reports are always to be addressed to the Administration. Misplaced or false accusations may be considered violations of the rules.

Policy on Adult or Pornographic Content

The 'flue is an all-ages community. We do not condone the uploading of adult or pornographic materials, either images, links to images, or text. Such images, links, or text will be considered a violation of the rules and will be removed. The Administration reserves the right to remove any image, text or link it considers in poor taste. Notice of violations will be sent via the the 'flue notes system.

Policy Regarding Forum Posting

While the 'flue does allow for all members to speak their minds freely there are certain rules that must be adhered to within the forums. Free-speech does not amount to the ability to post anything and everything, that one would like to say but, rather, allows for a fair and interactive conversation to take place between members without fear of repercussion. In order to allow for this to happen the following rules apply specifically to The 'flue Forums:

• All posts within a particular forum should stay on topic to the forum that they are being posted to.

• The posting of both postive and negative comments is highly encouraged; however, these posts must remain constructive. Posting a response, or starting a thread without the intention of creating a constructive dialogue is strictly forbidden.

• Attempts to “sidestep” any the 'flue policy—which is to be ascertained by the 'flue Administration based on the context of the post or previous posts- is strictly forbidden.

It is important to remember to be as clear in your intent as possible while communicating on the internet. Our text communications do not afford a clear representation of sarcasm. Please use common sense when posting to avoid confusion.

The failure to follow any of the aforementioned rules may result in the thread being closed and possible administrative actions concerning the member(s) involved, in accordance with the rules.

Image Theft, and Plagiarism

The 'flue will not tolerate plagiarism or copyright infringement – taking another artist's work and posting it as your own. We’re a community of creative types, and theft of another’s work hurts us all.

Exploits, Vulnerbilities, and Site Abuse

The 'flue will not tolerate attempts to exploit or disrupt the layout, navigability, or general use of the site.

The 'flue will issue no warnings for violations of this nature. Violators will be suspended immediately upon the discovery of disruption or abuse.

All infractions are handled on a case-by-case basis. Warnings are sent via the 'flue Private Messaging system. Suspension may be removed upon Administration review in such cases determined eligible by the Administration. Requests to be unsuspended from the 'flue community will likely be ignored.