Forum rules and guidelines

 

This agreement spells out the rules that participants in these forums are expected to abide by. These rules may be revised occasionally. The forum administrators will post a conspicuous notice of any changes on the forum, but it is the responsibility of participants to ensure they are familiar with the latest version.

 

The SPGB web forums are operated by the Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) and are intended to promote discussion of matters related to the SPGB, the World Socialist Movement, and socialism in general. Everyone may read the forums, and posting access is available to all registered users who accept and abide by this agreement. Registration is free.

 

Your use of the forums indicates your agreement to abide by these rules, to abide by the decisions of the moderators in interpreting and enforcing these rules.

 

1. The general topic of each forum is given by the posted forum description. Do not start a thread in a forum unless it matches the given topic, and do not derail existing threads with off-topic posts.

 

2. The forums proper are intended for public discussion. Personal messages between participants should be sent via private message or by e-mail.

 

3. Do not use the forums to send spam, advertisements, charitable appeals, solicitations, or other messages primarily intended to promote a particular product, service, campaign, website, organisation, venture, or event, unless it is relevant to the SPGB or its companion parties, without first obtaining permission from the moderators.

 

4. Do not use the forum to send any material that you know or should know would expose the SPGB to criminal or civil liability. This includes but is not limited to material which constitutes libel, harassment, or violation of copyright. You may, of course, quote portions of third-party publications for ‘fair dealing’ purposes such as criticism or review.

 

5. Do not use the forum to send any material or links to material that you know or should know contains or exposes readers to malware, computer viruses, trojans, and so forth.

 

6. Do not make repeated postings of the same or similar messages to the same thread, or to multiple threads or forums (‘cross-posting’). Do not make multiple postings within a thread that could be consolidated into a single post (‘serial posting’). Do not post an excessive number of threads, posts, or private messages within a limited period of time (‘flooding’).

 

7. You are free to express your views candidly and forcefully provided you remain civil. Do not use the forums to send abuse, threats, personal insults or attacks, or purposely inflammatory remarks (trolling). Do not respond to such messages.

 

8. Do not register or operate more than one account without first obtaining permission from the moderators. Do not share your password with others or allow anyone else to use your account. Do not use your account to post messages on behalf of any suspended user, without prior permission from the moderators.

 

9. Do not vandalise or tamper with the forums in order to deface them, to impersonate or deny access to others, or to evade the enforcement of these rules.

 

10. You retain the copyright to the original material you post. By posting on these forums you grant the SPGB and its successors and assigns a non-exclusive irrevocable right to publish your posting in any manner it or they see fit without notice or compensation to you.

 

11. Do not abuse the report function. Only highlight posts that genuinely require moderator attention.

 

12. Moderators may move, remove, or lock any threads or posts which they deem to be off-topic or in violation of the rules. Because posts and threads can be deleted without advance notice, it is your responsibility to make copies of threads and posts which are important to you.

 

13. Moderators may temporarily or permanently suspend posting and private messaging privileges for posters they deem to be in violation of the rules.

 

14. Rule enforcement is the responsibility of the moderators, not of the contributors. If you believe a post or private message violates a rule, report it to the moderators. Do not take it upon yourself to chastise others for perceived violations of the rules.

 

15. Queries or appeals relating to particular moderation decisions should be sent directly to the moderators by private message. Do not post such messages to the forum. You must continue to abide by the moderators’ decisions pending the outcome of your appeal.