Everyone who knows the staff at Cemetery Dance (all five of us!) knows that we're really easy going people and we love discussing books and movies and everything else. That said, our good friends at the thedarktower.org have been running message boards for a long time and, with their permission, we're using our own version of their Terms of Service. The Cemetery Dance Forums are privately owned and operated, and while we can't be responsible for anything that is posted here, we want to do our best to have a happy and productive community. Please feel free to contact [email protected] or [email protected] if you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or suggestions for making this a better forum.
Here's where we get all serious and official:
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1. Post & Topic Relevance
(A) Members should always seek to keep their posts applicable to the topic they are posting in.
(B) Members should only begin new topics when the subject matter to be discussed is relevant or covered under the terms of the forum they are placing the topic in. Off-topic posts outside of designated areas will be monitored and, if in excess, moderated by forum Facilitators. Topics placed in the wrong forum of the site are subject to being moved to the correct forum by Facilitators or merged, if applicable, according to the terms of Posting Guidelines 2A – 2C.
(C) Topics which are deemed unproductive or unnecessary are subject to being closed or deleted by Facilitators at any time without notice.
(D) Self promoting your own books is allowed, but within reason. Whether you're actually contributing to the community will be determined by the board's staff on a case by case basis. Our recommendation: don't be obnoxious about it. We love authors and we love books. If you actually join the community, put a link to your website or book in your signature, and participate in discussions, that will generate a lot more goodwill for you and your work than a "spam and run" post.
(E) Topics discussing order specifics and problems with orders, should always be brought to the attention of the Cemetery Dance staff before being posted on the forums. Posts will be deleted otherwise. This message board is not for customer support purposes.
2. New Topics
(A) Members should only post new topics when a similar topic hasn't already been posted.
(B) It is the responsibility of the posting member to administer applicable searches to find any such topics before posting the new topic.
(C) Any topic not in compliance with these guidelines is subject to being merged with the pre-existing topic(s) at the discretion of forum Facilitators.
3. Member Interaction
(A) Members are expected to treat their fellow members with common respect on the boards at all times, even during disagreements. Although adult language is technically permissible in the forums, it should not be used in an aggressive manner with the intent to cause harm or for the purpose of malicious degradation.
(B) Racism, homophobia, or any other type of bigotry or prejudice will not be tolerated on these boards. Racist terms, ethnic slurs, and other terms which are associated with prejudice and hate will be edited from the forums and any user found posting such content will be mod queued until such time as action has been decided upon by site staff.
(C) No member shall engage in any behavior that could be construed as sexual harassment, including—but not limited to—unwelcome sexual advances; sending, either by email or personal message, unsolicited and unwelcome images of a graphic nature; requesting images or other content of a graphic nature repeatedly against the wishes of another member; stalking; as well as any other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.
(D) Members should report such activity to site staff immediately so that mediation can be implemented, but must understand that behavioral action against any member’s account will not be taken without compelling evidence and due process.
4. Staff Interaction
(A) Members are to show respect for site staff at all times while posting in the forums, and should never openly question a staff member’s authority.
(B) If a member feels that they have been treated unfairly, or that a situation was dealt with by a staff member in an uncouth or unfair manner, they should either address it to said staff member via personal message, or report the incident to Brian Freeman. Arguing with or attacking a staff member in the forums will result in immediate mod queue for a period of no less than twenty-four hours.
(C) In the event that a staff member has edited a post or closed a topic, no member shall then repost the edited content or topic. Violation of this guideline will result in a mod queue of no less than twenty-four hours.
5. Spoilers
(A) Spoiling key parts of any story for another member is never acceptable.
(B) Spoiler Tags MUST be used when discussing any part of a books, movie, etc, that might spoil it. Do not assume everyone has seen or read everything you have.
(C) Spoiler tags can be applied by clicking the icon in the Post Reply toolbar.
(D) Failure to comply with any given forum's spoiler requirements may result in behavioral action, up to termination of the member's posting privileges.
6. Signatures & Avatars
(A) Images in all signatures should be no larger than 200H by 500W.
(B) No animated images are allowed in signatures or avatars, as they affect page loading.
(C) Profanity and other potentially offensive text will not be allowed in signatures in any font size over 10.
(D) Signatures or avatars used for the purpose of attacking other members or staff will be removed by site staff, and may result in behavioral action.
7. Adult Content
(A) Sexually explicit images containing nudity are not permitted to be posted on the site at any time.
(B) Suggestive images of any kind are not allowed to be used as avatars or in member signatures. Violation of this guideline will result in the removal of the image, and the posting member will be warned. Repeated violation may result in further behavioral action.
8. Alternate Accounts
(A) Members of this board are allowed only one account, unless given explicit and documented permission by a site Director.
(B) Members found to be using alternate accounts will have the additional account(s) blocked, and may be subject to behavioral action.
9. Spamming & Misuse of Accounts
(A) Members found to be “spamming” the forums or other members via personal message in any way or for any purpose will have their private messaging privileges suspended and will be immediately mod queued for a period of no less than twenty-four hours. If the spamming continues after the imposed period of mod queue and PM suspension, said member will have their membership terminated immediately.
(B) Members who use their posting or private messaging privileges for the purpose of conspiring or acting out against site staff will have their private messaging privileges suspended and will be immediately mod queued for a period of no less than twenty-four hours. If the behavior continues after the imposed period of mod queue, the member will be restricted until such time as site staff determines behavioral action, up to termination of the member's account.
(C) Posting links to viruses or other malicious content will result in an instant ban, no questions asked.
10. Misc Rules
(A) Discussions about politics are not allowed on this board. We do not care if you are Left, or Right, or Moderate, or Cthulhu. There are other worlds for these discussions.
(B) Discussions about religion are not allowed on this board. Again, same reason as 10-A.
11. Illegal Content
(A) Content which violates the laws of the United States is not permissible at any time and may result in termination of the member’s posting privileges.
These Terms of Service are based on the Terms of Service at thedarktower.org and cannot be duplicated without the express permission from thedarktower.org
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So that's all of the official stuff we have to post. Again, please feel free to contact [email protected] or [email protected] if you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or suggestions for making this a better forum.
Here's where we get all serious and official:
-------------------------------------------------------------
1. Post & Topic Relevance
(A) Members should always seek to keep their posts applicable to the topic they are posting in.
(B) Members should only begin new topics when the subject matter to be discussed is relevant or covered under the terms of the forum they are placing the topic in. Off-topic posts outside of designated areas will be monitored and, if in excess, moderated by forum Facilitators. Topics placed in the wrong forum of the site are subject to being moved to the correct forum by Facilitators or merged, if applicable, according to the terms of Posting Guidelines 2A – 2C.
(C) Topics which are deemed unproductive or unnecessary are subject to being closed or deleted by Facilitators at any time without notice.
(D) Self promoting your own books is allowed, but within reason. Whether you're actually contributing to the community will be determined by the board's staff on a case by case basis. Our recommendation: don't be obnoxious about it. We love authors and we love books. If you actually join the community, put a link to your website or book in your signature, and participate in discussions, that will generate a lot more goodwill for you and your work than a "spam and run" post.
(E) Topics discussing order specifics and problems with orders, should always be brought to the attention of the Cemetery Dance staff before being posted on the forums. Posts will be deleted otherwise. This message board is not for customer support purposes.
2. New Topics
(A) Members should only post new topics when a similar topic hasn't already been posted.
(B) It is the responsibility of the posting member to administer applicable searches to find any such topics before posting the new topic.
(C) Any topic not in compliance with these guidelines is subject to being merged with the pre-existing topic(s) at the discretion of forum Facilitators.
3. Member Interaction
(A) Members are expected to treat their fellow members with common respect on the boards at all times, even during disagreements. Although adult language is technically permissible in the forums, it should not be used in an aggressive manner with the intent to cause harm or for the purpose of malicious degradation.
(B) Racism, homophobia, or any other type of bigotry or prejudice will not be tolerated on these boards. Racist terms, ethnic slurs, and other terms which are associated with prejudice and hate will be edited from the forums and any user found posting such content will be mod queued until such time as action has been decided upon by site staff.
(C) No member shall engage in any behavior that could be construed as sexual harassment, including—but not limited to—unwelcome sexual advances; sending, either by email or personal message, unsolicited and unwelcome images of a graphic nature; requesting images or other content of a graphic nature repeatedly against the wishes of another member; stalking; as well as any other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.
(D) Members should report such activity to site staff immediately so that mediation can be implemented, but must understand that behavioral action against any member’s account will not be taken without compelling evidence and due process.
4. Staff Interaction
(A) Members are to show respect for site staff at all times while posting in the forums, and should never openly question a staff member’s authority.
(B) If a member feels that they have been treated unfairly, or that a situation was dealt with by a staff member in an uncouth or unfair manner, they should either address it to said staff member via personal message, or report the incident to Brian Freeman. Arguing with or attacking a staff member in the forums will result in immediate mod queue for a period of no less than twenty-four hours.
(C) In the event that a staff member has edited a post or closed a topic, no member shall then repost the edited content or topic. Violation of this guideline will result in a mod queue of no less than twenty-four hours.
5. Spoilers
(A) Spoiling key parts of any story for another member is never acceptable.
(B) Spoiler Tags MUST be used when discussing any part of a books, movie, etc, that might spoil it. Do not assume everyone has seen or read everything you have.
(C) Spoiler tags can be applied by clicking the icon in the Post Reply toolbar.
(D) Failure to comply with any given forum's spoiler requirements may result in behavioral action, up to termination of the member's posting privileges.
6. Signatures & Avatars
(A) Images in all signatures should be no larger than 200H by 500W.
(B) No animated images are allowed in signatures or avatars, as they affect page loading.
(C) Profanity and other potentially offensive text will not be allowed in signatures in any font size over 10.
(D) Signatures or avatars used for the purpose of attacking other members or staff will be removed by site staff, and may result in behavioral action.
7. Adult Content
(A) Sexually explicit images containing nudity are not permitted to be posted on the site at any time.
(B) Suggestive images of any kind are not allowed to be used as avatars or in member signatures. Violation of this guideline will result in the removal of the image, and the posting member will be warned. Repeated violation may result in further behavioral action.
8. Alternate Accounts
(A) Members of this board are allowed only one account, unless given explicit and documented permission by a site Director.
(B) Members found to be using alternate accounts will have the additional account(s) blocked, and may be subject to behavioral action.
9. Spamming & Misuse of Accounts
(A) Members found to be “spamming” the forums or other members via personal message in any way or for any purpose will have their private messaging privileges suspended and will be immediately mod queued for a period of no less than twenty-four hours. If the spamming continues after the imposed period of mod queue and PM suspension, said member will have their membership terminated immediately.
(B) Members who use their posting or private messaging privileges for the purpose of conspiring or acting out against site staff will have their private messaging privileges suspended and will be immediately mod queued for a period of no less than twenty-four hours. If the behavior continues after the imposed period of mod queue, the member will be restricted until such time as site staff determines behavioral action, up to termination of the member's account.
(C) Posting links to viruses or other malicious content will result in an instant ban, no questions asked.
10. Misc Rules
(A) Discussions about politics are not allowed on this board. We do not care if you are Left, or Right, or Moderate, or Cthulhu. There are other worlds for these discussions.
(B) Discussions about religion are not allowed on this board. Again, same reason as 10-A.
11. Illegal Content
(A) Content which violates the laws of the United States is not permissible at any time and may result in termination of the member’s posting privileges.
These Terms of Service are based on the Terms of Service at thedarktower.org and cannot be duplicated without the express permission from thedarktower.org
-------------------------------------------------------------
So that's all of the official stuff we have to post. Again, please feel free to contact [email protected] or [email protected] if you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or suggestions for making this a better forum.