ChristiansUnite Forums

Welcome => Questions, help, suggestions, and bug reports => Topic started by: nChrist on May 26, 2008, 02:12:53 PM



Title: FORUM RULES and ADVERTISING, SPAM, SOLICITING PROHIBITED!
Post by: nChrist on May 26, 2008, 02:12:53 PM
FORUM RULES and
ADVERTISING, SPAM, SOLICITING PROHIBITED!

Moderators:  The Moderators of Christians Unite are mature Christians who are unpaid volunteers. DO NOT argue with or criticize the Moderators on the forum for enforcing the forum rules. If you can't or refuse to obey the forum rules, you need to go elsewhere or you will be banned.

FORUM RULES:  You had to agree to obey the forum rules to get an account here. The forum rules are subject to change, but they are always easy to find on the top-left area of each forum page under "Discussion Forums - Main Menu". Click the link to read the forum rules:  http://forums.christiansunite.com/rules.shtml

The rules are designed for a Christian family forum, and we do have children and young people using the forum. The forum rules WILL BE ENFORCED by several moderators and the Administrator of Christians Unite. Common sense should dictate how a person should act on a Christian family forum, but it is obvious that Christians Unite needs written forum rules that will be enforced. The following is an excerpt from the forum rules. It is being posted here again because of the numerous and continuing violations:

"Disrespect, mockery, or blasphemy of Almighty God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible, and Christianity are not permitted here. This would include the user name, anything in the user's profile, anything the user might post, and links to other sites that contain such material. Prohibited material obviously includes cursing, profanity, and "fill-in-the-blank" messages that suggest this material. Prohibited material also includes promotion or defense of alternate lifestyles, other religions, atheism, humanism, or other beliefs that are contrary to the teachings of the Holy Bible. Material of such types will be edited or deleted and the user may be banned. These and other rules posted by the Administrator of Christians Unite are final and not subject to debate."

There is a "welcome" and "information message on the Home Page of the forum. We would ask all users of the forum to consider this message as general guidelines to make Christians Unite a friendly and wholesome place for Christians of all ages to enjoy fellowship.  http://forums.christiansunite.com/index.php

WELCOME TO the ChristiansUnite Discussion Forums. We are pleased to offer the Christian community the ability to discuss Biblical issues, or just have a bit of fellowship with other Christians. A peaceful discussion of doctrinal issues is welcome. Unfortunately those who break the peace through personal attacks or other disruptive posts will be banned.
      Please let me repeat; this is a Christian Forum, and discussion of other religions is not allowed unless it is pertinent to Christianity.
      If you are new here and wish to join in the discussion, I encourage you to register. Don't be afraid to post a topic, voice your opinion, or ask a question.
      Enjoy your stay, and come back soon as the forums continue to grow!


ADDITIONAL BIBLE STUDY AREA RULES: Posting and participation in the Bible Study Area is for Christians ONLY. We would like this area to be permanent and one of the most popular on Christians Unite. The key to achieving this goal is how we as Christians will handle disagreements. Disagreements should be handled in a gentle manner with Christian Love, a manner that would honor and please Christ in the study of HIS HOLY WORD.

Report To Moderator:  This exact text, "Report To Moderator", is on the bottom-right side of every message posted on the forum. If you see profane language, a sexually oriented post, or some other violation of the forum rules, please press this text on the message containing the violation and type in a brief description of why you think it is a violation. The Administrator and all of the moderators receive this report, and we do the best we can to appropriately handle your report in a timely manner. "Troll" is a term used to describe a person we try to ban from Christians Unite, and your help is requested to aid us in this effort by using the "Report To Moderator" key.

DEFINITIONS:

TROLL:  Generally, this is a person who comes to a Christian forum for the sole purpose of trouble. They usually attack, disrupt, annoy, and/or mock the things of God until they are banned. We try pretty hard to keep Christians Unite free of trolls.

ADVERTISING:  A post that attempts to bring public attention to the offering of goods, a product, a business, or a service.  The definition remains the same for a non-profit organization, an individual, a charity, a church, etc. This obviously applies to links, banners, or information included in a member's profile that may accomplish the same thing. This also includes the offering of a free product or service as an enticement or lure with an obvious end purpose of selling goods or services. PROHIBITED ON CHRISTIANS UNITE DISCUSSION FORUMS!

SPAM:  Generally, this is unsolicited junk mail that may involve everything from advertising to illegal get-rich-quick schemes. Many of them also involve fraud, con games, and other illegal acts. Most generally, this would be the type of mail that you would trash if you received it by regular mail or block if it was received by email.  PROHIBITED ON CHRISTIANS UNITE DISCUSSION FORUMS!

SOLICITING:  Generally, this is the asking for donations, the offering of business opportunities, and any number of other requests that may be related to spam and/or advertising. This obviously applies to links, banners, or information included in a member's profile that may accomplish the same thing.  PROHIBITED ON CHRISTIANS UNITE DISCUSSION FORUMS!

Those who advertise, spam, or solicit on Christians Unite Discussion Forums are wasting their time completely. The posts will be deleted immediately and the user will be warned and/or banned. Prohibited material includes LINKS and anything else that is visible in the post, or profile.

Private Mail And Email Notes:

1 - Private mail on Christians Unite is TURNED OFF due to long-term abuse by advertisers, spammers, con artists, and other abuse that was NEVER AUTHORIZED by Christians Unite. We didn't check private mail because of privacy concerns, so PRIVATE MAIL was turned off to stop the abuse of our users. The only PRIVATE MAIL you will receive from Christians Unite is Official Mail from the Administrator and Moderators of Christians Unite. You will also receive system notifications of new messages in areas you have subscribed to and requested "new mail notifications".

2 - Your Email Address: Please set your Email Address to HIDDEN in your system profile. The forum system must always have a functioning Email Address for Official Use, but IT ISN'T WISE to SHOW the entire world your Email Address. If you mark your Email Address as SHOWN in your system profile, everyone will be able to see your Email Address, including people who are NOT members of the forum. AGAIN, WE ASK YOU TO PLEASE SET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO HIDDEN IN YOUR SYSTEM PROFILE. If you don't, you are inviting spam mail, advertising, and all kinds of abuse of your Email Address. Christians Unite has no control over this if you leave your Email Address shown to the entire world, so any resulting problems will be your fault.

3 - Final note to Advertisers, Abusers, Spammers, and Con Artists: This is a quick way to be banned, and it doesn't matter what method you try to use. Methods that attempt to bypass our controls of this abuse will also result in you being banned. This obviously includes anything in your profile shown to other users, anything you post, and any links you place in posts. This also includes web links in your Email Address and/or invitations for other users to Email you. THIS IS PROHIBITED ON CHRISTIANS UNITE DISCUSSION FORUMS AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! IF FRAUD, SCAMS, CON GAMES, OR OTHER CRIMINAL ACTS ARE INVOLVED - USERS MAY BE REPORTED TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES FOR PROSECUTION!