EO Code of Conduct for Open Forum

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JoshM

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Code of Conduct

The following is the Code of Conduct for members of the ExpeditersOnline.com Open Forum. This Code of Conduct has been established to create a professional atmosphere in all of our forums. It applies to every member and as a member of our online community you will be expected to adhere to it. Although not every rule or regulation is spelled out verbatim, this should give EO members a good idea of what is and what is not acceptable when participating in our community.

ExpeditersOnline.com has an outstanding group of moderators who help moderate the posts and topics on these forums. These individuals have volunteered their time to assist us in making this THE place to come share with fellow expediters and the expedited trucking industry as a whole. Please keep this in mind and treat all moderators with the utmost respect.

1. Registration.
One person can register only one username. Only one username is allowed per IP address. During registration process, a valid email address and name must be supplied. To complete registration, the user has to reply to an activation email.

2. Be respectful of others at all times.
The purpose of this forum is to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and information. Occasionally, there will be conflicts that arise when people voice divergent opinions. Be courteous when disagreeing with others. It is possible to disagree without being insulting.

3. Personal attacks are prohibited.
Members are not permitted to harass or "flame" other members. Do not post or send via Conversation (private message) any threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, profane, hateful or otherwise objectionable material of any kind, including, but not limited to, any material which encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, violate the rights of others, or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, or federal law. All flames will be automatically deleted and the member may be warned or permanently barred from future forum use.

4. Ranting is prohibited.
A rant is a post which is long-winded, redundant and filled with angry, non-constructive comments. A free exchange of information is essential to building a strong sense of community and helpful in the development of ideas, but rants are disruptive and incite flaming and trolling. Please post your thoughts in a concise, clear manner and avoid going off on rambling tangents.

5. Trolling is prohibited.
Trolling is the word used to describe a post that is deliberately designed for the purpose of angering and insulting the members of the forum community. Posts of this nature are disruptive and serve no purpose and subject to immediate removal.

6. Drive by posting (DBP) is prohibited.
A drive by posting (DBP)is when a new or newer member who has a personal issue or dispute with a carrier, dealer, manufacturer, fleet owner, fleet driver or any other entity and makes their first post as a negative attack or public scathing. Posts of this nature are disruptive and serve no purpose and subject to immediate removal. New members are required to have a minimum of ten (10) posts before they can make a controversial post on any topic.

7. Posting Links.
Our policy on linking to other websites or forums is pretty simple. Members may link to any other site that provides information that helps answer another member's question or is just of general interest to members on that particular topic. The only type of linking that is not acceptable on our site is when members link to a competing website. That's just common sense. We won't allow people to use our site to promote a competing service any more than a brick-and-mortar store would allow his competitor to paste flyers all over his walls.

8. Spamming is prohibited.
Spam is considered to be repetitive posting of the same topic again and again or nonsensical posts that have no substance and are often designed to annoy other forum users. Posts of this nature are not conducive to the community and are unwelcome. - Posting an identical topic in more than one forum is considered spam. - Sending any commercial message via the Conversations (private message) feature of the forum will also be considered as spamming.

9. No posting of personal information
Please respect the privacy of others and do not post information such as phone numbers and addresses.

10. Private communications
Private communication between the moderators, administrators and other forum members is not to be made public on these forums or by any other venue. You are not permitted to publicize any private correspondence received from any of the aforementioned.

11. Warnings and bans are not to be discussed on the forum.
Such matters shall remain private between the moderators, administrators and the member. Questions or comments concerning warnings and bans will be conveyed through e-mail or private messaging (the Conversations feature). Likewise, discussions regarding moderator or administrator actions are not permitted on the forum.

12. Privilege vs. Right in the ExpeditersOnline.com Open Forum Community.
By becoming a member of the ExpeditersOnline.com Open Forum Community, you agree to adhere to this Code of Conduct and The Terms of Use Agreement (TOUA). It is a privilege to be a member of this community - not a right. We reserve the right to remove anyone from our site, at any time, for any reason.

13. Immediate banning from the forum can result from any of the following:
Violating the Code of Conduct, posting of pornography; comments which are sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive; excessive obscene or vulgar language; posts which discuss or illustrate illegal activity; providing links to sites that contain any of the aforementioned.

14. Impersonating another forum member, moderator or administrator. You are expressly forbidden from impersonating any member on the forum.

15. Posting Advertisements.
This is a forum of information and idea exchanging, so unauthorized advertisements are not allowed in this venue. A member may answer another member's question about their own business, however, blatant unauthorized advertising or solicitations of or for business is not acceptable. It is acceptable for members to mention services or product as long as the information is germane to the topic and is not a blatant advertisement. Members may use their signature space to promote personal projects of interest to other members at the administrators' discretion. If you are unsure whether your post is appropriate, please contact one of the administrators.

16. Editing or Reposting of Moderated Posts
If an Administrator or Moderator edits or removes a post, members may not edit the Moderated text in any way or repost the removed posts. Doing so may result in the member being banned from the forums.

17. The Soapbox Forum
The Soapbox contains topics which engender strong opinions and passions, therefore the Code of Conduct rules are often less rigidly enforced, so as to allow a more free and relaxed discussion. However, insults directly or indirectly towards individuals or entire groups (religious, political or otherwise) will not be tolerated. Responses must be on-topic and not directed at the individual (respond to the post, not the poster). You will not be permitted to post messages in The Soapbox Forum until you have at least 25 posts of consequence in other forums. The Soapbox Forum is a forum for expediters to express their opinions to other expediters. If you are not an expediter, you may still participate, but only with the understanding that the Code of Conduct will be more strictly enforced so as to prevent disruptions within the forums.

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How The Code is Enforced
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1. Post deletion and edit

Offending posts may be deleted without notice. If a moderator or administrator must edit a post to remove offending comments, a note will be made by moderator. Posts may also be moved to a more appropriate forum without notice.

2. Warnings
We want to give you as much room as possible to prove you can be a benefit to the community. Warnings for misconduct will be issued as often as deemed necessary by the moderators and administrators.

3. Good Deed Clause
Redemption is sometimes possible through a Good Deeds clause. This would normally involve a victim accepting a sincere apology from the offender. If the victim and offender have made amends, moderators and administrators will look at the situation and act accordingly.

4. Ban
When necessary, we reserve the right to remove a person's posting privileges for a short period of time, or forever. So if you are banned for a short period of time, DO NOT burn your bridge back to the community. Contact a administrator in private to voice any complaints and or apologies.

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Problem Resolution
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This Code of Conduct is not meant as legal code that doles out justice, but instead is a basic guide for good conduct. Because of this, moderators and administrators are under no obligation to take on a case if it seems counter-productive to do so; e.g. taking retro-active measures that do not affect the present atmosphere of the forums. Moderators and administrators would prefer NOT to have to ban anyone from the forums, but must utilize these rules due to the size of the community and the vast amount of personality types that will frequent it.

The moderators and administrators are the sole arbitrators of the Code of Conduct and will pass judgment on a case-by-case basis. Members are asked to notify the moderators by reporting violations of the Code of Conduct within a reasonable time period after the alleged violation occurs.

Moderators are in contact daily via the Moderator Cafe - a private forum, and must justify their actions
there. After the issue is discussed between moderators and administrators, a representative will contact you concerning the decision. The notoriously fickle and blurry nature of such exchanges makes it nearly impossible to draw up a precise definition of exactly what constitutes a violation of the Code of Conduct. Moderators and administrators are more often than not simply forced to draw upon their vast and collective experience to adjudicate when enough is enough, and take whatever steps they deem necessary in order to keep the peace, good will and reputation of the forum.

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A Note on Common Courtesy
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Check if your topic is being discussed in another thread before starting a new one. New threads should be posted in appropriate forums. Please don't derail threads more than necessary and get back on topic ASAP. We reserve to lock any thread that has run its course. We frown on thread-jamming (i.e. interrupting the flow of a thread with brief posts without really participating in the discussion).

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A Note on Freedom of Speech
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You have no freedom of speech in the forum. Period. This does not violate the 1st amendment. You are comparing apples and oranges if you think so. Let us give you a quick civics lesson for those who weren't paying attention in school.

Quote:

1st Amendment - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Notice that this amendment mentions the agreement that congress shall make no law prohibiting free speech. We are not the US government nor are we passing US legislation, hence we fall outside of this rule. This is a privately controlled forum and moderation may be used when necessary. We are not unlike any other private entity, and you are essentially a guest in our house. Your 'freedom' to post in this forum extends only as far as we say it does.

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A Legal Notice
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You understand that all posts, pictures, private messages or other materials whether publicly posted or privately sent, are the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated. This means that you, and not ExpeditersOnline.com, its owners are entirely responsible for all content that you post, email or otherwise make available via the forum or our website. ExpeditersOnline.com does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such information. You understand that by using the forum, you may be exposed to content that is offensive or objectionable.

Under no circumstances will ExpeditersOnline.com be liable in any way for any content, including,
but not limited to, for any errors or omissions in any content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content posted, emailed or otherwise made available via the forum.

You acknowledge that ExpeditersOnline.com does not review all content, but that ExpeditersOnline.com and its moderators and administrators shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to remove or move any content that is available via the forum. Without limiting the foregoing, ExpeditersOnline.com and its moderators and administrators shall have the right to remove any content that violates the Terms of Agreement or is otherwise determined to be objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such content. In this regard, you acknowledge that you may not rely on any content created by ExpeditersOnline.com or submitted to ExpeditersOnline.com, including all parts of the forum.

You understand that any information you post becomes the property of ExpeditersOnline.com and you acknowledge and agree that ExpeditersOnline.com may preserve content and may also disclose content if required to do so by law or in the good belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the Terms of Use Agreement (TOUA); (c) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third-parties; or (d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of ExpeditersOnline.com, its users and the public.
 
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