This section is pretty heavy-going in what you can and can’t do. Lot’s of legal gumbo, lots of talk about how to approach subject matter in a courteous and respectful manner. This is because we desire AustLiterature.Net to be a friendly space for thoughtful and considerate discussion across a range of topics related to Australian Literature. Sure, we’ll get into some sensitive and delicate areas because, let’s face it, there are a lot of things at issue in Australia Literature and people have strong passionate feelings about this. So these rules are a way of protecting this dicussion space and for setting its tone while at the same time providing some guidelines so we don’t abuse the opportunities available through open discussion. Now for the legal stuff.
The Rules, Regulations, and Other Legal Information
This website is provided by AustLiterature.Net to you (’you’ or ‘user’), subject to the rules below. If you violate the rules you may permanently be banned from using AustLiterature.Net and, where required by law, we will contact your Internet Service Provider regarding improper use. Accessing AustLiterature.Net will constitute acceptance of the rules below. If you do not agree to abide by these rules, PLEASE DO NOT ENTER OR USE AustLiterature.Net.
AustLiterature.Net Rules
Considering the real-time nature of websites these days, it is impossible for us to review comments or confirm the validity of information posted. Please remember that we do not actively monitor the contents of posted comments and are not responsible for any comments posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any comment, and are not responsible for the contents of any comment. The comments express the views of the author of the comment, not necessarily the views of AustLiterature.Net nor any entity associated with this us. Any user who feels that a posted comment is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable comments and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please realize that we may not be able to remove or edit particular comments immediately. For your reference, listed below are the type of violations which will result in AustLiterature.Net banning/terminating or suspending you from using AustLiterature.Net. You agree not to do any of the following actions while using AustLiterature.Net. Moderators may, at will and without notice, remove postings or ban participants that violate this code of conduct. Moderators have the right to delete or add a statement or disclaimer in any posting.
Please treat all other online participants with respect and do not use the AustLiterature.Net to threaten, harass, stalk, or abuse other users. We reserves the right to remove user-created services and content that advocate or encourage expressions of violence, drug use, bigotry, racism, hatred, obscenity, or profanity.
Respect the privacy of other members and individuals. Do not post personal information about them (i.e. Name, addresses, phone numbers, passwords, pictures, family names etc.) without their consent.
Do not make any statement, accusation, comment, or opinion that may be considered (a) harmful to, libelous or slanderous to, any person, country or company.
Do not malign, ridicule and/or insult anyone or make threatening or racial remarks to users of AustLiterature.Net regardless of their status in life, political belief, ethnicity, race, religion and/or gender.
Ignore trolls and troublemakers. Posting only encourages them. The threads may be entertaining to those individuals who are uninvolved in the personal attacks, but they only cause problems in the long term.
Do not attempt to post topics with ‘hidden agenda’ items while ‘hiding behind’ the rules of this board so as to bait other members of this forum into a ‘flame’ fight.
Have respect for other opinions. If you disagree with someone, do not attack them personally. Try to make thoughtful comments about their opinion, perspective, assumptions, etc., but do not attack them personally. Everyone has an opinion based on a number of different factors, like their own personal experiences, values, etc. If someone disagrees with you, it is probably because they value one thing more than another. Attacking them does nothing but create anger and resentment. Discussing the values and perspective that underlies their opinions may increase your understanding and it may encourage them to see your perspective as well. Personal attacks are the tools of someone who probably doesn’t have a very good point to make, or of someone who holds a belief that has no foundation in reasoned thought.
Do not post any information, data, text, files, links, software, or other materials (’Content’) that AustLiterature.Net considers to be unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, inflammatory, derogatory, vulgar, obscene, hateful, ethnically or otherwise objectionable. Please do not simulate curse words using ####, $%@, or *** etc. as replacement for letters.
Do not use AustLiterature.Net to impersonate another person or misrepresent authorization to act on behalf of others including but not limited to, AustLiterature.Net officials, board leaders, or representatives.
Use smiley faces, emoticons or other indicators of intent liberally. One of the major flaws of Internet communication is the lack of vocal inflections and visual indications of emotion, intent, sarcasm, etc. Be clear what you mean. Many problems occur because someone does not pick up on the sarcasm or otherwise get the joke.
Links to conferences, Australian novels and academic articles notwithstanding, do not post advertising, promotional materials, or any other forms of solicitation on AustLiterature.Net. If you can answer a specific question by mentioning your business or website, or posting a URL that’s fine, but just posting your URL or any URL’s not acceptable. Again this is not the area to post/request a link, encourage visitors to your website, or advertise your products.
Do not attempt to contact the people who post comments on this AustLiterature.Net with advertisements or otherwise commercially motivated, unsolicited emails (SPAM emails) nor use the Private comment feature to do so.
Don’t say something to someone you wouldn’t say to them in person. This won’t stop a few people from saying inappropriate things, and those people should probably learn a few lessons about tact, respect, decorum, etc.
Do not intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including but not limited to any regulations having the force of law while using or accessing AustLiterature.Net or in connection with your use of AustLiterature.Net in any manner.
Content
You must evaluate, and bear the risk associated with, the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any item you post to AustLiterature.Net. AustLiterature.Net does not pre-screen Content as a matter of policy, but AustLiterature.Net shall have the right, but not the responsibility, to remove Content, which is deemed in AustLiterature.Net’s sole discretion harmful, offensive, or otherwise in violation of any rules AustLiterature.Net has in place at the time. This also includes posting with hidden agendas. ‘AustLiterature.Net‘ may elect at its sole discretion to monitor some, all, or no areas of AustLiterature.Net for adherence to this Agreement or AustLiterature.Net’s rules. You acknowledge that by providing you with the ability to distribute your postings, AustLiterature.Net is acting as a passive conduit for such distribution. We reserve the right to modify or remove any content that violate any of the AustLiterature.Net Community Bulletin Board Rules.
Trolling
Trolls are not welcome and will be banned. An Internet ‘troll’ is a person who delights in sowing discord on the Internet. They try to start arguments and upset people. Trolls see Internet communications services as convenient venues for their bizarre game. For some reason, they don’t ‘get’ that they are hurting real people. To them, other Internet users are not quite human but are a kind of digital abstraction. Indeed, the greater the suffering they cause, the greater their ‘achievement’ (as they see it). The anonymity of the net allows trolls to flourish. They are easily identified by the fact that they are constantly at odds with other members of the forum, and often ‘poke fun’ at individuals they have disagreed with in the past, trying to provoke a reaction. Finally, trolls create a paranoid environment, such that a casual criticism by a new arrival can elicit a ferocious and inappropriate backlash. Again we will ban anyone who practices ‘Trolling’.
Comment Hijacking
Keep comments on topic. If you wish to start a discussion on a new topic consider contributing to AustLiterature.Net. We all know that conversations take on a life of their own, but we do not want to have comments that have nothing to do with the blog title. Stay on topic.
User Names and Public Display Names
We request that you are responsible when choosing your user name. Please do not create user names that are blatantly racial, prejudiced, relate to ‘adult’ activities, illegal acts or are inflammatory.
User Termination/Ban/Suspension
AustLiterature.Net retains the absolute right to terminate any user id, to revoke an individual’s posting privileges, to ban an individual from creating any new user ids, and to terminate any person’s membership. As a general rule if a moderator cautions a user twice in one week it will result in a 2-week ban. If a user is cautioned more that 4 times in a 1 month period it will result in a 2-month ban. Any user cautioned over 4 times, is subject to being banned from posting on AustLiterature.Net based on a case-by-case review.
Liability
To the full extent permissible under the applicable law, AustLiterature.Net shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages resulting from the use or inability to use AustLiterature.Net or for cost of procurement of substitute goods and services or resulting from any goods or services purchased or obtained or comments received or transactions entered into through AustLiterature.Net or resulting from unauthorized access to or alteration of profits, use, data, or other intangible properties, even if AustLiterature.Net has been advised of the possibility of such damages. You remain solely responsible for the content of your comments, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless AustLiterature.Net and their agents with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your comment(s). AustLiterature.Net also reserve the right to reveal your identity (or whatever information we know about you) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any comment posted by you.
What to Do
If you witness a posting on a AustLiterature.Net that violates the rules then in effect, please email the offending person and/or cut and paste the relevant content into an email to us. Please refer to this document from time to time for any updates AustLiterature.Net may make to AustLiterature.Net Rules.
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