Date Last Updated: September 25, 2007
By using the XLR Net web site, owned and operated by the XLR Net, you agree to these Rules of Conduct. Please read them carefully. These rules are meant to ensure a community that is considerate and respectful to all members.
It is important to realize the types of behaviors outlined below are very RARE. The XLR Net is a thriving community with thousands of posts a day, and generally 99% of them are in keeping with the friendly atmosphere we all want to preserve, but to provide guidance on posts and a way on following up on problematic posts, it is necessary to have rules.
The XLR Net is a wonderful resource, which breaks down barriers -- but like a national park or a beautiful work of art, it is necessary to have rules to preserve it. You will find these rules are committed to keeping the XLR Net a place of mutual respect and friendship where people love to be.
The XLR Net is responsive to its members needs. We are here to serve members and our policies were created to be in the best long-term interests of members. If you have concerns, please express them via our contact form.
Introductions
“Please introduce yourself in the Introductions Forum. We’re interested in who you are, where you are, your experience or interest in Cadillac XLRs so post up! It’s just like meeting people in person. You introduce yourself and shake hands. Trying to sell stuff is not a good way to introduce yourself to the group or encourage members to respond to your posts “
Using the Search Feature
“Many topics have been discussed over and over at length. There is a lot of relevant and useful information in the forums. Please use the Search function before posting a question, which might be a common question that has already been answered. ... We encourage you to ask questions, but a little research never hurts.”
Post Whoring
“Post-whoring should be minimized. It’s not an effective way to acquire notoriety or gain friends. A more effective way is to post a relevant topic that is of interest to everyone. Please contribute something useful to the community”
Explicit or suggestive material- and the “NWS” label
“Pictures containing nudity, sexually explicit, or sexually suggestive material will NOT be tolerated. A lot of members browse the forums at work and each company has its own set of Internet policies, most of which prohibit accessing this type of material. Also, many members' families view these forums. There are countless other sites for this and the XLR Net is not one of them. If you post any material you feel may not be work safe (loud sounds, loud music, etc.,) please label the thread “NWS” (NOT WORK SAFE.) We reserve the right to remove anything we deem unfit for the board. These rules apply to avatar pictures and material included in signatures as well”
Don't troll
Topics that are designed to start an unruly argument/flame war will be treated as spam and deleted without warning.
Exceptions & Good Faith
It is our goal to permit posts and discussions that do not lead to harm to the community or detract from its purpose. These policies were constructed because negative behaviors tend to cause long-term harm to the community if left unchecked. However, we reserve the right to make exceptions where appropriate.
Don’t Post Angry
Read your post twice before hitting submit. If there’s any anger in it, don’t post it. Read it, keeping in mind you have an audience of people you respect and who respect you who are reading it.
Realize also you can be held legally accountable for claims you make including libel, for harassment, and for other behaviors. Realize you are accountable for your own posts; the XLR Net is not.
Member Names and Personal Information
Please refrain from using offensive names and never post a message under another person's name or pretending to be another person. If you use a member name that could possibly be considered offensive, it will be changed and account access will be removed in the next review of newly-added member names without your notice or consent.
You should always exercise judgment when revealing personal information about yourself when you post messages in public forums. Additionally, users who are aware of another user's personal information (including name and location) must respect that user's privacy and not reveal his or her personal information on the forums.
Debates
We respectfully ask that you keep posts on controversial topics such as the rightness or wrongness of: Abortion, Religion, Capital punishment, Gun control, Legalization of drugs, in The Edge forum.
Arguments
Free Speech and the XLR Net
We strive to be a place where people can gather to discuss Cadillac XLRs and their ownership experiences.
However, given the sheer size of the community and its focus on Cadillac XLRs and on being useful to its members, it is also important that we provide structure and ensure posts and threads are in the appropriate places and we also want to make sure posts are not destructive to the community (angriness, personal attacks, fraud, spam, etc.) But, please bear in mind, of the thousands of posts we receive every day, only a handful are problematic.
Sometimes, we will anger community members because we allow something they think is repulsive. Sometimes, we will anger community members who feel we are unfairly censoring a post. This is a very difficult issue, and we have a great group of well-meaning, unpaid volunteers doing everything they can to walk these lines everyday in the best interests of the online Cadillac community.
If a decision is made to remove or edit a post or thread, we will also remove or edit all follow-up posts or threads that reference the post in question. For example, you may not start the same argument in a different forum, or post "why’d you censor that post?" All follow-up posts or threads relating to an edited or removed post or thread will be removed, and the users engaging in that behavior may be warned or have their accounts removed.
Threatening to Leave the Community
We do not permit public "I am leaving [or threatening to leave] the community because I am fed up" posts because they are contrary to the spirit of friendship and community we all want to instill.
Posting Emails or PMs to the Forums
It is not permitted to post emails or PMs to the public forums. If the message was intended to have a private audience, it should not be posted publicly without the consent of the writer.
Posting in Multiple Forums
Please choose the single most appropriate forum for your post.
Topics of Discussion
While these discussion forums encourage a wide range of opinions, please keep your posts focused on the topic of the forum in which you are submitting your message. Each forum has a different topic, so what is appropriate in one forum or thread may not be appropriate in another. Generally speaking, however, profanity, vulgar language, and personal attacks are not acceptable in any forum.
Inappropriate Language
The use of inappropriate or offensive language is not permitted in these forums. Inappropriate or offensive language includes, but is not limited to, any language or content that is sexually oriented, sexually suggestive or abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, profane, hateful, or that contains racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable material of any kind. We ask that you please be considerate to other members in the forums when posting your messages.
Harassment
XLR Net members are not permitted to harass other members. Please do not post or transmit any unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, profane, hateful, racially, ethnically 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, national or international law. Please note that this also includes the posting of taunts on a forum solely for the purpose of deriding that forum's topic and/or members.
Private Messages
The Private Messaging system or (PMs) may not be used to harass any member. The rules set forth in this document and the User Agreement also apply to Private Messages.
Chat Room Protocol
The XLR Net operates a real-time chat room for the benefit of the members. Members are not permitted to be abusive to other members or violate any rules set forth in the User Agreement or this document. Do not come into the chat room if you will be abusive to members. The same rules that govern the forums and PMs govern the chat room as well.
Piracy or Unlawful Activities
The XLR Net forums are a place for ideas and constructive participation, and not a place to violate any laws.
Removing Users from the XLR Net
Removing users is something we hate to do, but something we have done on multiple occasions in the past in order to foster the type of open, friendly community that encourages posting and the free sharing of knowledge and ideas and that discourages abuse or rudeness. Some people just refuse to abide by the rules of the site yet still want to be a member; this will tend to result in being removed.
Three-Strikes Guideline
Moderators strive to give members the benefit of 3 strikes. The first strike will be a warning, often sent by PM or email. The second strike will be a warning that one more incident will lead to account removal. The third strike is account removal.
Please know, this is a guideline only. Spam and other behaviors deemed particularly injurious to the community will often lead to immediate removal without notice.
We reserve the right to restrict, suspend, or terminate access to any part of these forums at any time. It is not necessary to be a repeat offender to be removed.
Other General Rules of Conduct
Do not post on these forums any Content which (a) is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, harassing or threatening, (b) contains viruses or other contaminating or destructive features, (c) violates the rights of others, such as Content which infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or violates any right of privacy or publicity, or (d) otherwise violates any applicable law. You may not post on these forums any links to any external Internet sites that are obscene or pornographic. You shall not use the main forums for any commercial purpose, to distribute any advertising or solicitation of funds or goods and services.