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Rules of Etiquette and Conduct

Please note that official information about Institute matters is provided by Institute staff through official channels, not through this Discussion Forum.

The IoL Discussion Forum is a service provided as a community focal point, for the purpose of discussing language-related matters and topics otherwise of general interest to members of the IoL and users of this site in their capacity as professional linguists, language students and anyone having an interest in languages.

Postings will not be reviewed before they appear. The Institute of Linguists therefore does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any posting and takes no responsibility for any information appearing here as well as the nature of messages posted. Each posting is the sole responsibility of its poster.

The Forum Rules of Etiquette and Conduct have been created to preserve a pleasant, professional and results-oriented atmosphere for discussion. This non-exclusive list below provides a suitable foundation by which Forum users can determine what activities are appropriate.

All users of the IoL Discussion Forum agree to read, understand, respect and follow these Rules.

Keeping it nice

1. You may not attack or insult others on the Forum. Do not turn any disagreement into an attack on the poster, or any person or group of persons.
2. You may not harass or threaten other users. Harassment is defined as specifically targeting users to harm or inconvenience them. As harassment can be in many forms, the IoL Webmaster will make a determination as to whether or not a 'reasonable person' would feel harassed and act accordingly. If you feel you are being harassed by another user, please contact the IoL Webmaster
3. You may not use any harmful, threatening, vulgar, abusive, sexually explicit, obscene, profane, defamatory, hateful or offensive language. You may not defame any religion, race, nation, gender, or sexual orientation.
4. You may not post topics controversial in nature, or that may be considered offensive by other users.
5. You may not violate anyone's privacy or other personal rights.
6. You may not denigrate a brand, product or organisation. If you have such a complaint please make it to the organisation concerned.
7. You may not use foul language, in any language. Excessive use of foul language in an unsuitable context, including racial slurs, swear words, and other language that is inappropriate and intended to hurt, will not be tolerated.  

Posting to the Forum

1. You should write detailed titles. Titles of posts should be as descriptive of their content as possible.
2. You should stay on point. Postings should not stray from the topics introduced in each thread.
3. The IoL Discussion Forum has been provided to discuss language-related topics and only language-related postings are allowed.
4. English is the working language for this Forum. Exceptions are allowed, as long as they do not make the discussion difficult to follow, or in instances when users need to refer to something in a different language.
5. You may not 'shout'. 'Shouting' is considered impolite and is discouraged; lower case should be used unless there is a reason to capitalize.

The IoL and IoL website

1. IoL-related messages - If you have a comment, complaint or suggestion to make regarding the IoL or its subsidiaries, please do so in writing by letter (addressed to the Director of Communications at the IoL's address) or via email .
2. You will follow the instructions of the IoL Webmaster or other IoL staff while on the IoL Forum. All decisions of the IoL Webmaster or other IoL staff are final .
3. You may not modify any part of the server or any part of the www.iol.org.uk website.
4. You will not attempt to interfere with, hack into, or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running www.iol.org.uk
5. You may not impersonate any employee of the Institute of Linguists , past or present.
6. You may not abuse the IoL Webmaster or any other IoL staff member.
   The following actions would be considered abuse:
   • Hate propaganda or hate mongering.
   • Sexual abuse or harassment.
   • Impersonating a representative of the IoL, either its Webmaster or employee.
     Note: This list is not all-inclusive. Other actions may be determined as abuse at the discretion of the IoL Webmaster or IoL staff.

Legal issues

1. You may not violate any local, state, national or international law or regulation.
2. You may not arrange for the transfer or exchange of any illegal or pirated software while on the IoL website.
3. When posting any copyrighted material, either obtain permission from the copyright owner or make a summary and quote only small parts (fair use). Always indicate the author and source. Certain public domain materials are exempt from this policy. For example, governmental materials or press releases that are provided for public use can be used as long as their authors and sources are properly indicated in the posting.

Advertising

1. All forms of commercial solicitation (website linking, advertising etc) are prohibited; if you wish to advertise here please contact us at ads@iol.org.uk (This includes the selling of second-hand books etc.).
2. You may not promote products, services or websites with content that violate our Rules.
3. Mention of any product or service will be permitted only to the extent it is necessary in the course of a discussion.

Spam

1. You may not make numerous posts on the same subject for the purpose of getting attention.
2. You may not monopolize the front page of the Forum by posting threads of the same or similar content.

Actions that will be taken in regards to any post that violates these rules

Any content not adhering to the above Rules or that is deemed otherwise objectionable may be edited or deleted by the IoL Webmaster or other IoL staff. Users violating our Rules may or may not receive a warning before any action is taken. In detail the IoL Webmaster or other IoL staff have the right – at their own discretion – to take the following actions:

• Editing posts and/or titles
• Deleting posts and/or whole threads
• Locking threads
• Contacting users regarding infractions of our Rules
• Issuing warnings to users who have violated our Rules
• Suspending users (results in the user being unable to log onto the www.iol.org.uk Discussion Forum and post messages for the duration of the suspension. Any subsequent warnings after a suspension will result in banishment).
• Banning users (results in the user's account being cancelled. The user will no longer be able to access the www.iol.org.uk Discussion Forum and post messages).
• Legal action (i.e. contacting law enforcement bodies in regard to a threat.)

Note: It is difficult to specify what action would be taken for which infractions, as many are situational. Let common sense be your guide.

The Institute of Linguists reserves the right to amend or change these Rules at any time and without prior notice.

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