GardenWeb User Agreement

It is the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them. - Mark Twain

The forums are meant to promote the free discussion of topics, but there are rules of behavior that must be followed and these will be strictly enforced. These rules also apply to all other areas of GardenWeb.

Users of GardenWeb agree to abide by the following:

1. Users are expected to behave in a friendly manner towards others. Differences of opinions are fine, condescending attitudes and sarcasm are not.

2. Advertising in any form is not allowed. If you have a business, please read: Businesses Using the Forums

3. Postings using profanity or that we feel reflect badly on another user, or any class of users, are not allowed.

4. Once posted, you will not be able to edit or delete messages.

5. Messages addressed to or meant for particular users should be sent via email and are not allowed in the forums.

6. Please avoid topics relating to politics and religion where opinions vary widely and feelings can be strong.

7. Postings using all capital letters, excessive punctuation or simplistic subject lines such as "HELP" may be deleted. Shouting above others is not polite.

8. Any posting our staff feels is unduly argumentative will be deleted.

9. Users are not allowed to make solicitations, for themselves or others, nor may they run contests or surveys in the forums.

10. While it is fine to link to a Web site you are not associated with in the context of a discussion, using this site as an announcement service for, or to promote, Web sites or other media is not allowed. Please do not use our forums as a means of publicizing competing forums.

11. Some businesses that have abused our site have been blocked. If you encounter such a block, you must not attempt to circumvent the block. If you do, it will be interpreted as part of a pattern of abuse and appropriate action will be taken to defend this site.

12. Please be sensitive to the fact that this is a business and it would be unfair to use our site to promote a competitor's.

13. Posting merely to manipulate the position of a message is forbidden.

14. Please do not post the same message to multiple forums.

15. We reserve the right to edit or delete material posted to the forums at our sole discretion.

16. Users are expected to use a single identity in the forums. Using a nickname or pseudonym is fine, but it should be used consistently. Likewise, memberships and passwords cannot be shared between individuals.

17. The use of copyrighted material within postings is unlawful and we are obligated to identify any user doing so. If you are copying something verbatim from somewhere else, be sure it isn't copyrighted.

18. Use of this site in order to conduct illegal activity, including but not limited to, the sale or transfer of illegal substances, is strictly prohibited. Users are not allowed to trade or exchange, nor even discuss the growing of any plants or other material listed as a controlled substance by the U.S. government or which is otherwise known to be a narcotic.

19. This site is under no obligation to explain or defend any decision made in regard to the handling of any forum message.

20. Any forum, or forum area, which is inactive for thirty days or more is liable to be closed.

21. No posted material will be permitted to be reprinted elsewhere without the permission of those who posted the material originally.

22. Any messages felt by our staff to be out of place in a particular forum, or the site as a whole, will be deleted at our discretion and without explanation, regardless of whether or not it is in violation of any rule or guideline set forth here or elsewhere.

23. Users breaking the rules repeatedly, or egregiously, will be banned from participating in the forums.

24. Users disagreeing with these rules or wanting clarification of their meaning, or have other questions about the administration of the forums, should address their concerns directly to our staff. Anyone who wishes to make a public display of their unwillingness, or perceived inability, to follow the rules, or who wishes to use our site as a platform to protest any aspect of the site's administration, will be immediately banned from our forums.

25. Users objecting to another user's posting should likewise address their concerns directly to our staff.

26. While everyone is welcome to their opinion, using this site to deride the site itself, our staff or our business, will not be tolerated. Nor will we allow our staff to be subjected to abusive or disrespectful correspondence.