~*Nappycino Guidelines*~

[Eilleen]

Here at Nappycino we aim to build a place for people who use or would like to use cloth nappies to support each other.

The Rules....

Posting Policy for all members
Posting Policy for Businesses

Signature Limits and Avatars

Three Strikes Rule

Explaining our Automated Moderating System


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At all times, our Admins and Moderators will endeavour to do their best to protect the rights, privacy and enjoyment of our members. To this end, we will continue to use our best judgment when moderating posts and users to ensure that the values of this community are upheld. Breaking the written rules of conduct/guidelines for posting is not the only path to warning/moderating users. Users that we *believe* are not acting in the best interests of Nappycino and all of its members, will be treated in the same manner as those who do not follow the official guidelines.


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We reserve the right to modify and add to these guidelines at any time.

[Eilleen]

Posting Policy for All Members

General Posting Policies

1. This is NOT a place to air your personal problems with others - whether they be a business, customer, member or other website (including auction sites). For example: Posting about an issue you have with an online store who overcharged you postage. Even if the business/person is not directly named.

2. Discussions regarding illegal activities (eg. copying and distributing licenced patterns/software/products etc) are not allowed.

3. Please respect every user on the forum, do not maliciously criticise their views, beliefs, opinions, parenting choices, lifestyles or nappy choices. This INCLUDES the slander and defamation of users from external forums/sites, disposable nappy users, manufacturers and retailers.

4. Please do not directly attack other members, or discriminate or make prejudicial statements regarding people’s race, sex, or religion.

5. Advertising for friends is not permitted. This includes posting about a particular product a friend stocks in a way that is advertising for them.

6. Members are not permitted to take part in "spamming" promotions that encourage people to post about specific topics in order to gain a reward (such as free products)



Discussion on products

1. This is NOT a place for speculating the pros and cons of products seen on other sites or for products by "unknown" sellers. Note that we regard speculation includes telling of other people's experiences - as in "I have heard...." etc.

2. If you feel you need to recommend against a product, you MUST explain, in detail, why you would recommend against the product.

3. If you are experiencing problems with a product or store, please consider seeking the advice of the seller prior to posting help amongst the public forum.


Copyright


Members should be aware of copyright issues. Using images or text from websites, mailing lists, forums, books or other sources, without the creator's permission, is a breach of copyright. This includes "hotlinking" (inserting images using the original URL for the image). If the work has not been created by you, you must seek permission to use it before uploading/posting it to nappycino. Similarly, any content found on Nappycino may not be reproduced without consent of the original creator.

Signature Links(If you are a business, please see our Posting Policy for Businesses.)

8. General members can have one text only link to a non-profit web page.

Trading Room

9. The Trading Room is a subscription forum, members may pay the subscription fee to sell items of no more than $10.00 in value, plus actual postage costs where applicable. Subscriptions are not required to purchase.

10. The Swap It, Trade It, Want It forum is not for the exchange of money for goods or postage, no financial transactions are to take place in this forum. Please do not disclose trade value (keep this to PMs only). Only members who have 50 posts and above and have been a member for 1 month can place a Wanted to Buy/Trade ad. All threads in this forum are moderated and must be approved before they appear - please be patient as this may not happen immediately.

11. Trading of goods for money, including postage, is not to take place outside of the appropriate forums.

12. Nappycino takes no responsibility for transactions that have occured as a result of placing a Wanted Ad or Trading Room Transaction.

Private and confidential sections of this website

Members post within these particular forums feeling it is a safe area and that their posts will remain confidential and on this board. If any member is found to have posted information on other websites or forums etc, their membership to the confidential forums will be revoked and any fees paid forfeited.

Please keep our forums the safe and protected place we have made it.

Testers Forums

Offering to be a Tester

12. Please post the details requested in the appropriate thread. If you want your entry removed or updated, PM a mod for assistance. Please do not update your details more than once every two months.

Threads that need to be approved by Admin PRIOR to posting:

13. The following threads should not be started without gaining Admin approval first:

- Collections for fundraising, charity and other events.

- New Co-ops

- Swaps

You can contact Admin by PMing ~*Bron*~ or kermi.

Account Removal/Closure

14. Nappycino Moderators and Admins will not remove or delete a members account for any reason. Should a member no longer wish to be a part of the Nappycino Community, they may request that their account be renamed and/or banned, but their posts will remain in tact with the new username as the posters title. The deletion of posts makes many threads difficult to follow and is time consuming and therefore will not be done.

Username Changes

15. Any member may request that their username be changed. To ensure that members can keep track of who everyone is, a Moderator or Admin will insert your old username into your user title for an appropriate time frame. Please post a thread in the Technical Support forum to request a username change.

If you have any problems with particular posts or actions of other members, then please contact the moderators or Admin, rather than airing it in the public forums. You can do this either by PM or by using the report button (icon with an exclamation mark inside a triangle) located at the top right hand side of each post).

We reserve the right to move threads and posts into more appropriate forums within Nappycino.

We reserve the right to remove or edit ANY posts that may come across as tactless, malicious or damaging.

The removal, closing, editing or moving of any post or thread is wholely at the discretion of the moderator team. If you would like to submit a complaint about the removal of a thread or post, please contact the moderator of the applicable forum or one of the Admin team. Airing of these complaints publically will not be tolerated, our Moderators volunteer their time and efforts and do not need to be openly abused and insulted for their efforts.

[Eilleen]

Posting Policy for Businesses

Nappycino tries to support the endeavours of WAHP's as much as possible. We are one of the few forums that allow small businesses to make free announcements about your business in the Promos & Sales forum. In addition, our paid advertising packages are very reasonable. Please contact advertising@nappycino.com.au for any advertising queries. Any business or commercial entity requires paid advertising to promote the sale of their products. Each advertising payment covers only one business, where two businesses are being advertised two advertising subscriptions will be required. A business includes any entity that trades items or services for remmuneration or trade.



Advertising

1. Please keep all advertising to the Promos & Sales forum. The advertising of products in any other forums, including the photo gallery, is not permitted.

a. No threads/posts should be started in the general forums showing any products that are a representation of the goods that you sell through your business. Therefore even if that particular product is for your own personal use, because it is an accurate representation of the sort of goods you sell through your business, we would consider that thread/post advertising and we will remove the posting.

2. Do not offer to sell, design, trade items with users in posts in the forums. If a question regarding your product is asked, please answer that question directly and as briefly as possible. Do not offer any further information, do not offer pricing, negotiate sales or direct people to your website. If a member wishes to receive any further information, they can PM you accordingly.

3. Do not solicit members through private message or email. If a discussion has started about your product/business where you wish to make contact, you may direct a member to PM you, but you must not initiate the contact yourself unless you have been directly invited to by that member.

4. No advertising is permitted in Avatars without a paid Avatar subscription (this includes using your business logo or your products as your avatar or in your signature, or having your business name in your signature. Please see the signature section for more information.)

a. unpaid advertisers can not use their business name (including abbreviations or recognisable parts of a business name) as their User Name. This option is open ONLY to advertisers who have taken advertising options equal to, or more than 12 months advertising.

b. Only members who have paid for advertising may have a description or links to their business in their profile. Non-paying members cannot have any business identifying content in their profile.

5. Friends advertising for their friends' business is not allowed.

Paid Signature Advertising

6. There are several levels of advertising. Please ensure that you only use the level you have paid for (eg. if it is for banners only, then you are not allowed to have you business in your signature, unless if you have also paid for signature advertising).

7. Only paid signature advertisers may link to their business in their signature. Paid advertisers can have two links per business in their signature. These links may be to the primary point of sale and a second point of sale or business blog, the links must be directly related to the business in which the paid advertising was for. If a member runs 2 different businesses, then 2 lots of signature advertising must be purchased if both businesses are to be advertised

8. Your signature will still need to comply with the signature size limits. Please see our signature guidelines for further information.

9. Please note that images of your products or workmanship are not permitted in your signature unless you have paid signature advertising.


Posting about other businesses

1.Advertising for friends is not permitted. This includes posting about a particular product a friend stocks in a way that is advertising for them

2. Members who run congo/mall stores are not permitted to advertise for stores in their congo, other than in the "Promos & Sales" area (Where posting limits still apply). This includes posting about a particular product they stock when done in a way that is advertising for them.

3. Posting in a way that can defame another business or their products is not allowed.

Promos and Sales Forum

10. Promos & Sales forum will remain open. Paying advertisers can post in this forum once a week (4 posts in a 28 day period). Unpaid advertisers can post in this forum once a month (1 post in a 28 day period).

Buy for Baby Forum

11. Businesses selling their own branded/signature products in Buy for Baby (using the shops section or the auction section), should list them in Promos and Sales. See the above rules for Promos and Sales. Note that when we say "paying advertisers" we mean people who have paid to advertise here in Nappycino.

Testers Forums

13. Testers can only be offered in the Product Testing Forum. Please discuss details such as postage prices, etc off the boards. Also note that Testers offered in this forum can only be sold at the approximate cost of materials plus postage. Any testers sold over this price must be sold through your own point of sale.

14. Please check through the testers lists to select testers prior to listing an offer.

[Eilleen]

Signature Limits

1. Signatures may consist of one image up to the maximum dimensions below, or two smaller images side by side not exceeding the maximum dimensions allowed.

The maximum image size is shown below:

(430 x 100 pixels)

2. You can add text below or above the image(s) in your signature, providing the signature size does NOT exceed 430x150 pixels.

3. Please ensure that images are in a jpg format and does not exceed 60kb.

4. Any signatures larger than the specified size will be removed by the Forum or Site Admin after a short grace period.

5. General members can have one text only link to a non-profit web page. To qualify as a "Non-profit" site, it must be purely informational or personal with no links/advertising to your business, and must not show images or examples of any product or service that you may provide.

Not included in the free signature links are promotional blogs, advertising for other businesses or the sale of personal items over the value of $10 (as per Nappycinos trading rules).

6. If you wish to link to a blog or website that does not fit the criteria for a "non-profit" link, then you will need to take out sig advertising to display the link.

Avatars

6. Avatars must be either 80 by 80 pixels or 19.5 KB (whichever is smaller). Animated avatars are NOT allowed.

7. Businesses are not permitted to have an avatar that displays their products or logo unless they have taken out paid advertising.

[Eilleen]

Explaining our Automated Moderating System

The software this forum is created on comes with an automated moderating system. This system has two parts to it:

1. A warning system
2. A points system

Warning System. When members do something that is against our guidelines, our mods will let that member know via the warning system. For us a warning serves as an alert rather than a "punishment".Unfortunately we can't change the title of "Warning" on the PM that alerts members to an infraction against our guidelines. That is built into the software. The software helps us keep track of alerts (aka "warnings") given to members so we know when to instigate the points system. Warnings are only valid for 3 months and they don't incur any infraction points.

Points System. The points system is where a member is given infraction points after breaking our guidelines.The infraction points are given after a member has been warned several times of breaking the same guideline. Note that we do not take giving infraction points lightly. The infraction points depend on the guideline that is broken. The points are also not "forever" they have an expiry date. The list below shows the guidelines and the infraction points against it:

Advertising in Avatar without paid advertising, 1 point, 3 Month(s)

Advertising in Profile Fields without paid advertising (home page link, etc.), 1 point, 3 Month(s)

Advertising in Signature without paid advertising, 1 point, 3 Month(s)

Airing personal problems, 1 point, 3 Month(s)

Exceeding Non Profit links in signatures (non business), 1 point, 3 Month(s)

Exceeding Signature Size, 1 point, 3 Month(s)

Exceeding the Promos & Sales Limit, 1 point, 3 months

Inappropriate Language, 1 point, 3 Month(s)

Linking to business auction listings in the auction announcement area (must be done in Promos & Sales), 1 point, 3 Month(s)

Offering product testers in the general forums (must be in the TESTERS forum), 1 point
3 Month(s)

Slandering/Defaming other Businesses, Users or Sites, 1 point, 3 Month(s)

Advertising, Business announcements, stocking "hints" etc made outside of the Promos & Sales area, 2 points, 3 Month(s)

Advertising to sell or exchange for monetary value in the WTB section, 2 points, 3 Month(s)

Discussions regarding illegal activities (eg. copying and distributing licenced patterns/software/products etc), 2 points, 3 Month(s)

Displaying product images in the general forums, including samples of your skill used for personal use, 2 points, 3 Month(s)

Disrespecting or Insulting members (for various reasons including lifestyle choices, religious beliefs, etc.), 2 points, 3 Month(s)

Posting Swaps, Co-ops, Fund Raising & Charity threads without Admin approval, 2 points, 3 Month(s)

Soliciting members through private message or email, 2 points, 3 months

Note that all moderators can also generate custom infractions for other infractions that may not be explicitly covered above.

When a member has accumulated a total of 6 points within the 3 month period, then they become a moderated member - that is, all their posts have to be approved by a moderator before it can show up on the boards.

When a member has accumulated a total of 49 infraction points in a period of 3 months, they are automatically banned.

Members who are continually reaching the infraction limits and receiving multiple warnings and infractions may be moderated at the discretion of the admin team.