Etiquette & Moderation Policy

The Services is moderated in order to keep the discussion flowing and to remove any offensive material. Comments that do not adhere to the moderation rules will be removed and you will be notified of this by email.

Every comment is valued for its content. The Services allows everyone with an Internet connection to have a say and it brings out many different ideas, perspectives, and opinions.

A single comment may have as much of an impact as 1000 responses. In order to play a constructive part in the discussion and to give your views maximum impact, we encourage you to follow the etiquette guide below.

Etiquette

• 1. Read through the information on the Services and the other participant's comments before getting involved in the discussion.
• 2. Always respect the views of other participants even if you don't agree.
• 3. Be constructive. It's okay to disagree. In fact we encourage debate, just keep the dialogue positive.
• 4. Always keep things civil. This can be difficult sometimes. Especially when you are passionate about a topic. However, it is important to keep the discussion focused on the issues rather than letting it deteriorate into personal insults.
• 5. Once you've posted your comment keep an eye on the Services to see what other people have to say.
• 6. If you feel that someone has insulted you, report his or her comment to the moderator. Don't perpetuate the dispute. The moderator will take a look at the offending comment and decide whether it should be removed.
• 7. Stay on topic. The Services has been created for a specific purpose. Please stay within the boundaries of the subject matter.
• 8. Turn off the "CAPS LOCK". Writing in ALL CAPS is the equivalent of SHOUTING. It can offend people and it is not constructive.
• 9. Choose one discussion topic under which you would like to post each of your unique comments. Don't cut and paste the same comment into lots of different discussion topics. These will be considered duplicates and may be removed.
• 10. Don't be a "troll". Trolls incite annoyance or offense. They do not participate constructively in the discussion and do not add any value to the debate.
• 11. Don't bully, harass or threaten other participants. If another participant proffers an opinion that you don't agree with, you have no right to demand that they support their position with a detailed argument. They do not have to respond to your questions. It is up to each individual to participate in the discussions as much or as little as they wish.
• 12. Please respect the moderators. They keep the conversation safe and constructive. His or her goal is to create an environment in which everybody gets a fair say.
• 13. Try to avoid using acronyms or text talk. Please stick to plain English. More people will understand the points you are trying to make.

Moderation Rules

The Services is subject to the following moderation rules:

• 1. Never post personal information about another participant. This Includes identifying any individual by their real name if they have not already done so or providing personal contact information.
• 2. Never identify a staff member of the consulting organisation by name.
• 3. Don't defame anyone or any organisation. A comment is defamatory if it lowers or harms the reputation of a person or organisation. If you wish to accuse someone of committing a crime or being an idiot this is not the place to do it.
• 4. Don't post anything that could be considered intolerant of a person's ethnicity, culture, appearance, gender, sexual preference, religion or age.
• 5. Don't be obscene and don't use foul language. Lots of people from different backgrounds participate. We want them to be able to continue to do so from home, work, school, university or wherever they may be. Disguising swear words by deliberately misspelling them doesn't make them any less offensive.
• 6. Don't personally insult or harass other participants. Always focus on the logic of the argument rather than the individuals involved in the argument. Users are entitled to choose not to enter into debate with you.
• 7. Don't post or link to any inappropriate, offensive or illegal material. Inappropriate content is anything that may offend or is not relevant to the discussion.
• 8. Don't post any advertisements, however much you believe in the service or product.
• 9. Don't complain about the moderation on the Services, you can always direct an email to us if you are unhappy at support@3pikas.com.

Sanctions

Breaches of the moderation rules will be dealt with as follows:

• 1. Removal of comment – any comment that, in the view of the moderator, breaches the rules will be removed.
• 2. Temporary Suspension – a participant who repeatedly and flagrantly flouts the moderation rules may be suspended from access to the Services for period determined by the moderators.
• 3. Permanent Blocking – a participant who continues to violate the moderation rules following reinstatement after a period of suspension may have their access to the Services permanently blocked.
• 4. Automatic Blocking – a participant who posts or links to inappropriate, offensive or illegal material will be immediately blocked from the Services.

About the Moderators

This discussion is moderated either exclusively or in collaboration with 3Pikas (External link) or its appointed agents. 3Pikas offers professional service and, from time to time, hosts and moderates online discussions on behalf of clients.

3Pikas and its staff have no financial interest in the results of any of the consultations. 3Pikas’ moderators are independent and operate only according to the rules above. 3Pikas's contract explicitly states that the Services will be moderated according to the terms of use. When a comment is removed from the Services a message remains in its place stating that the comment has been removed. An email is also sent to the person posting the comment explaining what has happened.

Removed comments are stored so they can be restored to the Services if it is later deemed that a moderator has made an error.