Welcome to the AnswerPool.com Web Site!

We are pleased that you have chosen to become a part of our community of people dedicated to sharing knowledge. At the time of registration, you were asked to read and agree with the sites rules and Netiquette. These rules are subject to change without notice, and are as follows:

All posts made by any member or guest on the AnswerPool.com web site becomes the intellectual property of AnswerPool.com. In the event that any member wishes to disassociate himself or herself from the website, it will be at the Administration's discretion to leave standing or to delete any posts made by said member or guest.

Please use standard English in posts. Utilizing the dictionary available near the top of the page will facilitate correct spelling, and allow your post to be taken more seriously. The use of chat room shorthand is discouraged.

Please use the space bar. Posts without spaces are difficult to read and may be deleted. Any posts, or parts therein, written in CAPITAL LETTERS, are looked upon as shouting and therefore impolite. Please use capitals in the appropriate places only. In the same manner, posts which consist of primarily bold print are looked on as shouting, and are also considered impolite. Please reserve the use of bold print for titles, quotations, and the occasional emphasis of a specific word or phrase.

Do not post the same question repeatedly. The nature of this site is such that there will be a delay between your posting a question, and another member answering it. Rest assured that all attempts to answer your question are being made. Please be patient.

When replying to a previous post, it is not necessary to quote the entire post. Either quote a small section, or simply refer to the poster as part of your response.

E-mail addresses must not be included in any post. Instead refer the intended person to your profile. Business e-mail addresses are only acceptable if reformatted to replace the "at" sign with the word "at" and a space both before and after the word. (See the end of this post for an example.) The forums on this site are viewable by non-members, whereas profiles are not. This will aid in the prevention of harassment from unknown parties via the internet.

Any reply that the administration considers has been posted for the purpose of bumping a thread above the others in that forum will be deleted, at the discretion of the Administration.

Our members come from all over the world, and for many, English is a second language. When in doubt, please take that possibility into account before answering a post that appears to be written in an insulting vein.

Likewise, the international nature of our membership will bring a wide variety of traditions and backgrounds; what is considered 'normal' or 'proper' in one culture may seem odd or rude in another. Please make allowances for these differences.

Because our members are from many cultures and varying levels of internet experience, we ask that everyone use standard English at all times. This allows everyone to participate more fully as English is the primary language for the majority of the members of the AnswerPool.com website. Unless your post relates to a question concerning another language, foreign words (which include, but are not limited to, slang and chat room shorthand), will be considered an attempt to bypass the profanity filter. Such attempts will result in disciplinary action to be determined by the Administration. Even with this provision, questions pertaining to foreign words should still conform to the use of standard English, as stated above.

We hope that ideas will be expressed, exchanged, debated and discussed in depth; diversity of opinion is a good thing and we encourage it. However, disagreements must remain courteous. Personal attacks, 'Flame Wars', and/or name-calling have no place here and are not acceptable as a means of expression.

By the same token, "hate speech" is not acceptable. This would include, but is not limited to, racism, sexism, and other attacks on groups based on religion, sexuality, disability, or nationality. We especially ask that debates about religious issues be kept respectful.

Profane, obscene,or pornographic material is unacceptable. It is possible to ask and answer a question about any topic, including sexuality, without excessive crudity. Attempting to bypass the language filter by substituting symbols for some of the letters in an obscene or profane word is also a contravention of the site's rules.

When possible, please provide a link to material that is copyright protected. (See "Link and image posting guidelines" below) When doing so is not possible, posts that include copyrighted material, such as song lyrics, should credit the author/owner of that material. When using copyrighted material in your post, do not copy the whole article. A brief explanation can be given with a link provided to the full article.

We do not condone illegal activity. Debating the merits of a law is perfectly acceptable, but requesting or providing instructions on committing unlawful acts is not.

Farewell posts made by members will be deleted without exceptions. Send your farewells out in emails. Off topic and chat posts are discouraged and may be deleted.

Applying for multiple screen names is forbidden. If you have done so already, contact the Administration to inform them and avoid suspension.

While we appreciate and encourage members spreading the word about AnswerPool, we do ask that this not be done in ways which violate the Terms of Use for other sites; many sites, for example, prohibit links in signatures or ask that posters not promote other sites on their boards. AnswerPool members are asked to respect such rules and not risk AnswerPool's reputation by engaging in posting behavior that could be viewed as "spamming" other sites.

Threats of personal injury against any member of this site are grounds for suspension.

Threats or attempts to organize parties into an action of destruction against this or any web site are grounds for suspension, as are attempts to encourage others to violate AnswerPool.com's rules.

Suspension may be result of continued threatening or harassing emails to the Administration or the Moderators of this site.

Anyone tracked as the knowing sender of any computer virus or email "bomb" to any member of this web site's staff or members will be immediately and permanently banned by the Administration. This will not be reversible.

Unless you are an official site sponsor, you may not advertise on AnswerPool. Posts determined by management to be ads, and the products or services, may be edited, ridiculed or deleted without notice. Members repeatedly creating such posts may be taunted, ridiculed, suspended, and/or banned.

This web site uses IP and email banning to control its applicants and attempts to undermine this system will result in permanent banning from this site.

Offenders against AnswerPool.com rules may, at the discretion of the Administrators, be restricted from access to the site. The duration of a suspension is decided by the Administration. Repeat offenders will be permanently banned from the site.

These terms are intended to outline conditions of suspension and re-instatement. They are not exclusive and may be amended, with or without notifications posted, at any time by the Administrators of this web site.

The Administrators and Moderators are very involved with the management of content on the site, and regularly read all posts and replies. This is done in effort to provide the best possible site for all of the users.

Any questions concerning these rules may be submitted to: Admin at AnswerPool.com

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,