These pretty standard Bulletin Board "Rules" are agreed to (i.e. The Agreement) by all new members signing up to https://stampboards.com and all members are urged to read them FIRST before posting, in the new member sign-up email that you got.
We are easily the World's Largest Stamp Bulletin Board, with over 10 MILLION posts, from well over 25,000 members, in 180 different countries, on 100,000 different stamp topics or "threads", spanning some 16 years.
The board is popular and successful BECAUSE we have sensible Rules - and enforce them. Large boards become total anarchy otherwise, and soon close down, as history shows us - from all fields.
We are a Giant Stamp Club in cyberspace! You *MUST* make your first "Welcome" post here please - www.tinyurl.com/RollCallSB - no exceptions.
These Rules are posted below for easy reference. Please contact admin [at] stampboards.com with any queries - or any Moderator. Do not query them via new threads, or within threads, as that is disruptive - see Rule 32, or you will wish you had NOT!
Please note there are also extra specific rules relating to the Sales, and the Exchange Forums at:
https://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1338
We have a friendly and informative and truly International Bulletin Board Community here, and setting out some basic "Rules Of The Road" we all need to observe, will help ensure we keep it that way!
PLEASE take a few minutes to read over them carefully BEFORE posting. If you do not like The Rules, then please do not post. Simple as that.
Thank You.
"THE RULES"
1. Getting Started
It might be intimidating at first to post a message here if you, like many others, are new to Bulletin Boards. No problem. You're welcome to hang out and read posts until you feel comfortable. Of course, we encourage you to join the discussions. We have a very supportive and friendly Community, and we welcome your contributions. If you can two finger type, you are SET to join in the fun! It is that easy.
Before you can post, you must register with stampboards.com and establish a user-name or 'handle'. Your user-name is a unique and constant identifier. Choose a simple and easy name for others to type responding to you! "rameshvarivigrapin56432L" etc is NOT easy to type or remember, so choose "Ramesh" or something shorter please. Your user-name may not be a Web site or email address. Any user handle that the Moderators deem likely to cause offence or confusion, to some other members, will be replaced, and you'll be advised. We are a STAMP board, not Howard Stern.
As advised in your 'Welcome' email, Your FIRST post *must* be on the long "Roll Call" thread, to say a polite "HI" to the other members - www.tinyurl.com/RollCallSB - it has had way over a MILLION page views.
2. Browse First
Before you post, browse the board for a while, to become familiar with the community. Read the forum descriptions to determine WHERE your post belongs best. Misplaced threads will be relocated by Moderators. We have a button at top centre of every screen called "FAQ" (Frequently Asked Questions) that answers many of the basics - how to post, how to edit, how to use smilies and HTML and all the neat features you see others using. Please DO spend a few minutes reading it over.
3. Your Password
This is known ONLY to you. Admin or Moderators CANNOT see it, or access it at any time. Remember this is just a STAMP Bulletin board not a Swiss bank account! Try and use something short and SIMPLE that you will remember. Admin gets endless requests from folks that sign up, type in some silly long complicated password, and forget it when they log in next. This wastes EVERYONE'S time.
4. Be Sure to Add A Locale
In the "location" box of NEW member profiles we insist you type in something please. City and country ideally. It really assists other members help YOU if you indicate what country, city or region you are in. This is specified as essential on the new member sign-in page. If we see Indonesia or San Salvador etc as "location", members will know English may not be your first language, and can make allowances with responses. And note - the locale new members specify must be accurate - we can and do check them, which is simple for any Moderator to do via IP logging. Typing "USA" when you are actually in Germany is asking for a query, before you are approved - indeed the account will be blocked from the onset and generally not activated.
5. Accurate and current email address is 100% required
The email address you add to your user profile MUST be the one you are signing up through. We can and do automatically check and verify this for all new members. We must at all times have a valid and current email address on hand for all members. You can update it at any time. We often need to contact members quickly via the board with an Admin question, or newsletters, or other members might want to contact you direct etc, for exchanges or offers or comments etc. So please do *NOT* use an email address you seldom check, or a work address that has aggressive SPAM filters etc, as most do, for non work related messages. Sign up for a free Google gmail address is the wisest course, and under the "POP FORWARDING" tab there, simply instruct all email from there, go to your work address etc, and keep the original in gmail. So it is ALWAYS safe there in gmail. Even if you later change jobs etc, as many do.
6. Please add an "avatar" image of your choice
EVERY member of stampboards.com needs to select some kind of avatar to use under their user handle. Look around you, and see what other members use. It can be your photo, your Mum or your pet etc. Or something light hearted or stylistic, or a photo of a stamp or cover of your collecting area, which is what most members prefer. We do not want everyone with a 1d Black or £2 Roo! Be creative. Anything too large or in bad taste will be removed or replaced. Any avatar that the Moderators deem likely to cause offence to some other members, will also be replaced. 165 x 165 is the maximum allowed, and that is FAR larger than most boards. Static images are preferred - any animated images deemed too distracting, well, no-one likes those in general, and we will ask you to re-think. Some tech advice on how to load an avatar is here - https://tinyurl.com/TechsSB
7. Get to Know the Moderators
Our very large Volunteer Moderator Team from all across the globe, are responsible for welcoming new members they encounter, and assisting all members. They were selected to serve based on their good judgement, and ability to uphold the stampboards.com rules. If you have questions, contact a Moderator. The Moderators are here - https://tinyurl.com/SBoardMod
Moderators contribute to threads just as other members do. They are held to the same standards when posting, as any other member.
They do moderate our forums, and look for rule violations, or ways to assist members. They may delete and edit posts, and close threads without notice. They may discipline and suspend members who fail to adhere to the rules (see Discipline section below, for more information on this.)
Moderators understand that the various stampboards.com forums have slightly different tones. What's acceptable in one forum may be considered out of line on another.
The Moderator Team themselves suggested, and fine tune, and amended and updated these "RULES" - so that all members know exactly how we work here, and what is expected of members.
8. The "SEARCH" feature is your biggest friend on these boards!
Before starting a thread, use the powerful "SEARCH" features to see if there's a recent thread on your topic. Many of the same questions come up repeatedly on stampboards.com. The 'search' tab is located in the navigation menu near the top right of each Forum page. We ALSO have a paid, site specific Google search box at base of EVERY page. So you have TWO separate and very different search functions. Keeping information on the same topic confined to as few threads as possible helps members quickly find the information they need. If you find a thread 2 months old on the topic you want info on, simply add to that one, and the discussion stays in one place - and grows. Do NOT start a new thread. More info here - https://tinyurl.com/SearchSB
9. Starting a new discussion, or "Thread":
Be sure you are in the correct Forum to start your new 'thread', and just click the "NEW TOPIC" button after reading Rule 10 carefully. We insist on seeing IMAGE(S) in each new thread - there are few exceptions allowed to that rule. See Rule 21 on how to do that.
We do NOT approve or endorse or allow a new thread linking to an outside site, or a link to photos outside this site in any post #1. Your links(s) will generally be disabled by Moderators unless to a well known domain. Less tech savvy members might be curious, go and click, and their computer can easily get infected with a virus, Trojan, malware, ransomware, adware - or worse. Those are all VERY serious global issues these days.
Don't post the same thread more than once in different Forums. Our members read many forums, and weeding through the same message in multiple forums can be frustrating. Duplicate threads may be deleted, combined or locked by moderators, and those doing it will be disciplined.
Be thoughtful and start your thread in the APPROPRIATE forum. If you have a question ask it in THAT forum, not in a general one like "Discuss Stamps". And if you ARE asking a question, the thread heading must summarise that question .. see Rule 10. Just pure common sense. All QUESTIONS need to have "?" at the end - again, simple common sense.
10. Create Descriptive Thread Headings, or Titles
Make thread heading titles as specific and descriptive as possible. WE do NOT charge you by the word! You use SEVENTY characters and spaces max - that is heaps. And we do NOT do lazy 2 or 3 word headings. Sometimes posters will start a thread with a VERY vague general title such as, "Guess what?" or "Help needed" or "Hinges" or "US1dollar" or "Russia" or "Fault on Scott 539?" These are all totally meaningless to most members, who are busy, and simply do not have time to click on such thread headings. And never ASSUME more than a small % of members have a Scott, SG, Michel or Unitrade cat etc. A concise title will mean YOUR thread gets a strong google ranking, and someone in a month - or a year, may then find it on a web search, and join up, and answer your question. Happens ALL the time.
Be as SPECIFIC as possible in your thread titles, and if you want to improve or change your thread's title after you create it, ask a Moderator for help - or edit it yourself, which you can do within an hour of posting it. Add the YEAR and COUNTRY involved, and a PHOTO in all cases is our policy in post #1 - see Rule 11 for how to do that. This board has over 25,000 real members, from over 180 countries. Do not ASSUME they can read your mind, or have YOUR catalogue. If you are asking a question about an Australia 1937 3d Blue, KGVI head, Die 1A identification .. make THAT the heading - do not start a vague thread headed "3d Blue Die". Never use all capital letter headings - that is regarded as rude and "Shouting" on the web. It is all basic common sense really.
11. Photo Images - we need them on *EVERY* new thread!
Please share as many photos of stamps and covers etc that you own, that you wish to here. Philately is the most VISUAL of Hobbies. We have funded unlimited bandwidth to display them all, and it costs Admin a large 5 figure sum a year to do. We have near TWO MILLION images stored here securely - we are the Stamp Wikipedia! "One photo speaks 1,000 words" is true more of stamps, than most other things! *ALL* new threads here need a photo please of SOME kind. NO exceptions. NOT just a link to some alleged obscure photo sharing account, or unknown hillbilly website, that may of course lead anywhere and have malware, spyware, adware, ransomware embedded etc, or vanish next week.
You can now quickly load images direct from your phone or computer or tablet - full easy-to-follow primer on that here - and how to scan and load images here FAST - www.tinyurl.com/StampPix Do **NOT** use www.imgbox.com, or www.imgur.com, or www.photobucket.com here at ANY time, for any purpose, to add images, or use any other external image source or webpage. We want them all hosted HERE forever, and pay a TON of money annually to do just that, so as they all stay visible permanently.
Once you post images here, they stay on public view. Removing an image(s) or text can quickly destroy the flow of a complete thread, and will do so for all reading it. So, if you have something you do not want others to see - please do NOT post it initially!
By posting images or text here you are granting us express permission to store and display your images or text here forever - whether you remain a member or not. So do NOT post images or text if you feel they will breach copyright, or you do not wish to stay here permanently etc. If in doubt - check first with the original source. Most Stamp Auctions, or dealers, or media or authors etc, have no issues with stamp images or text being used on a totally free and not-for-profit open web resource such as this, especially if attribution to the original source is given, as it is of course, global free publicity for that company or source.
Other websites, or magazines or newsletters etc, will inevitably use material from here at some point, and members accept and approve in advance by joining and posting here, that some limited reproduction of this nature may occur. (Also see Rule 38.) Such use is generally permitted by us, provided clear attribution to the source is given in every instance - i.e. "Reproduced with permission - from www.stampboards.com" etc. We cannot and will not condone any other site or end source regularly and extensively "mining" this site for content and/or images and photos, costing us a fortune in bandwidth and hosting costs. UNLESS written permission has been sought, and granted from Admin, and all such content is attributed in each instance, via the wording as shown in this paragraph, immediately where reproduced, and a relevant fee paid in advance, if we deem that appropriate.
Likewise, anyone who uses stampboards to promote any site via any "Click Here To Enter" type portal, that these days nearly all secretly capture IPs, and email addresses, or locale, or requires ID such as an email address or phone to view that site, will in our view generally be regarded as "harvesting" member email data without consent of our members. We may at our total discretion, remove such links to protect members. Any member failing to comply with the clear guidelines in the last 2 paragraphs may have their membership suspended, or if not a member - legal action initiated. We have a 100% track record of success here, over 17 years.
12. Stay on Topic
Please keep your posts on topic. Veering from the thread subject in serious threads is almost always disruptive. Posting negative comments on such threads that add nothing to the discussion are frowned upon, and may be removed. ANY posts that stray from the subject of the thread may be removed without notice by moderators, or split off into a new and more relevant thread. And the member may be disciplined - see also discussion below in Rule 32 - "Discussing Specific Moderator Actions" Moderators regularly amend heading wordings etc to be clearer, and/or move to correct Forum, and/or merge with older existing threads on same subject.
13. "Notify Me Of Replies To This Post"
This is an *ESSENTIAL* box to leave ticked when starting any new thread asking for advice or questions. You then get instant email advice when anyone responds. Untick that, and you will never know who has responded, and your thread will generally wither and die. Many members - old and new forget the importance of this! Likewise having your CURRENT email address in your profile is essential (see Rule 5) so as advises of new posts to your question will reach you. You can change your email address easily.
14. Start A "Poll"
Instead of starting a new thread you can tick the box to make it a "POLL". That allows you to ask a question and offer endless choices for members to vote on in their answer. Allow lots of answers to your question gives best results. Do NOT set a time period for them to run in most cases - set it at "0" which means it has no end date. Great fun - start one and see - here is what they look like:
https://stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=3817
15. Please welcome All Newcomers
Welcome Newcomers - stampboards.com is a friendly, informative, fun and thriving Community. When newcomers arrive, please take a moment to welcome them when they make their first "Roll Call" post. By helping folks learn, you provide a shining example of what this Community is about, and you help ensure that stampboards.com continues to flourish. New members may not understand stampboards.com and its history as well as you do. They catch on VERY fast when guided through it for 5 minutes - we've seen that 100 times. Remember we were all newbies once!
16. Use the "View New Posts since last visit" Button/Tab
A fantastically useful new board feature. Go to main Index page (click either of the large coloured stampboards logos to get there!) and then simply click the link in blue at top right saying - "View New Posts." Even if you have not logged in for 4 days, EVERY thread with a reply(s) made since then shows up. A wonderful way to ensure you miss NOTHING interesting being posted! You quickly go to the ones that MOST interest you. https://tinyurl.com/SBDnew - Whether you are logged in or not, it works.
17. Please Present Your Posts Thoughtfully and NEATLY
"You are what you post". You can come across to others here as being either slap-dash and sloppy, and near illiterate - or neat and tidy and professional and intelligent - the choice is always yours.
Most wise members even take a little time to use the "PREVIEW" button to look over their posts, to see if the image has loaded correctly, to see their HEADING makes sense, and uses normal punctuation, to see whether the "Quote" feature worked, and to check the colour and bold and highlights are coded correctly etc. All posts can be edited for ONE HOUR by any member. After that they stay here forever, so READ the content carefully before hitting SUBMIT.
And they use PARAGRAPHS every couple of sentences. Vast globs of type with no paragraphs, and no capital letters, and no spell check, and weird formatting, and lazy abbreviations, might be just fine for quick text messages to and from 12 year olds, but we hopefully will not see it on www.stampboards.com If we do see it, after being warned, we may not see you here very long - that's a promise.
Headings or posts all in CAPITALS is regarded as "shouting" and very rude on the web - do NOT do it here please. What you post is here forever. Lazy text speak abbreviations in heading like 'plz' and 'tks' etc are also not cool. So do it carefully the FIRST time please.
"You are what you post". Remember that. And others judge you on that. Please help us keep this board looking neat and professional. We take huge pride in how well presented and polished this board has always looked - it is WHY we are the World's most successful stamp board by far with way over 10 MILLION posts. We all can do our bit.
18. Respect our Diversity
stampboards.com members come from all walks of life and all parts of the world. We are as diverse in our makeup as we are alike in our passion for stamps. Because we all bring a unique perspective to the forum, our collective experience is broadened, and we gain new insights and stamp knowledge.
Our diversity demands that we respect each other. Due to the inherent constraints of the Internet - humour, sarcasm, language and slang can be easily misinterpreted - especially when crossing cultural boundaries.
When posting a message, pay extra care to how it might be interpreted. And when you come across a post that offends you, read it with an eye toward giving the poster the benefit of the doubt.
If you have an issue with a post, please contact the member privately or contact a moderator via the "Report Post" red button. Do not make the situation worse by publicly responding.
19. Guard Your Privacy
Keeping personal information personal is a good tip. If you want to share your personal information with another member of the community, do so via e-mail, or not via the boards. If you DO want to post your email on a thread for any reason we INSIST you use this kind of disguised style - donaldtrump [at] aol dot com as it will not then be "harvested" by spam bots trawling websites looking for the curly "(at)" sign, which always means a current valid email address - and then bombarding you with masses of Spam and porn etc. We get LOTS of such global bots regularly trawling and harvesting this large site. The same with posting your personal (or other) phone numbers - do NOT do it please - for obvious privacy reasons. Contact the other members via the safe and hidden private email system. Moderators will amend any posts that breach either of these rules that they see - with no notice.
stampboards.com respects members' privacy. None of your personal contact information or email address etc will be posted or visible on the forums unless you post it yourself. By signing up here you specifically AGREED to receive emails from us, re any topic replies when you ticked that you want those on certain threads, and you agreed to receive the occasional member-wide newsletters, and admin advices from us. Some members post up recent covers or letters addressed to them or others, showing their full name and address. We strongly recommend you do NOT do that - try and disguise that data. YOU are entirely responsible if there is a burglary a week later. stampboards gets over five MILLION page views a month - you never know WHO is reading your posts - or for what reason.
20. User's Grant of Limited License
While members in general terms, own the content and interest in their posts, posting on stampboards.com grants us the right to reproduce, or agree to have reproduced if we so approve, that content in any medium without notification or compensation. Members' posts cannot be legally printed or duplicated in any way by any third party, on the internet or elsewhere, without the consent of stampboards Admin, and with it clearly attributed to this source. Once you submit a post, you agree and accept stampboards.com has no obligation whatever to remove or edit that post's content, at any time - whether you remain a member or not, or whether you request it or not. Once posted, it stays part of the thread. Forever. So as always, only post images or text you are happy to stay here. (See also Rule 11.) Member handles are never deleted once approved, but you can readily stop any email from us or members - refer Rule 44. You specifically agreed to these - and our other terms ad Rules - when you signed up.
21. Selection and Change of user name or "handle" or location shown.
Rule number one - please choose a SIMPLE 'handle' or user name initially!
jmscdr0pd47643527 is near impossible for others to remember. or to type, when replying to you. If your name is Jim Smith by all means sign up as Jim or Jim.S or JimSmith etc. Note, if you choose to use "JimSmith" your posts under that name remain here forever, as will other member posts referencing that handle, and you are forewarned of that, and you do agree to that, and accept they will not be moved.
Admin may refuse to register any new handle if it so chooses, if the Volunteer Moderator team feels it may cause offence or hurt to any section of our global membership. We will usually amend the user-name to something more mainstream, and advise you. Likewise, asking to register a handle that we deem to be too close to that of an existing member may be refused. In such cases, you will be asked to select another handle before your registration is activated. Members can change their location showing at any time in the ''User Control Panel.''
Ideally we do NOT want to see members change names later on, as that gets really confusing, so please think yours out CAREFULLY before registering. Admin CAN change a user name if you request it with a VERY good reason, and if we agree to it. Contact any Moderator - or email Admin. But do so early in your member career here, as all threads that by then refer to jmscdr0pd47643527 by other members, can't be edited.
22. Do not overuse the "QUOTE" Button
Please do not use the "QUOTE" Button unless needed! To reply to a post hit "Post Reply" and type your response. Far too many members hit the "QUOTE" Button, which captures all the text and photos of the post above, and THEN type their reply. When images are involved, that can make threads annoying and very long to read. If replying to a post 4 or 5 up the thread, by all means use the "QUOTE" feature. Or, if a small section of the post above is what you are replying to.
23. Signatures
We do not wish to restrict your right to display personal views, ideology, etc. but do ask that you remain respectful of others in your signature lines. NO gifs, smilies, emojies etc, or still or moving images may be used, in any signatures. They MUST be in the English language, and we also strongly ask that they be in monocolour. Overly garish ones we will change to mono. And two (2) lines in typical font size is absolute maximum we allow, as you can see looking at other member signatures. Dealers or large auctions can link ONE main business website etc, if they choose. ebay/TradeMe/Delcampe etc member's account names or links to them etc may NOT be used in signatures, but there is one thread where your specific current lots can be freely highlighted to others if you choose! NON stamp related websites may NOT be used as signatures, NOR Facebook, Instagram or similar group links. Nor can links to other stamp bulletin boards, but a link to your own personal stamp blog is acceptable, as long as the content is benign. If you have any questions as to exactly whether something is acceptable, send a private message to Admin[at]stampboards.com - If your signature does not comply, the Moderators WILL amend it with no notice or advice. At a keyboard stroke we can code your account, to NOT allow ANY signature, so do NOT waste Mods time being 'creative' - or you will soon wish you had not.
24. All posts and thread headings to be in the ENGLISH language please.
stampboards.com is a truly International board, and by 2021 we had registered members from well over 180 different countries. We respect and encourage this enormous diversity, but just for the record we ask that all posts and thread headings on the board be in the ENGLISH language. Do NOT type "Rubland" for Russia or "États-Unis" for USA or "Nouvelle Galles du Sud" for NSW etc. Use the ENGLISH version please. This is so the maximum number of members can respond and understand any post. (Not to mention most Moderators will have absolutely no idea what is being posted!) HOWEVER, by all means welcome any countryman of yours who joins up, with a greeting on board written in your own language, or any similar friendly and light hearted exchange. We ask all members to give latitude to members for whom English is clearly not their first language. And for those who are native English speakers, do NOT use lazy abbreviated text speak.
25. Please add a link to stampboards from your blog, club/society website, or dealer website, or in your ebay or Delcampe listing templates etc.
Adding a link increases traffic to YOUR site - as you can see here - https://stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=10980 - as we have google and BING and Yahoo bots "glued" to this site 24/7. That link has images in many sizes and shapes, and the HTML code you need to use on your ebay templates etc. We get many MILLIONS of hits a month to stampboards, and the bigger we get, the more reach your posts and offers will receive.
26. Is there a way to buy the stampboards logo on T Shirts, Pens, Mouse Mats, COVID face masks, baseball caps etc?
Yes. We have had some of the things above made in the USA as souvenirs with our neat "Penny Black" inspired logo. Into T Shirts, and baseball caps, and pens and mouse mats and stickers etc, that some members have asked if they might buy. We did not make many due to the cost of small runs in full colour, so first in - first served. Colour photos of what we have, and prices are here - https://tinyurl.com/SBstuff
27. Deliberately Misquoting Other Posters
You may use the quote feature to respond to specific posts from other members. However, changing the meaning or words of a quote while still attributing it to the other member is a violation of stampboards.com rules. Anyone doing so will be subject to the disciplinary process. (The use of ellipses to show a quote was abbreviated is allowed, so long as the original meaning is not lost.)
28. Using MULTIPLE stampboards.com Accounts
In general, Members are allowed just one stampboards.com account. In the past some members have used multiple handles to harass or mislead other members, or become a nuisance. Multiple accounts will be closed, and members involved will be subject to the disciplinary processes. Do NOT do it.
Remember every Moderator can click on ANY post and see the IP address and city/suburb it was posted from and from which service provider. And also IP log where all posts and IP's from that member were from, and whether they match any IP used by any other member, at any other time. It is that simple. The special add-on software we have here does it all - at a glance. Tell us that you are in Adelaide, and post from Brisbane - and we can see that readily.
29. Posting or forwarding Private Emails and Messages Without the Member Author's Permission
This is an invasion of privacy, very possibly unlawful and defamatory, and members who violate this WILL be subject to the disciplinary process. If you receive any stampboards related email that looks suspect or controversial or suspicious - please forward it immediately to admin [at] stampboards.com
30. Attempting to Defraud any Member, or adding non-stamp business leads or links, or to other Boards etc
Anyone who uses stampboards.com in an attempt to defraud a member, or to knowingly deprive, or attempt to deprive, any member of goods or a benefit, will have his or her membership revoked. All members agree by joining here, any fraud or proven debts owed to other members may be highlighted on this thread, with their names and details, as a warning to other members - https://tinyurl.com/BadSBDs
30a. In a rather similar vein, we, for obvious reasons, strongly discourage and police any member starting threads suggesting others here join their Amway Circle, or Weight Loss Clubs, Charity fund-raisers, Superannuation advice blogs, Bonus Clubs, Sporting Membership drives, Investment Seminars, or Religious and Political organisations and blogs etc, or similar things non stamp related on exterior websites etc.
Or adds plugs to join, or adds links to, other Stamp Bulletin boards etc, or special facebook groups etc, via any posts here. It is impossible for us to screen or endorse or approve any such threads and posts and sites, and we always have a strong Duty Of Care to members. They will generally be removed by Moderators.
31. Attempting to deceive Administration or Moderators
Anyone who attempts to mislead Administration or Moderators, or acts in any way contrary to the best interests of this board and its members is not welcome here. Fake and duplicate accounts ARE readily detected (see Rule #28) and are removed. Your location and email are readily checkable by any Moderator - for every post you make. If contacted by a Moderator please respond truthfully, and as in all walks of life, you will not incur a problem by doing so.
32. Discussing Specific Moderator Or Admin Actions, Anywhere On The Board
On-board discussion, or questioning in any way, of any Admin or Moderator decisions, or board policy or comments is disruptive, and wastes everyone's time. This includes comments on any post or thread deletions, or edits or removal, renaming, or moving, or merging, or their comments on threads, or emails received, or reference to your, or any other member discipline etc. This is not allowed on the board at any time, and will be removed with no notice when posted. Transgressing Members WILL also be subject to disciplinary action. If you have any question or query about ANY moderator/Admin action or policy or comment etc, contact - admin [at] stampboards.com - but do NOT post it, or discuss it anywhere on the boards please. Or you WILL wish you did not.
33. Negative or disparaging public commentary re stampboards
Any publicly posted internet commentary anywhere, that is disparaging or negative to stampboards.com by any member here, may result in their stampboards membership being suspended or revoked. Likewise any negative commentary by email or phone etc, to other members that Admin or Moderators might become aware of. Any suggestions or issues re anything related to this board should be directed to Admin - and nowhere else please.
34. Personal Attacks
We encourage a healthy exchange of opinions. If you disagree with another member, challenge the opinion or idea - not the person. Personal attacks, insults, name-calling, and "flaming" are not welcome and generally are removed when sighted. will not be tolerated and will be removed. Serial violators will be subject to disciplinary action. You may challenge others' points of view and opinions, but please do so respectfully and thoughtfully.
Do NOT retaliate or respond to something you regard as a personal comment. Too often, when an initial ''attack'' is made, others join the fray and, instead of becoming part of the solution, they become part of the problem. If you feel that you are being attacked or harassed - contact a moderator by clicking on this red "Report This Post" icon found at lower right of EVERY post -->
35. Objectionable, Obscene or Offensive Language/Material
Any posts or signatures containing communications or hyperlinks or images that are knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, obscene, profane, threatening, harassing, offensive, vulgar, abusive, hateful or bashing - especially those aimed at sexual orientation, gender, race, color, religious views, political orientation, national origin, or disability - will not be tolerated and will be removed. Individuals who post offensive material, images, or links to such material will be subject to disciplinary action. We have an board auto-censor which automatically disguises many words that may be common on construction sites, or Military Barracks etc, that most still find offensive used in mixed polite company.
We have no public list of prohibited words or phrases - if you believe a word or phrase or image is questionable or ambiguous, don't use it. Simple as that. We have members as young as 8 years old. We have a lot of women, and we have Ministers of Religion etc, and members from 150 nations. Use this very simple test - is it a word or phrase or image you'd be totally happy to raise over a dinner party, with a table of mixed company? If you find a questionable word or image in any of the forums, contact a moderator, or simpler, use the Report Post button. They will determine whether the message meets our objective of offering a friendly community for stamp collectors. Using spaces, symbols, highlighted colours or acronyms, or other "creative" methods or images to express vulgarities or abuse while avoiding www.stampboards.com censors is still a violation. Don't do it.
36. Furthering Illegal Activity
Posts that further illegal activity (i.e., buying and selling stolen or forged stamps, or encouraging copyright theft etc, etc,) will be removed without notice, and the posting members' stampboards.com account will be subject to revocation with no advance notice.
37. Invasion of Privacy
Members posting another user's private information without their permission, including but not limited to - phone number, address, real name, or email may generally be subject to disciplinary action. Trade members or dealers clearly are exempt from that prohibition, if they have made clear their real name or business via website or signature links etc.
38. Posting Copyrighted Material, or violation of our rights.
Information or images copyrighted or owned by any individual or entity other than the person posting, should not be posted on the forums without the consent of the owner. If such an event occurs, the individual posting the information shall be held solely responsible. stampboards.com shall not be held responsible for information posted by a member that may violate any copyright law.
If there is a news article, image, or other piece of information you'd like to share from the web, please credit the source of the information and/or give a brief recap of the news and provide the appropriate link to the original source, which constitutes ''fair usage'', on a not-for-profit site such as this.
And as outlined in point 20 above, any attempt to misuse or purloin or content mine ANY material on this site without written permission from Admin, will jeopardise your membership here, and quite possibly leave you liable to legal action as well.
Contents of the board is claimed as copyright globally. The words "stampboards.com" and our distinctive font, and logo of a '1d Black' within a perforated stamp border are COPYRIGHT © to the owner of this board, and the © symbol appears on them on each page of the board.
Unauthorised use of any content here, or use of either device, or any facsimile or likeness thereof, used for "passing off" or parody, or for any financial gain or attempt thereof, is prohibited globally, and will be legally defended, and all costs sought from transgressor - please email admin [at] stampboards.com to obtain written clearance for any planned use.
Generally Speaking, approval is granted for fair non-profit use anywhere, as long as correct attribution to stampboards.com is clearly made, at all times. We are essentially the Wikipedia of Philately. We have near 7 MILLION posts here, and near a MILLION images hosted here, at our considerable expense.
39. Repeated Posting of Disruptive Posts
Members who repeatedly post items that create disruption within forums will be subject to disciplinary action if they choose not to heed the Moderator or Admin warnings to desist - or edit or produce evidence of their claims if asked. Making clearly nonsensical or fanciful claims re monies paid for stamps etc, or items allegedly owned, is disruptive and annoying to others. Do NOT do that on stampboards.com please, or you WILL be quickly detected and disciplined, as we have a VERY savvy membership, and vigilant Moderator team. Post Edits or removals under Rule 32 are always done for a reason. Add them again, and waste more time and breach that rule is NOT smart.
40. Abuse and/or misuse of stampboards.com e-mail facility
emails of members obtained or accessed at any time through stampboards.com - whilst "private", still fall under the rules outlined here. They must not be traded or sold, or used to send spam or un-solicited offers, direct or via the board system, to solicit cash payments, or to threaten or harass or abuse members, moderators or administrators, or to harm stampboards in any way. Contacting others via board email in order to join other Boards or ventures etc, or to harass or abuse or threaten etc is not permitted. Members who use them for the purposes outlined above, or to circumvent the rules and standards of the Community, or to subvert or harm, or to undermine stampboards.com or its members in any way, will be subject to disciplinary action - and at minimum, will have their own email access disabled. If you ever receive this type of communication, report it to Admin immediately. Do not publish it on the board, and NEVER respond to the sender.
Your actual email address is NEVER visible to any member, so leave the "Always show email address" box ticked in your profile please. Like ebay, no-one can "see" it - only contact you via the board software. If any member contacts you with any message at any time you find out of line or offensive etc, please bring it to the attention of any Moderator, or Admin. Do not reply to the person sending it, as that DOES then give them your real email address.
Communications, written or verbal, of stampboards.com members, to moderators or other members are subject to review by other moderators and stampboards.com administrators at the discretion of the moderator recipient, when deemed necessary for consultative purposes. Moderators reserve the right to share such private messages, or those reported to them, with other moderators and/or the administrators and owners of stampboards.com at any time, and members expressly agree to this possibility by joining.
41. Discipline Purposes
The purpose of discipline for violating the Rules is not to punish members, but to protect stampboards.com users, and to facilitate polite and harmonious discussion in stampboards.com forums. Moderators and administrators consider all relevant facts before imposing discipline, including the likely effect of the member's conduct on the forum, the experience and track record here of the member, the nature of the violation, and the general history of discussion in the forum.
Moderators have a private forum to discuss such matters, and has a wide range of technical tools to invoke. The Volunteer Moderator group of about 25 members comprises males and females, dealers and collectors, and has representatives from SIX different continents.
The perfect non-political mix, ensuring that even handed, and unbiased consideration is given to any matters before them.
Their one aim is a happy and harmonious stampboards.com. The Volunteered time spent on removing and dealing with spam and pests, and back-room work since inception would astound many members - all to make your enjoyment of these boards spam and hassle free. Member discipline is rare, and when invoked is almost always done after thorough group consultation.
42. Types of Discipline
If a moderator or administrator deems it warranted, progressive discipline may be imposed for any rules violation. In general, progressive discipline has the following levels, and each level need not be used if the moderators or administrator deems the violation serious enough to call for a different progression:
Warning. The moderator or administrator identifies the member's improper or unhelpful conduct and notifies the member on thread and/or via direct email, that future violations of that or other Rules will result in possible suspension, or revocation of membership.
Suspension for one week. The moderator or administrator suspends a member violating the Rules for generally one week, and this warns the member that future violations of that, or other Rules, will result in suspension for one month, or revocation of membership.
Suspension for one month. The moderator or administrator suspends a member violating the Rules for generally one month, and notifies the member that future violations of that or other Rules will result in revocation of membership.
Revocation of membership. The moderators or administrator revokes membership privileges, for repeated or very serious violations of these Rules.
In many cases, suspended members are indicated by having "Suspended Member" showing on their user profile. All valid posts they have made remain in place. Any member who, whilst suspended, opens a duplicate account to post on stampboards.com shall see both accounts permanently closed, and a permanent IP block put in place, so they cannot even access the board. Don't do it.
Types of Discipline - Summary Revocation
A moderator or administrator may revoke membership privileges, or board access, as a first discipline, if deemed reasonably necessary, to prevent immediate and serious disruption in one or more forums. Some examples of rules violations which may result in summary revocation are: posts from members which constitute overt "spam", repeated cross-posting to multiple forums in a short time frame, and/or posting obscene, fraudulent or defamatory material, and disruptive posts, or bizarre posting behaviour.
43. stampboards.com rights, and YOUR indemnity to us.
In addition to other points on this page, stampboards.com reserves the right to remove any content posted on our site at any time for any reason, and to organise forums in order to best serve the majority of our visitors and members.
Moderators may move, split, delete or merge topics or posts as deemed appropriate, without notification, at any time. stampboards.com reserves the right to revoke or suspend or restrict member accounts at any time. Decisions as to whether content violates or breaches our Rules will be made by Moderators and administrators, and do not need be outlined to the members, if they see fit.
stampboards.com reserves the right to delete messages that violate applicable laws, or that may be harmful to others in our view. stampboards.com does not have the ability to restrict conduct, or communications that might violate our rules prior to transmission on the Internet, nor can we ensure prompt removal of offending forum posts in every case, as we have no paid employees or staff.
The content of messages herein does not constitute approval, endorsement, or necessarily reflect the views of stampboards.com. You participate entirely at your own risk on the forums, and in e-mails. You take full responsibility for postings under your "handle" identification, and use the information provided here at your own risk. stampboards.com accepts no responsibility whatever for the content or accuracy or opinions posted here.
Indemnity. By signing on as a member, YOU agree to indemnify and hold stampboards.com and its Moderators, administration, officers, agents, partners, web-hosters, IP's, employees or contractors - totally harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the stampboards services in violation of this Agreement, and/or arising from a breach of this Agreement, and/or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth in this Agreement, and/or if any content that you post, publish or distribute, on or through the stampboards website, causes stampboards.com to be liable to another. You AGREE to bear all our legal and time costs that may arise from such matters.
Furthermore, stampboards.com or its members, cannot be held responsible for any real or perceived mental, physical, emotional, or financial issues arising from bona-fide member(s) emails, messages or posts. Some people react poorly to comments that disagree with them, or challenge them, their ideas, or views or beliefs or religion etc. All are an ever possible reality on a large and vibrant global Bulletin Board. If you feel for whatever reason you may NOT be able to deal with that possible occurrence, please do NOT post. It is as simple as that.
44. To cease getting emails from stampboards.com
If you no longer wish to be able to receive emails from Admin or members that you agreed to receive, (see Rule #19) simply go to your "member profile", and remove, or change, or disguise, your email address, and you will never hear from us again. Simple as that. The PhpBB software platform that we, and 10,000s of other similar free boards use, sadly does not (yet) offer an "unsubscribe" option for the occasional member wide emails. In the meantime, you can simply place emails from stampboards.com on "block sender" etc of course in your email program. Fast and effective, and FREE, and permanent. Member handles are never deleted once approved, but you can readily stop any email from us or members. You specifically agreed to these - and our other terms - when you signed up here.
45. SUMMARY OVERVIEW
All new members specifically agreed to abide by these rules above when signing up to stampboards.com, and were further advised to read them, by a "welcome" email. All existing members are also emailed reminding them of these rules at periodic intervals, and advised they were deemed to be accepting them when joining.
stampboards.com reserves the right to makes changes to these rules above without notice. As it is impossible to address every issue that could arise on these forums, just because an issue is not covered in these rules, does not mean it will, or will not, be allowed. The "Rules" on this page are to be taken as a solid summary, and as minimum guidelines of expected behaviour - and penalties. They are updated now and again, and the current Rues are what apply.
By joining up as a member, and/or posting to a thread on stampboards.com, YOU fully agree to abide by our rules outlined above.
99.99% of members will never need to read or worry about the preceding rules. Problems over our 13+.5year existence have been VERY few, given the 22,000+ members we now have globally.
However, we do like having a formal framework in place, for all members to be aware of, that governs their posting here.
The same way all busy roads have a few speeding motorists risking a demerit point or two, and breaking Road Rules, we will have a few folks now and again who WILL need to read this Rules section VERY carefully. The moderators and Admin reserve the right to act on ANY matter with no notice, but the synopsis above covers the most likely reasons you may hear from us.
Thank You in advance,
Glen Stephens, Owner and The Administrator, and the entire Volunteer Moderator Team.
REMEMBER ALWAYS - Posting to stampboards.com is a privilege, NOT a right.
(This thread is for the information of members and is "locked" to member posts.)
