Forum Code of Conduct (READ ME FIRST!)

Use of our forums constitutes acceptance and agreement to our Forum Code of Conduct / Forum user Agreement. If you violate the Code of Conduct or User Agreement, we reserve the right to terminate all accounts belonging to you without prior notice. We prefer to advise users of inappropriate behavior, however, flagrant and repeated violations of our CoC will result in an immediate ban. Our failure to enforce this policy, for whatever reason, shall not be construed as a waiver of our right to do so at any time.

Principle Guidelines
We created the Code of Conduct to provide a basic understanding of what's allowed and not allowed in our forums. The following are the principle guidelines for the establishment and enforcement of our CoC:

- Ensure a friendly atmosphere to our visitors and forum members

- Ensure the privacy of our members and that of others

- Comply with existing US Federal and State laws

- Encourage responsible use of our forums and discourage activities which disrupt our community and reduce the value of our services to our visitors

- Encourage the freedom of expression and exchange of information in a mature and responsible manner

What about free-speech?
While we are committed to the principles of free speech, certain activities may be damaging to the resources of both Tpass.org and our communities, and cannot be permitted under the guise of free speech. The resources of Tpass.org are limited, and abuse of these resources by one user has a negative impact on the entire forum community.

We are committed to an environment that encourages the free exchange of information and ideas that will help others survive a disaster or lessen their dependence on the services of the "grid", but the forums are not a platform for political views, agendas, or anti govenment rhetoric. Yes, political views and concerns play a big part in many people's reasons for choosing to prepare, but this site is not the proper venue for expressing these types of concerns or views.

As a member of our forum community, you must participate responsibly. If you have any questions regarding our CoC, please contact the admin staff via email (admins [at] tpass.org).

Violations of the Code of Conduct
It is extremely important for you to understand that this section of our Code of Conduct isn’t designed to cover everything. We may take action — issue a warning, ban your account(s) and/or IP addresses, delete/edit your post(s)/thread(s), etc. — if your conduct at Tpass.org is counterproductive to the Code of Conduct’s principle guidelines.

Unauthorized access / Forum Security
The following actions are strictly prohibited:

- Accessing, or attempting to access, the accounts of other users

- Exploiting, or attempting to exploit, bugs, vulnerabilities, or loopholes; whether they are disclosed or undisclosed

- Penetrating, or attempting to penetrate, security measures of Tpass.org’s software or hardware

All intrusions will subject all your forum accounts to immediate termination, regardless of whether or not the intrusion results in the corruption, loss, or theft of data.

Users are responsible for the security of their Tpass accounts. Users may not share their passwords or transfer – via any means – their accounts to others without the express permission of the The Preparedness and Survival Site Forum Management Team. In addition, users are responsible for all activity made by him/her or anyone the user allows to use his/her account.

Usernames
Usernames must not be in violation of this Code of Conduct. We reserve the right to terminate accounts whose associated usernames are in violation of this Code of Conduct, or are otherwise deemed inappropriate and/or potentially offensive. Users may be invited to register under a new name at our discretion.

Ad Hominem
Ad Hominem comments/personal attacks towards anyone - staff, forum member, or a visitor who is likely to view it on the forums - is subject to the message being deleted and action taken against the user, regardless of how pertinent or thoughtful the rest of the message might be.

Spamming
Unless a thread or forum is designated as an area ok for spamming, you may not spam. Spam includes, but is not limited to, the following:

- Excessive off-topic threads
- Posting nonsensical messages
- “Flooding” the forum with similar meaning messages
- Post-Count farming
- Blatant advertising
- Messages without content
- Fraudulent activity (Pyramid schemes, chain letters, etc.)
- Free-____ links (i.e. Free iPods, Free PSP, etc. etc.)

Advertising
We want to avoid spam generated by promotion teams, public-relations campaigns or any other traffic-hungry webmasters. So please note that our forums aren’t the place to advertise your own site or forums or sites with similar content to ours. The Preparedness and Survival Site Staff don’t visit your site and spam it with advertising, so we expect the same courtesy in return. You are welcome to link your site in your signature in a respective manner if you choose to participate in this forum’s discussions.

If you are part of a preparedness site and you want to link it as a relevant part of a discussion, please contact a moderator first and be honest if it’s your own site.
Any forum member who appears to have created their account solely to promote another site will be permanently banned.

Profanity
This is a family oriented site, and any profanity that is unnecessary is severely frowned upon. We realize that there are certain times that it is going to appear in items like the fiction stories, but in general conversation threads on the forums it is to be avoided. Offending posts or threads will be removed or censored at the discretion of the Wardens and Site Admin’s.

Harassment
You may not use terms or audio/visual materials referring to ethnic/national origin, ideological/religious beliefs, gender, or sexual preference in a demeaning context.
We have no tolerance for discrimination. You are in violation of this rule if the nature of your post discriminates, promotes hate, promotes violence or advocates hatred or discrimination against individuals, groups, races, cultures or organizations because of their ethnic/national origin, skin color or culture.

DEROGATORY TERMS
If you use any terms in an offensive context against a person, race, culture, group or organization, as determined by our moderators, you are in violation of this rule.
Please note that words carry different meanings in different cultures, and that while a word may be acceptable use in one part of the world, it may not be in another. In addition, any one can invent their own derogatory terms, unfortunately. Because of those factors, we will evaluate the context in which the term was used to determine whether a violation has occurred.

Porn/Sexually Offensive Materials
You may not post or link to pornography or sexually offensive materials. If you are unsure whether what you wish to post may be in violation of this rule, please consult a moderator first before posting.

Offensive Images / Shock Sites
You may not post or link to shock sites, or any such excessively obscene material. If you are unsure whether what you wish to post may be in violation of this rule, please consult with a Warden first before posting. Blatant violations of this rule will result in a permanent ban on your account.

Illegal Use
You may not use our forums for illegal purposes, in support of illegal activities, or encourage conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, as determined by the laws of the United States of America and the State of Washington.

Posting of information or links to sites that advocate illegal activities in the United States, including but not limited to threats of harm to state or federal officials, threats to physical safety of living individuals or overthrow of the US Government is forbidden.

We reserve the right to cooperate with legal authorities and/or injured third parties in the investigation of any suspected crime or civil wrongdoing.

Privacy
- You may not post any form of real life information of a user unless the user has first permitted it by express consent. Examples of real life information include name, address, IP addresses, and phone numbers.

- You may not distribute any form of real life information, email address, private/email Messages, and Instant Messenger messages (“Chatlogs”) with intent to harass or in any demeaning manner as determined by a moderator, regardless of consent.

- You may not disclose a user's unpublicized email address unless the user has first permitted it, either by actual consent or previously releasing said information.

- You may not post any form of real life information if you are 13 or under.
Email Addresses

- You may not harvest email addresses from our forums for any purpose

- You are required to keep your forum account's email address up-to-date. If a warning sent to the email address on record bounces, your account will be banned.
Moderation & Bans

- You may not evade a ban. If you believe your actions were not in violation of this Code of Conduct, you can appeal your ban by emailing the site Admin’s

- You may not publicly complain about or demand a reason for another user's ban, the deletion of a message, or the deletion/closure of a thread. Any discussion about warnings, bans, message deletion, thread deletion and thread closure should be done over private email between the person concerned and the site Admin’s

- You may not re-edit a message that has been edited by a moderator

- You may not post a message on behalf of a banned forum member.

Miscellaneous
- You may not bait/troll users. Bait / Trolling is defined as posting with a clear intent to provoke anger, incendiary posts, and behavior that results in other users violating the CoC.

- You may not bait, insult, flame, or otherwise abuse a Warden of the site. Wardens have to follow the same rules, and should you have a problem with a certain Warden, please contact the site Admin’s.

- You may not post graphically-disturbing images as inline images (such that the images are displayed when users view your post). However, you can link to the images with a warning stating that the images are graphically disturbing

- You may not post in a manner that is harmful to The Preparedness and Survival Site. If you do, the post will be deleted and you will be banned.

- You may not register multiple accounts with intent to violate any part of this CoC.

Liability
The Preparedness and Survival Site is NOT Liable for the content posted by members of the forums or volunteer staff. All information and content on this site is to be used at your own risk and is provided for educational uses only. It is up to you to verify any information that you choose to follow from this site. Some sections of the forums carry specific disclaimers as to the content, please ensure that you read and fully understand them. Additionally, Tpass.org is not responsible for data loss/insertion that is the result of a breach (hack) of the site or its contents.

While the content of the posts here are the responsibility of the posters, Tpass.org / Falloutshelter 653 takes no ownership of the repercussions. If you are going to post something that is illegal or immoral, the post will be removed by the staff as soon as it is discovered. Tpass.org / Fallout Shelter 653 take no direct responsibility for the posts of members and/or those that may choose to use the information that they contain.

The last paragraph may seem redundant, but we will say it yet one more time.

You and You alone are responsible for usage of information from this site, and the repercussions of any information that you choose to post on this site.