Forum Rules and Code of Conduct.

Forum Purpose

1. The Forum exists to provide a safe and friendly place for photographers to learn, share and socialise.

Forum Rules

2. Only Premium Members are permitted to display links in their signature blocks.

3. Only Premium Members and Members with 5+ posts can submit posts containing external links (expressed or implied - including usernames). Otherwise links are not permitted - whether hyperlinked or not. External links must be relevant to the Forum’s purpose and may be deleted by staff if deemed inappropriate. Members may not post links on behalf of those not entitled to do so. Note: Any member - regardless of number of posts - may submit photographs by using the attach file facility.

4. Only Premium and Senior Members (100+ posts) can sell, trade, place wants or swap in The Trading Post. Any member may respond to such posts. Trading Post posts must be a self-contained - they may not link externally; moreover, the asking price must be clearly referenced.

5. Members may not seek evaluation or critique of photographs where members have to leave the forum to view the images. All photographs are to be included in the post - either as an uploaded attachment or, where allowed, as a linked image where the image is viewable on the forum

6. Bad language/profanity is not permitted. As a rule of thumb, if you wouldn't say it in front of a child don't say it here.

7. Any form of prejudice is not permitted.

8. No pornography is permitted – explicit or implied. Artistic nudity is acceptable - as general guidance, no images showing genitalia are permitted. If in doubt, seek advice from a member of staff before posting.

9. All images submitted to the Forum must have the appropriate permission of the copyright holder. All images submitted remain the property of copyright owners. This is the law. Pieces regarded as derivative works, or compositions based on images from third party sources must include a link or reference back to the original artist/copyright holder with verifiable terms of usage.

10. By submitting images and posts to the forum (either through direct upload or hyperlink), the copyright holder is providing consent for the images and posts to be stored locally and displayed indefinitely. A request to remove an image or post can be made to any member of staff. Whilst each request will be dealt with compassionately, staff will also consider the impact of such a deletion on both the continuity of the associated thread and on other members.

11. Any member, who indicates in their user profile that editing of their images is permissible, grants permission for other members to temporarily copy the image to their computers for the sole purpose of editing the image and re-posting the results to the Forum. Any images downloaded for this purpose should then be deleted.

12. No images are permitted to be copied from the Forum without the express permission of the copyright holder. This is the law.

13. Spamming is not permitted.

14. The use of multiple accounts is not permitted.

15. No member - regardless of status - may advertise products or services without the prior permission of an Administrator. Personal items, for qualifying members, through the the trading post are exempted. The Forum encourages informal meetings; nevertheless, no member is allowed to advertise events or any fund raiser where there is financial consideration between members.

16. No postings may be made that support software piracy in any of its forms. Photographers - more than most - should respect copyright.

Code of Conduct

17. Posted images are to be no larger than 1024 pixels along longest edge and a file size limit of 250Kb. This includes linked images posted to the forum.

18. Always be considerate to the feelings and aspirations of other members. No rudeness or personal insults are permitted. Note that if someone has gone to the trouble of providing a critique on a photograph, answering a question or providing advice it is deemed inconsiderate not to thank or acknowledge them.

19. Post titles should be as meaningful as possible.

20. All images are submitted to the Forum for the purposes of photographic critique. Images submitted to Critique Corner are likely to attract particularly robust comments. If you do not wish your images to be subject to critique, do not post them here - there are many online facilities available for simply displaying your work.

21. To avoid upsetting the natural flow and harmony of the Forum, threads over one month old should not be resurrected without good reason. "Good reason" will be at moderators' discretion. In the event that a thread is resurrected unecessarily, the post will be deleted by moderators without stating a reason. Repeat offenders may be banned.

22. Generally, discussions about religion and politics are discouraged due to the downward trend such discussions can take. Forum staff reserve the right to close or remove such discussions should it be deemed they are achieving nothing but disharmony.

Banning and Infraction Notices

It is not possible to consider every eventuality in advance. As general guidance, a breach of the Forum rules will result in an instant and permanent ban; a breach of conduct will result in an infraction notice being issued. The final decision in all matters rests with the Forum Moderators and Administrators. All decisions are made with the best interests of the Forum in mind.