IGS Online Forum Rules
Introduction
The IGS Online Forum is a benefit exclusively available to IGS Members and invited guests. The Forum is a space where IGS Members can interact with their colleagues worldwide to discuss all matters related to the Society and geosynthetics. As the Forum is non-public, discussions can be more open than might be possible on social media. To use the Forum, simply log in to the IGS website using your Member details.
All IGS Members are expected to conduct themselves professionally, and for this reason posts are not pre-moderated. However, where a Member’s post is inappropriate, it will be removed by a moderator.
Summary of Rules
- Users must ensure that they comply with the Forum rules listed here. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- When using the Forum you are expected to be polite and respectful towards all others. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- Your posting must be appropriate and relevant to the discussion. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- You must not post any message that could be considered unwanted, unprofessional, defamatory, obscene, offensive, deliberately provocative, inflammatory, or unlawful. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- Your posting must be your own comments; be factual, truthful and where an opinion is given, it must be clearly acknowledged as such. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- Use of edit and delete functions. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- You must not post complaints on the Forum. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- Advertising of jobs, goods or services for commercial gain is not allowed except for volunteering, apprenticeships and internships. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- Discussion of potential or actual legal proceedings is not allowed on the public discussion forums. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- Forum users are allowed one account only. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- Your registered screen name and avatars must not contain website or email address details, the name, or identifiable abbreviation of, an organisation, company, contact or location information, expletives, obscenities, religious statements or other potentially contentious terminology. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- You must be authorised to log into the IGS website as a Member or guest. Read more (insert link to the details below)
- Postings must not infringe copyright law. Read more (insert link to the details below)
IGS retains the right to review and amend this policy at any time.
1. Users must ensure that they comply with the Forum rules.
1.1. It is your responsibility to make sure you are up to date with the Forum rules.
1.2. Failure to respect these rules may result in a formal warning from the moderators. If you receive three such warnings you will be banned from using our forums. Severe breaches may result in an instant ban.
1.3. While posts are not pre-moderated, the Forum is monitored by moderators.
1.4. IGS’ moderators’ interpretation of the rules is final. Whenever they consider that you have breached the rules they will usually contact you by Private Message via the forums and explain why they have taken action.
2. When using the Forum you are expected to be polite and respectful towards all others
2.1. Please remember the Forum may be used by guests or students who are new to geosynthetics and their applications, and cannot be assumed to have expert knowledge.
2.2. Please personally criticise of other users or indulge in bullying, aggressive, discriminatory or nuisance behaviour. Impolite or inappropriate postings made towards other users will be removed without prior warning.
2.3. Your language use must remain professional and must not contain swear words. This includes the use of asterisks or other symbols to mask or abbreviate the spelling of an expletive.
2.4. Please remember our forums are used by people worldwide. Therefore it is important to take into account legislation, cultural differences and language. English will not be the first language of many forum users.
2.5. Try to avoid humour. It can easily lead to misunderstandings or offence and often does not translate across cultural boundaries.
3. Your Posting must be appropriate and relevant to the discussion
3.1. The Forum is for professional discussion and debate of the IGS and geosynthetics. If your topic or posting deviates from these topics, or strays significantly from the original question, it may be moved to another topic or thread or removed altogether, at the Moderators’ discretion.
3.2. Please select the correct topic when posting. We may move the message to the relevant topic and let you know by email or private message.
4. You must not post any message that could be considered unwanted, unprofessional, defamatory, obscene, offensive, deliberately provocative, inflammatory, or unlawful.
4.1. You must not use the Forum to pursue or promote a grievance against any individual or organisation.
4.2. If you believe that content placed on our Forum breaches this rule, you should notify the Moderators.
4.3 All spam postings will be removed from the Forums. If your posts are deemed to be spam your access to the Forum may be removed without prior notice.
5. Your posting must be your own comments; be factual, truthful and where an opinion is given, it must be clearly acknowledged as such.
5.1. You must not misquote another person or make misleading statements.
5.2. You must not register to use the forums as another person or pose as another person when posting.
6. Use of edit and delete functions.
6.1 Forum users must use these functions responsibly.
6.2 Posts should only be edited within a few minutes and never retrospectively once the discussion has moved on by several other posts.
6.3 Posts should only be deleted under special circumstances such as a duplicated post or posting to the wrong topic.
6.4 Please also note that Moderators will, without prior notice, reinstate any posts that they consider have been incorrectly deleted by the Forum user.
7. You must not post complaints on the Forum.
7.1. You must not post a complaint about IGS, identifiable Forum users, Forum Moderators or moderating action.
7.2. If you are concerned about a moderating decision, posts or communications from a Moderator, the Forum rules or another user’s behaviour, please use the Report Message link available beneath every post. Make sure that you explain your concerns when using the report function – there is a text box on the report form for this purpose. This makes the Moderator’s task much easier and will result in a more prompt response.
7.3. We’ll get back to you within five working days.
8. Advertising of jobs, goods or services for commercial gain is not allowed, except for volunteering, apprenticeships and internships.
8.1 Details of IGS global and Chapter events may not be posted in the Forum. Please use the online calendar of events on the IGS website, and Chapter websites.
8.2 IGS Members may advertise the following job vacancies on the ‘Work Opportunities’ board.
- Unpaid roles such as work shadowing and volunteering,
- Apprenticeship/graduate schemes,
- Early-career internships which offer fixed-term posts of less than six months and pay the at least the minimum wage in the country concerned.
8.3 Where Members wish to publish their availability for employed work they should update their Member profile on the IGS website.
8.4 All Forum users may give brief details of a supplier or service in response to specific requests on the Forum. Only simple contact details should be given on the Forum. There is no restriction on sharing such information via the private messaging facility.
9. Discussion of potential or actual legal proceedings is prohibited on the public discussion forums.
9.1. Public inquiries, including where IGS is a party to the inquiry, may be discussed.
9.2. Information that has been intentionally released, for example to alert others to a particular hazard or fact, can also be discussed.
10. Forum users are allowed one account only.
10.1. If you attempt to use multiple accounts, we may remove your access to the Forum without prior notice.
10.2. IGS regularly checks the information we hold about our Forum users. If we believe the information you’ve provided is incorrect, we may suspend your account.
11. Your registered screen name and avatars must not contain website or email address details, the name or identifiable abbreviation of an organisation or company, contact or location information, expletives, obscenities, religious statements or other potentially contentious terminology.
11.1. If your screen name does not follow this rule, or is otherwise objectionable, the Moderators will contact you and change your screen name as needed.
11.2. To upload an image to represent you (your “avatar”), please upload a recent photograph of yourself via your Member profile on the IGS website (insert link). Other images may be used provided they do not breach copyright laws or Forum rules. You remain solely liable for any material, including avatars that you publish, display or transmit on the IGS Forum.
11.3. Your avatar will be removed without prior notice if it resembles, or is believed to impersonate another user or Moderator.
12. You must be authorised to log into the IGS website as a member or guest
12.1. You must be registered as an IGS Member (individual or Corporate), or have been granted guest status to log in to the IGS website.
13. Postings must not infringe copyright law.
13.1. The Forum must not be used to post, exchange or download material protected by copyright law without the permission of the copyright holder.
13.2. You must fully reference any extracts from copyrighted material.
13.3. If you breach copyright laws your post will be removed.
13.4. You may be held liable for the content you post.
How our Forum is moderated.
The IGS discussion Forum is moderated by approved IGS Members who volunteer to act as Moderators. Their key task is to make sure our rules are followed by everyone who uses the Forum. Their work is usually completed confidentially through private mail with the relevant Forum users. At least two moderators take part in any decision that involves interpreting the rules. Moderators cannot edit Forum postings. They are supported in their work by IGS staff.
If the Moderators consider that your message has broken our rules, they will remove it. Where possible, we will let you know that your message is unacceptable and why. If you have been formally warned in this way more than twice, on the third occasion, your access to the Forum will be removed.
The Moderators’ interpretation of the Forum rules is final. If you are unhappy with their decision, you must not make any comment on the Forum. Please refer to our complaints procedure for guidance on how to complain.
Complaints & reporting procedure.
IGS is committed to providing a high quality, accessible and responsive service to our Members. If you believe that things have gone wrong, please send your complaints or comments to (insert complaints email address). We aim to respond to any complaint within five working days.
If our response is not to your satisfaction, you may ask that it is referred to the IGS Secretary, whose decision is final.
You must not post complaints on the Forum.
Forum Disclaimer.
Postings made by Forum users are personal opinions and not those of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). IGS is not responsible for the content or accuracy of any of the information contained in Forum postings. Please carefully consider any advice you receive.
All postings made on the IGS Forum, including private messages, are the property of IGS. We reserve the right to remove entirely at our discretion any contribution you post.
Your email address is not visible to other Forum users. To contact another user outside of the Forum you should use our private messaging service. If you disclose your email address in a Forum posting or private message you do so at your own risk. We do not accept any responsibility if something goes wrong as a result of publicising personal details on the Forum.
IGS staff are able to view your email from our membership database. We will not publish or provide your email address to anyone on the Forum unless legally obliged to do so. If we need to contact you about the Forum for administration purposes or in response to a complaint we will use the email address you provided when applying for membership, or the latest email address you provide to us through your Member profile page.
IGS staff may be able to see your Internet Protocol (IP) address when you post a message on our Forum. This is the address used to connect your computer to the Internet. This information is for use by IGS only and is solely used to prevent misuse of the Forum. We will not disclose your IP address to anyone unless legally obliged to do so.
Liability.
You remain solely liable for any material you publish, display or transmit on the IGS Forum. You agree to indemnify (cover the costs of) IGS and its Officers and employees against any claim, liability, cost, damage, other expenses or loss we may incur (including without limitation legal fees) as a result of any material you publish, display or transmit on the IGS Forum or any violation by you of your obligations under these Forum rules. IGS expressly excludes liability for any loss or damage resulting from the use of the Forum by any person in contravention of these rules. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to promptly remove, or to disable access to, any material which we think is potentially defamatory of any person, unlawful or in violation of the any third party rights or any other part of these rules.
