Forum Rules / Conduct

DISCLAIMER

This free website is a form of online communication for registered members of the outdoor community and a place to share information. By accessing this free site you are in agreement that the administrators, publishers, editors, affiliates and moderators of Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine and Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) are not responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any form of damages or injury whatsoever resulting from the use (or misuse) of information, opinions, suggestions and advice contained in or implied by this website.

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The policies outlined below are strictly enforced and are there so that all users feel comfortable posting and interacting.

If any of the guidelines are broken, the moderators have full discretion to suspend or ban any user without notice, depending on the severity of the infraction.

Thank you for using the Ontario OUT OF DOORS Community forums.

GUIDELINES:

Offensive language, including all racial, ethnic or sexual slurs, as well as personal attacks, including name-calling and insults directed at other forum members is prohibited.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding any specific organizations including hunting and outdoor companies, please contact them directly. This forum is not a place to air personal grievances, speculation or defamation. Any posts that DO NOT meet the above guidelines will be deleted without warning and repeat offenses will lead to permanent expulsion.

MODERATORS:

Moderators are active members of the community and have been empowered with the ability to not only police the forums but to give guidance and help facilitate discussion. They understand our conduct policy and are able to enforce it, and what they deem inappropriate. However, if you feel that your post has inappropriately been removed please contact an administrator with the appropriate information about your post and your account.

COMMUNITY RULES:

The following rules will be enforced. Violation will lead to temporary or permanent expulsion from the site.

1. Any discussion and promotion of illegal actives or information that is deliberately misleading or any discussion of activities that are in violation of the Fish and Hunting regulations as set forth by the Ontario Ministry of Natural resources.

2. Controversial, religious or political threads deemed inappropriate or needlessly provocative will be removed without warning.

3(a). Personal insults, inappropriate or offensive content, the incitement of violence, or disrupting behaviours, which are detrimental to discussions in the forum will not be tolerated.

In case you are uncertain as to what defines inappropriate content, a simple test is to ask yourself the following questions when you make a post:

A) Is this message outdoor-related? (with the exception of the Off Topic forum)
B) Is this message something that most members would like to read?
C) Does this message add value to this forum?
D) Is this something I would say to a person face-to-face?

If you cannot answer yes to any of these questions, please reconsider posting your message.
Please note that this also includes complaints about other forum users, question to site admin, etc. All comments of this nature are to be e-mailed to: [email protected]. As usual, we also encourage all users to immediately contact a moderator if and when they read an objectionable message or to use the report a thread option ( the exclamation mark icon on the left side below the user’s avatar and post count).

3(b). Personal attacks on members, cyber bullying, libel comments or bashing/slandering of businesses, organizations, individuals or corporations will not be tolerated. Threads deemed to be an attempt to "stir the pot" or are looking for support on their attack will be removed. If you have an issue with a particular organization, business or corporation, please contact them directly. If you have an issue with a particular member, please contact the administrator or a moderator.

4(a). Images cannot contain overtly sexual or violent content, and must not violate copyright laws. Any images deemed inappropriate will be removed without warning. This includes avatars and profile pictures.

4(b). We love to see your photos, but these guidelines must be followed. Members posting photos of their success in the field or on the water, please note:
* You represent ALL hunters/anglers with material you post on this public forum.
* Post ONLY photos of tagged big game if the tag would normally be visible.
* Exclude "celebration" drinks from photos.
* Tastefully display your harvest (no excessive gore).
* Do not post photos of fish caught in catch and release-only seasons.

Partly for your protection, and because we want to uphold the highest standards, photos that fail to meet these guidelines or are deemed inappropriate by the administration will be removed.

5. When posting articles or news stories only the URL to the article, the title of the article and the source will be accepted. Due to copyright laws we cannot copy and paste the actual content of the story into our forums.

6. Multiple accounts or identities are not allowed. If you are caught using more than one account/identity, you risk permanent expulsion.

7. Swearing is prohibited.

8. Advertising the sale or promotion of commercial goods and services, illegal or questionable merchandise or the solicitation of business is strictly prohibited.

9. All items posted for sale in the For Sale By Owner must include a price. This is NOT an Auction/bidding site, and linking to off site auctions is prohibited, "Make me an offer" with no posted base price will be summarily deleted. You may post for trades only without a price only if you are looking for specific items in trade. The item / items being sought must be listed in the post.

The Ontario OUT OF DOORS Community does not endorse or validate any buyer or seller.

10(a). If you have multiple items up for sale, PLEASE put them in one post (where possible). This keeps the posts of others from being pushed further down the page. There are to be only SIX current listings per member in any of the Forums at one time. Any listings in excess of the six allowed posts may be deleted without warning.

10(b). The For Sale by Owner section (Hunting Equipment, Fishing Equipment and Other Equipment forums) is for active community members. A minimum of 50 "quality" posts is required to post an item for sale. Abuse of the forum via quick threads/posts seen as a means to quickly reach the 50 post minimum will result in denial of access to this forum.

10(c). ALL items for sale must be posted in the For Sale By Owner section after the user has satisfied rule 10(b).

11. If your item has been sold, or a deal is pending, please edit or delete your ad to reflect this. For sale threads older than 60-days without a reply or bump will be removed.

12. Please be an active member of this forum community and alert us to any posts you deem inappropriate by using the report a thread icon (http://www.oodmag.com/community/imag...report-40b.png) or contact a moderator or the administrator.

13. Website links, selling of items, solicitation of business and photos are prohibited in signatures.

14. Threads, signatures, images or albums that advertise your company or product are strictly prohibited. If you would like to advertise your business or product, please contact our advertising department and purchase a classifieds package. This includes website links, photos, telephone numbers or your company name in threads or signatures. ( please refer to this thread for more information on classified ads). Anything deemed by the moderators as free advertising will be edited or removed without notice.

15. Website links to other community forums are permitted in threads but NOT signatures. Threads or PM messages soliciting new members to their forum will be edited or removed.

16. Please use the PM feature to send links not permitted in the threads to members requesting them.

17. Respect of the moderators and administrator's decisions and policies is a must.

18. The Ontario OUT OF DOORS Community does not endorse nor is it responsible for the content of any external websites that are posted within this site.

19. Any user name deemed offensive by any of the staff will be changed without notice.

20. Bumping of posts is not recommended but will be allowed at this time. Please make sure to wait a MINIMUM 48 hours from the time of your last post before you bump your thread. Please not that this rule does NOT apply to the For Sale By Owner section ( that section is a minimum 7-days from last post date ).

21. If you have an outdoor event or dinner, etc that you would like to let the community know about please post it in the Outdoor Events & Meetings forum (threads will require administration's activation before going live).

Any member that uses the forum as an advertising platform for their event by spamming the forums with threads about their event will have those threads removed immediately and may be issued infraction points or a ban from the site.

22. Any threads that attempt to solicit our members to join a particular organization or community forum will be edited or deleted without warning. The OOD Community staff do not use other forums to solicit members for our community and we ask that the same be done here.

23. The above rules apply to all aspects and sections of the community. Any listings/posts that DO NOT meet the above guidelines may be deleted or edited by the moderators or administration without warning.


ENFORCEMENT OF RULES:

We will use an infraction system to warn users that break the forum rules. If members are caught violating any of the forum rules, or there are any complaints of disruptive behaviour by members, an infraction may be issued. Points for infractions are awarded by the moderators and administrator to those that break the rules and each infraction has a set value and expiry date.

Infractions range from warnings to three (3) points depending on the severity of the incident(s). Once a user reaches the 3-point mark their account will be disabled and access to the site will be lost.

Members that disrupt or hi-jack threads may face permanent expulsion from a thread or, for repeat offenders, the particular forum.


( These rules are subject to review and may change in the near future without warning - changes will be posted in this thread )

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All parties that use the "For Sale By Owner" forum to either sell or purchase items agree to the following:

The Ontario OUT OF DOORS Community service is essentially provided to you free of charge, "as is" subject to the following disclaimer which may be updated from time to time without notice to you:

The Ontario OUT OF DOORS Community "For Sale By Owner" forum acts as a venue for members to list items (or, as appropriate, solicit offers to buy) and buyers to shop for items. Ontario OUT OF DOORS is not involved in the actual transaction between buyers and sellers. In this regard, we have no control over the quality, safety or legality of the items advertised, the truth or accuracy of the listings, the ability of sellers to sell items or the ability of buyers to buy items. We cannot ensure that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction.

Since Ontario OUT OF DOORS is not involved in the actual transaction between buyers and sellers, in the event that you have a dispute with one or more users, you release Ontario OUT OF DOORS (and our moderators, officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, parent entity and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.

Ontario OUT OF DOORS does not control the information provided by other users which is made available through our system. You may find other user's information to be offensive, harmful, inaccurate, or deceptive. Please use caution, common sense, and practice safe trading when using our site. Please note that there are also risks of dealing with foreign nationals, underage persons or people acting under false pretense.

Ontario OUT OF DOORS is not responsible or liable for any further correspondence, payment, shipment or dispute of any goods or services between the respective seller and buyer affected through the use of our service.

Without limiting any other remedies, Ontario OUT OF DOORS may suspend or terminate your account if you are found (by conviction, settlement, insurance or escrow investigation, or otherwise) to have engaged in fraudulent activity in connection with our site.

IN NO EVENT SHALL ONTARIO OUT OF DOORS, ONTARIO FEDERATION OF ANGLERS AND HUNTERS OR OUR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR INJURIES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH OUR SITE, OUR SERVICES OR THIS AGREEMENT (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE).