TOS/AUP

September of 2007

Pratt, Evans, and Sauthoff suffer attacks from Democrats for defection --- Khan & Bonilla polls very close --- Bill Clinton endorses TJ Bonilla for President

TOS/AUP
I – AUP Organization a) Government simulations cannot succeed without an open and honest exchange. With that in mind, the Staff (Administrative Council) has established the Acceptable Use Policy to eliminate any obstacles and barriers so as to maintain a reliable structure and game. b) The American Congress Forums are open to all registered users, not including those who have been expelled (banned), suspended or moderated, and this Acceptable Use Policy. Any member, who has had administrative action taken against them in the form of an expulsion or suspension, may appeal their action through the Administrative Council. c) Members may have their membership removed if they do not post for more than thirty (30) days without an announced leave of absence (LOA). This policy will be enforced to ensure no cloning and droning takes place. d) The American Congress Staff is expressly authorized to develop and maintain the AUP and may amend it by a 2/3 majority. The House and Senate may suggest amendments to the AC in resolution form. The Staff may either accept, reject, or modify any rules resolution by the players. This does not include House and Senate rules which are at the direction of the appropriate Administrator. II: Content Sanctions a) Content-related sanctions result from an infringement of open debate, violation of proper decorum/respect for Staff Members, and will only be issued when absolutely necessary. The Administrative Council shall only issue restrictions and sanctions for significant reasons, such as those that violate law, or significantly threaten the safety of a member, or threaten the integrity of American Congress or its forums. Postings that some may find offensive or rude, while discouraged, are not violations of the Acceptable Use Policy. The Administrative Council has ultimate discretion to decide if a message or post is a violation of acceptable use. Appeals and complaints should thusly be directed to the Administrative Council. b) Members will not use the American Congress forums to post or transmit any messages that are obscene (pornographic), threatening, harassing, hate speech, or otherwise violate of any local, state, federal, or international laws; nor facilitate or propagate information about illegal activities; or facilitate access to, or propagation of, any illegal content or substance of any form. This includes links in member signatures, profiles, custom titles and posts, as well as posted images, photos and avatars. 1) Obscene is defined as "extremely or deeply offensive according to contemporary community standards of morality or decency." 2) Harassment consists of repeated and expressly unwanted conduct directed at a specific person or persons with the intent to annoy, alarm, and/or cause emotional distress. 3) Threatening is defined as an explicit, serious declaration of intent or determination to inflict harm upon a member or other person, or the expressed wish that such harm is inflicted upon a member or other person by another party. The plausibility of such a threat shall not be a consideration. c) Off-board communications, even when game-related, are not grounds for sanction under the Acceptable Use Policy, and should instead be reported to the appropriate Internet Service Provider or forum administrator. III – Spam Unsolicited commercial posts are not to be confused with "self-promotion," which is defined as a member in good standing sharing information about a non-American Congress project or activity with other members. Self-promotion materials shall only be allowed in the OOC Content Area if the AC starts a promotions thread. Members should not double post or cross-post the same message in multiple forums, nor mass-PM or mass-email multiple American Congress members with the same message, unless it is a game-related activity. IV – Copyrighted Material Members shall not abuse the copyrights or other legal protections to which third parties are legally entitled. Members should be aware of fair use guidelines when posting material that is under copyright. This shall include Bills from THOMAS. You may use THOMAS as inspiration, just make it your own and don’t just copy and paste. Neither the American Congress nor the Administrative council shall not be held responsible for any copyright violations by American Congress members. V – Confidential Information Members will not post confidential information relating to another member without that member's express permission. Confidential information is defined as any information about a member that cannot be obtained by viewing a user's profile page or previous public posts on American Congress forums. In determining whether information is confidential, the AC shall consider whether the aggrieved party would be reasonable in believing that the information was provided in confidence. Furthermore, members will not post or link to any site which has any text contained within a private message that has been sent to them unless given the explicit permission of all parties involved. "Private message" would include any "PM" received through Invision's "PM" feature, any "IM" received in any instant message service such as AOL Instant Messenger", any "Chat" session such as AOL Chat, or any other off-the-board private communication. VI – Cloning/Droning Members may not participate, conspire, or assist in cloning activities. Cloning shall be defined as accessing the American Congress Forums from the same Internet Protocol (IP) address, e-mail address, and/or other personally identifiable information for the unauthorized purpose of: accessing otherwise inaccessible materials, deceiving the community about the true identity of the visitor, inflating poll results, or any other reason. VII - Forum Integrity Posts and forums may not be deleted under any circumstances, except as authorized by the AC. No member shall delete or otherwise edit any other member's posts except in the performance of their duties. The AC shall edit and/or move posts when necessary. VIII - Investigations and Sanctions American Congress members are encouraged to report violations of the Acceptable Use Policy to the Administrative Council by posting in an appropriate forum, through the report button, or through private communication. The Administrative Council will investigate all claims of Acceptable Use violations in a timely fashion and shall issue an Announcement at the conclusion of each investigation outlining its findings and any sanctions issued as a result. Sanctions may include (but are not limited to): temporary or indefinite restrictions on posting, Private Messaging or e-mailing through American Congress forums; temporary or indefinite restrictions on viewing forums; and/or temporary or indefinite bans. While the Administrative Council will attempt to act on all reported Acceptable Use violations, members are also encouraged to use other processes for censure and/or sanction (expulsion from party, removal of chair position, etc) as outlined in American Congress Rules and after being reported to the AC. The Administrative Council will use the Warning System as a visual representation of violations to the AUP/TOS. Warnings will contain a link to the offending post or action. All warnings expire after 4 weeks. Within that month, the warning level ramifications are as follows: 0 – No Warning: All players are set at this level. 1 – First Warning: No action taken 2 – Second Warning: up to 1 day moderation 3 – Third Warning: 2-3 day moderation 4 – Fourth Warning: 2-4 day suspension 5 – Fifth Warning: 5-7 day suspension This listing is not exclusive. Depending on the severity of the infraction, steps may be taken out of order. For repeated violations, punishment implementation, and/or severity of actions, banning may be warranted. This AUP/TOS is not static. It may be amended as needed through the Administrative Council and all changes to the policy will be announced.

TOS/AUP

I – AUP Organization

a) Government simulations cannot succeed without an open and honest exchange. With that in mind, the Staff (Administrative Council) has established the Acceptable Use Policy to eliminate any obstacles and barriers so as to maintain a reliable structure and game.

b) The American Congress Forums are open to all registered users, not including those who have been expelled (banned), suspended or moderated, and this Acceptable Use Policy. Any member, who has had administrative action taken against them in the form of an expulsion or suspension, may appeal their action through the Administrative Council.

c) Members may have their membership removed if they do not post for more than thirty (30) days without an announced leave of absence (LOA). This policy will be enforced to ensure no cloning and droning takes place.

d) The American Congress Staff is expressly authorized to develop and maintain the AUP and may amend it by a 2/3 majority. The House and Senate may suggest amendments to the AC in resolution form. The Staff may either accept, reject, or modify any rules resolution by the players. This does not include House and Senate rules which are at the direction of the appropriate Administrator.

II: Content Sanctions

a) Content-related sanctions result from an infringement of open debate, violation of proper decorum/respect for Staff Members, and will only be issued when absolutely necessary. The Administrative Council shall only issue restrictions and sanctions for significant reasons, such as those that violate law, or significantly threaten the safety of a member, or threaten the integrity of American Congress or its forums. Postings that some may find offensive or rude, while discouraged, are not violations of the Acceptable Use Policy.

The Administrative Council has ultimate discretion to decide if a message or post is a violation of acceptable use. Appeals and complaints should thusly be directed to the Administrative Council.

b) Members will not use the American Congress forums to post or transmit any messages that are obscene (pornographic), threatening, harassing, hate speech, or otherwise violate of any local, state, federal, or international laws; nor facilitate or propagate information about illegal activities; or facilitate access to, or propagation of, any illegal content or substance of any form.

This includes links in member signatures, profiles, custom titles and posts, as well as posted images, photos and avatars.

1) Obscene is defined as "extremely or deeply offensive according to contemporary community standards of morality or decency."

2) Harassment consists of repeated and expressly unwanted conduct directed at a specific person or persons with the intent to annoy, alarm, and/or cause emotional distress.

3) Threatening is defined as an explicit, serious declaration of intent or determination to inflict harm upon a member or other person, or the expressed wish that such harm is inflicted upon a member or other person by another party. The plausibility of such a threat shall not be a consideration.

c) Off-board communications, even when game-related, are not grounds for sanction under the Acceptable Use Policy, and should instead be reported to the appropriate Internet Service Provider or forum administrator.

III – Spam

Unsolicited commercial posts are not to be confused with "self-promotion," which is defined as a member in good standing sharing information about a non-American Congress project or activity with other members. Self-promotion materials shall only be allowed in the OOC Content Area if the AC starts a promotions thread.

Members should not double post or cross-post the same message in multiple forums, nor mass-PM or mass-email multiple American Congress members with the same message, unless it is a game-related activity.

IV – Copyrighted Material

Members shall not abuse the copyrights or other legal protections to which third parties are legally entitled. Members should be aware of fair use guidelines when posting material that is under copyright. This shall include Bills from THOMAS. You may use THOMAS as inspiration, just make it your own and don’t just copy and paste.

Neither the American Congress nor the Administrative council shall not be held responsible for any copyright violations by American Congress members.

V – Confidential Information

Members will not post confidential information relating to another member without that member's express permission. Confidential information is defined as any information about a member that cannot be obtained by viewing a user's profile page or previous public posts on American Congress forums. In determining whether information is confidential, the AC shall consider whether the aggrieved party would be reasonable in believing that the information was provided in confidence.

Furthermore, members will not post or link to any site which has any text contained within a private message that has been sent to them unless given the explicit permission of all parties involved. "Private message" would include any "PM" received through Invision's "PM" feature, any "IM" received in any instant message service such as AOL Instant Messenger", any "Chat" session such as AOL Chat, or any other off-the-board private communication.

VI – Cloning/Droning

Members may not participate, conspire, or assist in cloning activities. Cloning shall be defined as accessing the American Congress Forums from the same Internet Protocol (IP) address, e-mail address, and/or other personally identifiable information for the unauthorized purpose of: accessing otherwise inaccessible materials, deceiving the community about the true identity of the visitor, inflating poll results, or any other reason.

VII - Forum Integrity

Posts and forums may not be deleted under any circumstances, except as authorized by the AC. No member shall delete or otherwise edit any other member's posts except in the performance of their duties. The AC shall edit and/or move posts when necessary.

VIII - Investigations and Sanctions

American Congress members are encouraged to report violations of the Acceptable Use Policy to the Administrative Council by posting in an appropriate forum, through the report button, or through private communication.

The Administrative Council will investigate all claims of Acceptable Use violations in a timely fashion and shall issue an Announcement at the conclusion of each investigation outlining its findings and any sanctions issued as a result.

Sanctions may include (but are not limited to): temporary or indefinite restrictions on posting, Private Messaging or e-mailing through American Congress forums; temporary or indefinite restrictions on viewing forums; and/or temporary or indefinite bans.

While the Administrative Council will attempt to act on all reported Acceptable Use violations, members are also encouraged to use other processes for censure and/or sanction (expulsion from party, removal of chair position, etc) as outlined in American Congress Rules and after being reported to the AC.

The Administrative Council will use the Warning System as a visual representation of violations to the AUP/TOS. Warnings will contain a link to the offending post or action. All warnings expire after 4 weeks. Within that month, the warning level ramifications are as follows:

0 – No Warning: All players are set at this level.
1 – First Warning: No action taken
2 – Second Warning: up to 1 day moderation
3 – Third Warning: 2-3 day moderation
4 – Fourth Warning: 2-4 day suspension
5 – Fifth Warning: 5-7 day suspension

This listing is not exclusive. Depending on the severity of the infraction, steps may be taken out of order. For repeated violations, punishment implementation, and/or severity of actions, banning may be warranted.

This AUP/TOS is not static. It may be amended as needed through the Administrative Council and all changes to the policy will be announced.