Forum Guidelines

[Administrator]

[b]RESPECT IS THE KEY[/b]
The Merchant Account Services forums is a place where it's okay to be yourself -- be that harried, jovial, silly or sad -- as long as you always act with respect for your fellow members. We promise that you won't have to leave your personality at the door. We will willingly listen to your suggestions and complaints, and try to incorporate your ideas in everything we do.

Pretend you run these forums; in essence, you do. Before you hit the submit button think if you would allow that post on your own site or forums. Only you can prevent Spam and cross posting.

If you've been caught or accused of a wrongdoing please don't be irrational. When we revoke privileges we do so to preserve the professionalism of the forums, not as a personal vendetta.

[b]REPUBLISHING YOUR WORDS[/b]
We know that your words are filled with knowledge of how things work in the real word, because of this we have dedicated ourselves to bringing the best of our community to a larger audience. We do this by including links to your posts throughout the network and using discussion topics for the basis of new articles and features. We reserve the right to quote your discussion forum posts in newsletters, throughout the Merchant Account Services network and in Merchant Account Services promotions. When republishing your quotes for wide distribution, we will identify you only by your Merchant Account Services forums member name.

[b]HOW TO REPORT A PROBLEM OR GET HELP[/b]
If you come across any violations to these guidelines or have any problems navigating the site, do not hesitate to let us know by using the [url=http://www.merchant-account-services.org/contact.php]Merchant Account Services Contact Form[/url].

We'll be happy to address your concerns. Here at Merchant Account Services we encourage everyone to participate in and enjoy the community trough the following Guidelines:

[b]WELCOME NEWCOMERS[/b]
One reason the Merchant Account Services forums is so special is that we welcome all newcomers, regardless of their level of knowledge or experience. Help new members learn about how to find information and resources, and how to get involved in the community.

[b]DON'T ATTACK EACH OTHER[/b]
Don't attack others. Personal attacks and antagonisation will not be tolerated. When responding to other's views and opinions, do so respectfully and thoughtfully ... without insult and personal attack.

[b]KEEP PERSONAL INFORMATION PERSONAL[/b]
Before you post, consider that what you post will not only appear on our forum, but may also come up in searches and on external search engines. If you do not wish to make a piece of information public knowledge, do not post it.

[b]KEEP YOUR POSTS CLEAN[/b]
There may be places where explicit, obscene or vulgar language, graphics or behavior is appropriate however Merchant Account Services is not one of them. Discussion forum posts that contain explicit, obscene or vulgar language will be removed. Similarly, discussion forum posts that solicit or offer explicit or X-rated GIFs, JPEGs or similar content files will be deleted without notice!

[b]BE COURTEOUS: AVOID DUPLICATE POSTS[/b]
Do not post the same discussion more than once on a discussion forum or on many forums. Duplicate discussions can be frustrating for other members, especially for those whose time and energy is limited. Duplicate discussions will be deleted. Reposting the same message repeatedly can be interpreted as spam and could result in the loss of your membership.

[b]ADVERTISING[/b]
The Merchant Account Services forums has a strict, no-self-promotion policy. Linking to your own web pages or pages from sites which you are affiliated with (including affiliate links) will be deemed as self-promotion and could result in the loss of your membership. Under certain conditions, links to your site can be placed into your forum signature (see [url=http://www.merchant-account-services.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14]Member Signatures[/url]), or in designated areas of the forums (such as the [url=http://www.merchant-account-services.org/forums/index.php?c=7]Marketplace[/url]) only.

[b]AVATARS[/b]
Avatars are small images that can be included in your user profile. These images must be 75 X 75 pixels or less and a file size limitation applies.

The Merchant Account Services logo, in any variation, can not be used by anyone who is not a member of the Merchant Account Services staff.

[b]POSTING CONTENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE OR WEBSITES[/b]
Copying any content from another person's work, or another website, is not allowed without express permission from the creater/owner of the original work. Even if you attribute the article correctly it is still copyright infringement. Do not reproduce substancial parts of articles or news items from other sites in the forums. If you don't have permission to copy something then always err on the side of caution and simply post a link to the material at its original location, or quote a short excerpt only, indicating where the quote came from. Merchant Account Services shall not be held responsible for member-posted information that violates copyright.

[b]USING THE PRIVATE MESSAGE SYSTEM[/b]
The private message system of the forums allows you to send messages to other members in private. Where applicable, the same guidelines apply to the private message system as apply to messages posted on the forums.

Sending any unrequested commercial and/or bulk message through the private message system may result in an immediate suspension of posting privileges. Furthermore, any reports of harassment via the PM system will be fully investigated. To report an abusive or unwanted PM, please use the [url=http://www.merchant-account-services.org/contact.php]Merchant Account Services Contact Form[/url].

[b]MARKETPLACE[/b]
The Merchant Account Services Marketplace is a section of the forums in which members can advertise their sites, domains or templates for sale, or hold contests. In order to ensure the Marketplace runs smoothly, replies to threads in the Marketplace MUST be relevant to the original poster's topic and MUST contribute something. Replies which are critical of the item for sale or thread starter will NOT be tolerated. If you have a dispute with a seller or contest holder in the [url=http://www.merchant-account-services.org/forums/index.php?c=7]Marketplace[/url], please contact them privately.

[b]FINALLY, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT[/b]
Merchant Account Services and its assigned agents reserves the right to remove a post which does not relate to the topic being discussed in the forum. In addition, Merchant Account Services reserves the right to organize discussion forums in order to best serve the majority of our members. For example, narrow-interest or minimal activity topics may, at Merchant Account Services's discretion, be relocated to a more appropriate discussion forum, or deleted entirely.

Merchant Account Services Pty. Ltd or its assigned agents also reserves the right to prohibit or delete discussions that are thought to violate applicable law or that may be harmful to other members, the sites that comprise Merchant Account Services, or the rights of Merchant Account Services Pty. Ltd. or others. That said, Merchant Account Services does not have the practical ability to restrict conduct or communications that might violate these Guidelines or the Terms of Service prior to transmission on AOL or the Web, nor can we ensure prompt removal of offending discussion forum posts.

We also reserve the right to remove your membership from you should you violate these Guidelines