These Guidelines apply to all forums across the board without exception.
General Membership and Posting Guidelines
• No offensive User names
• No personal abuse; please respect other members both in public and private communication.
• Racist views will not be tolerated.
•
No Spamming. Yes, we know this is a sales-oriented forum but we know spam when we see it... so don't! Sending spam via Private Message (PM) or forum email is considered an abuse of trust and, in the interests of the membership as a whole,
will get you banned.
• No links to 'warez' or porn sites - either in your signature, profile or posts.
• No "ego" - leave that at the door, thank you!
• No promotion of illegal or antisocial activities. This includes illegal drug use, piracy, violence, etc.
• No "textspeak", no ALLCAPS and remember punctuation and paragraphing - it's just easier to read for all concerned.
• No 'massive' images (see details below)
• Swear/curse if you really must - but please remember that this site is open to people of all ages, including minors, and that people will be browsing from work. It's
your reputation on the line.
• No 'word association' threads or similar. This sounds like a kill-joy attitude but they encourage spamming, increase server space, increase bandwidth load and aggravate people who have topic reply notifications turned on!
One account per person
Do not hide behind multiple forum IDs.
In order to protect the membership, multiple user accounts registering or logging on from the same IP address or computer may be
banned or deleted without warning unless prior explanation is given.
We do understand, however, that different people may use the same computer (and therefore share the same IP address) and that people may operate two or more businesses. In these cases, please just let us know in advance.
• It is
against forum policy for users to create accounts on behalf of Third Parties
and then to post, blog, add profile information/links or generally interact on the forum on their behalf. The
only exception to this rule is when the
third party account becomes and remains a paid-up Full Member. See
here for details.
Further details on these policies can be found here:
Multiple accounts / Ghostwriters / Third Parties.
General behaviour
Members are to be civil, if not courteous, to other users at all times. If you have issues with another member, please take it to PM or email. The site owner, admins and moderators simply don't have the time to spend deleting and editing threads, messaging and acting as go-betweens. To save time, members accounts may just be deleted, so... keep it off the boards!
At the Admin's or Moderator's discretion,
anything deemed to be unsavoury or deliberately inflammatory will be deleted without notice. The Admin or Moderator's decision is
final but will generally be in the best interests of the community as a whole.
Let's remember that we're here
because of one common interest - business. Let's share our knowledge and have fun at the same time without any animosity or unpleasantness.
Complaints
If you find content which you feel is objectionable or is breaking forum rules and guidelines, please refrain from openly 'attacking' other members or posting derisory comments. instead, please click the
button (Report Post), top right on each individual post, and describe your complaint. An admin or moderator will deal with the complaint as soon as possible.
Moderators
Moderators are here to maintain order and ensure all users have the same freedoms in expressing their opinions, asking their questions and promoting their businesses (commensurate with their membership level) unmolested. The Admin team and Moderators will scan the board and they reserve the right to edit, move or delete posts or topics as they deem appropriate.
Current Moderators are:
TBC
If you have any problems with the boards, feel free to contact either myself or them for help and advice.
Creating Threads, Posting Replies and Advertising
"Can I post with
links to my site in the 'Business Talk' section?"
The Business Talk section is really designed for people to
ask questions of other members and to engage in
business discussion.
No links in your post (less your sig) is preferred but providing that the
original* article (or your reply) imparts a good deal of useful information to the reader, the odd link in a post
may be tolerated.
* If you wish to post an article (or sections of) for discussion, please ensure that it is
your own or that you have permission to reproduce it.
If your thread or post in Business Talk comes across as advertising, is self-promotional or 'spammy', is unrelated to the topic or is repeated on a regular basis then it risks deletion. However, you are
more than welcome to
reply to a thread with a plug and a link to your site
if the thread is (or develops into) a request for services by the original poster (OP).
Advertising and promotional material (offers etc) - including those on behalf of third parties - should go in the designated marketplace areas: 'Services Offered', 'Press Releases' and 'Events'.
Remember, UK Business Labs is designed to help you get the most out of a business forum but it relies on
consideration for others.
Full Membership enables advertising in the appropriate areas!
Deleting and Editing Posts
The time limit on editing posts is unlimited, although you may see an 'edited by' note at the bottom of it after 5 minutes. The time limit on editing titles is 60mins.
Signatures
Signatures (and the links within them) are important and, done creatively, are often the first impression someone gets of you.
Free Members get a basic signature block with basic formatting and one live
web link.
Full Members get an advanced signature block with up to four lines, up to four
web links,
font options,
colour options, images and other formatting code to make a more effective signature block for
SEO purposes.
Please note that a signature is regarded as anything you regularly sign-off a post with - not necessarily
just your actual automated signature space. Please sign-up for Full Membership for advanced signature options.
Link Spamming
Signature and Profile links are 'do follow' here at UK Business Labs; meaning the search engines will pick them up. Members are very welcome to place a link to their site(s) in their signature and profile (see
Signature Blocks & Links for entitlement). However, members who join, fill-in their profile and/or sig and then
never or rarely post could potentially have their profile information (web links etc) and/or membership deleted. This is in fairness to all our contributing members.
Private communications (PMs)
If you feel you have been the recipient of a PM that violates the guidelines here, please inform an Administrator, quoting the offending message. No guarantees are made or implied however, that a course of action desirable to the offended party will be carried out. The situation will however be given due consideration and/or action.
Irrelevant / Off-Topic / Inflammatory Posts
The forums here are provided for your infotainment. Off-topic posts will be moved into the relevant area or deleted at the discretion of the Admin or Moderators. On all issues, the Admin or Moderator's decision is final.
Self-promotion of other Discussion Forums & Networks.
Who would do such a thing?
Seriously; by all means mention your business network/forum or link to it in your signature but don't kick the backside out of it, eh?
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) or Network Marketing
Discussion of Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is permitted here, however the overt promotion, advertising of and linking to such websites and schemes is not -
unless it is for the purposes of discussion and debate (or the link is in the member's signature block and/or profile).
All NM / MLM links
must be annotated [MLM]
regardless of where they are (including signatures).
Affiliate Schemes
Discussion and/or promotion of affiliate schemes is welcome. Actual affilate links to such schemes are permitted however
all affiliate links must be annotated [Aff]
unless they are in the 'Offers section' or in the member's signature.
Adult (non-pornographic) & Gambling sites
Feel free to promote your adult (non-pornographic) or gambling sites if that's how you make your legal living. However, be advised that links to pages of a 'questionable' nature will be deleted and the user possibly banned. You may link to your site in your sig and promote it in the advertising forums but the Title and
all links throughout the board must be annotated
[Adult] (and in red where possible).
Free & 'Cheap' Work
Please do not ask other members to work for you for free unless there is some tangible benefit to them either short or long-term. If they
volunteer to give you their time, services or products free then all well and good! However, please respect that most members here run businesses and they enjoy having food on the family table and a roof over their heads.
Offering free (or dirt cheap) work or massively and deliberately undercutting another member's service (within a thread) isn't really cricket and is heavily frowned upon by the community. This is a
business forum, after all! If you wish to advertise free work then by all means upgrade and use the relevant advertising sections.
UKBL Features:
Blogging (Full Member privilege)
A blog is frequent publication of personal thoughts, notes and and web links. A blog can be written about what's happening in your life and/or what you've found on the web - like a kind of online diary. As well as personal blogs (short for 'web log'), there are also 'corporate' ones which aim to increase public awareness of a product or service and which often allow other people to follow and comment on them. It's all about feedback!
In your very own blogging area, you can post whatever you like (within the bounds of decency of course!) be it self-promotional or not. There's no requirement to keep your blogs in the Blogs area however - post them out in the forum for even more exposure. If it's business-related (and non self-promotional), post in the 'Business Talk' section, if it's trivia, then it should go in the 'Tea n' Toast' forum.
Advertising in 'Products & Services Offered' (Full Member privilege)
In this area you can post promotional articles and adverts or a request for a review of your products or services. You then have the option of whether to lock the thread or allow everyone to ask you questions.
Allowing discussion on your advert (leave the thread unlocked)
may just keep it at the top longer when people respond!
Please note however, that 'thread bumping' (the original poster adding another post to deliberately bump the advert back to the top) is
not permitted.
There is a limit of two ads per day per member. This restriction is necessary to reduce the likelihood of spamming succesive ads and knocking other ones off the page in short order.
Note: Advertisers may choose to leave threads open for comment/enquiries. However, members are
not to offer criticism where it is not invited.
Advertising in the Private Forums (Full Member privilege)
Full Members are free to sell/buy between themselves exclusively. Posting in the private area means your post and subsequent replies will not be available to the search engines or those who are not Full Members.
Responding to requests in the 'Services Wanted' Forum
Post your request here and get the best person (or firm) for the job. Think you can fulfill the request? Full Member or Free Member - feel free to reply with your pitch.
Website Reviews
Absolutely free here at UKBL, subject to a minimum of 15 posts. Post your website's URL with your questions (see '
Read this first' for guidelines) and someone will be along in a moment to respond with their opinions. Thick skin required!
Please note that URL spamming is not permitted here - if you just post simply to get your website's URL picked-up by the search engines (and don't reply again to the critique within a reasonable timeframe) the thread may be deleted in the interests of our membership.
Trade Fairs & Exhibitions forum (Full Member privilege)
Add your forthcoming events to both the '
Events Planner' and the '
Trade Fairs & Exhibitions' Forum. Full Members only may create topics but all levels may respond.
Social Networking and Get-Togethers forum
See here for details:
http://www.ukbusinesslabs.co.uk/foru...ing-forum.html. All membership levels can create topics and respond.
Please note that events that have passed
may be culled aftre a while to conserve disk space.
Profile Styling (Full Member privilege)
Recently introduced into the
vB forum software is 'Profile Styling'. This feature allows you to 'brand' your presence here.
Social Groups
Form discussion groups and friendships amongst your peers and interested parties. Full Members can set up Social Groups concentrating on one particular topic - see further info below.
UKBL Club Forums (Full Member privilege)
Popular UKBL
Social Groups which have 30 members or more* become eligible to have their very own 'Club Forum' which has full UKBL forum functionality. The member who created the Social Group may
request the creation of a Club Forum (under the same name and original purpose as the Social Group) once the minimum membership is reached. If creation is approved, they will be assigned moderating rights over their Club Forum.
Please note that Club Forums do not require an application for membership - anyone may post in them and all are open to the search engines.
Social Groups/Club Forums are provided for the benefit of all and exist to facilitate on-topic discussion only. Social Groups are for generating discussion and interest on a particular subject or entity but they cannot be set up as 'fan pages' for an individual or their business. To that end, the Social Group (or subsequent Club Forum) cannot be named after the creator's business. Avatar's or any associated logos, imagery or branding can be on-topic but must also be of a neutral nature.
Social Groups/Club Forums can be set up for third party businesses, providing that the Social Group's owner has no connection with the third party i.e. Twitterers, eBay Users etc.
Social Groups/Club Forums are not provided to facilitate an advertising/promotional channel for either the creator or those who post there. General posting rules apply and any advertising must still be placed in the assigned areas out on the main forums. Transgression of this rule may result in the Club Forum being either suspended or deleted so please moderate your Club Forums with due dilligence. See also this post on: Social Groups
*The Club Forum 'Road Users' has been granted set up before reaching 30 members in order to test functionality.
There is a current maximum of 50 Club Forums.
Real-time Chat (Full Member privilege)
An often under-used facility which allows you to type-chat with other members in a less formal way. It's quite often the best way of getting information without having to post and wait for an answer... The Chat feature can be found on the Navbar above, to the left side.
Events Planner (Full Member privilege)
Why not use the Events Planner to tell everyone
when and where you're next holding a Trade Fair or Exhibition? Forthcoming events are displayed on the front page up to two weeks in advance.
iTrader Feedback System
Rate a fellow member on a recent transaction
Portfolio / Album (Full Member privilege)
This feature really comes into its own for graphic and web designers or anyone who sells 'visuals' or physical products. Simply upload a selection of images for all the membership to see. Entries are displayed at random on the front page so if 'made public', your items will be shown to all visitors - giving you
even more exposure!
Please note that you are permitted to upload only one instance of your actual company logo. Designers etc may upload as many
client logos as they wish, subject to album limits.
See
here for details
Content - a Legal Disclaimer
Users are responsible and liable for the content in their posts.
The owners and administrators of UKBL™ may feature small excerpts of material posted here on other networks across the web such as twitter, Facebook etc. This has the express intention of drawing people back to the forum (with a link), therefore giving our membership increased exposure. If you do not want any forum, external, search engine or Twitter exposure, you must post in the Full Member's Private Forum, available to Full Members only.
The owner of UK Business Labs, its staff, volunteers and Moderators will be held harmless against any and all claims resulting from the use (or misuse) of these boards. We reserve the right, and will endeavour to remove any and all user-posted content which contains potentially libelous or defamatory remarks which could result in litigation.
Whilst we welcome freedom of expression, we're not made of cash and fending-off litigation isn't really our favourite pastime. If you feel the desire to 'name and shame' (we'd rather you didn't) - please substantiate it with
facts!
Please direct any questions, comments, complaints or suggestions to the site admin or Moderators via Private Message or email.
Thank you for your support,
Emma & Mark
The UK Business Labs Team
Forum styling and imagery Copyright © Bean Internet
Bean Internet 2007-2009.
'UK Business Labs™' and 'UKBL™' are trademarks of Bean Internet.
The opinions expressed on this message board do not necessarily represent the opinions of the owners, staff and sponsors
Notes:
Usage Guidelines:
The owner and administrators of UKBL reserve the right to update these guidelines at any time and without notice. Any changes will however be considered in the best interests of the community as a whole. Please also see other threads in 'Reception' for miscellaneous guidelines.
Software Platform and the technical stuff:
This community forum utilises third party software (vBulletin) and 'plug-ins' to enhance functionality. Throughout the inevitable updates to the software, we will endeavour to retain all functionality afforded to the various membership levels, however this cannot be guaranteed. We will always strive to replace any lost functionality if this occurs or substitute it with an equivalent facility/feature where possible.
Membership and our commitment to a pleasant networking environment, free from spam, blogverts and harrassment:
The owner and administrators of UK Business Labs reserve the absolute right to ban and/or suspend members, paid or otherwise, whom they deem are disrupting the networking enjoyment of other users, abusing the service, spamming (either openly or privately) or simply 'not playing ball'.
Don't worry, this isn't 'that other network' - we will always endeavour to listen to our members opinions and suggestions and try to do what's right (within technical capability) for our membership as a whole.
Let's create chemistry!
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Forum Rules & Guidelines
Trading - a Disclaimer
