Expecting Rain

Terms of Use
June 24th 2009

Expectingrain.com (ER) wishes to be considered a responsible website. In order to participate you will therefore have to accept our Terms of Use to be a member of the forums (found at expectingrain.com/discussions). We want this to be a resource and a good place to be for all those interested in Dylan's work. If you do not wish to comply with the Terms of Use as follows, please do not register with the ER forums.

The ER website is dedicated to Bob Dylan. If you are not interested in Bob Dylan, you will most likely not visit here. When posting, we require that you are respectful of Bob Dylan's personal life and his family. Do not engage in discussions you would not be happy to have Mr. Dylan listen in on. You never know.

The most important thing is to act courteously towards your fellow members. Remember that being part of ER is a privilege, not a right!

§1 Good manners are required
§1.1 Illegally copied materials are not permitted
§1.2 Pornographic or provocative content is not permitted
§1.3 Spam, multilevel marketing, affiliate links etc. are not permitted
§1.4 Comply with moderators/administrators
§1.5 Complaints regarding moderators, other users etc. should be directed to administrator.
§1.6 Report inappropriate posts

§2 How to use the ER forums
§2.1 Only one account permitted
§2.2 Search first, ask later.
§2.3 Always use titles descriptive of content for new threads
§2.4 Post in the correct forum
§2.5 Use coherent language and punctuation
§2.6 Posts should have purpose
§2.7 Double posting or bumping is not allowed
§2.8 Signatures (disabled)
§2.9 Avatars should not be offensive
§2.10 Use quoting carefully


§1 Good manners are required
Personal attacks, slander, public humiliation, ridicule, swearing, abusive language and other offensive expressions are not permitted. ER has a zero tolerance level for slander, abuse and generally bad behaviour.

§1.1 Illegally copied materials are not permitted
Exchange of, or requests for exchanges of illegally copied materials, including but not limited to published music and software, is not permitted. Linking to websites that host or relay illegally made copies is not permitted.

§1.2 Pornographic or provocative content is not permitted
ER should be safe for everyone. Pornographic and provocative content will be immediately deleted.

§1.3 Spam, multi-level marketing, affiliate links etc. are not permitted
Marketing of commercial products or services, including but not limited to hidden advertising and multilevel marketing, is not permitted unless an agreement is in place with the website administrator. Other unwanted information, known as spam, is also not permitted. So-called ”affiliate” links where the link poster receives money, points, or other benefits when the links are clicked are not permitted in the ER forums without it being explicitly explained that the poster will receive benefits.

ER reserves the right to remove any information perceived to not be in accordance with this rule. ER has a zero tolerance level for spam and commercial marketing that has not been cleared with an administrator.

§1.4 Comply with moderators/administrators
Moderators/administrators are present in the forums to ensure order and to correct unwanted behaviour. They are here to help you and the forum as a whole. Any correction or reprimand made by a moderator or administrator should be taken into account immediately. Moderating comments should under no circumstance be altered.

§1.5 Complaints regarding moderators, other users etc. should be directed to the administration
Moderators are people like you, but they have agreed to help more actively in keeping order in the forums. They will not be available 100% of the time, but will do their best to respond to questions and complaints.

Moderator actions
We support free speech in the forums as long as no one gets hurt. There is one exception to free speech that you will have to abide by if you want to post here. You are not allowed to discuss issues that are internal to the forum. This has proven to be disruptive in the forums and is not permitted.

§1.50 Moderator complaints: If you are not pleased with the actions of a moderator, you can either send a PM to the moderator or submit a complaint to the Administrators. Your complaint will be reviewed and actions may or may not be taken. After that, the case is closed. Moderator actions are not available for discussion in forum threads.

§1.51 Information about disciplinary actions: When disciplinary actions are required we prefer to keep the details confidential. This is to protect the privacy of all parties. Legitimate concerns regarding disciplinary actions may be addressed to moderators through PM's. We understand the desire to know about fellow forum members. We don't want these types of topics dominating the forums.

§1.52 Thread locks/thread dumping/post deletions/post edits: There are times when a moderator needs to perform these actions. If you notice any of these things and you want to know what happened, pm a moderator. The mods will be happy to give you a brief explanation. Do not create a post or start a thread announcing it to the forum or asking forum members what happened.

§1.6 Report inappropriate posts
Individual posts may be reported using the red exclamation mark button included in every post. The moderators will see the report and deal with it as they see fit.

Should you have further complaints, please direct them to discussions@expectingrain.com - and please remember to include a link to the post/topic you are concerned about. Administrators/Moderators do not read every single post made, and do not have the capacity to sift through the forums looking for the needle in the haystack. To link directly to a specific post, simply right-click the small white notepaper icon located to the top right of said post, copy link, and paste it in your message to us.


§2 How to use the ER forums

§2.1 Only one account permitted
Do not register a new account if you already have one. Multiple accounts are deleted without warning.

§2.2 Search first, ask later
Always check if there is an already existing thread regarding the topic you wish to discuss.

§2.3 Always use titles descriptive of content for new threads
Always provide a descriptive title for any new thread you start. This will ensure you attract the right audience; it will also keep the forums neat and intelligible, and makes searching easier. Examples of titles not to use are ”Wow!!!!” or ”Why?”. If you are asking a question, use a question with a question mark in the title – not the opposite, which might deceive the reader.

§2.4 Post in the correct forum
All threads should be posted in the correct forum. Every user has a responsibility to place threads correctly, to help make the forums easily navigable.

§2.5 Use coherent language and punctuation
Always strive to write in an intelligible manner. The use of caps, exclamation marks and language should all be within reason. Excessive use of caps, exclamation marks, or ”chat” in the ER forums is undesirable.

§2.6 Posts should have purpose
Do not post if you have nothing to contribute with. Posts should be aimed at improving our collective knowledge and well-being. Also, any post should be relevant to the thread it is posted to.

§2.7 Double posting is not allowed
Never post the same thread in multiple forums. Double posting (posting twice in succession to oneself) should not occur. Edit your previous post if you have something you wish to add. The only exception to this is if you are reviving an old thread where you have new information. You can then add new information as a new post.

§2.8 Signatures (disabled)
Please use your Profile to tell others about yourself. Quotes, images and such are better posted in a suitable thread.

§2.9 Avatars should not be offensive or invasive
Avatars that are animated, offensive, pornographic, racist or violent will be deleted. Avatars mimicking those of the moderators or administrators will be deleted without warning.

§2.10 Use quoting carefully
Quoting should only be used if it is absolutely necessary to repeat what someone else said in order to understand your post. Never quote when you are replying to the last post made to a thread. You should always edit your quote, so that only the portion you are referring to is used. Do not quote pictures. If someone posts to a thread while you are composing a response, you will be warned and given a chance to edit your post if necessary.


Specific Category Guidelines
Each Category has a different purpose. Here is a brief introduction:

Bob Dylan - Strictly dedicated to topics on Bob Dylan himself; General Discussion, Theme Time Radio Hour, and Bob Dylan Tour.

Downloads - Requests, links and discussions related to Rare Dylan Recordings each have their separate forums. Make sure you post in the right one - read the descriptions. And remember: No Copyrighted material allowed!

Annex - This is the place for "everything else" and has a less formal atmosphere. However, the rules above still apply! No personal attacks accepted (this goes for members, artists, presidents, your neighbor etc...). Ridicule, spite, slander or slander directed at fellow members, trolling, pouring fuel on a fire - not permitted.

Information & Assistance - Self explanatory?


Consequences of not abiding by the rules
Choosing not to abide by the ER forum rules may lead to you being permanently excluded from the forums.

Breaking the rules will entail warnings – should you choose not to take these warnings into account, you will first be banned for a short period. Warnings will always be made by administrators or moderators using PM or e-mail.

Rights
By posting in the ER forums, you acknowledge ER's right to save and display the contents of your posts. ER reserves the right to amend posts when they do not comply with the ToUs as stated.

These Terms of Use may be edited. Please check for updates regularly.

Some further guidance on topics:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=68941