Community Guidelines
I. DECEPTION & MISINFORMATION
1.1 Disclaimer. DiamondRing.com, its owners, administrators and moderators reserve the right to remove any message or any member who posts information which we deem to be deceptive or misleading, at our own discretion.
II. PRODUCT LISTINGS AND POSTING CATEGORIES
2.1 Forum Sections. There are several different types of forum sections at DiamondRing.com.
1. Marketplace. These are the selling sections of DiamondRing.com. There are sections for consumers as well as trade members.
2. Network Jewelers. These are promotional sections where our Network Jewelers are allowed to showcase their goods. Note that we have carefully selected our Network Jewelers. Jewelers are not allowed in solely because they are willing to pay. We reject about 9 out of 10 requests.
3. Community-Oriented. Greet New Members, Chit chat and similar sections.
4. Education. Any forum section not matching the above is considered education.
III. CONSUMER GUIDELINES
3.1 Identification. We require our membership to be honest about their identity. Vendors may NOT pose as consumers. These are called shills and we are rather good at detecting them sooner or later.
3.2 Promotion. Consumers are not permitted to promote Jewelers or Appraisers. There is a difference between discussing a personal experience, a situation or a product vs. promoting a vendor or product.
3.3 Posting. Consumers may post items for sale in the appropriate section. All the educational sections are reserved for questions by consumers only. Trade members may only reply to these threads, but not start one.
3.4 Offsite Cliques. A common phenomenon in forums, particularly when the subject is product-related with vendors participating, is that consumers and vendors will make friends offline and form cliques. While there is nothing wrong with that inherently, if it is done surreptitiously with an agenda, then it is wrong. And prohibited here. We have banned more than one vendor along with dozens of members who have engaged in this behavior. So there is no safety in numbers in this instance.
IV. JEWELRY TRADE MEMBERS
4.1. Disputes.
Other than outright fraud, if there is a dispute between a vendor and a consumer, the vendor may not bring up the issue in the forum. It should be handled privately. The only instance where a vendor may discuss it publicly is if the end-consumer brings up the complaint first and mentions the vendor by name.
4.2. Promotion. Vendors are not permitted to promote appraisers and appraisers are not permitted to promote vendors.
4.3. Posting. Trade Members may not post new threads in the educational sections of DiamondRing.com (see definition above). The only place where vendors may start new threads is in the Community Area (see above); to post new product listings; and in their own Network Jeweler section, assuming they have one.
V. RESPECT IS THE KEY
DiamondRing.com is a place
where it's okay to be yourself -- be that jovial, silly or sad person
-- as long as you always act with respect for your fellow DR's. You won't have to leave your personality at the door.
We bring passion to our work and our community. We will listen willingly to your suggestions and complaints, and if feasible will try to incorporate your ideas in what we do.
Pretend that you set the tone in the forum sections, because in essence you do and it is also for your benefit. Before you hit the submit button think if you would allow that post/listing on your site or on your forums. Only you can prevent Spam and cross-posting. The DR Staff are here to help you so if you have a problem, e-mail it or post your request in the forums. We have many members covering various areas of development and skill level. There are many willing to help you at the drop of a hat.
If you've been caught or accused of a wrongdoing don't get irrational. Most of the time we revoke privileges as a safety measure not as a personal vendetta and if we made a mistake, we are as quick to reinstate privileges as we were to revoke them. If you think there was a mistake or misunderstanding, let us know. An apology if sincere can work too.
Try to look at things from the moderator's perspective when there is a problem. We'd love everyone to be a happy family. No one likes to ban people or move/edit posts. Every vendor would like every consumer to see their site and every consumer would love the nicest goods at the cheapest price. But this can't happen so please respect that it's best for all to present the goods in an orderly fashion and share the data in a fair manner.
If you see a post that is inflammatory, racist, overly provocative, note that there is a link at the bottom of each post where you can "Report" the post to a moderator. Feel free to use this feature as it helps us keep the peace.
VI. REPUBLISHING YOUR WORDS
We know that your words are filled with knowledge of how things work in the real world, 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 also reserve the right to quote your discussion forum posts in newsletters, throughout the DR network and in DR promotions. When republishing your quotes for wide distribution, we will identify you only by your DR username. We promise to be sensitive in this effort. We will not republish anything you write that we think could be deemed personally endangering, inflammatory or embarrassing to you without your consent.
VII. HOW TO REPORT A PROBLEM OR GET HELP
If you come across any violations to these guidelines or have any
problems navigating the site, do not hesitate to let us know through
the Contact
Form.
VIII. WELCOME NEWCOMERS
When newcomers arrive, welcome them to our growing community. Many
of our community's "elders" (regardless of age) are a
wealth of knowledge and have much to share. Help new members learn
about how to find information and resources, save time, and how
to get involved in the community.
IX. POST IN THE CORRECT SECTION
The categories are created for a reason. It helps newcomers and
veterans alike find the type of posts they are looking for at a
glance. While on a personal level, many are tempted to post a message
in the forum with the most traffic, in the long run it harms the
community as the categories lose their effectiveness if people don't
use them.
X. DON'T ATTACK EACH OTHER
Don't attack others. Personal attacks on others will not be tolerated.
Challenge others' points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully
and thoughtfully ... without insult and personal attack. No need
to keep repeating the same point over and over. In other words,
don't 'hound' members.
XI. KEEP PERSONAL INFORMATION PERSONAL
Think before you post or speak: Do you really want to put your address
or telephone number on a public diamond
forum or to share it during a live diamond chat? We encourage you to keep personal information personal.
Similarly, do not ask for personal information from others. Forum
posts that request members to submit personal information to another
party will be removed. Information that should be considered personal
includes but is not limited to your home phone number, name, age.
If you must give this out for any reason, please do so privately.
XII. KEEP YOUR POSTS CLEAN
There may be places where explicit, obscene or vulgar language,
graphics or behavior is appropriate however, DR is not one of
them.
Forum posts that contain explicit, obscene or vulgar language will
be removed. We also do not allow links to pornographic, warez, or
hate sites of any kind.
XIII. BE COURTEOUS: AVOID DUPLICATE POSTS
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.
Weeding through the same discussion in multiple locations can be
not only frustrating, but downright annoying. Duplicate discussions
will be deleted. Reposting the same message repeatedly can be interpreted
as SPAM and could result in the loss of your DR Community Membership.
XIV. VETERAN DR MEMBERS LEAD THE WAY
If you are a long-time member of DR, we are counting on you to
lead the way. You help set the tone for the whole community. If
you treat others with respect, the new members will see & behave
in the same way. If you show disrepect to the community or moderators,
this will set a bad example and destroy what can be a positive environment.
XV. ADVERTISING
Keep advertising where it is allowed. Do not heedlessly place your
advertisements through the Discussion Forums. This will be considered
SPAM and will result in the loss of your DR Community Membership.
XVI. DISCLOSURE
Members are required to disclose any business association with vendors.
In plain talk, if you are a business partner, customer, relative
or friend of a vendor, you must disclose this fact. Testimonials
by members with hidden associations to any vendors are strictly
forbidden.
Members may display a signature at the bottom of their posts which can be done here. Consumers may post a link in their signature, but must place a reciprocal link on their homepage. Signatures are also available to trade members, but they must first contact us to upgrade their membership.
XVIII. AVATARS
Avatars are small images that can be included in your user profile. Although the dimensions are subject to change, as of this writing these images must be 60 X 60 pixels or less and be under 8 Kilobytes
in size. Avatars fall under the same guidelines as printed text
and must comply with these guidelines.
XIX. DON'T REPUBLISH COPYRIGHTED INFORMATION
Information or images copyrighted or owned by any individual or entity other
than the member should not be posted on the discussion forums without the consent
of the owner. If such an event occurs, the individual posting the information
shall be held solely responsible. DiamondRing.com shall not be held responsible for member-posted information that may violate copyright law. It is also subject to removal.
XX. FINALLY, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT
DiamondRing.com and its assigned agents, hereafter referred to as "we", reserve the right to remove a post which does not relate to the topic being discussed in the forum. In addition, we reserve 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 our discretion, be relocated to a more appropriate discussion forum, or deleted entirely.
We also reserve 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 DiamondRing.com
or the rights of DiamondRing.com
or others. That said, DR 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 DR or the Web, nor can we ensure prompt
removal of offending discussion forum posts.
We also reserve the right to remove your membership should you
violate these Guidelines.
DiamondRing.com reserves the right to restrict or terminate any
user's ability to use our sites, at our sole discretion and without
prior notice or liability.
XXI. Further Terms of Use
Your use of DiamondRing.com constitutes acceptance of these Terms of Use and any other policies posted on
DiamondRing.com including any amendments, modifications or new policies or terms posted from time to time.
DiamondRing.com is provided to you, "as is".
You may only use DiamondRing.com for legal purposes. You may not use DiamondRing.com or its services to publish, post, distribute or disseminate any defamatory,
obscene, or other unlawful material or information, including another's proprietary
information, including trademarks or copyrighted information, without express
authorization from the rights holder. Additionally, you may not use DiamondRing.com to collect or harvest
personal information, including Internet addresses, about DiamondRing.com or its assigned agents'
users.
You must abide by any policies posted on DiamondRing.com. You understand that
DiamondRing.com or its assigned agents provides no assistance, including the review, removal
or editing of content posted on, or any customer support for the use of, the
DiamondRing.com or its assigned agents' website(s).
DiamondRing.com or its assigned agents uses its best efforts to maintain DiamondRing.com
but is not responsible for the results of any defects that exist in DiamondRing.com.
You should not assume that DiamondRing.com
or its content is error-free or that it will be suitable for the particular
purposes that you have in mind when using it. DiamondRing.com or its assigned agents may, in its sole discretion and at any time, modify or
discontinue DiamondRing.com; limit, terminate or suspend your use of or access to DiamondRing.com;
and/or make changes to these Terms of Use or any other policies posted on DiamondRing.com.
DIAMONDRING.COM,
IS PROVIDED WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
DIAMONDRING.COM,
AND ITS AGENTS, AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS AND CONTENT PROVIDERS DISCLAIM
ANY AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES REGARDING DIAMONDRING.COM AND THE
INFORMATION OBTAINED THEREFROM, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY
OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
NEITHER DIAMONDRING.COM,
NOR ANY
OF ITS PARTNERS, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS OR CONTENT PROVIDERS
SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO ANY USE OF DIAMONDRING.COM.
You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, permanently store, publish or
otherwise transfer, or commercially exploit, any software, file,
information, communication or other content received or accessed
through DiamondRing.com. You agree
to indemnify DiamondRing.com and its
partners, agents, affiliates, suppliers and content providers against
all claims, liability, damages, costs and expenses, including but
not limited to reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or relating
to your use of DiamondRing.com
This Terms of Use, and any dispute arising hereunder, will be governed by the
laws of the State of California. The exclusive jurisdiction for any
dispute arising out of or relating to DiamondRing.com or this
Terms of Use shall be the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles.
This Terms of Use (along with any other policies posted on DiamondRing.com from time
to time) constitute the entire agreement between DiamondRing.com and a user
of DiamondRing.com
with respect to the subject matter thereof.
Copyright Notice
The documents and information on this Web site are copyrighted materials
of DiamondRing.com
and its information providers. Reproduction or storage of materials
retrieved from this service is subject to the U.S. Copyright Act
of 1976, Title 17 U.S.C.
Copyright Complaints
DiamondRing.com
respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our members
to do the same. DiamondRing.com
may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, terminate
the accounts of users who infringe the intellectual property rights
of others.
If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible
on the DiamondRing.com service
in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, you may notify
DiamondRing.com
by providing DiamondRing.com's copyright
agent the following information:
an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf
of the owner of the copyright interest;
a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed,
including the URL (i.e., web page address) of the location where
the copyrighted work exists or a copy of the copyrighted work;
identification of the URL or other specific location on the DiamondRing.com site where
the material that you claim is infringing is located;
your address, telephone number, and email address;
a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed
use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the
law;
a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above
information in your Notice is accurate and that you are the copyright
owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
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