Guidelines and rules for our forum.
Please remember this forum are focused on mountains (Drakensberg, Lesotho, Himalayas and others), climbing, trekking, hiking, mountaineering and closely related matters. They are not a place to promote ideological, religious, or political matters.
Failure to abide by these rules may result in an editing, negative moderation or deletion of your post. We reserve the right to bar abusers from the site. We reserve the right to change these rules at any time.
If you feel a post violates any of these rules, or you need to bring it to the attention of a moderator, you may do so by using the ‘report to moderator’ link.
These forum rules must be read in conjunction with our Terms And Conditions Of Use.
Do:
* keep one account per person.
* keep all posts on-topic.
* post in English.
* check that your question, contribution or topic has not been covered anywhere else on the site - use the search feature.
* make sure you have read the parent article/post completely before posting a reply.
* choose an appropriate subject line, try to summarise topic briefly and elaborate in the message itself.
* post your comment/question to the most appropriate place. Any posts deemed to be in the wrong forum will be moved.
* use your own words - if you wish to use the words of somebody else, quote them, citing the source.
* keep all commentary civil, and be courteous at all times. Constructive criticism is welcome, but insults directed towards other users or the site administrators will not be tolerated.
* setup your signature by updating your profile. Your signature may not violate any rules listed on this page or terms of use details elsewhere on this site.
Don't:
* pretend to be/represent another person.
* discuss illegal activities.
* troll or spam.
* link to any site that contains adult content, sexually oriented material or any other content that might otherwise be considered offensive, unethical or illegal.
* use coarse or insulting language.
* post any commercial advertising. Should you wish to advertise on this site, please contact us.
* post anything that is considered to be self promoting, advertising, or spam. Posting and making excessive, inappropriate and unnecessary references to your products and websites is self promotion.
Furthermore:
We do not claim copyright in any of your writings, however, by participating in this forum, you give us a worldwide, non revocable, perpetual, royalty-free license to copy your submitted statements in any medium and for any purpose. Where applicable, we will contact you and discuss intended use of your posts.
You agree, through your use of this forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, adult material, or otherwise in violation of any International or South African law. You also agree not to post any copyrighted material unless you own the copyright or you have written consent from the owner of the copyrighted material. Spam, flooding, advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are also forbidden on this forum.
The posted messages express the views of the author, and not necessarily the views of Vertical Endeavour. Anyone who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to notify an administrator or moderator of this forum immediately. The staff and the owner of this forum reserve the right to remove objectionable content, within a reasonable time frame, if they determine that removal is necessary. This policy applies to member profile information as well.
You remain solely responsible for the content of your posted messages. Furthermore, you agree that Vertical Endeavour is indemnified and held harmless. Vertical Endeavour reserves the right to reveal your identity (or any other related information collected on this site) in the event of a formal complaint or legal action arising from any situation caused by your use of this site.
Please note that with each post, your IP address is recorded, in the event that you need to be banned from this forum or your ISP contacted. This will only happen in the event of a major violation of this agreement.
More on Forum Ethics:
- Those wanting to obtain advice and information on a forum must be aware that the responses are entirely voluntary from those that are willing to contribute out of their own free time.
- They should also be aware that it is not always possible to ascertain the experience and depth of knowledge of the participants in a particular subject, nor should their information ever be taken as the absolute truth on the matter.
- The more participants comment and contribute in a particular subject, the closer you can get to the true picture. Forums should be seen as knowledge bases which grow and refine themselves over time.
- Those contributing and giving advice on a forum must bear in mind that is is equally not always possible to ascertain the experience and knowledge of those asking a question, nor what they are capable of. Care must be given to present your advice in an accurate and helpful manner, qualifying it where possible with personal experience.
- Nobody knows everything, and everybody makes mistakes.
- It is healthy and constructive to disagree on a topic and to present your views. This is necessary for growth and helps everyone improve in their own knowledge. This is encouraged on our forum.
- Personal attacks, criticisms, and aggressive tones are not helpful or necessary. They will definitely not be tolerated on this site.
- Everyone is allowed to express their opinion, regardless of what it might be.
- Careful thought must be given to the tone and wording of what you write.
- Aggressiveness, personalised attacks, and personal criticisms will not be tolerated. Such remarks will be censored, and a warning will be issued if warranted.
- Abusive and foul language will also not be tolerated.
- Play the ball, not the person.
- Avoid the use of sarcasm. It is too easily misunderstood and tends to stir dissent.
- There is a big difference between discussion and dissent. The first is constructive, the latter is destructive.
