1. Introduction

Hashkafah.com is a great way to meet people from around the world and discuss divrei Torah, exchange ideas and viewpoints, or simply have a nice chat. This is one of the greatest things about the Internet. The fact that you talk to people from around the globe however means that there will be cultural differences, not to mention that everyone has his own unique personality. Things that are acceptable for one person, may be offensive to others.
To make it clear what can and can't be done on the forums, to prevent problems arising from this and because these forums are a public place and accessible for (almost) everyone, we ask you to follow our guidelines.
These guidelines pertain to the Hashkafah.com Discussion Board.
By using this website, you are presumed to have read, understood and agreed to the contents of this document.
While this list or rules and guidelines may seem long and intimidating, it is not meant to be. It all boils down to 3 basic rules:

1) Behave yourself.
2) Use common sense.
3) Respect others.

At any point in time, these guidelines may be updated. YOU WILL NOT BE NOTIFIED OF ANY UPDATES. It is the sole responsibility of our visitor to stay up to date on our guidelines.

2. Member Accounts

General Information

Your registered member account is your own. Make sure you understand that.
It is your responsibility to insure that only you have access to that account. If someone else uses your account to break any of the rules, you will be held accountable.
Each forum member can only have one account. If in time you are not happy with the name you choose, you may contact a forum admin to have your member account's name changed (if another member with that name doesn't already exist). Don't register a new account please.
Apart from the guidelines here, the rules concerning topics and posts also apply to your account options (profile information, signature etc.).

E-mail address
All registered member accounts must have a working e-mail address assigned to them.
If you change your e-mail address you can enter the new address in your control panel.
Your e-mail address will not be visible to other people. Other members however are able to use the e-mail options on the forums to send you an e-mail. If you do not want this to happen, check the “Hide my email address from other members” option in the “Email Settings” section of your control panel.

Private Messages
Each registered member's account has access to the Private Message service included within the forums.
You have a total storage capacity of 200 messages. This includes both your inbox, as well as your sent items and any additional folders you may have created.
Don't use the Private Message system as your private messageboard please. An Instant Message program or e-mail may be better suited if you want to have long private discussions with other members.

Avatars
Apart from the default avatars installed on the forums, you are allowed to link to an avatar you made yourself (.gif,.jpg,.jpeg,and .png are allowed image types). This can be set in your control panel, accessible from the link at the top of the page.
However, all avatars should be a maximum of 120 x 120 pixels. If they are larger they will be resized to that size.

Removal
If you so request, your account from our forums will be removed from our database.
You can do so by sending an email from the address linked to your account on our forums only, no other contact message will be accepted for this.
Note that this only pertains to your account itself, not the posts you made on our forums.

3. Forums & Posts

General information

Respect other members and do not engage in personal attacks on other members or post personally insulting comments or statements (flaming / bashing).
Criticize ideas and viewpoints posted here, NOT THE PEOPLE who post those ideas or viewpoints. Show tolerance.
Respect the privacy of others.

Threads & Polls

This may seem obvious, but please post in the right forum.
Use descriptive subject lines for your topic titles. This reduces the chances of double-posting, and it also makes it easier for people to see what they do or don't want to read.
Also, scan the subjects of the previous posts to make sure you aren't duplicating posts. The search option works wonders in finding the things you are searching for. Please use it.

Posts

Do not post racist statements and comments.
Any illegal activity such as, but not limited to, copyright violations is expressly forbidden.
Do not post Loshon Hora.
Do not post on Shabbos (The Sabbath) or any Jewish Holiday which forbids computer use.
Do not post links to or requests for unlawfully obtained copyrighted materials (ripping).
Do not make inflammatory posts to get people riled up (trolling).
Do not post sexual or explicit material (pornography). This includes references, innuendo, humor, or even halachah. If you have a halachah question related to sexual matter -please speak to your Local Orthodox Rabbi.
Do not use foul language in posts, topics or signatures.
Do not try to impersonate or pretend to be someone else.
Do not post in ALL CAPS! This is the equivalent of shouting.
No spamming, no commercial-oriented posts, no hyping up websites and no flooding with useless content.
Do not purposely use floodlines (long lines that run of the edge of the page on a 800 pixel wide screen resolution).

Images

Posting of images is allowed (gif, jpg, jpeg, and png and are allowed image types) in certain forums. Use common sense. Link to big images, don't include them in the topic.

In addition to these rules, there are common sense expectations regarding posting behavior. Read these before posting:


Expectations
Quoting Guidelines
New Members
Common Hebrew / Yiddish Words:

4. Moderation

It first and foremost your responsibility to follow the rules and guidelines posted here.
Every once in a while however someone will have the impression that these rules do not apply to him/her. That's where moderation comes in.
The moderating team may change topic titles and/or description to better reflect it's contents. Topics and posts may also be moved by the moderating team to other topics or forums if they are posted in the wrong forum/topic and/or detract from the conversation within a topic.
Topics and posts may also be deleted or edited by the moderating team if they break any of the forum's rules.
When you cannot find a topic or post where you last saw it, please look around the forums a bit, and use the search function to see if it is perhaps moved or edited.
If a support topic has been inactive beyond a reasonable amount of time, moderators reserve the right to assume the problem solved and close the topic. This is done to keep the support forums tidy. If you want the topic reopened, please PM a member of our staff.

It is of course possible that we miss something. If you feel a post, topic, member profile etc. is not in accordance to these rules you can report it privately to the forum staff. Either send a Private Message to a moderator/admin or use the “report” link at the bottom of each post. The same applies to any complaints you might have. Do not make a post in any of the forums about this and do not start a flamewar.

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ANYTHING ABOVE, READ THIS:
We attempt to use good judgment in moderating the forum but in the end it is just that: our judgment. We have the final say-so in all matters.

5. Warning-Points System

To moderate the forum we have instated a warning-points system.
For each violation of the forum rules you will receive a warning-point. You will be informed of this through the Private Message system.
The warning-points system consists of the following steps:
You will be watched more closely than usual.
Your posting privileges will be restricted. Your member account will be added to the moderation queue, meaning that all posts you make will be previewed by the moderating team before they are posted on the forums.
You will be banned from the forum for 1 month.
You are not allowed to register a new member account if you have been temporarily banned from the forums. Doing so will get you immediately and permanently banned.
In case of a repeat incident after that you will get permanently banned from the forum.
The warnings will be issued at 1 week intervals. This will give you ample time to rectify the situation.
Some offences are deemed too bad and will warrant an immediate ban. You will not be informed about that.
It is the decision of the moderating team to issue warning-points or ban you from the forums. These points/bans are final and not negotiable.

6. Disclaimer


We do not accept responsibility for topics, posts, polls, private messages etc. or the contents of them. We are not even liable for posts made by our staff.
If you have a serious issue, or need immediate help, contact your Local Orthodox Rabbi ( or the authorities).

7. Contact


If you have any questions or concerns about any of the points outlined in this document, please contact the team at
teamhashkafah@gmail.com .