[BellyBelly]

Dear all,

Please read these guidelines in full, as when we are dealing with issues on the site, it will be expected that you have read this topic prior to posting, being the very first BellyBelly forum you are able to see on the Forum page. Therefore we will not accept any complaints that these guidelines weren't read by you.

The opinions expressed on the BellyBelly Forums, as the main website, made by its members, support panel or others are not necessarily the opinions of BellyBelly and we hold no responsibility whatsoever as to these comments or opinions made. Posts are copyright property of the BellyBelly website, therefore any information or posts may not be reproduced or copied in any way without permission from BellyBelly.com.au.
The same applies to Private Messages. PM's may not be reproduced and distributed without permission from BellyBelly.com.au

Whilst BellyBelly will attempt to correct any factual errors bought to the attention of administrators or the moderators, any inaccuracies of fact expressed by members are not the responsibility of BellyBelly.

1. Read the 'local' guidelines.
Be aware that some areas of BellyBelly have guidelines relevant to that area only. You must check for and read these guidelines before posting in these areas. Breaching local guidelines will incur the same consequences as breaching these main guidelines.

2. Do not abuse or 'flame' other members, websites or businesses.
If you disagree with a member, find a civil way to communicate that. Any personal arguments must be kept off the boards (eg, via email or PM). Name calling or rudeness is not okay.

If you have been offended by a member, we encourage you to contact them to clarify what they meant. Many online disagreements are caused by misunderstandings, and can be avoided when members contact one another to clarify (via PM or email).

3. Do not stir or bait other members by posting controversial material with the intent of upsetting and/or offending them. Do not publicly judge or criticize other member's parenting choices.
We will have no hesitation removing troublemakers if it means our members will continue to have a supportive, non-threatening place to chat. Religious and cultural debate will be very closely monitored.

4. No posting sexually explicit topics or images. Anyone found posting topics of a sexually explicit/graphical nature will immediately be removed as a member and their IP banned from our domain WITHOUT WARNING.
It is okay to discuss relationship issues and topics of a light sexual nature relating to conception, pregnancy, birth and baby, however those exceeding these boundaries will be dealt with.

5. No spamming or market research posts - no promoting a business without approval.
This includes:
- business names as your forum name or business names in your profile details
- posts requesting replies for people to participate in research and studies or for feedback on product ideas - permission MUST be sought prior to posting. HOWEVER we do allow regular BellyBelly members (not Registered members with a post count less than 50) the opportunity to conduct market research in the market research forum ONLY.
- posts advertising your business, or advertising something that financially benefits you, such as a party-plan party.
- posts advertising for sperm/egg/embryo donors or recipients. Please ensure that any discussions between donor and recipient regarding donation is not posted in this public forum.
Spamming is now illegal in Australia carrying penalties and will not be tolerated.
We encourage members to look into advertising with BellyBelly or Market Place Membership.

6. No insensitive remarks particularly in any forums which you do not usually take part in.
For example, those with infertility or problems trying to conceive don't want to know that you get pregnant at the drop of a hat, first try, every try. Think before you post.

7. No foul/offensive language
We have censors on some words but we'd like to keep it clean please!
Creative spelling to get around being censored is not allowed. If a word is censored, it's censored for a reason.

8. No spoiler posts or sensitive news posts without a warning in the thread title.
For example, if you know who is going to get kicked out next in the latest reality t.v. show please don't spoil it for others without fair warning (e.g. title your topic "Days of Our Lives Spoilers"). It's okay to discuss privately within a thread but not in the title where others may see it and not want to know the results until they've seen the show for themselves.
Similarly, do not post any potentially upsetting news story without a warning in the thread title.
When posting distressing news stories, be aware that the moderating team may edit or remove threads that are deemed to be inappropriate, too upsetting, or not helpful.

9. No images in posts.
The posting of images within any post on BellyBelly is not allowed. The only images which are allowed within posts are emoticons (do not use emoticons not found on BellyBelly), or any images posted by the moderation team. Not only do images in posts make the forum look untidy, we also have quite a few members who are on dial-up and need to wait for those images to load before continuing.

10. When sharing information, remember that this is a public forum, and consider protecting your privacy. Do not post personal phone numbers or addresses.
Remember this is the internet and it is accessible to anyone who wants to join. Please keep your personal details private as we cannot be responsible for any actions resulting from members posting personal details on the website.

Editing of posts is limited to within 14 days of initially posting. If you require a post to be edited after this time, you will need to contact an administrator, and the decision will lie with them.

11. The decisions of the Moderators and Administrators are final. Do not debate their decisions on the forums.
There is to be no online defamation, complaining or arguments in regards to a decision made by the BellyBelly team. If you have any issues with a decision, we have made it very clear in each forum who to contact for any problems, and you must contact them off the board, via email or PM.

Only moderators are allowed to post in purple writing - this is so that members and moderators can easily identify when a moderator has posted.

12. Do not post commercial/business links.
You may NOT link to a business or to a website with commercial intent (eg. a business blog) (this is to protect the interests of our paying advertisers and Market Place Members).

You may not guide members to a commercial site by posting the address, eg. www dot bellybelly dot com dot au. You may tell people a business name, so that they can search the business independently.

You may recommend products in the Recommend a Product forum, which you can access once you have 50 posts or more.

You may link to non-commercial sites, eg, news, youtube, personal photosites or blogs. Any links from the BellyBelly website can be posted without permission.

You may not link to other forums.

If you are in doubt about a link, contact a moderator/administrator to gain approval before posting.

13. 'Trolling' is not allowed.
While we encourage members to protect their privacy, we still remain a real community.
As such, we require that you post real information, and not make up details (apart from anonymous names), and stories to mislead other members.

If moderators suspect a member is trolling, through inconsistencies, suspected false information etc, this will be addressed.

You may adopt a second username to protect your privacy, for example, to ask a question about a sensitive medical condition, relationship issue, or if you are pregnant/trying to conceive and aren't ready for it to become public knowledge. This will be noticed by the moderating team, and you may receive a PM requiring you to clarify your situation if it is unclear.

14. Buying & Selling on BellyBelly
Buying & Selling between members on BellyBelly is to be done only through the BellyBelly Buy, Swap, Sell or Wanted section. You must be either a Platinum or Lifetime Member to be able to use this section. This is to protect our members from online fraud.

Please do not use the forums to engage in any trading activity at all.

You are allowed to give items away for free in our Free & Fabulous Giveaways area.

The exceptions to this are that Platinum Members are allowed to post links to their personal Ebay listings within the Ebay Listings & Links thread in the Platinum area. The Platinum area also has a thread for Platinum members to link to their classifieds listings. Market Place Members can also utilise their signature link in all their posts.

15. No meaningless posts to build post count
Artificially inflating your post count with meaningless or trivial posts (post-whoring) without also contributing meaningful content will not be tolerated. The posts will be merged or deleted.

Deletion of Membership
When you post on BellyBelly, the information you post becomes public knowledge and part of the BellyBelly.com.au forums. If members wish to be removed, then we will delete their membership (de-register username and delete profile information) but their username and posts will remain on the board, in order to maintain consistency in posts and for other users to retain their reputation points. Only post what you don't mind anyone else reading.

We accept special cases should you wish to be removed, please contact an administrator if this is a matter of safety, you must be willing to fully explain your situation and the decision lies with a BellyBelly.com.au administrator.

Any membership/fees paid during your time at BellyBelly will not be refunded, either in part or in full, because the hard work has already been done in setting up email accounts, avatars and access privileges for Platinum and Market Place Membership forums. As well as the members having full benefits of those forums/advertising links during their time at BellyBelly. This also includes if you have access to closed groups removed due to a guideline breech as mentioned in the Privacy Guidelines.

The Report Function
In the upper right hand side of each post, you will see a 'report post' icon (red and white triangle). If you see a post that you believe contravenes BellyBelly guidelines, please report the post so that the moderators are aware that there might be an issue. You can report anything you feel violates BellyBelly guidelines, such as offensive posts, violating signatures, advertising, double posts, links in posts. If in doubt, report it. You can also report things to do with site maintenance, like when a thread reaches 300 posts, a link doesn't work, or any other glitch.
Reporting problem posts is a great way you can contribute to keeping BellyBelly a smoothly-run, safe and supportive place for its members.

Consequences
If you breach BellyBelly guidelines, you may receive a warning or infraction. Some infraction points expire, others don't. Accumulating 3 current infraction points results in your membership being banned, so post carefully. You can find more info on the Infraction system HERE.
Also your offending post or link will be edited or removed.

In addition, we ask that you read the following posts, where relevant:

- BellyBelly Netiquette Guidelines
Here you can learn how to best communicate on the forum. The more clearly you communicate, the more likely you are to receive replies to your posts.
- BellyBelly Signature Guidelines
Your signature must comply with our signature guidelines to keep BellyBelly looking neat (and to avoid an infraction).
- Username Guidelines
Here are some things to consider when choosing or changing your username.
- Don't forget to check for local guidelines before posting in each area.

Thank-you for reading these guidelines.

These guidelines strictly may not be copied or reproduced in any way without permission from BellyBelly.com.au.