TERMS OF SERVICE (please read first)

PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING TO POST.
(We will assume that the ToS has been read and understood by any member who posts.)
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TERMS OF SERVICE (please read first)

Post by DNS »

Greetings,

These are the Dhamma Wheel Terms of Service. Violations of the Terms of Service may lead to the removal of posting privileges, so please ensure you are familiar with them.


1. Intention

Dhamma Wheel is an environment for the discussion of Theravada Buddhism. Special forums have been created for special areas of interest so please respect these boundaries. Conversation not within the scope of this forum, may potentially be allowable at other DW sites, such as Dharma Wheel Mahayana or Dharma Paths.

Members are expected to self-moderate, being mindful of the adage that 'behaviour breeds behaviour'. Mutual respect and friendliness should be the basis of all interactions. If you find anything objectionable, let the administrators or moderators know using the Report Post function, but refrain from posting public responses because meta-discussion has the tendency to derail topics.

If you find yourself unable to access your account or wish to challenge an account suspension, please e-mail [email protected]


2. Speech

Any subject matter that may be off-topic or is intended to cause disruption or harm may be removed without notice. This includes, but is not restricted to:

a. Nasty speech
b. Badmouthing Buddhist discussion forums
c. Unnecessarily explicit language and imagery
d. Unsubstantiated allegations against individuals or traditions - including psychoanalyzing other members, and predictions or threats of kammic retribution
e. Disruptive meta-discussion (i.e. discussion about discussion, including in-topic complaints about the existence of discussions that don't suit your preferences)
f. Personal attacks, including:
--- the vilification of members based on personal attributes (e.g. gender, nationality, sexuality, race, age)
--- the vilification of members based on their approach to the Dhamma (e.g. their practices, level of experience, or chosen tradition)
--- mocking or berating members
g. Attacks against the Buddha, Dhamma, or Sangha, which violate the Intention of this forum (See Section 1. Intention for details)
h. Goodbye Cruel Forum posts
i. Posts that are not mindful of the current topic, as defined in the initial post
j. Pressuring members to engage, despite them having already explicitly declined such engagement in the current topic
k. All discussion of Politics, Current Affairs, and News is forbidden, except in the sub-forum of that name, and subject to the particular conditions for posting there. (Please note that this is an "opt-in" section, accessible by sending a PM (Private Message) to DNS or Sam Vara.)

This is an English language forum, therefore posts must be in English or Pāli (i.e. the language of the Tipitaka and the ancient commentaries). As the majority of members are not fluent in Pāli, please consider the value of providing English translations for Pāli text where practicable. The English language requirement does not apply to general greetings and salutations, nor to the Non-English Resources section.


3. Action

The following actions are not permitted at Dhamma Wheel:

a. Spamming
b. Commercial advertising
c. Solicitation of funds
d. Advocating illegal activity
e. Infringing upon the copyright of others (instead… cite sources, apply Fair Use, and don’t link to material that violates copyright)
f. Expressing intentions of self-harm or suicide (if you require assistance, please visit befrienders)
g. The unauthorised collection and release of personal information
h. Claiming to be a Buddha, samma-sam-buddha, or Metteyya (Maitreya)
i. Proselytizing and evangelizing other paths or doctrines, whether spiritual or secular
j. Excessive posting against core Theravada principles, including kamma, rebirth, the awakening of the Buddha will not be allowed except in great rebirth thread and other topics where it may be on-topic, but not in other areas of the forum.
k. Wholesale revision and deletion of previous posts
l. The generation of multiple and/or fake accounts.
m. Blatant and wilful disregard of the Dhamma Wheel complaints procedure
n. Posting via a TOR anonymizer service (which will automatically be interpreted as an attempt to circumvent ToS 3l)


4. Mindfulness

At Dhamma Wheel, we respect your intellectual and spiritual autonomy. As such, the staff here will not enforce reverence to anyone or anything, nor censor speech gratuitously. In keeping with this respect for your autonomy, we expect you to be personally responsible for your own emotions and responses. If there are forum members you do not wish to engage with, please apply restraint and/or register them in the system as foes - do not publicly complain about them.

Speech and actions are moderated strictly and impartially according to the standards defined in the Terms of Service - not to the standard of Sutta, Vinaya, personal preference, nor any other code and/or standard of conduct. If you believe acts of moderation are not aligned with the Terms of Service, please engage the Dhamma Wheel complaints procedure.

Since you are not here alone, new topics should invite discussion via questions, suggestions, an introduction, or provide appropriate context.


5. Legal Statement

Dhamma Wheel and related sites of the site owner are owned and operated out of the U.S.A. As such it comes under the guidelines of 47 US Code Section 230(c)(1), including the Communications Decency Act, which provides owners, administrators, moderators, and members immunity from any content in here posted by someone else. Each is responsible for their own posting and the team has no liability even if administrators and/or moderators fail to remove an alleged offending post. Any poster who makes legal threats against anyone on this forum will be grounds for immediate banning.

For more info related to this law see: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

Use of this forum is at no membership fee and voluntary. We do not delete accounts nor delete posts as it disrupts the conversation. Each poster is responsible for carefully crafting their posts and one should avoid making statements that will be regretted. This is a voluntary forum with no membership fees. Except as provided in furtherance of moderation, DW will not alter information posted nor use the information for commercial purposes. DW shall have no responsibility to protect information posted on DW. Members may use anonymous usernames and need not use their real names. If they use their real name, that is by their choice and moderating staff reserves the right to refuse name changes (however they may allow in some instances). Posts cannot be edited or deleted after one hour from posting as it disrupts the conversation, especially when whole posts are deleted throughout several conversations. Posters have no ownership of any information they post here and do so at their own choice. Each poster is responsible for carefully crafting their posts due to this and again, this is a voluntary forum at no membership fee.


6. Like the Vinaya, the TOS may be added to over time

The Sangha didn't need many rules to start with. More were created over time as issues arose within the community. We reserve the right to add, amend or delete rules as deemed necessary.

Enjoy.

With metta,
Dhamma Wheel Staff


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[Last updated: March 15, 2023]
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