Music as a Chariot (MAAC) forum helps build a strong community of creators by fostering discussion and sharing information. Messages posted by MAAC community members are solely the opinion and responsibility of the person posting the message. All users posting to the MAAC forums must adhere to this Forum Posting Policy.

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Posting to the forum constitutes your agreement to the terms outlined in this Forum Posting Policy. For more information on MAAC's privacy policy, please visit it here.

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Please treat all Community members with respect. As volunteers who are helping other users in the MAAC forum, all members and moderators deserve your courtesy as much as we feel you deserve theirs. While we're the first to admit we're not perfect, we strive to be impartial and conduct ourselves in the fairest manner possible for all. In order to provide you with a safe and positive experience on our forum, some moderation actions taken in the forum by our Community moderators may not be explicitly covered under these guidelines if we feel certain posts are not in the best interest of our community. If at any time you feel a community member or moderator treats you unfairly or inappropriately, please send an email to zounds@purdue.edu.

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By Following the "Code of Conduct," you help to ensure that the MAAC Forum remains an enjoyable environment for everyone. Violating these rules may result in your removal from the forum. The following Policies and Guidelines apply to "public" threads, private messages, visitor messages on user profiles, social groups, and any other form of communication within the MAAC Forum:

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1. Remember the Golden Rule - Treat others as you want to be treated

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Misunderstandings on forums are quite common often due to the difficulty in understanding the implied tone in another user's remarks. In fact, quite often something you may interpret as being harshly worded or rude may just be someone else's form of offering you support. Take extra care to be kind in your comments to other users and never react negatively to comments you perceive as rude or otherwise objectionable. Instead, it's always wiser to either end the discussion, ignore the comment entirely, or in more severe cases report the offense to our moderators by clicking the "Report Abuse" button beside the post. Remember: two wrongs don't make a right. Responding to another user's comments in a manner contrary to our posting policy will be viewed by our moderators as equally inappropriate and may result in sanctions against your forum privileges.

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2. Do not use abusive or disrespectful behavior

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Disagreements or conflict may arise in the course of a discussion. Please remember to be courteous when disagreeing with others. Debate on differing opinions is appropriate and encouraged. Personal attacks against other users, however, are not allowed.

The following behaviors are examples of what will not be tolerated in the MAAC forum.

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1. Flaming - posts that are designed to personally berate or insult another user.

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2. Trolling - posting derogatory or inflammatory comments/threads attempting to bait other users into responding. Accusing someone of being a troll is also a form of trolling.

 

 3. Personal attacks - posts that insult a poster directly. This includes any attacks against forum moderators, MAAC representatives, or faculty.

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This list is non-exhaustive. ANY behavior that is patently offensive is also forbidden.

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3. Do not haze new posters

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New members should feel welcome to post their questions, no matter how well-informed. Do not harass them for asking questions or treat them poorly for not knowing an answer. Remember, we were all new once! Please welcome them to our boards and help them find the information they are looking for.

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4. Search for answers before posting

 

Chances are if you have a problem or question, you're not the first. Someone may have posted the same question before you and received an answer or MAAC staff may have covered the subject in another post. Read through the forum or do a keyword search on your question on the Search Field. This can save you and our community time and effort and add your thoughts to a larger existing discussion.

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5. Requests for assistance

 

If you're having a problem and need direct assistance from staff, please contact Rick Thomas directly at zounds@purdue.edu. Typically Rick will respond to your inquiry within two business days from the time the inquiry is sent. If after two days you do not receive a response or are not happy with the response you received, you may post a message in the forum detailing the problem.

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6. Do not post personal information

 

Please respect the privacy of others. Do not give out or re-post ANYONE'S personal information such as names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, etc. This applies to your own information and that of other users, MAAC employees, family members, etc.

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7. Do not post private communications

 

This includes conversations between MAAC Customer Support, community members, moderators, employees, or partners of MAAC on this forum or any other site.

 

Publicizing any private correspondence such as support requests, email, Private Message (PM) correspondence, or chat logs is not permitted without prior permission.

 

8. Do not discuss moderator actions on the forum

 

If you do not agree with a moderator's decision, you may send a private message to the moderator or community administrator. You may NOT start a thread or post complaining that your post was removed. Nor may you post private correspondence from moderators, such as infraction or warning notices. Questions or comments concerning warnings and suspensions (site or forum) should be conveyed through e-mail or private messaging.

 

9. Do not make non-constructive posts

 

Below are examples of prohibited non-constructive posts:

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1. Spam - repetitive posting of the same topic or text or nonsensical posts that have no substance and are often designed to annoy other forum users. The solicitation or advertisement of content, goods, services, or information not found or published on MAAC is considered "spam" and not allowed anywhere in our forum.

2. Bumping - posting on threads in order to keep them near the top of the forum list. Commenting on obsolete or old topics with the intent to bump them into a discussion is also prohibited.

3. Hijacking - Try to keep all replies to a thread on the topic at hand. Posting's which are intentionally off-topic or try to sway the discussion completely or partially off topic is generally considered rude.

4. Advertising - MAAC prohibits the posting of advertising links, images or content for the purpose of self-promotion outside of book announcements. Hijacking or creating a new thread for the purpose of solicitation or advertising of content or any posts which could be interpreted as a solicitation, including the promotion of content published on zoundsproductions.com, are prohibited outside of their relevant forum. The one exception to this is signature links to your own, published books.

5. Lobbying - continually bringing up the same topic in numerous different threads or as an off-topic post in existing threads to get a site moderator’s attention.

6. Cross-posting - Posting the same topic or thread in more than one forum is considered cross-posting. As a courtesy to others before beginning a new thread, please look to see if an active thread on that topic has already been established by using the Search feature.

7. "I'm quitting" threads.

8. Signing - posts which contain only the text "/signed" or "+1" to show agreement with the previous post. These are discouraged, as they do not engender constructive discussion.

10. Malicious or Disruptive Code - the use of JavaScript, active or other coding, making repetitive posts, or other actions that interfere with site operations are forbidden. Any malicious code or employment of a robot, spider or other process or device to harvest e-mail addresses or other User information or to monitor the activity on the Forum is also forbidden.

11. Data Mining/Harvesting & Employing Bots - using the MAAC forum as a means to acquire private information from other community members through any methods.

False obituary threads

12. Threads that make threats or use other combative languages.

Threads that single out a user for ridicule.

13. Conspiracy Threads - claims or complaints about MAAC or any of its employees acting in collusion with or showing favoritism to a group, author, or community member.

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10. NEVER: Impersonate another forum user, moderator, community administrator, or MAAC employee.

 

You are prohibited from impersonating anyone, including those named above, on the forum or the MAAC site.

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11. Do not post disruptive off-topic threads

 

This forum is for and about MAAC. We do, however, allow non-disruptive off-topic discussion in our forum as fitting with the community of posters who frequent them. Constructive discussion about other sites (comparing and contrasting) is allowed at the discretion of MAAC. Likewise, any topics (such as politics or religion) that are volatile or disruptive are discouraged and can be removed at our discretion. Please contact a moderator if you have questions about a topic being permitted on the forum.

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12. Post your comments in the most relevant forum

 

While at times it's not always clear where to post your comments, do your best to post to the most appropriate forum. And don't forget; posting of promotional material or review requests are prohibited except for book announcements. It's the best way to ensure your comments are visible to the people you want reading them so your comments are not moved or deleted by moderators.

 

13. Post your comments in English

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Whatever your language preferences, please post in the English. Posts in languages other than English may be deleted.

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14. Do not post advertisements for other companies

 

Advertising of any kind for other companies on this forum is strictly prohibited.

 

15. Do not use proxy posting or account hopping to evade suspension

 

Posting on behalf of a suspended user is not allowed. Working around a suspension through other people's accounts, the creation of new accounts or use of secondary accounts to continue posting is also prohibited. You are personally responsible for your conduct on the forum. If you create a new account to continue posting after your account has been suspended, any forum and accounts involved can be permanently banned. Forum and site suspensions generally apply to a person, rather than a specific account. Threads designed to announce, appeal or contest a forum or site suspension decision on behalf of a third party will also be removed without notice. If you do not understand why you were suspended or have further questions, you must contact Rick Thomas at zounds@purdue.edu.

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16. Do not post "Legal Action" or "Boycott" threads

 

Using the forum or Private Messages for encouraging, promoting, endorsing, or inciting any kind of legal action, reporting, or boycott endeavor against anyone is strictly prohibited.

 

17. Do not post sensitive or confidential information

 

This includes any information covered by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or beta testing agreement. Any information about MAAC or a third party covered by an NDA or Beta Testing Agreement that is posted will be removed. Posters of the information may be banned from all MAAC Services and may face legal action.

 

18. User-Generated Content

 

You may post links to media on the forum as long as they are of an appropriate and non-offensive nature and do not otherwise infringe the intellectual property rights of any party. The following images (or links pointing to such images) are examples what may not be posted:

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1. any media which is sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, derogatory, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, contains profanity or depicts illegal activity. 

2. Any media that is disruptive or, in MAAC's sole discretion, appears to be in poor taste will be removed and your forum account may be banned.

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19. Zero Tolerance Policy

 

Immediate suspensions from the forum can result from any of the following: the posting of pornography; remarks which are sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive; or vulgar which discuss or illustrate illegal activity; provide links to sites that contain any of the aforementioned.

 

20. Proprietary forum

 

The MAAC Forum is a private message board administered by Rick Thomas. All message board content is allowed at the discretion of MAAC. MAAC reserves the right to remove any message board content without notice and for any reason.

 

21. Copyright

 

MAAC will respond to clear notices of alleged copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights infringement. Do not post copyrighted information in the MAAC Forum. Violation may result in legal action.

 

22. Suspension and Termination

 

MAAC shall determine, in its sole discretion, whether there has been a breach of these Policies and may take any action deemed appropriate.

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Your use of the forum is conditioned upon your compliance with the Forum Policies and Guidelines as well as the MAAC Terms of Service. Failure to comply with these Policies and Guidelines shall constitute a material breach of these Terms and may result in MAAC taking any or all of the following actions:

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1. Remove any material or postings you have made to the forum

2. Issue a warning

3. Suspend or ban your MAAC account and/or your use of the forum

4. Disclose such information to law enforcement authorities as MAAC feels is reasonably necessary

5. Pursue legal action against you

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MAAC excludes all liability for:

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1. Any action taken in response to breaches of these Policies and Guidelines. The responses described in this document are not exhaustive, and MAAC may take any other action, in its sole discretion as deemed appropriate.

2. Any loss or damage arising from the use of the forum by you.

3. Any content posted or uploaded by users of the forum which shall include, without limitation, any liability for offensive and/or defamatory posts.

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23. Changes to Forum Policies and Guidelines

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MAAC may revise the Forum Policies and Guidelines at any time by making changes to this page. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes as they are legally binding. Provisions contained within these Policies and Guidelines may be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on the MAAC site.