In keeping with the ForumForFree Terms of Service, the Administrative Board has developed this Acceptable Use Policy for Forums within AGS.

[b]I - Purpose and Organization [/b]

a) A government simulation cannot succeed without a free and open exchange of ideas. That said, the Administrative Board recognizes that there are obstacles to such an exchange in an online forum. The Administrative Board has established the Acceptable Use Policy to eliminate these obstacles so as to maintain a "realistic, reasonable, and stable environment" as required by AGS Rules.

b) AGS Forums are open to all registered users, within the limits set by AGS Rules, the AGS Rules of Order, and this Acceptable Use Policy.

c) The AB is expressly authorized to develop and maintain the AUP and may amend it by a 3/4 majority. The House may suggest amendments to the AB in resolution form.

[b]II: Content[/b]

a) Content-related sanctions constitute an infringement of open debate, and must only be issued when absolutely necessary. The Administrative Board shall only issue restrictions and sanctions for significant reasons, such as those that violate law, or significantly threaten the safety of a member or threaten the integrity of AGS or its forums. Postings that some may find offensive or rude, while discouraged, are not violations of the Acceptable Use Policy.

The Administrative Board has ultimate discretion to decide if a message or post is a violation of acceptable use. Appeals and complaints should thusly be directed to the Administrative Board.

b) Members will not use AGS forums to post or transmit any messages that are obscene, threatening, harassing, hate speech, or otherwise violative of any local, state, federal, or international laws; nor facilitate or propagate information about illegal activities; or facilitate access to, or propagation of, any illegal content or substance of any form.

This includes links in member signatures, profiles, custom titles and posts, as well as posted images, photos and avatars.

1) Obscene is defines as "appeal[ing] to the prurient interest of the average person, using contemporary community standards, the work depicts or describes in a patently offensive way sexual conduct ("an ultimate sexual act" , and the work as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

2) Harassment consists of repeated and expressly unwanted conduct directed at a specific person or persons with the intent to annoy, alarm, and/or cause emotional distress.

3) Threatening is defined as an explicit, serious declaration of intent or determination to inflict harm upon a member or other person, or the expressed wish that such harm is inflicted upon a member or other person by another party. The plausibility of such a threat shall not be a consideration.

c) Off-board communications, even when game-related, are not grounds for sanction under the Acceptable Use Policy, and should instead be reported to the appropriate Internet Service Provider or forum administrator.

[b]III � Spam[/b]

Unsolicited commercial posts are not to be confused with "self-promotion," which is defined as a member in good standing sharing information about a non-AGS project or activity with other members.

Members should not double post or cross-post the same message in multiple forums, nor mass-PM or mass-email multiple AGS members with the same message, unless it is a game-related activity.

[b]IV � Copyrighted Material[/b]

Members shall not abuse the copyrights or other legal protections to which third parties are legally entitled. Members should be aware of fair use guidelines when posting material that is under copyright.

Neither AGS nor the Administrative Board shall not be held responsible for any copyright violations by AGS members.

[b]V � Confidential Information[/b]

Members will not post confidential information relating to another member without that member's express permission. Confidential information is defined as any information about a member that cannot be obtained by viewing a user's profile page or previous public posts on AGS forums.

Furthermore, members will not post or link to any site which has any text contained within a private message that has been sent to them unless given the explicit permission of all parties involved. "Private message" would include any "PM" received through Invision's "PM" feature, any "IM" received in any instant message service such as AOL Instant Messanger", any "Chat" session such as AOL Chat, or any other off-the-board private communication.

[b]VI - Cloning[/b]

Members may not participate, conspire, or assist in cloning activities. Cloning shall be defined as accessing the AGS Forums from the same Internet Protocol (IP) address, e-mail address, and/or other personally identifiable information for the purpose of: accessing otherwise inaccessible materials, deceiving the community about the true identity of the visitor, or inflating poll results.

[b]VII - Forum Integrity[/b]

Posts and forums may not be deleted under any circumstances, except as authorized by AGS Rules. The AB shall edit and/or move posts when necessary.

[b]VIII - Investigations and Sanctions [/b]

AGS members are encouraged to report violations of the Acceptable Use Policy to the Administrative Board by posting in an appropriate forum or through private communication.

The Administrative Board will investigate all claims of Acceptable Use violations in a timely fashion and shall issue an Announcement at the conclusion of each investigation outlining its findings and any sanctions issued as a result.

Sanctions may include (but are not limited to): temporary or indefinite restrictions on posting, Private Messaging or e-mailing through AGS forums; temporary or indefinite restrictions on viewing forums; and/or temporary or indefinite bans.

While the Administrative Board will attempt to act on all reported Acceptable Use violations, members are also encouraged to use other processes for censure and/or sanction as outlined in AGS Rules.