Forum Rules and FAQ 2011/Company Rep Rules

[JustiNtense]

Welcome to the Bodybuilding.com forums.
It is our hope that the members of the forums will help each other in providing motivation and information to those looking to reach their fitness goals. To protect our members and the forums the following rules are effective in all sections. Please take caution in what you post as we make every effort to keep all information posted unless we have specific reason to remove the content. Post at your own risk.
Bodybuilding.com reserves the right to adjust or edit these rules at any time for any reason. Above all, have fun and good luck in all your fitness goals.

Forum Rules:

Minor offenses: These offenses will result in either an infraction or mod neg. Severe offenses will lead to bans

1.) Show respect to all members- Racist, sexist, bigoted slurs, overly offensive or aggressive comments or derogatory comments are not allowed through, pictures, posts, or PM’s. Do not send users sexually explicit PM’s or request pics that are sexually explicit through PM. If you come here with the intent of starting fights on these boards, you will be removed.

2.) Do not abuse the rep system- The rep system is here to recognize quality posters or punish less than reputable posters. Rep trade threads, neg trains and any other abuse of the rep system will not allowed and will result in a ban.

3.) Do not participate in anything against the rules or quote posts against the rules- Do not involve yourself in any form of discussion that violates forum rules. This includes any threads or quoting any post that violates rules. If you participate in neg trains, raids, PM request threads, rep trading threads you will be considered in violation of the rules as much as the user who posted the thread or the offending content. Same goes with quoting posts. If a user posts content that violates forum rules, and you quote it, you can be given the same punishment as the user who posted the content as you have just made that content part of your post. If you would like to quote someone even though there post violates forum rules, please remove offending content from the quote prior to posting it.

4.) Report abuse of the rules using the appropriate methods; do not abuse this system- If you see a post or content that violates forum rules, please report it using the report abuse functions on the post itself or in Bodyspace or contact a moderator. ONLY report posts that violate rules, abuse of the report system and multiple reports of abuse from the same user for no reason can lead to a ban for the user issuing the report. This system is there to help users and moderators. If abused it helps nobody.

5.) Do not place “banned” under your user title- If you do expect to be banned

6.) Keep forum usernames appropriate- Your forum username cannot be something offensive or gross. If your username is not appropriate (sexually explicit, racist, sexist, bigoted,offensive) your account will be banned until it is changed. If you are unsure if your username will be deemed appropriate, please contact a moderator or forum admin.

7.) Signatures- Keep signatures around 10-12 lines. See Rule 10 for advertising restrictions. You may not post direct links in your signature to any website for the reasons listed in Rule 9.

8.) Do not post “spoilers” unless clearly marked in thread title- Threads and posts that do not adhere to this will be removed and the user who posted the content may be banned depending on the content. If you are unsure about something please contact a moderator and discuss it before posting it.

9.) No direct linking to outside sites that violate forum rules- Do not post links to any outside website that contains content that violates posted forum rules. Embedded pictures and Youtube videos are allowed.
9a.) You cannot promote or advertise for direct competitors of bodybuilding.com. Links, links in images, and other similar marketing is not permitted.

Major offenses: These offenses will get you banned every time

10.) No porn- Do not post pornographic, or disgusting images, video, links to sites, edited or not. If the content starts as porn either real or drawn, and you edit it to block out certain parts or content, it is still considered porn and will be removed and the user banned. Before you post something think, “Might someone else consider this pornographic or offensive, vile, disgusting?” If yes, then don’t post it!

11.) Spam and advertising on the forums through either posting or PM is not allowed- This includes posting threads about charity organizations (without Forum Admin approval) or sending out mass PM’s. If you have a charity you would like to get people involved in please contact ForumAdmin and it can be discussed. If you are here to sell something, don’t bother. Use craigslist or e-bay, not these forums.

12.) There is no discussion of illegal or banned substances allowed, period!- This includes but is not limited to, steroids, FDA banned substances, pro hormones of any kind (purchased legally over the counter or not), illegal drugs (United States laws apply), or prescription drugs. If it isn’t a product currently sold on Bodybuilding.com take caution in discussing it. If you would like to discuss a product and are unsure if discussion of it will lead to a ban, please contact a moderator or Forum Admin for clarification.

13.) Raids of any kind will not be permitted- This includes but is not limited to other forums, facebook or any social networking site, other websites, chat rooms, and webcam rooms or other sections of these forums.


Severe offenses: Violation of these rules will get you an extensive ban or permanent removal from the forums depending on the severity of the offense

14.) Death threats or threats of violence are not allowed- We will treat every death threat seriously. If you direct a threat to anyone for any reason in any way, you will be banned. This includes advocating a member’s suicide or death in any way.

15.) Attempts to sell or distribute illegal substances- If you use the forums in an attempt to sell or distribute any illegal content or substances you will be removed from the forums.

16.) Moderator decisions are final and not open to public discussions- If you wish to dispute a ban please contact the moderator who issued the ban via PM or email. Bans will rarely be overturned. Mod flaming threads will not be tolerated and will result in a ban. There is no public discussion about moderator decisions.

17.) No gore- Do not post gore, or disgusting images, video, links to sites, edited or not. If the content starts gore either real or drawn, and you edit it to block out certain parts or content, it is still considered gore and will be removed and the user banned.


Zero Tolerance: Violation of these rules will result in permanent removal from the forums.

18.) Do not post personal info for ANY reason- It doesn’t matter if it’s real or fake info, Bodybuilding.com takes its members security very seriously. Any personal information of any kind will not be tolerated. This includes but is not limited to phone numbers, full names, addresses, IP addresses. If it’s info that you personally wouldn’t want posted on the internet, then you shouldn’t post that info about someone else.

19.) Multiple accounts are not permitted- Each person is allowed 1 active account. If you get banned for violating the rules, you are no longer allowed to have an account until the ban is lifted or have any access to content on that account. If you create multiple accounts to troll or avoid bans, you will be removed from the site.

20.) Copy written material is not allowed- If you have any information that is copy written and you do not have permission to post the content, you will be removed from the forums for posting it.

21.) Excessive spam profiles- Accounts created solely for the purpose of spamming the forums will be removed from the site.

[JustiNtense]

F.A.Q

How do I dispute a ban or file a complaint against a moderator?
-Ban disputes can be done either through the moderator who issued the ban or through forum_admin@bodybuilding.com. Due to the large number of ban disputes we get daily, please follow the following steps prior to disputing ban and keep all disputes professional and courteous.
Step 1: Read the forum rules, if you do not think you posted content that violated forum rules proceed to step 2
Step 2: Contact the moderator who issued the ban through the email address that will provided in your ban message. If the moderator will not lift the ban and you still feel that you have not violated forum rules proceed to step 3
Step 3: Contact forum admin at forum_admin@bodybuilding.com. Please provide a reason you do not feel the ban is warranted.

Each ban reason should include a moderator email address to contact the moderator for dispute. All complaints against moderators need to be sent to forum_admin@bodybuilding.com. It is rare that a ban will be overturned.


How do I close my account?
-If you would like to have your account deactivated please contact customer service at 1-866-236-8417 or through email at service@bodybuilding.com. Once we have verified information on the account we can get the account deactivated.


How do I get posts or threads removed?
-This is a very difficult and time consuming activity. As we attempt to keep all posts on the forums if possible. We will only do mass removals if there is a specific reason to warrant it. So take caution in what you post as it may be up for a long time. If you have a specific reason to remove content please contact a moderator or Forum Admin to discuss removal.


What do I do if a member is harassing me?
-If you are being overly harassed by another member of the forums please contact a moderator to discuss the issue or simply report the member for abuse. You can also add that person to your ignore list through your user CP under “edit ignore list”.


How do I contact a moderator?
-A current list of moderators and contact information can be found at http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showgroups.php.


How are moderators selected?
-Moderators are recommended by current moderators and then a vote is held by the moderators to determine if the candidate is acceptable. If approved by the moderators the candidate is reviewed by Forum Admin who will make the final determination on the quality of the candidate. If you feel that you would make a good moderator please contact any moderator for details and provide information as to why you would make a good mod. At this time we cannot accept any moderators under the age of 21 and your post history and ban history will be reviewed prior to moderation.

[BOZZ]

Supplement Company Rep Rules
The following rules are specific to Company Representatives. As with any member of the forum, Company Representatives are also to adhere to the General Rules of the forums.



§ 101. Company Representatives
a) Definition.- A Company Representative is defined as a registered member of BB.com who posts in furtherance and/or behalf of a Supplement Company, who receives consideration by way of payment (whether wages and/or product) by said company regardless of that company being partnered with Bodybuilding.com or not. Only companies partnered with Bodybuilding.com will be allowed to market or advertise on behalf of their respective company.

(b) Company Representatives include but are not limited to; Owners, Product formulators, researchers, sales, Sponsored athletes, employees and compensated general members posting on behalf and in furtherance of a Supplement company.


§ 102. Company Representative Identification
(a) A Company Representative (as defined in section 101(a)) must list the company and position( as defined in section 101(b) ) in which they represent in their signature. The company name and position must be clear and leave no ambiguity as to which company is being represented by the BB.com member.

(b) Company Representative’s shall inform (by post, pm, email or other media) a moderator and shall be listed in The Official Company Directory which is located in the Company Promotion sub-forum of the general Supplements Forum: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=149789073



§ 201. Discussion of Competing Supplement Companies, Products, Representatives, etc.
(a) In general. - A Company Representative may not post negatively about a competing company. For purposes of this paragraph this includes but is not limited to:-

(1) Products

(2) Company Representatives

(3) Actions or instances taken by Company Representatives which occur in other venues not associated with BB.com

(4) Research, testing, published writings, gossip, etc.

(b) Limitation on discussion of particular ingredients, compounds, etc. -

(1) In General. – Paragraph (a) shall not apply to general discussion of specific ingredients for purposes of education by Company Representatives, however

(2) Specific formulas sold by competing companies may not be negatively discussed.

(c) Company Promotional Threads.- For purposes of this paragraph a Company Representative may not post in a competing company’s thread with intent to criticize, derail, discredit or draw attention away from the competing company’s products. Attempts to draw attention away from the competing company’s products include recommending one’s own product in place of another’s.



§ 202. Discussion of Companies directly competing with BB.com
(a) General Rule.- Company Representatives may not discuss (positively or negatively) companies which compete directly with BB.com. Discussion includes but is not limited to

(1) Specifically naming a competing company

(2) Posting direct links to a competing company’s website

(3) Using slang or cryptic terminology to refer to a competing company.

(4) Posting specific sales, promotions or other events in reference to a competing company.

(5) Posting information or links to a 3rd party which contain information to a competing company.

(b) Application

Paragraph (a) shall apply to

(i) Posts/threads started in the forum

(ii) Personal Messages (PM)

(iii) Information listed in a Company Representative’s signature, location, or Bodyspace Profile.



§ 301. Usage of the Reputation System
(a) General Rule.- No Company Representative shall be allowed to give negative reputation to any other member of the forum regardless of whether said member is affiliated or not.

(b) Special Instances. – For purposes of subsection (a), Company Representatives shall not be allowed to entice or persuade non- affiliated members to give negative reputation to another user. Company Representatives shall not encourage “neg trains,” “neg rep groups,” or other instances attempting to bypass subsection (a) of section 303.




§ 401. Company Promotion
(a) General Rule.- Company Representatives shall post material in relation to the promotion of their company in the Company Promotion sub- section.

(b) Material for promotional purposes refers to:-

(i) Information relating to new product releases

(ii) Contests, promotions, giveaways offering product or services

(iii) Information related to research

(iv) Discounts, special offers, donations



§ 501. Supplement Science Sub-section
(a) General Rule.- Company Representatives may not post material in furtherance or in promotion of their own or a competing product within the Supplement Science Section.

(b)Exception.- Subsection (a) shall not apply to posts/ threads made by Company Representatives in the Supplement Science sub-section if-

(1) such posts/threads are for general informational/educational purposes, or

(2) such posts/threads are in response to general inquiries for informational/educational purposes.



§ 601. Disciplinary Procedures taken against Company Representatives
(a) In general.- This section outlines general procedures taken against Company Representatives who violate these rules.

(b) The form or specific action taken in response to a Company Representative as listed in subsection (c), (d) and (e) of this section is within the responding moderator’s discretion to a certain degree. Factors may be weighed by the responding moderator including but not limited to,

(i) Severity of the offense

(ii) Past behaviors, history of the Company Representative in violation.

(c) Infractions. – Infractions shall be given as the first disciplinary act in response to a violation of the following sections,

(i) 102(a)

(ii) 201(a), (c)

(iii) 202(a)


===========================


Repeated violations of the above listed sub-sections will result in a more severe disciplinary action being taken against the offending Company Representative.

(d) Adjustments made to reputation. – A negative adjustment to a Company Representative’s reputation may be taken in response to a violation or abuse of section 301(a), (b).

(e) Temporary bans. – Temporary bans shall be given to Company Representatives who are found to be in abuse of the Company Representative rules. The length of the ban shall be within the discretion of the moderator to a certain degree, taking action under subsection (b) of this section.

(f) Permanent bans.- A Permanent ban shall be given to a Company Representative found to be in such abuse of the Company Representative Rules that presence of the offending Company Representative is no longer welcome on the BB.com forums. A permanent ban shall be considered after a Company Representative has received multiple past bans


**PLEASE NOT CHANGES TO THE "DEFINITION" SECTION

[ForumAdmin]

Effective 3-12-13

Company reps are not allowed to post product reviews on the store section of the site for any product currently offered through Bodybuilding.com.