Terms of use for the UK Tree Care mailing list
When you use the UK Tree Care mailing you are agreeing to be bound by the following terms of use:
1. Introduction
The UK Tree Care mailing list (UKTC) is administered by and the system on which it runs is owned by Chris Hastie (the administrator). Membership and use of the UKTC indicates your acceptance of an agreement between yourself and the administrator to be bound by theseTerms. If you do not accept these terms you should unsubscribe from theUKTC by sending mailto:uktc-unsubscribe@lists.tree-care.info
2. Acceptable Conduct
2.1 Purpose
The UKTC is a forum for discussion on all aspects of trees and their care and maintenance. The list is open to both professionals involved in tree care and interested amateurs. It is not restricted to people in the UK, but it is hoped that the emphasis within the group will be towards topics of direct relevance to tree care in the UK. The aim of the forum is to promote a better understanding of arboriculture through active debate and the exchange of information. Whilst some light heartedness helps make a readable list please keep your messages to theUKTC reasonably on topic whilst at all times maintaining courtesy and respect to all who may read the mailing list.
2.2 Responsibility for posts
You are responsible for the content of all messages that you post to the list. The administrator accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the content of any message except those posted by himself.
2.3 Courtesy
Please be polite in the UKTC and respect others points of view and differing levels of knowledge. The intention of the list is the dissemination of tree related knowledge for the mutual benefit of members. It should provide for informed debate and not be a forum for bickering.
2.4 Language
The UKTC archive is made available to the public and reflects upon the public image of arboriculture as a profession. It is also delivered to the inbox of many family computers. The use of foul or profane language or personal insults in messages is not acceptable.
2.5 Commercial promotion
The UKTC should not be used for commercial promotion. Whilst announcing educational events run by charitable or non-profit organisations is permitted no other advertising of products or services is acceptable except as detailed in section 5.
2.6 HTML formatted messages
The use of HTML formatted messages is strongly discouraged. HTMLmessages take up considerably more resources in terms of both bandwidthand disk storage space. Furthermore, the UKTC has members who use email software that does not understand HTML or who are on corporate systems that do not accept HTML because of its vulnerability to viruses.
2.7 Replying
When replying to messages you should quote only enough of the original message to place your reply in context. Quoting the whole of the original message makes unnecessary use of bandwidth (yours, the system's and that of every one on the list) and storage space. It makes messages tedious to scroll through and read. In a long thread where each correspondent quotes the whole of the previous message messages can become ridiculously long whilst contributing very little new information.
3. Viruses
3.1 Responsibility for virus checking
You are responsible for ensuring that your computer is adequately protected against viruses. The administrator does not guarantee to check messages sent through the UKTC for viruses and accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss or damage caused by a virus transmitted through the UKTC.
3.2 Posting virus warnings
It is acceptable to post genuine reports of viruses to the UKTC. Please do not forward hoax virus reports to the UKTC. There are adequate resources on the World Wide Web for you to establish whether or not a virus report is a hoax. Please make sure you use them before posting any report to the UKTC.
4. Archive
Any message that you send to the UKTC may be archived and the archive may be made available to the public via the World Wide Web, Internet News (Usenet) or other means. In posting a message to the UKTC you will be deemed to have agreed to copies of that message being stored and made available to the public. Users of corporate systems that attach confidentiality disclaimers should particularly note that messages sent to the UKTC will NOT remain confidential.
5. Privacy and Advertising
5.1 Privacy of your personal data
The administrator undertakes not to sell or reveal your name or email address to any third party unless required to do so by law. You should understand, however, that if you post a message to the UKTC your name and email address will be contained within that message, which will be passed to all other members and made available in any public archive.The list's privacy policy is described in more detail in the list's Privacy Statement, available on the list's web site. Continued membership of the UKTC will be deemed to indicate your agreement to that privacy statement.
5.2 Sponsor's messages
The UKTC is provided without charge to members, but not without cost to the administrator. In order to cover these costs a brief message from sponsors, of up to seven lines, may be added to messages sent through the list.
5.3 Dedicated advertising messages
Additionally we may from time to time allow sponsors to send whole messages through the list. This will be limited to no more than one message per week. Messages that are wholly from sponsors will be clearly identifiable as being from uktc-sponsor@lists.tree-care.info.
6 Breach of Terms
The UKTC can be likened to a restaurant or cafe-bar. It is not aparticularly posh place - no 'black tie' requirement, you may wear jeans if you wish, even keep your chainsaw boots on, but a certain standard of behaviour is expected. It is expected because the proprietors want ALL their guests to feel comfortable when they are there, and they want the place to look attractive to other potential guests walking by. If a guest becomes leery and offensive they are asked to leave. Similarly if users of the UKTC behave in a way that may offend other members or potential members, reflect badly on arboriculture or otherwise breach these terms, the administrator reserves the right to take the following actions:
- MODERATION.
In the first instance the user will be placed on the moderation list. Any message posted by the user will have to be approved by at least one of three moderators before being transmitted to the other members. The need for only one moderator to approve a message equates to requiring a unanimous decision in order to censor. - SUSPENSION or BARRING
Users who persistently breach these terms may, at the administrator's discretion, have their account suspended or barred.
14/10/2002