Use of our site constitutes acceptance and agreement to our Code of Conduct and user Agreement. If you violate the Code of Conduct or User Agreement, we reserve the right to terminate all accounts belonging to you without prior notice. We prefer to advise users of inappropriate behavior, however, flagrant and repeated violations of our CoC will result in an immediate ban. Our failure to enforce this policy, for whatever reason, shall not be construed as a waiver of our right to do so at any time.

We created the Code of Conduct to provide a basic understanding of what's allowed and not allowed in our site. The followingare the principle guidelines for the establishment and enforcement of our CoC:

• Ensure a friendly atmosphere to our visitors and forum members
• Ensure the privacy of our members and that of others
• Comply with existing laws
• Encourage responsible use of our site and discourage activities which disrupt our community and reduce the value of our services to our visitors
• Encourage the freedom of expression and exchange of information in a mature and responsible manner

While we are committed to the principles of free speech, certain activities may be damaging to the resources of both Healthocrates and our communities and cannot be permitted under the guise of free speech. The resources of Healthocrates are limited, and abuse of these resources by one user has a negative impact on the entire community.
As a member of our vast community, you must participate responsibly. If you have any questions regarding our CoC, please contact any of our moderators via email.

It is extremely important for you to understand that this section of our Code of Conduct isn’t designed to cover everything. We may take action — issue a warning, ban your account(s), lower your member rating, delete/edit your post(s)/thread(s), etc. — if your conduct at Healthocrates is counterproductive to the Code of Conduct’s principle guidelines.

The following actions are strictly prohibited:

• Accessing, or attempting to access, the accounts of other users
• Exploiting, or attempting to exploit, bugs, vulnerabilities, or loopholes; whether they are disclosed or undisclosed
• Penetrating, or attempting to penetrate, security measures of Healthocrates software or hardware, or electronic communications system

All intrusions will subject your account to immediate termination, regardless of whether or not the intrusion results in the corruption, loss, or theft of data.
Users are responsible for the security of their Healthocrates accounts. Users may not share their passwords or transfer – via any means – their accounts to others without the express permission of the Healthocrates Administration. In addition, users are responsible for all activity made by him/her or anyone the user allows to use his/her account.

Usernames
Usernames must not be in violation of this Code of Conduct. We reserve the right to terminate accounts whose associated usernames are in violation of this Code of Conduct, or are otherwise deemed inappropriate and/or potentially offensive. Users may be invited to register under a new name at our discretion.

Personal Attacks
Comments/personal attacks towards anyone - staff, other members, or a visitor who is likely to view it on the forums - is subject to the message being deleted and action taken against the user, regardless of how pertinent or thoughtful the rest of the message might be.

We have a zero tolerance policy for spam. Spam includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Excessive off-topic threads
• Posting nonsensical messages
• “Flooding” the forum with similar meaning messages
• Post-Count farming
• Inciting a forum war or riot
• Blatant advertising
• Messages without content
• Fraudulent activity (Pyramid schemes, chain letters, etc.)
• Free-____ links (i.e. Free iPods, Free PSP, etc. etc.)

Forgery or impersonation
Attempting to impersonate any person, including staff, using forged headers, instant messenger names, similar usernames(i.e. “GiIIB”, “Gi11B”, “Angel GillB”) in an effort to deceive or mislead is prohibited.

Profanities
You may not use profanity or bypass the software-based censor. In addition to words included in the censor list, sexual remarks and slang may be considered profane when used in certain contexts.
A word about what is considered to be bypassing the software-based censor: Anything done to avoid the default profanity filter is considered to be a bypass of the censor. For example, if the word “angle” was in the censor (it is not), then all of the following are considered a bypass of the censor and thus in violation of the CoC:

• A****
• ang1e, angl3
• anglë, añgle
• a n g l e
• [i]A[/i][i]n[/i]gle
• a ngle
•  (links to image containing the word “angle” used in a demeaning context)

The list of words automatically censored by our filter is available upon request.

Harassment
You may not use terms or audio/visual materials referring to ethnic/national origin, ideological/religious beliefs, gender, or sexual preference in a demeaning context.
We have no tolerance for discrimination. You are in violation of this rule if the nature of your post discriminates, promotes hate, promotes violence or advocates hatred or discrimination against individuals, groups, races, cultures or organizations because of their ethnic/national origin, skin color or culture.

If you use any terms in an offensive context against a person, race, culture, group or organization, as determined by our moderators, you are in violation of this rule.
Please note that words carry different meanings in different cultures, and that while a word may be acceptable use in one part of the world, it may not be in another. In addition, any one can invent their own derogatory terms, unfortunately. Because of those factors, we will evaluate the context in which the term was used to determine whether a violation has occurred.

You may not post or link to pornography or sexually offensive materials. If you are unsure whether what you wish to post may be in violation of this rule, please consult a moderator first before posting.

Offensive Images / Shock Sites
You may not post or link to shock sites, or any such excessively obscene material. If you are unsure whether what you wish to post may be in violation of this rule, please consult a moderator first before posting. Blatant violations of this rule will result in a permanent ban on your account.

You may not use our site for illegal purposes, in support of illegal activities, or encourage conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, as determined by the laws of the United States of America. Such activities will guarantee a ban. We reserve the right to cooperate with legal authorities and/or injured third parties in the investigation of any suspected crime or civil wrongdoing.

We will delete posts containing materials in breach of active Non-Disclosure Agreements. We reserve the right to cooperate with the companies in the investigation of any NDA breach.

Privacy

• You may not post any form of real life information of a user unless the user has first permitted it by express consent. Examples of real life information include name, address, IP addresses, and phone numbers.
• You may not distribute any form of real life information, email address, private/email Messages, and Instant Messenger messages (“Chatlogs”) with intent to harass or in any demeaning manner as determined by a moderator, regardless of consent.
• You may not disclose a user's unpublicized email address unless the user has first permitted it, either by actual consent or previously releasing said information.
• You may not post any form of real life information if you are 13 or under.

English is the official language of our site because it is the common language between our moderators and users. Because we can not moderate conversations in a foreign language, you may not hold a conversation in any other language than English.

Email Addresses

• You may not harvest email addresses from our site for any purpose
• You are required to keep your account's email address up-to-date. If a warning sent to the email address on record bounces, your account will be banned and you will have to contact our staff at admin@healthocrates.com to have your account unbanned

Moderation & Bans

• You may not evade a ban. Doing so will drastically lengthen your ban. If you believe your actions were not in violation of this Code of Conduct, you can appeal your ban by contacting admin@healthocrates.com.
• You may not publicly complain about or demand a reason for another user's ban, the deletion of a message, or the deletion/closure of a thread. Any discussion about warnings, bans, message deletion, thread deletion and thread closure should be done over private email between the person concerned and the moderators
• You may not post a message on behalf of a banned member.

Miscellaneous

• Do not post negative posts and discussions that are repeated over and over and over with no other purpose than to disrupt conversation. If you feel the need to say something, say it once and then move on. Do not disrupt multiple threads in order to get your view out.
• You may not bait/troll users. Bait / Trolling is defined as posting with a clear intent to provoke anger, incendiary posts, and behavior that results in other users violating the CoC.
• You may not bait, insult, flame, or otherwise abuse a staff member. Staff members have to follow the same rules, and should you have a problem with a certain staff member, please contact a moderator or the Management Team.
• You may not post graphically-disturbing images as inline images (such that the images are displayed when users view your post). However, you can link to the images with a warning stating that the images are graphically disturbing
• You may not post in a manner that is harmful to Healthocrates. For example, “Your site is dumb. Go here!” or posting confidential Healthocrates documents. If you do, the post will be deleted and you will be banned.
• You may not register multiple accounts with intent to violate any part of this CoC.
• You may not link to the member logout page, disguised or not.

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