Last revised: 16 September 2010 11:00

By participating here at the West Fork Band Community‚ you agree to and are bound by the following rules. Breaking any of these rules will result in a swift reaction of some sort from the staff and may result in the loss of your membership privileges. We do not always (nor should anyone expect us to) give warnings‚ as you are all already well aware of the rules in the first place. We are here to provide an educational as well as entertaining environment, so adhering to these rules will help us do so. Remember‚ it is your responsibility to know and adhere to these rules! These rules‚ and our strict enforcing of them‚ are a part of what will make Westforkband.org the primary source of information and communication for its students and their parents.

West Fork Band Community Mission

To provide a venue for discussion‚ information exchange‚ technical advice‚ etc.‚ related to the West Fork Band and music in general, in a casual and fun atmosphere that fosters friendships among its membership.

Community Core Values

The cornerstone value of our community is mutual respect between members. We pride ourselves in having a mature‚ civil‚ yet fun atmosphere where members are able to debate their differing opinions without resorting to flame wars. Our community enthusiastically welcomes new members‚ and we are always eager to offer helpful advice to both the novice and seasoned veteran alike.

Membership Expectations

As a member of the West Fork Band community‚ the staff expects you to abide by the rules‚ guidelines‚ and community values set forth on this page. We also expect you to practice common netiquette while participating in a discussion in consideration to the other community members. We have borrowed many of the below statements from the Netiquette Home Page (an excellent online resource) and have specifically tailored them to suit the West Fork Band community. The West Fork Band Staff expects you to review these rules and guidelines periodically‚ as we occasionally enhance them.

Let us Get This Part Over With

You consent‚ through your use of this service‚ that you will not use the West Fork Band Community to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory‚ inaccurate‚ abusive‚ vulgar‚ hateful‚ harassing‚ obscene‚ profane‚ sexually oriented‚ threatening‚ invasive of a person's privacy‚ or otherwise in violation of any law.

You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless either you or the West Fork Band owns the copyright‚ or you have‚ and are able to present‚ express written consent of the copyright holder. When posting copyrighted material under these conditions (or any other material that is not your own), you must always give credit to the source(s) of your information. 

Members may not attempt to post censored words by adding spaces‚ dots‚ substituting characters‚ or by any other means in an attempt to defeat any censors put in place by the West Fork Band.

If the West Fork Band finds you in violation of any of the aforementioned offenses‚ the staff may ban you at their own discretion for however long or short of a period as they so wish.

Do not release your home address‚ pictures‚ phone numbers‚ employers‚ or any other personal information with anyone unless you are certain you want that information out there in cyberspace. Be vigilant by knowing with whom you are communicating‚ what they will be using that information for‚ and why they are asking you for it. Be smart; be safe. While a large amount of security is in place to keep you safe, the best form of security is your ability to keep a secret.

If‚ for any reason‚ you receive communications from any member in which the content is uncomfortable for you‚ notify one of the West Fork Band staff members immediately with the details of the conversation‚ and we will deal with the situation as best we can.

Location‚ Location‚ Location

Post messages to the appropriate forums. It may seem obvious‚ but do not post stories about your weekend in the help section.

Keep on—topic for the thread in question. The West Fork Band Staff will provide guidance and re—direction when topics venture too far into the gray area between on—topic and off—topic. Our purpose is to keep the community flowing in the right direction (as defined by the West Fork Band Community Mission Statement)‚ not to attack anyone's positions or thoughts.

How To Get Banned

When someone writes something that makes you mad (and someone will)‚ resist the impulse to flame. One angry response can beget a long and nasty flame war. Phrase your postings politely‚ and without resorting to cursing. If you want to express a strong opinion‚ cute euphemisms and made-up expletives are usually acceptable‚ just as long as you still keep things civil. Be careful about posting late at night or any time you are tired‚ sick‚ or having a terrible day. Your judgment may not be at its best. When in doubt‚ hold off until you feel better.

Do not Claim The West Fork Band is the Largest Ensemble in the State

Make sure your postings are correct. This is particularly important with information about serious topics. Information — whether true or false — spreads rapidly through cyberspace. You would not want to be responsible for making people misinformed.

Do not assume that posted information is correct‚ and do not spread it around if you have any questions at all about it.

We Are a School Band, So Write Like It

Avoid posting using all caps. IT LOOKS LIKE AND WILL BE INTERPRETED AS YOU ARE SHOUTING! Also‚ post using proper English spelling‚ grammar‚ and punctuation. It makes posts a lot easier to comprehend‚ and it represents you to the world. English shortcuts (neways‚ 2 instead of too‚ etc.) and slang in every other word may work for instant messaging‚ but it has no place here.

Try not to post comments that do not add anything to the discussion. When you are just cruising through a thread in a leisurely manner‚ it is not too annoying to read many I agree posts. However‚ if you are actually trying to find information‚ it is a nuisance. Therefore‚ save those curt responses for the "Off—Topic" forum.

We have an edit feature. You may edit a post you created for up to 12 hours after you submit it. Do not post another reply within this period just to say you messed something up or that you wanted to add something. We call this no—no "double—posting." Utilize the edit feature instead. Also‚ do not reply to your own posts. If you have two or more back—to—back posts in a thread that you posted within a twelve-hour period‚ expect a Moderator to swoop in and shake his finger at you.

Use descriptive and specific subject lines. This helps others decide whether your particular words of wisdom relate to a topic about which they care. If you are just too busy to use a descriptive subject‚ then we're just too busy to read or respond to your thread.

If a moderator reviews your submission (we are notified as soon as you hit the button) only to find that you have made grammatical or spelling errors, we will require you to edit it in order to fix the mistakes.  We may also delete your post if we feel that it will be embarrassing to you or anyone else.  You will be notified and allowed to resubmit a corrected post.

Don't Feed the Bots

While we protect your email address that is listed in your profile‚ (it only appears to visitors that are logged-in) we cannot guarantee the privacy of anything you post in a publicly accessible thread‚ and thus you should never post your email address to one. Spammers have gotten quite cunning in obtaining addresses from the Internet. Unless it is in a Private Message‚ (which are secure and only you‚ the recipient‚ and board administrators can read) anyone and anything can harvest that address for nefarious reasons. This is just a suggestion however‚ and not an absolute rule. Nevertheless‚ do not come crying to us if your inbox fills up faster than the space around a Blue Devil's drumline warm—up.

Don't Suffer the Wrath

If you fail to follow any or all of the above rules‚ the West Fork Band Staff reserves the right to delete‚ close‚ and/or move such posts or threads with or without warning and with or without explanation.

Moderation

The West Fork Band site is a moderated community. However‚ considering the real-time nature of this website‚ it is impossible for us to immediately review messages or confirm the validity of information posted. The West Fork Band does not vouch for or warrant the accuracy‚ completeness or usefulness of any message‚ and is not responsible for the contents of any message except those posted by a staff member. The messages express the views of the author of the message‚ not necessarily the views of the West Fork Band‚ or any entity associated withthe West Fork Band. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact a member of the West Fork Band Staff immediately by Private Message or by using the "Report to Moderator" feature at the bottom right of each post. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so within a reasonable period‚ if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process however‚ so please realize that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately.

Any data, with the exception of most sheet music and musical recordings, passed to the West Fork Band Server becomes property of the West Fork Band. The West Fork Band may do with this data as they please, including removing it from the Web Servers or keeping it there indefinitely. All aforementioned data may also be viewed by The West Fork Band Administration at any time for reasons including (but not limited to) investigating complaints from fellow members, suspicious account activity, or criminal investigations.

Although the West Fork Band Staff dos not and cannot immediately review the messages posted and is not responsible for the content of any of these messages‚ we do reserve the right to delete any message or lock any thread for any or no reason whatsoever. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages‚ and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the West Fork Band‚ its staff‚ with respect to any claim based upon transmission of any message on this website.

Keep in mind that the moderators are here to help.  If you feel that a moderator is treating you unfairly‚ take up the matter with either another moderator or an administrator. Bad—mouthing a staff member is a one—way ticket to Bantown‚ population: you.

Also‚ remember that moderators are moderators‚ and members are members. Even though you may feel compelled to step in‚ and we do appreciate that you are only trying to help‚ please leave the moderating up to the moderators. Otherwise‚ some may feel you are being bossy or butting into their business. While not all situations may end up this way‚ the possibility is there‚ and we would like to avoid it. We provide the "Report to Moderator" feature precisely for this reason, so feel free to take advantage of it.

We'll Tell!

The West Fork Band staff reserves the right to reveal your identity (or whatever information we know about you) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any message posted by you.

Signatures

You may set up a signature string within your user profile. The signature string will appear at the end of your posts. As a courtesy to other users (proper netiquette)‚ we ask that you limit the size of your signature string to no more than six lines. This should be more than enough space. The West Fork Band reserves the right to modify your signature‚ with or without warning‚ for any reason at any time if we feel you have not adhered to these rules and guidelines.

Membership is a Privilege

Finally‚ remember that participation on this website is a privilege‚ not a right. The West Fork Band reserves the right to revoke that privilege for any user it deems has violated the website rules and guidelines at any time‚ without warning.