Equis International Online Community

Equis International Online Community Rules

The Equis International Online Community, hereinafter known as the “EIOC”, is open to the public, but subject to control of the appointed Administrator(s) and Moderator(s). Posts are not scanned before they are made available for viewing, nor do we later scan every posted message to determine whether it should remain available for viewing.

However, EIOC reserves the right to allow any Administrator or Moderator to edit, move, or delete any post without warning, at their discretion. These decisions reflect the Administrator’s or Moderator’s view that such posts are inconsistent with the overall goals and purposes of the EIOC, and is not a determination that such posts are obscene, libelous or otherwise in violation of the law.

One of the primary purposes of the EIOC is to promote the free exchange of ideas. It is not meant to be oppressed with censorship. However, while we do not and cannot police every post, we will delete posts coming to our attention that we believe violate our rules. In addition, automated measures are in place to delete posts determined to be offensive based on content review.

Occasionally, members and/or guests complain about the content and/or management of a particular post and make various threats because he or she is offended. Equis International assumes no legal responsibility for the content of any posted message. However, if you violate someone's copyright or trademark, or defame someone, you can be held legally liable. In these cases, Equis International will cooperate with any valid subpoena or other legal process in order to establish the identity of the offending EIOC member(s) and the content of their posts. The IP address of origin is recorded each time a post or content is submitted to EIOC.

EIOC Terms of Use

The following rules are subject to change without notice. The most current version of this document is always available on the EIOC to registered members.

Equis International does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the content available on the EIOC and therefore assumes no legal responsibility for any errors in content or personal loss suffered as a result of using any available content.

The EIOC intends to provide a warm, friendly atmosphere for the Equis International community. In order to maintain a sense of community, all members should read and follow the conditions outlined below. By participating in the EIOC, members are affirming their willingness to comply with these terms.

General Rules

• When you create your account, you may call yourself anything you like. Monikers are allowed. You don't have to use your real name. However, multiple names (accounts) are not allowed. You cannot post using another member’s account. Our readership likes to know who is giving advice. Using the same name over time builds your credibility and allows other EIOC members to better evaluate the relative merits of your contributions within the context of the EIOC.

• You must have an active account to actively participate in the EIOC. Guests may view selected areas, but are prohibited from downloading files and other attachments.

• Please SEARCH thoroughly before posting a question, because it is possible that the help you are looking for has already provided. In addition to the EIOC discussion groups, there are FAQ’s and various training materials available for reference.

• Please stay on topic and respect the headings of each forum and thread topic. Questions outside the scope of the topic may be moved, locked or deleted without notice.

• Redundant threads will be deleted. Before beginning a new thread, please look to see if an active thread on that topic has already been established. If so, join the existing thread. Multiple threads on the same subject clutter up the discussion groups needlessly and many good ideas may be lost.

• Please pick the single most appropriate area for your message. If you are unsure, post it in the General Help area and an EIOC Moderator will move it for you. All duplicate posts will be deleted without notice.

• Select a title for your post that describes the nature of your question. It is inappropriate to use “HELP NEEDED ASAP”. Don’t use all caps or special characters to draw attention.

• Ask your questions in the appropriate discussion groups. Administrators and Moderators get a large number of messages containing questions and do not have time to answer them all. Private messages should only be used for issues that cannot be discussed in a public forum. Failure to comply will result in your private message being ignored or deleted.

• Don’t post just to increase your post count. CAUTION: A member’s post count has no relationship whatsoever to the amount of investing or trading experience that the member may have.

• Do not ask “What is the best way to…” questions, because they cannot be objectively answered.

• Please be patient for a response. Nobody works for the EIOC full time.

• Do not post personal information. This includes server logins, passwords, CD keys, Equis account numbers, etc.

• Avoid flaming- this is a friendly forum. If you have a problem with someone’s point of view, please ignore it.

• Use a short signature, if desired. One URL link is permissible; however, graphics are not permitted in the signature line unless approved by the Forum Administrator.

• Don’t send private advertisements or solicit services via email or PM to EIOC members.

• Limit the size of uploaded charts and pictures to 1280x1024 pixels. Otherwise, your upload is subject to deletion without prior notice.

Rules of Conduct

All posts must be relevant to Equis International

Except for messages posted in the ‘Advertisements’ forum, posts about other financial services and products that are not related to Equis International are not permitted.

No copyrighted or trademarked material allowed

You cannot post copyrighted or registered content without permission from the author or owner. The content of any post is solely the responsibility of the submitting member, even if that member is an EIOC Administrator or Moderator. Equis International makes no claim of authorship or copyright ownership with respect to any available content, unless clearly and explicitly stated other. However, by submitting content to the EIOC, and regardless of claims to copyright ownership, the submitting member expressly licenses Equis International and any person visiting the EIOC to use the submitted content. The submitting member agrees to indemnify Equis International of responsibility for any breach of copyright and accepts sole responsibility for any legal action or claims arising from content submitted to the EIOC.

In other words, if you have written the Holy Grail of technical analysis and decide to share it with other EIOC members, by doing so, you agree to let Equis International maintain the content on the EIOC and allow EIOC members to reference and/or copy such submissions.

No spamming or trolling allowed

Spam is broadly considered to be repetitive posting of the same text again and again or nonsensical posts that have no substance. Trolling is the act of trying to start arguments and upset people. Trolls feel no sorrow whatsoever for the pain they inflict and are utterly impervious to criticism (constructive or otherwise). You cannot negotiate with them; you cannot cause them to feel shame or compassion; you cannot reason with them. They cannot be made to feel remorse. Posts of this nature are not conducive to community spirit and are unwelcome.

"Newbie" bashing will not be tolerated

New EIOC members are encouraged to use, but not restricted to, the ‘General Help’ forum. This area is specifically designed to provide a platform for those who are new to the Equis community to ask questions and learn more about the products, services and support that Equis International has to offer. Seasoned members are encouraged to be helpful and courteous in their responses. All flames will be deleted and the offender may be warned or permanently banned from future EIOC use. Newbie’s should attempt to seek answers by reading the available FAQ’s and utilizing other available resources prior to posting.

No defamatory statements allowed

Avoid repeating vague and unsubstantiated rumors about any person, company or product. Stick to your own experiences and your own opinions, based on what you know to be true.

No flaming or contentious off-topic comments allowed

The idea is to make this a pleasant environment in which to discuss Equis International products and services; the EIOC is not a place for egocentric personalities to spew out their scathing witticisms while hiding behind their perceived online anonymity. Just get along!

Watch your language

The EIOC is not a home for potty-mouths. Foul, offensive and/or crude language is not welcome here.

Be patient with others

Remember that the EIOC is operated by Equis International. Although it is not required, most members submit their posts in English. Therefore, members who are native English speakers should remember that many other members speak English as a second language. Please allow for the possibility of misunderstandings, and be patient if someone asks for an explanation of what seems to be obvious.

EIOC discipline

Private communication between EIOC Administrators and/or Moderators and EIOC members is not to be made public on these forums or by any other venue. Members are not permitted to publicize any private correspondence received. Such matters shall remain private between the parties involved. Questions or comments concerning warnings and bans will be conveyed through e-mail or private messaging.

Disputes which cannot be resolved between EIOC members by the EIOC Moderator(s) may be arbitrated by the EIOC Administrator(s) to discuss problems or concerns. In such cases, please send an e-mail to a member of the EIOC administrative team.

Official warnings

Members choosing to violate the rules contained herein will be issued an official private and/or public warning by a member of the administrative team. This means that all comments on the thread are to stop. Member(s) that ignore this warning are subject to being permanently banned from the EIOC.

Permanent banning

• Posting, emailing or using PM to send offensive content, or links to offensive content, to the EIOC or any of its members will result in the offender being permanently banned from the EIOC. Such content includes, but is not limited to, material that is: sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, discriminatory, racially or ethnically offensive, excessively obscene or that contains vulgar language; also, content that includes references to warez, cracks or serials, pornography or other illegal activities.

• Impersonating another EIOC member, administrator, moderator, or any Equis or Reuters employee is strictly prohibited.

• Creating multiple user accounts will be considered a denial-of-service attack on the EIOC and will result in permanent banning and reporting to the identified ISP account administrator.

Note: the decision of the Administrator to ban an EIOC member reflects only the Administrator's conclusion that the member has demonstrated an inability to conduct him- or herself in an overall manner consistent with the goals and purposes of the EIOC and is not a determination that such member has violated any law.

Copyright Notice

Users may download and print extracts of content from the EIOC for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Equis content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Equis International.

** Last revision: May 25, 2006 **