The Billy Gilman Fan Site

Participating at The UNofficial Billy Gilman Fan Web Site
BillyGilmanFanSite.com Rules, revision 3, December 5, 2001
Introduction

Although we, the moderators at TUBGFWS, understand that there are enough rules in life and that the last thing people want is more, we know that for the message board, chatroom, and discussion group to continue to be the success they are, rules need to be enforced to prevent problems before they start. We want this to be a fun place where all of Billy's fans can chat about Billy and get to know each other, and since the message board, chatroom and group are open to all ages and are for someone who is still a kid himself, there are some rules to follow when here. Although there may seem to be a lot of rules, there are actually fewer now then before. The three sets of rules that previously existed have been combined into one and made more specific (which makes it seem like there are more then there is). They aren't particularly strict, but are needed to keep things clean, comfortable, fun and safe for everyone.

Please remember that all areas (message board, chatroom and discussion group) of the site are monitored by adults for everyone's safety. Due to the real-time nature of these areas however, it is impossible for us to monitor them 24 hours a day and ask for your understanding and co-operation.

General Rules - Apply to all parts of the site.

1. Absolutely no discussion of Billy's personal information! That includes the names of any of his family members, e-mail addresses, home addresses, telephone numbers, personal finances, etc. Do not ask for, give out, or indicate that you have Billy's personal information. We take Billy's privacy and security very seriously and there will be no tolerance on this issue, if you try to persist on doing it you will banned. It is also worth noting here that Billy will not e-mail you from anywhere except his official sites, and that the only way of writing Billy at this time is to do so through the postal address listed on the site's Contact page.

2. Do not give out or discuss personal information (yours or anyone elses). Your privacy and safety is just as important to us as Billy's is. If you feel comfortable about it, you may give your first name only and your general A/S/L (age, male or female, closest major city or state). If anyone does not wish to supply their entire A/S/L, DO NOT pester them for it. Do not under any circumstances give out your last name, address, phone number or other personal information. Doing so will result in you being immediately blocked from participating. Anyone asking for someone's personal information other than A/S/L will be immediately banned. If anyone from here contacts you privately asking for it, please notify the moderators (listed below) right away with their username and/or e-mail address so that we can take care of it. Please note that the moderators will never ask you for your personal information.

3. Keep it CLEAN! This is a kid safe, family oriented website. This means NO profanity (swearing), absolutely NO adult content, NO discussions of anyone's race or sexual orientation, and no objectionable or offensive content. Effective immediately this also includes using a * or other character to replace some of the letters in profanity as a way of getting around the rules. Continually pushing the limits on this one, and questioning it will no longer be tolerated.

4. Usernames and Nicknames must be clean, original, non-offensive, and comply with all rules laid out here. This means usernames/nicknames can NOT include profanity or adult content. They also can not be celebrity names, or in anyway lead someone to believe you are said celebrity. Names violating this rule will be blocked/banned on sight. Along this line, anyone claiming to be Billy or any other celebrity will be banned. (Should a celebrity wish to take part, they will need to have their manager contact me to avoid being banned)

5. Discussion directly related to religion is not allowed. Billy has fans of all faiths and beliefs and because of this a discussion that you may personally find acceptable may be offensive to someone else. To avoid the inevitable problems and arguments that such discussions will likely lead to, we can not allow religious discussions. Small comments such as "God bless him" are permitted as long as you, in no way, shape, or form, attempt to suggest that others must share your religious beliefs.

6. No flaming, badmouthing or attacking other members, celebrities, websites, etc. Try to be nice to each other, please! If you are having a problem with a particular member please bring it to the attention of one of the moderators (listed below) and let us handle it, trying to do it yourself will probably just make things worse.

7. No spamming, No forwarding chain letters, and No advertising. This is for talking about Billy and his music, it is not for advertising, chain letters, etc. Items NOT permitted under this rule include, but are not limited to, joke e-mails, virus hoaxes/warnings, (If you think you have a legitimate virus warning, forward it to one of the moderators and we'll check to see if it's a hoax or if it's real), "get rich quick" or pyramid schemes, posts selling things, etc.

8. The posting of links/URL's is restricted. Due to problems in the past, posts advertising and/or promoting contests, other websites, other clubs/groups, etc are NOT permitted without first getting permission from me. This includes using our services to recruit for other sites. Also do not post links to sites or files that contain profanity, pornography or adult content of any kind. Due to the severity of the problems encountered in the past, anyone found doing so will be banned.

9. Absolutely NO trading of licensed software programs (known as "warez"), pornography, or any other inappropriate and/or illegal material. This type of activity will not be tolerated and you will be banned immediately.

10. If a moderator says a thread/discussion ends, then it ends. If you have a problem with it then you should contact the moderator privately to discuss it with him/her. Please remember however that the moderators are acting with the best interests of everyone in mind.

11. MP3's of recorded material. As the owner of this site and a big fan of Billy's I cannot condone the trading of MP3's. I do feel that MP3's have a place, such as radio interviews, but not with songs like "One Voice" and "Oklahoma" which are easily obtainable either locally or through an Internet store like CDNow. Therefore, please do not post requests for them or links to them or sites that have them. (Note: sharing of other types audio and video files will be handled differently for each area within TUBGFWS, please see the rules pertaining to that area for specific details)

12. The official language of the site is English. We greatly appreciate that Billy has fans all over the world and that in some countries English is not widely spoken or taught, however we do ask that you make every effort to conduct your conversations in English. If you must conduct a conversation with someone in a foreign language, please provide an English translation for the other members. If you have difficulties doing the translations yourself there are websites such as Babelfish which can assist you.

13. Do not under any circumstances attempt to "get around" these rules, or any action taken by the moderators. By doing so you can quickly turn a minor infraction into a major one.

14. Trouble makers are not welcome. If you are here simply to cause trouble you WILL quickly find yourself banned. T.O.S. violation notices will also be sent to your provider.

Message Board - Moderators: BBarnwell and tvthemeking

15. Please refrain from using excessive capitalization or colors when posting messages. Remember that typing messages completely in upper-case/capitalized text is the internet equivalent of yelling.

16. Posting file links. Before posting links to files please consider the following:
Have you fully explored the site you are linking to? If you haven't please don't post the link.
If you have, did it have any material that might be considered questionable? If yes please don't post the link.
Is the file available here? If yes please don't post the link.

17. Please remember when using the board's Messenger, your messages must still comply with the rules. Also remember that your messages are only private to the other members of the board, not the moderators and can be checked at any time to make sure that there aren't any problems that we should know about.

Chatroom - Moderators: BBarnwell, karmakillernz, tvthemeking, also the system operators

18. Due to past problems we must insist that you please do not initiate or request private chats with people in/from the chatroom. If someone other then a moderator does request to chat in private use extreme caution. If they ask for any sort of personal information DO NOT give it to them and immediately notify the moderators. If they attempt to discuss anything inappropriate, immediately notify the moderators.

19. Clones and Bot's are restricted. Clones are when you have more then one connection to the server. In some cases, due to glitches with the Java interface clones do happen when you don't want them and we understand that. Outside of those special cases we insist that you do not keep clones in the room, and do not use clones to appear gone or that you are more then one person. Bringing bots into the chatroom can cause some problems so please do not bring them into the room without first getting permission. Insisting on having multiple connections to the server will only get you banned by the servers so please don't do it.

20. Please refrain from using excessive colors, sounds, popups, or upper-case/capitalized text on the channel. They're allowed every once in a while, but doing too many of them at one time can cause users to be disconnected from the server (known as flooding). As per InteliInternet (our host) policy, flooding will get you automatically banned from the server for two weeks.

21. Do not come into the chatroom trying to recruit people over to another room or server. Not only is it rude, InteliInternet (our host) policy forbids it.

22. Please remember that this is a chatroom for chatting. Do not use the chatroom or servers as your private file sharing service or uses other then chatting.

Discussion Group - Moderators: tvthemeking, Kevin W, Donna E.

23. Do not post messages to the group that are written entirely in upper case/capitalized text. Typing in all capitalized text is the internet equvalent to yelling.

24. No directly e-mailing other members or posting comments that attempt to tell the other member(s) what to do, or what not to do. This is the job of the moderators.

25. When replying to posts that have over 10 lines in them, only include whatever text is necessary to allow people to know what your reply is in regards to. Anyone still not sure about your reply can always go back to the original message to get the complete text. This is very important for people replying to digests or from their home e-mail boxes.

26. Do not complain to the group about getting too much email. If you are unhappy with the amount of email you are getting, simply go to the group page at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Billy_Gilman and sign into your account. Then click on "delivery options" near the top right of the page and change your option for this group to either "digest" or "no mail/web only." Digest means that all of the day's messages are grouped into one or two larger e-mails and sent to you that way, rather than getting each individual message. No mail/web only means that you won't receive any e-mails from the group, but you can still read the messages by going to the group page listed above.

27. Do not attempt to send messages with attachments to the group. If you want to share a file with the group you can upload it through the files section at the group page. Just click on the word "files" in the menu on the left to access that area. A message can be sent to the group letting the others know that you have placed a file in the folder for them to see or hear.

28. Please do not post one-line messages that leave the other members in the dark as to what they are about. Like "oh yeah, I like that too" or "I agree." If you are responding to another message that simply requires a yes, no, or I agree response then include only enough of the original message to enable others to know with what you are agreeing to.

29. No posting messages that say nothing more than "Oh, he's cute" or "I want to marry him." This does not mean that you can't mention that you think he is cute in a message, just try not to overdo it please.

What do I do if... What happens if...

"What do I do if I see something that violates the rules?"
What you should NOT do is try to deal with it yourself. Not only would trying to deal with it yourself be a violation of the rules, but it will only make the situation worse. What you can do is is bring it to the attention of the moderators, as they have the access and authority to deal with it.

"So what happens if I violate these rules?"
Well, it depends on the offense. If it's minor, you'll be asked to stop doing whatever it is that is violating the rules, which will be considered a warning. If the offense is major, or if you persist on doing it you could find yourself unable to take part and/or banned outright. We do our best to treat everyone fairly and to give people a second (and even a third) chance, however we will not tolerate continued abuses. (In other words, action won't be taken against you just because the moderator doesn't like you.)

"What do I do if I feel the moderator is wrong or treating me unfairly?"
The moderators have been chosen because they have shown themselves to be trustworthy and supportive of the rules that are in place. When the moderators take action, not only are they enforcing what is spelled out here, but they are also enforcing the spirit of the rules, as well as acting it the best interests of everyone taking part and the best interests of the site. As such, there may be the appearance that a rather minor offense is being dealt with more severely then a major offense. Having said that, if you believe that you are being treated unfairly by a moderator you can contact me about it. When doing so please remember to be polite, explain the situation thoroughly, and include the name of the moderator. I will then discuss the situation with them and make a final discission that I think is fair.

In closing

Remember we are all here because we enjoy Billy's music and to enjoy ourselves. Be polite and treat others kindly and with respect and there won't be any problems. Have Fun!

Dean (BillyGilmanFan)
Site Owner and Administrator
The UNofficial Billy Gilman Fan Web Site
www.BillyGilmanFanSite.com