Agora Forum Rules and Terms

TLDR:

We explain our community guidelines and moderation philosophies below, but if you're short on time:

1. - Be civil.
2. - Stay on topic.
3. - Use the "Report Post" link to notify us of posts you want reviewed. Every reported post is reviewed by a human.
4. - You can also email me at jack@agorawriter.com if you prefer.
5. - Accept that a drawback to an open forum is you will see some posts you find objectionable.

Moderation Philosophy

I started Agora as a writer looking for feedback and wanting to build a community, and upon searching the available options I decided to make it myself. Of course, especially in light of some recent failures on other forums, moderation and community safety has to be a top priority.

I want Agora to be an open forum, a place where people can share in discussions and debates about writing, reading, or other topics. In an ideal world everyone is civil and respectful, but it would be naive to assume that bad actors or even those with good intentions might cross the line.

Ultimately, I aim to let discussion run freely. Despite this, every single reported post will be reviewed and, if necessary, removed. If we work together and treat each other with respect, I think the forum will be a lively and positive place.

Transparency

If you don't ever want to read anything objectionable, please leave, as it is an inherent drawback to an open forum.

This page exists to provide transparency into our moderation policies and our moderation performance.

Three Golden Rules

We believe the forum is at its best when people follow three simple rules:

1. - Don't insult other posters.
2. - Don't post things you would not be willing to publicly defend.
3. - Stay on topic.

Post Removal Process

We do not pre-screen or read every piece of content.

The moderation team is currently one person: me. As the forum grows, I will be recruiting moderators to help manage the load.

Visitors can report any post to review by clicking the Report Post button beneath every post.

Every post reported to us is reviewed by a human. If something is urgent, please email me at jack@agorawriter.com.

We use tools behind the scenes to remove posts automatically without review so we encourage you to use the "Report Post" button. In general, the most egregious posts get taken down quickly without human intervention, but sometimes this takes longer than we would prefer.

Post Removal Guidelines

Agora may remove content at its sole discretion for any reason whatsoever, but we have a set of guidelines for moderators to follow when deleting posts.

If your post (but not thread) is deleted, you will see the reason selected by the moderator when visiting the thread in which you posted.

1. - Personal attacks of another person/forum poster.
2. - Spam
3. - Off-topic or thread-derailing post.
4. - Post is discriminatory or bigoted.
5. - Low or no-content post.
6. - Profane or vulgar post.
7. - Duplicate content.
8. - Factually Incorrect
9. - Impersonation of another person/forum poster.
10. - Encourages violence, abuse, or harassment of another person/forum poster.
11. - Unauthorized sharing of private information of another person/forum poster.
12. - Pornographic content.
13. - Copyright/trademark violation.
14. - Other.

Thread Deletion

Every thread started appears in the main forum index. To manage this limited real estate, entire threads may be deleted due to moderator discretion or because the thread has spiraled out of control. Please use the "Report Post" on the first post for threads you would like to see removed. You will be notified if your thread is removed.

We have more technical terms of service below.

Terms of Service/Forum Rules

Please note the following terms of service which govern the Agora forum.

1. - You must be over the age of 13 to participate.
2. - You understand that the poster of the content is entirely responsible for all content posted. Agora is not responsible for any of the content on the forum. This means that the poster, and not Agora, is entirely responsible for all content that they post. As a result, Agora does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of the content on its forum. You understand that by using the forum, you may be exposed to content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will Agora be liable in any way for any content, including, but not limited to, for any errors or omissions in any content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available.
3. - You understand that because you are responsible for the content you post, you can be held responsible for any laws that you break when posting. This includes but is not limited to violating another party's copyright by posting another party's article in its entirety on the forum. Please link to articles instead of posting them or you may be sued by the other party for copyright infringement.
4. - You understand that Agora does not pre-screen content but it may remove content at its sole discretion for any reason whatsoever. If you would like to suggest that something be removed, please use the "Report Post" function or email us at jack@agorawriter.com, but Agora does not have to remove any content and may or may not agree to your request. Every post that is reported by the "report post" function is reviewed by a moderator. There is no guarantee other posts are read by a human moderator.
5. Types of posts that may be removed:
• - Violent/Pornographic posts: Posts that encourage violence, abuse or harassment. Posts with graphic violence or adult content.
• - Hateful conduct: Posts that threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, or disability.
• - Private personal information: Posts that expose other people's private information (such as home phone number and address) without their express authorization and permission. However, you acknowledge that your identity is not a secret whether or not you reveal your name in your posts. Your IP address is tracked. As a result others, including Agora, may be able to figure out who you are and thus your identity may be revealed to others.
• - Spam/Advertisements: The forum is not designed to serve as a place where one makes posts that are nothing more than glorified advertisements (i.e. anything promoting another website, product, etc.).
• - Copyright/trademark violations: Do not steal others’ work. We support the concept of fair use and parody, but not IP theft.
6. - You may not impersonate another person's identity on the forum.
7. - You acknowledge that material that you post becomes the copyrighted property of Agora and Agora can reproduce it in any form that it sees fit without providing you compensation