~ Rules of Play ~ The Tonsofkids.net forums are open messageboards (not to be confused with public messageboards which often have few restrictions and may not be heavily monitored). We respect the rights of our members to feel they can post freely, without censorship. However, there are some rules which we feel must be followed: NAME/USERNAME REQUIREMENT IN POSTS: In order to make our visitors feel comfortable on the forums, we encourage all posters to register. The registration process at Tonsofkids.net is very easy and does not require any personal information other than a valid email address. We understand that some people do not feel comfortable or cannot register. We want as many people as possible to benefit from and utilize these forums, so we do allow non-registered "guest" posting. For protection of the community and to avoid confusion, visitors posting as a guest will have their usernames highlighted in orange to indicated they are a non-member. In addition, our system will not allow you to post as a guest using a name that is already taken by a member. Note that while posting as a guest is completely acceptable, due to the nature of the internet and the existence of message board trolls, anonymous postings may be viewed with some skepticism by our members. We hope that all visitors understand that while it may not really mean much for a person to register (since there is no way to really verify a person is legitimate), that the simple act of doing so helps our members feel more at ease. MULTIPLE USERNAMES/IDENTITIES: We respectfully ask that all users create and post under one username. We recognize that sometimes it is impossible to log-in to post, especially if you are not at your own computer, and therefore we do allow registered users to post as guests. In those instances, we recommend using a variation of your username so that your identity is clear to the viewers. In addition, it is okay to post as a guest when participating in forum games like "who am I?" and such; however, these are rare instances, and an exception rather than the rule. While we do not like to limit our posters, we have experienced abuses in this area. Posting under multiple names, especially without stating that fact, can cause undo confusion and apprehension among members. As a result, if we determine that a visitor is posting under multiple names, be it registered or anonymously (as a guest), particularly in a manner which is disruptive to the community, the person will be asked to refrain from posting in the future. If the abuse continues, we reserve the right to ban the person permanently from the messageboards and/or the Tonsofkids.net site. PROFANITY AND OBJECTIONABLE LANGUAGE: We pride ourselves on being a family-friendly site. Because of that, we do not allow excessive profanity, sexually offensive conversations, vulgarity, and/or posting of pictures which are of an inappropriate nature. We understand that sometimes a member finds a need to vent, and therefore may use off-colored language, which is why we use the term excessive profanity. We will be tolerant of the occasional infraction of this term, but any language of this nature which is continual, or purely to offend or attack, will be removed immediately. AGGRESSIVE POSTS: There are times that certain individual's ideas or beliefs conflict. We are hopeful in these instances that members keep the feelings and personal rights of others in mind when responding to such. We encourage debate, and even when heated, we respect the rights of others to voice their opinions. However, personal attacks (of an individual, their beliefs, parenting style, etc.) will not be tolerated. This could be categorized as "flames," directed hate comments, racial slurs, and even generalized derogatory statements. Any posts of this nature will be removed without notice to the poster. Since many of the above rules are subjective in nature, it is at the sole discretion of the webmaster to determine and remove posts which violate these terms. In addition, we reserve the right to remove any posts which do not fall under the restrictions outlined above if we feel they are detrimental to our members and/or the community as a whole. If a member feels a post is in violation of these terms, please email the webmaster and/or staff to report it. ***These rules may be added to or amended at a future time and without notice.*** Close this window to return to the forum.