Knowledgebase:News Server Acceptable Use Policy
First we would like to remind all of our visitors that this news server, news.povray.org, exists first and foremost to offer online support for the users of POV-Ray. We do this by allowing peer support between users of the program, sometimes through direct support from POV-Team members themselves, or by way of the POV-Ray Technical Assistance Group. Any other use of this news server is secondary to this goal.
An added benefit of this news server is that it promotes a sense of community for our users and we encourage this. We want everyone who visits here to enjoy themselves. Most of all we want you to be able to visit the various news groups to learn how to get the most from using POV-Ray. We enjoy seeing what you people are doing with our program and it makes it worth our efforts to continue developing it.
Below you will find some basic guidelines on how we expect visitors to this news server to conduct themselves. We are not trying to place ourselves in a position to tell you what to think, or what to do, but we do expect you to try to maintain a reasonable level of acceptable social conduct when posting messages on this news server.
This has been mentioned before in other announcements on this news server but we would appreciate it if you do not post your messages in HTML format. Many of our visitors do not have HTML compliant news readers. Also, HTML messages consume more server resources than do plain text messages. We do not expire messages in every group on this server and HTML posts are a luxury we cannot support.
We have a number of young people that visit this server. Because of this we ask that you keep this in mind before posting messages or images of an explicit sexual nature. While nudity is commonly used as a form of artistic expression we ask that you present it as tastefully as possible if you post images of this type. Use good judgment where this is concerned and be aware that children may be watching as their parents download images posted on this server.
You might consider uploading images of a controversial nature to your personal web page and provide a link to it from a message posted here. This gives people the opportunity to decide if they wish to view material of this type at their own discretion.
Please remember that POV-Ray appeals to a wide range of users from a global community. These people come from many different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and religious beliefs that may differ from your own. We ask that you try to keep this in mind and not to post messages that may be considered inflammatory, critical, or abusive where others beliefs are concerned.
Users of this news server may not post messages that could reasonably be expected, by today's standards, to cause another reasonable person to not want to use or visit this server due to a feeling of harassment. Personal attacks, that lead to insulting or abusive behavior, are not an acceptable activity on this news server. Likewise the use of profanity is also considered unacceptable.
Violation of these rules may result in corrective action by the News Server Administration. Such action may be a written warning, removal of offensive messages at our discretion, or for repeat violations, the banishment of the person or persons responsible for said violations.
For the purposes of this news server the News Server Admin. is any current member of the POV-Team, and the members of the POV-Ray Technical Assistance Group, who have full authority to act on behalf of the owner of this news server.
We do not allow SPAM on this news server. We will allow you to post announcements of your POV-Ray related web page, utilities, or programs that POV-Ray users may find useful. Advertising of commercial products or services not related to POV-Ray or the 3D graphics industry is not allowed under any circumstances.
The articles on this server are intended to be local. No news servers may take a feed from news.povray.org. The POV-Team claims collection copyright on the contents of our news data- base. This is not for any commercial purpose, but to protect the quality of peer support offered here. If posts from this server are fed to USENET, users on USENET will start attempting to join in discussions there. However, as news.povray.org does not take a feed from USENET, such postings will never be seen on this server. We will not take a feed from USENET since doing so would cause us to have to take all of the accompanying baggage - namely, spam, spam, and more spam. At no time has this server ever accepted a feed for any of the povray groups from anywhere else. They are purely local and will remain that way.
Do not attempt to intentionally distribute software containing a virus or trojan on this news server. Visitors doing so will be expelled. We do realize that some trojans attach themselves undetected to a message. We have made every attempt to remove them from this server as soon as they were discovered. However intentional distribution of malicious software will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK any software, program source code, or POV-Ray file you find posted here by visitors to this server. The POV-Team cannot assume liability in this regard but will take action to see that harmful software is removed in a timely manner once made aware of it's presence. We recommend that you run a virus checking utility on every executable program you download from this server for your own protection.
The views and opinions expressed by visitors to this news server are those of the person posting them and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the POV-Team or the News Server Administration. Under no circumstances will the POV-Team or the News Server Administration be held accountable for any harm, emotional or physical, to anyone caused by the views or opinions expressed by it's visitors.
You may see individual members of the POV-Team and the POV-Ray TAG participating in discussions on this news server. At these times their views and opinions are their own unless they officially sign their messages otherwise.
Except where otherwise noted these are general guidelines and we will allow for a liberal interpretation of them. We also wish to remind you that this is a privately owned news server and as such you are considered an invited guest. By connecting to this news server you are bound to accept the terms and conditions we set forth. Please act accordingly.
Have fun and thank you for your participation,
News Server Administration