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Blog Rules of Conduct and Policies

We created MomsTeam to provide sports parents and experts with a positive and interesting environment where they can connect with other sports moms and dads, youth sports experts, obtain youth sports information, share stories, vent, feel that they are not in it alone, give and get advice, laugh, and more.

We understand that a parent's time is precious so MomsTeam should be a place where folks from the youth sports community can come and feel welcome and safe and not be subject to personal attacks or disrespectful behavior. These guidelines are intended to make MomsTeam a great place for as many sports moms and dads, coaches, team parents, sports administrators, and every other member of the youth sports community as possible.

When thinking about what's acceptable to post on MomsTeam, think about what's acceptable if you were in a restaurant sharing a meal with a friend. As "customers" in the restaurant , all MomsTeam members should act as if you were in a real dining establishment. As the "owner" of the restaurant, the MomsTeam "team" will take actions similar to what the owner of a restaurant would do if one of the diners was being disrespectable or rude.

Rules of Conduct at MomsTeam

The following are rules you should keep in mind when visiting MomsTeam. Failure to follow these rules can result in termination of your account.

Above all else, be nice to the people you meet on MomsTeam and give each other the benefit of the doubt. If we all do this, MomsTeam will be a great place to hang out.

  1. Be respectful of others, especially when you disagree with them.

  2. Debate is great but your comments should be constructive and respectful.

  3. Don't harass anyone or engage in personal attacks.

  4. Don't gang up with anyone in attacking another user.

  5. Racial, ethnic or religious slurs, stereotyping of any kind (sexual, gender etc.) and hate speech will simply not be tolerated.

  6. Posting the same thing over and over again is, at the very least, annoying and won't be tolerated.

  7. If you post something controversial, be prepared for others to disagree with your position.

  8. No flaming; don't post something just to get someone mad.

  9. No soliciting: don't ask other users for help in the form of money, gifts or donations.

  10. MomsTeam is not the place to advertise. Do not include advertisements or promotions in your posts; they can only be posted in designated areas on the site.

  11. Be respectful of others when posting any content that is adult in nature. While the vast majority of MomsTeam users are adults, remember that kids may be visitors as well.

  12. No posting of nude, suggestive or provocative photographs.

  13. Don't share your personal information with another user unless you are absolutely certain it is safe to share with that person.

  14. Don't share personal information about another user with anyone else.

  15. If you suspect that someone using the site is not who they say they are or is an imposter or otherwise not a legitimate user, please report the problem to MomsTeam so we can deal with it.

  16. Help keep the MomsTeam community a nice place to visit by reporting any problems you observe on the site, including posts that break these rules. One way to do that is to use the "Flag As Offensive" icon.

  17. Do not engage in any criminal or illegal behavior on MomsTeam or encourage any other user to do so.

  18. If you want to discuss MomsTeam's policies, do so in the Forum designated for that purpose or e-mail us.

  19. If you are an expert in your field respect that MomsTeam is giving you a platform and would appreciate if you did not try to drive our visitors off in any manner.<--pagebreak->

MomsTeam's Responsibilities & Your Responsibilities as Registered User

We will not look at every post, photo, video or comment made on the site nor do we guarantee the integrity of every registered user. But, if we catch something that we believe violates our guidelines or the MomsTeam Terms of Use - either because we noticed it or because you reported it - we will act on it as soon as possible.

When you report something to us that you believe violates these guidelines or the MomsTeam Terms of Use, we will do our best to review it. We will not always agree with you that there is a problem. When we do agree, we will take the action that we feel is appropriate. While we listen to our users, we have the final say on whether content or conduct is permissible under these guidelines and our Terms of Use.

We generally won't take action against older content that violates these guidelines. We feel our efforts are better spent focusing on current issues on the site.

You have the tools to remove comments made to your blog or forum posts. Please use these tools at your own discretion and, if appropriate, before you report an issue to us.

You also have the tools to control who sees the content you post. Utilize these privacy settings as you see fit to protect you and your family's information. We want everyone on MomsTeam to be comfortable and feel safe.

We always have the right to remove postings, lock postings, warn users, suspend accounts, and/or cancel accounts to enforce these guidelines or the MomsTeam Terms of Use or as we deem necessary to maintain the integrity of the site or our business. Whatever action we choose to take, our decision is final. We will not always explain our actions, but rest assured we do not take these decisions lightly.

We are not responsible for what happens off the site, even if it was organized on MomsTeam. Be careful whom you talk to, whom you trust, and what you do in the real world based on what you read online.

Finally, please remember that we are just trying to make this the best site possible for as many members of the youth sports community as possible. If we feel that by removing a post or a user we can make the site experience better for the rest of the users, we will do it. Or, we could decide that a posting that you find objectionable is within the guidelines. You may not always think our decisions are fair and you may not always agree with us. Arguing with us or harassing us will not change our minds.

Let's all treat each other with respect and work together to make this a great place for every member of the youth sports community!

These guidelines are a work in progress. We may revise these guidelines at any time and without prior notice.<--pagebreak->

MomsTeam Detailed Rules of Conduct

  • Be respectful of others, especially when disagreeing with them. It's simple - Be nice to others. This is the most important thing for everyone to remember. You can be opinionated. You can say that your opinion is better than someone else's. You can be opposed to the ideas or opinions of others, and can say so. But don't be nasty about it. Mean people are not welcome at this cafe

  • Debate is great, but it should be done in a constructive way. Discussion and debate are not only allowed, they are encouraged. But, if a healthy discussion breaks down into an exchange of attacks and insults or becomes too heated, we will take measures to end the discussion.

  • Do not duplicate your MomsTeam blog elsewhere as this harms the MomsTeam site and other sites with the search engine rankings

  • Don't harass or personally attack others. When a discussion gets heated or involves a topic you feel passionate about, it's sometimes tempting to cross the line and stop talking about the issues and instead talk about the people involved. Don't do it. No name calling. If you must "vent" your feelings about another MomsTeam user, do it without identifying her. Don't use her screen name or any other information that is likely to make her recognizable to other users.

  • No ganging up. You may not like everyone on MomsTeam. But don't harass someone or tell all your friends to go harass someone because you don't like something she said.

  • Slurs, stereotyping, and hate speech are not tolerated. Slurs, hate speech and attacks aimed at any race, color, religion, national origin, disability or sexual orientation are not tolerated at all on YouthSportsParents and will be removed. Don't stereotype people, it isn't funny and it isn't acceptable.

  • Don't annoy others by posting the same thing again and again.

  • Don't post the same thing multiple times. Don't post the same thing multiple times. Don't post the same thing multiple times. Don't post the same thing multiple times. Don't post the same thing multiple times. It's annoying - right? Also, don't make new posts that simply link back to old posts. Don't post the same photo over and over again. Do something once and see what happens; don't try to force your ideas on people by reposting. In addition, don't cross-post on multiple groups. Once or twice is fine, but more than that is spamming.

  • If you're going to post something controversial, be prepared for others to disagree with you and your ideas. Remember that when you post something, especially about a controversial topic, expect that your viewpoints and opinions may be vigorously questioned, challenged, and held up to scrutiny. If having your opinions challenged and being expected to defend your position will make you uncomfortable, please don't post about that topic.

  • Don't post something just to inflame others. Posts designed solely to upset another user or group of users have no place at MomsTeam. They simply pollute the air and make it a less inviting place for everyone.

  • Don't ask other users for help in the form of money, gifts or donations. It is not acceptable on this site to ask another user for money, goods or services. We appreciate the stress on you and your family resulting from financial pressures. You can, however, suggest that members donate to official charities (like the Red Cross or March of Dimes).

  • Be respectful of others when posting any content that is adult in nature. We all have different thresholds for what we are comfortable seeing and reading. In order to make MomsTeam comfortable for everyone, please adhere to the following guidelines when posting content that may not be suitable for everyone. Cursing and adult content are prohibited in the public areas of MomsTeam. This includes: avatars, screen names, thought bubbles, profile pages, blog post titles, group names, group descriptions, group avatars, signatures, widgets, and other similar places

  • No suggestive, provocative or nude photographs.

  • Don't share your personal information with someone unless you're absolutely certain it is safe to share with that person. Would you give your phone number, street address or anything else to a person you just met in a coffee house? Maybe - if you trusted her or knew someone in common. But you probably wouldn't give it out to someone you knew little about. The same is true online. Don't give out your personal information to anyone else unless you're sure it's safe. And don't give money to people who ask for it online. While their stories may move you, you have no way of knowing if they are legitimate. We can't verify the identities of everyone on the site and you use the site at your own risk. We urge you to learn and follow best practices for staying safe online.

  • Don't share personal information about anyone else. You should also not share or post anyone else's personal information. Don't repost messages from private groups or messages in public places. If the information was posted in a private group, assume that the member wants it to remain private.

  • If you suspect that someone on the site is an imposter or not legitimate, report the problem to MomsTeam and we will deal with it. If you think you've found an "imposter" or suspect that a user is not "legitimate," let us know by using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of each page. We will investigate promptly. Do not threaten, harass or make journal posts about your suspicions. Doing this will only interfere with and slow down our efforts to get to the truth quickly. Likewise, if we discover that you are pretending to be someone you are not, we will cancel your account.

  • Help us keep the site orderly by reporting any problems you see on the site including posts that violate these rules. If you see something that violates these rules and it bothers you, then report it to us and we will do our best to investigate it. You don't need to report things multiple times or have your friends also report the same issue. We try to review everything sent to us and sending it multiple times just slows things down for everyone.

  • Only post advertisements and promotions in designated areas-not on the Blogs. Advertising includes, but is not limited to 

    • Work at home businesses
    • Products that you are selling (personal or professional)

    • Job opportunities

    • Charities and charitable causes

    • Promoting another website (personal, non-business websites are fine, anything else is not)

    • Promoting your entry in a contest (e.g,. "vote for my baby in the cutest baby contest on xyz.com!")

MomsTeam  will be developing a place on the site where users can post classified ads. Until then, please no advertising.

In addition, pyramid schemes are illegal and posting information about pyramid schemes in any forum on MomsTeam is prohibited.

  • Don't do anything criminal or illegal on MomsTeam or encourage anyone else to do so. Any postings that we reasonably believe or suspect are criminal or illegal in nature will be removed and any conduct that we suspect is illegal or which poses a threat of illegal activity will be reported to the appropriate authorities. We will cooperate with authorities to prosecute anyone who breaks the law while using our site. Do not link to sites containing criminal or illegal activity.

  • You may discuss MomsTeam's policies, but only in the designated area. Don't agree with MomsTeam policy and want to your voice to be heard? There is a special forum created where you can discuss with the MomsTeam Team what you like about our site, what you don't like, how we can improve it, including why our policies are a certain way. We welcome your input; it will help us shape what the policies should be and what we can do to make your experience on the site more enjoyable.

We are open to constructive feedback and will be honest with everyone about the reasoning behind our policies. If you blog posts about policy issues, they will be removed.