Rules of the Book Blogs Ning

[bethany (dreadlock girl)]

The administrators of the Book Blogs Ning have drafted up some rules for this group that we feel are for the protection of all our members. I would encourage you to read what we have written up and in a constructive way let us know if there is something to be added.

I apologize for not getting this up sooner.

Thank you.



Rules for All the Citizens of Book Blogs Ning:

1.) Please make every attempt to be kind and courteous in your interactions with folks. No one likes to be put down. For the best interest of those around you as well as yourself, refrain from slamming someone else in order to make your point.


If you feel someone is treating you poorly please contact an administrator, as this behavior will not be tolerated.

2.) The Book Blog Ning has appropriate places to post about giveaways, reviews, or updates to your blog. Be sure you find the designated groups for that-- as posting whatever you want indiscriminately is not acceptable and will be viewed as spam. Do Not post about giveaways or reviews in the Events section, in book groups not devoted to giveaways.

Here are some links you may be interested:
*Giveaways: forum and Giveaway Group


Stick with the subject matter of the group in which you are posting, if there isn't a group for your taste, you can create one. Also, don't hesitate to contact group admins about spam, they are responsible for their individual groups. If they do not respond, contact one of the three administrators listed below.

If you do not heed this, and spam other members with unsolicited publicity, your account will be viewed as a spam account and it will be terminated.

3.) Please avoid posting indiscriminately on the walls of other members. We suggest only posting on the walls of people who have accepted you as a "friend."

4.) Do not post anything that would violate any state or federal law.

The Rules of Chatting:

1.) Please refrain from indiscriminately posting links to your blog, or website. This will be seen as spam and your account will be deleted.

2.) Remain kind and courteous at all times when chatting. Do not post anything inappropriate.


Rules for Authors, Publishers, Publicists

1.) Please do not promote your books in a group started by another publisher/author/publicist.

We would love it if you started your own group, if you have books to offer bloggers on a regular basis. You can also promote your books here: Promote Your Books! Group



Rules for Group Moderators of the Ning:

1.) If you choose to start a group, you are in charge of keeping it clean from spammers. This means checking your group, (comments, posts....everything) and contacting that member if you feel there is a problem. If you are not able to handle the situation with tact-- contact an administrator. However rudeness on your part will not be tolerated.

2.) You are the moderator in case of heavy discussions or arguments. Try to water down the heat, help people come to understand each other. If you are not able to do this, when you see an issue, promptly contact an administrator.

3.) All in all, You are responsible for the general feel of your group. If a group consistently breeds rudeness and you do not try to monitor your group, that group will be deleted. It is very important that as a moderator and creator of the group that you protect the integrity of the group, as best you can. If you feel your group is getting out of control, contact an administrator so that they can bring the ethics of the Book Blogs Ning to the attention of your group members before it gets out of control. You may wish to ask another member to help monitor the group activity as well.

If you are not up to checking in on your group, don't start one-- let someone else who has more time to police do it.

Also, if you feel another group is in need of moderation, let the creator of THAT group worry about it. Only site admins or group admins should contact members about their postings.



We all want the Book Blogs Ning to be a welcoming place, a place where questions are asked and answered and we can all chat about our latest read. Your respect of your fellow member will ensure that our group will continue to be a place where we all just want to spend time.

On that same note, if you choose to disregard these values, or call the integrity of the Ning into question by your behavior or treatment of others, you will be notified once and then your account will be terminated.

Do not hesitate in asking if you have any questions.

In the case that you need to contact the Book Blogs Ning leaders, here are our pages:
Tricia
Corinne
Bethany

[Tricia]

To leave a Ning Network you are a member of, just go to the Settings link from the member module on the right-hand side of the page. This will bring you to your Profile Settings page. Click on the "Leave this network" link at the bottom of the page. In the message box that pops up, check the box next to "Delete my content" if you would like to remove all content posted by you on this network. If you would like to leave the content on there, uncheck the box. You can also include a message for the Administrators of this network as to why you are leaving.

[R. Barri Flowers]

Hello -- as I am a new author to Book Blogs, I assume I am free to talk about my new and upcoming books in my blog, as I want to make them available for bloggers to read and review? -- Barri

[Urban Sprite]

I've had one from this one too, and another one called Blessing something. I had a third one too.

[Corinne]

I'm pretty sure that member has been deleted.  Can anyone access the member's page?  If you can, please send me a different link to the correct member's page and we'll take care of it.

[Jay Howard]

Hi Corinne

I only joined a few hours ago and I've had a similar post from Happiness Hassan. Alarm bells rang and I didn't reply. I love the rest of what I'm seeing though, and appreciate the clear rules. I just have to get it clear in my head what I'm supposed to do where (has my brain slowed up as I've got older?  lol!).

[Leigh D'Ansey]

I've just deleted a couple of similar emails. They showed up in my Yahoo mail box but not on Book Blogs.

[Darryl Erentzen]

Sounds like a North African scam artist. I'm not being racist by making that remark, cons from certain locales have a certain linguistic style that becomes recognizable after you've dealt with a few, which I have as a tech for the past 20 years.

If you respond they'll inform you that they're stuck in some dismal situation in a war-torn or recently liberated third-world country, and in exchange for your help in liberating their millions from the clutches of international banking regulators, they'll love you forever and give you a commission.

The point is to gain your trust and financial details for either identity theft or to convince you to transfer funds to enable the non-existent transactions required in order to liberate their fictional fortune.

With exceptionally gullible people, it can evolve into an ongoing drain on the victim's finances or complete identity theft leading to destitution.

Since the criminals responsible often reside in rogue states or other areas where the rule of law is nominal at best, they're almost impossible to interdict or prosecute.

Ignore. Report. Delete. Repeat.

That's all.

[Urban Sprite]

Hi,

I've had several posts on my page in the last week asking for my photo and to get to know me better. I suspect they're spammers but they look similar to those scam emails you hear about. Have been deleting them up until now. Should I be messaging the admins with their names?

Thanks,
Urban Sprite

[Maria Behar]

You know, it's not just this site that's affected.  The same thing happened to me twice, at The Twilight Saga.com, where I'm also a member.  I noticed that these people were also sending messages to others.  It could have been the same person using different names.  I reported this to the Admins both times, and they terminated the accounts.  So, if you see that here, you should definitely report it!  Actually, I noticed it on this site, too, on one occasion, not on my page, but on several members' pages.  I reported this at once. 

I would also suggest you enable comment moderation for your page.  That way, you can't be spammed, because the spammers know you will never approve their comments for publication on your page.

If we all report these things, we can all contribute to a more enjoyable time on this site!   : )

[Maria Behar]

I'd like to know if profanity is tolerated.  I have seen 'the F word" posted in at least three groups.  I realize that you allow freedom of expression, but does that extend to vulgar language?   Not everyone is into reading this kind of thing; it does disgust some people.

Thanks for your answer!

[Tricia]

I personally despise profanity, but I can't check the content of every group. I certainly think it is inappropriate on this website. Please contact the group moderators about questionable content you are seeing. Thanks!

[Maria Behar]

Hi, Tricia!   Thanks!  I sure will!!  : )