Surfaceinterval Forums Policies

1. General Respect:

SingleDivers.com is a place for all members to have fun! We'll all have fun because we are about meeting other singles and diving. This is a place to learn about each other. This is a place to learn about new and exciting places to dive. This is a place to learn more about diving. This is a place to express yourself. We strongly believe in the free exchange of ideas. Keep in mind: you need to express those ideas in a way that does not personally attack another member nor the community nor the entity of SingleDivers.com. We want everyone to have fun, you and those with whom you disagree. Be courteous to your fellow members. Flaming is never acceptable. The best way to deal with trolls is to ignore them or use the report post button which goes directly to the Administrators or pm a moderator.

2. Account Security and Privacy:

You are responsible for the security of you account. You have a password; use it to secure your account. If another person posts with your account, you get all credit and all blame for everything posted. Everyone should post only from his or her own account. For our Privacy Policy, CLICK HERE.

3. All Volunteer Organization and Role of Moderators & Administrators:

SingleDivers.com is and all volunteer organization and is operated through the use of volunteer moderators and administrators. By posting in this forum, you are expressly giving SingleDivers.com permission to publish, edit, move or delete your posts, messages, signature lines, profiles, photos, without notice when deemed necessary, by these moderators and administrators. All moderators and administrators can moderate all sections of the forum. We reserve the right to edit, move or delete your posts, messages, signature lines, profiles, photos, etc without notice.

4. Please keep topics on topic as much as possible:

We understand that in the normal course of conversation, topics will wander. This is normal and expected. On the other hand, we also like to keep discussions on topic. This is a conflict not easily resolved. We ask our members to stay on topic when possible. When discussions get off topic, we may split a thread to put the original thread back on topic. We ask your patience and assistance in keeping threads on topic. When one thread starts to wander to a different topic, please start a new thread to discuss the new topic.

5. Your right to post material on SingleDivers.com:

When you post material on the SingleDivers.com website, you guarantee you have the right to do so, that you are not posting copyrighted material unless you hold the copyright. The user indemnifies SingleDivers.com of responsibility for any such breach of copyright and accepts sole responsibility for any legal action or claims arising from messages posted on this forum.

6. SD.com not open to minors under 18:
This forum is not open to minors under 18, but we do ask you not to use obscenities as such behavior does offend people and is not in keeping with the spirit of courtesy we would like to keep as a basic part of this website.

7. 'Inflamitory By Nature' Topics i.e. Politics, etc. NOT allowed on SingleDivers.com:

Some topics are inflamatory by their very nature, others can easily become so. Political commentary (i.e. jokes, pictures, solitary asides, etc) always seem to hurt people's feelings or get tempers flaring. Therefore, all political discussions, jokes, cartoons, pictures, commentary, asides, etc. that cast a political figure from any country (since we are a multi-national site) in poor light or has political overlays or can be construed as political are never allowed on Single Divers.com and will be modifed or removed. Religion seems to be a topic most of us can discuss without offending others. Religious discussions will be very closely monitored. Any hint that the discussion will offend a member will result in the thread/post getting pulled. Click here for additional clarifcation on this policy.

8. "Universally Offensive" Topics NOT allowed on SingleDivers.com:

Some topics are almost universally offensive. Jokes and casual comments about incest, rape and bestiality or violence will be pulled immediately. This includes links from your signature or profile to this content or material. Serious discussions about such issues are possible, for example a high profile rape case in the news might generate some discussion. Any such discussion will be monitored closely. Click here for additional clarification on this policy.

9. Spam:

Spam (chain mails, repetitive posts, unrequested mail, including PMs, in which you are soliciting people for your agenda ) will be removed immediately. In the case of PMs, we obviously can't remove them, but PM priviledges can be suspended. Additional action may be taken when deemed necessary. Click here for additional clarification on our Spam policy.

10. Signature Lines:

Signature lines are a place for you to express yourself, your personality, your philosophy on life, your humor, etc. However, to preserve primary focus on posts, signature lines are restricted to a maximum of 4 lines with small sized font. Private email addresses other than MemberName@SingleDivers.com, links to competing websites/URLs, text reflecting our banned policies e.g. porn, etc., and/or insults against other members or the SD community are prohibited in signature lines on SingleDivers.com. Website/URL links are allowed in signature lines for Professional/Diving Trade/Industry Members pursuant to certain guidelines.

11. Site Maintenance:

From time to time, we may need to take the board off line for routine maintenance. When this becomes necessary, we will try to give advance notice. It may not be possible to give advance notice. We will do everything possible to get the board operational ASAP.

12. Feedback:

We want feedback from our members. If you have an idea, let us know. If you have a complaint, let us know. Sometimes when we have complaints, our emotions become involved. Please remember to be courteous. If you have a complaint or concern please send it via pm to comments&concerns or via email to commentsandconcerns@singledivers.com. If posted on the open board, it will be removed and placed into our private Feedback Resoluton Forum to ensure your concern is handled privately and confidentially.

13. Private Messages:

Private Messages (PMs) are private. We cannot see them, nor do we wish to see them. PMs and passwords are encrypted. This protects your privacy. If you feel another member is being abusive in PMs to you either because you feel uncomfortable with the content or because they are sending you spam, please forward it to an Administrator explaining your issue with the PM and telling us from whom it was received. Also keep in mind that we are a small, tight community and if you use PMs for spamming our members, to recruit for non-SD trips, to solicit dates or make unwanted advances against members, that you will usually be reported for it and asked to leave our community depending on the severity of the offense. So it's best to not do it. If you wish to send something to another member or post something for that matter but are not sure it is acceptable, please contact an administrator or moderator for assistance.

14. SD.com Dive Trips and Member Initiated Dive Trips:

SingleDivers.com exists for the benefit of our members. One of our primary goals is to help our members dive. To accomplish this goal, we organize trips to various locations 1-2 times a month vs. 1-2 times a year like most organizations. Our trips do generate some income which helps along with membership fees to ensure the continued health and growth of SingleDivers.com. For this reason, recruiting for commercial, private or competitive trips other than those sponsored by SingleDivers.com aren't allowed in this community.

15. A few rules regarding posting non Single Divers sponsored trips:

a. One day non-commercial trips (no overnight stay involved) are always allowed.

b. Overnight trips cannot be posted unless they are approved by SD or they are an official SD event, activity or trip. To obtain approval send your request to: Comments&Concerns via pm or commentsandconcerns@singledivers.com via email.

c. Trips in which you assist with flights, hotels or dive operators and/or act as a trip leader, organizer or sponsor are never allowed whether you do it privately or public. This applies even if you don't collect money.

d. No active recruiting via pm, email, posts or threads to SD.com members for any non-SD trip will be allowed.

e. In your announcement post, you must clearly state the trip is a member 'pick up' trip, has been approved by SD once it has, and is not an official Single Divers event.

f. The style of the announcement post cannot duplicate the style of posts used for recruiting for official Single Divers trips.

g. No posts can be made more than one month in advance of the event unless the event is an official SD event.

h. While we can't see your PMs, members do often report questionable PMs they receive. These rules apply to PMs as well as posts.

16. Multiple Accounts on SD.com:

The same member creating multiple accounts are grounds for immediate suspension and/or banning.

17. Use of Email addresses on SD.com:

Personal e-mail addresses are not permitted in posts or signature lines for security, safety and spam reasons. The only e-mail addresses permitted on the forums are @singledivers.com addresses.

18. Suspension/Banishment policy:

For a first violation, you'll get a soft reminder from from a moderator or administrator quoting the particular rule violated AND mentioning the suspension policy.

For a second violation within 30 days of the first violation, you'll get a STRONG warning from moderator or administrator quoting the particular rule AND a reminder they will be suspended if they violate the rules again.

For a third violation within 60 days of the first violation, you'll get a STRONG denouncement of the continued violations AND a 3 day vacation from the site.

For a fourth violation within 120 days of the first violation, you'll get a simple message indicating your member account has been banned from SingleDivers.com.

It should be noted that discretion in these types of situations is important. If a member repeatedly makes violations just outside the 30, 60 or 120 day limits they can, at the discretion of SingleDivers.com board management, be given suspensions and/or be banned. Also, SingleDivers.com board management has the discretion to forgo suspensions in unusual cases. If evidence is discovered of a serious or material violation of SD's policies, stalking or threats against our members, or someone trying to harm SD, or its members, the person committing such acts will be banned with no warning.

Appeals may be made to the board governing body of SingleDivers.com. Decisions of the board governing body are final. You may contact us via commentsandconcerns@singledivers.com to file a protest.

Voluntary, mutually agreed upon, or manditory departure from SD will not entitle you to any refund of membership fees, nor any other consideration given to SD.

19. Links:

Links to porn sites or other offensive sites are not allowed in posts, profiles, signature nor in any other place on SingleDivers.com. Links in signature lines are reserved for our business/trade members only. Other links in posts may be allowed but only at the sole discretion of the mods and admins of this site.

Note: Views expressed by individual members, moderators or administrators do not necessarily reflect those of SingleDivers.com.

20. Avatars:

Avatar: Avatars are representations of ourselves. An avatar is fun to have by your name in your posts. Usually they are cartoons or drawings but we have chosen to use miniature photos of ourselves. When we use photos of ourselves as avatars, it lets us get to know each other better. It is easier to remember faces than names, especially screen names. Since our purpose is to get to know each other and to dive together, our avatar policy promotes this. Please note that the picture you upload or have us help you to upload must be of you, preferably including your head/face. It can be a diving picture or a 'dry' shot, whichever you prefer. See "My Controls" for how to upload your avatar.

Note: If you need help uploading or resizing a picture for your avatar, SD.com will help you do that. You send the pictures to us and we will send them back resized or cropped to highlight YOU! There is no charge for this service and is provided free of charge by some of our members.