Participation in the Technique’s website constitutes agreement to the following guidelines, which apply to comments or any other form of interaction on this site.

Although we try, it is not possible for us to review and/or confirm the accuracy or validity of a comment before it is posted. If you believe that someone has violated our User Guidelines or you have spotted content that may otherwise require attention, please contact the Online Editor with a link to the content and a brief description of what you believe is wrong. Notification is voluntary, but in no case should a user respond to a situation personally, thereby aggravating the situation further. Responding to a violation in an inflammatory manner is a violation in itself and will result in appropriate action.

Any content that violates our User Guidelines will be removed. Interpretation of our guidelines is at the discretion of the staff.

1. Advertisements are not allowed. Generally speaking, comments made specifically for the promotion of a website, product or service are considered advertising or, at least, comments made that unnecessarily send people to a website that you are in some way affiliated with. It does not matter if it is a commercial website, a personal website, a non profit website, etc. We do authorize and/or sell advertisements on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested in utilizing this option, please contact us.

2. You are not allowed to post an affiliate URL that leads to you earning cash, banner impressions, credits, points, etc.

3. Do not post personal, real-life information such as home addresses and home phone numbers.

4. As this is an English-speaking community, we require that posted content be in the English language, so that it can be well received and properly monitored.

5. Vulgar language and inappropriate material is not allowed and will be removed. Abbreviations or self censoring also violate this guideline. If you feel that the censor is acting in error, please contact us.

We try to maintain a family friendly atmosphere whenever it is possible within the main subject matter of this community. Please keep this in mind when participating.

6. When linking to outside websites, you must ensure that the content of the link is appropriate for our community, in line with the guidelines laid out here. This includes mentioning or referencing a site, even if the mention is not hyperlinked. If you post a link and that link is automatically censored, it is considered to be an inappropriate link. All comments that feature inappropriate links will be removed.

7. Comments that discuss illegal activities, transactions, or websites such as warez, cracks, etc. will be removed. This includes the posting of information that you have obtained illegally.

8. Do not post copyrighted materials (articles, videos, audio, etc.) that you do not have permission to reproduce or distribute. For text articles, most of the time you may quote a small portion of the article (usually no more than 1/5 or 1/6) and you must link to the source (if online) or provide the source (if offline). Posting the entire article, even with the source, constitutes copyright infringement. This is not the place to illegally trade or distribute copyrighted (or those with questionable copyright status) video or audio clips.

9. When posting and linking to images, videos, files, etc., please refrain from hotlinking. This is the direct linking to images (.jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .png, etc.), video (.avi, .mov, .mpg, .mpeg, .wmv, etc.), audio (.mp3, .wav, etc.), archives (.zip, .rar, etc.) or otherwise downloadable or streamable files, on servers that you do not have permission to link to, instead of linking to the page where the item can be found. This includes providing a direct link to the file. This practice costs the server owner money and resources.

10. Respect is the name of the game. You must respect your fellow commenters. Please refrain from inflammatory and defamatory comments as well as flaming, taunting, and general disrespect. Do not simply put down the opinion or advice given by others. If you don’t agree with it, say why – respectfully. Don’t just tell them they’re wrong. Do not make uninvited remarks about typos, duplicate comments, commenting styles, etc.

When an opinion-based discussion is being had, do not state things like “there is no argument” as if your opinion is the only one or the only one that matters. When someone has clearly stated their opinion, do not say things like “Are you serious?” and “Are you kidding me?” Remember, this is not a debate club. This is a friendly discussion community. Allow people to have their opinion. No one is to act as some sort of opinion judge, responding to each one to say whether they agree with it or not or whether or not it is a valid, well thought out opinion.

11. Any staff members have the final say on anything. If you have a problem, you may make a complaint to them directly and not publicly on the website. Creating comments that question or reference administrative decisions or potential administrative decisions is not permitted. We are not perfect and if you feel that we have made a mistake, please privately contact the Online Editor or the Editor in Chief and we will review the situation. If you would like a copy of your removed comment so that you can adjust it and repost, please contact us. As long as we wouldn’t prefer you to simply start over, we’ll be glad to send you a copy.

12. Whenever you are participating in this community, please keep in mind that we strive to create a fun, friendly and inviting atmosphere. So, please have fun and enjoy the site!

Freedom of speech rights do not extend to privately owned websites, such as this one. These guidelines detail the types of behavior and activities that are allowed here.

If a user violates our guidelines and shows a disregard for them, our staff and our community, they run the risk of losing their commenting privileges. These guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice.

Thank you for visiting the Technique.