About the guidelines

When submitting content to the Noosa Biosphere site you are asked to be guided by the following acceptable behaviours.

We’ve created these guidelines for your serious reference, so you can enjoy your community information exchange areas without inadvertently creating legal hassles or offending. It explains when to escalate an issue to us without having to get your fingertips burnt by internet trolls!

If you post a comment on www.noosabiophere.org.au it must comply with these guidelines. They are there to be as fair as we can to all. If you disagree with the guidelines, we’re always open to feedback but please note, if your comment doesn’t comply, it will be removed.

We moderate all community communication areas on www.noosabiophere.org.au. Our moderation team will review your comment either before or after your comment is published. If they find something that breaches the guidelines, your comment(s) will be removed.

Please be aware that Noosa Biosphere Ltd. has the right to remove any comment that it feels necessary to maintain a pleasant and constructive community tone.

To get the most from our community areas please consider:

Relevancy
Make sure your comment is relevant to the content. Off-topic comments will be removed, unless it’s a designated off-topic area.

Report
Use the contact form if you think a moderator needs to check a comment for any reason.

Enjoy
Try to have fun. If you find yourself getting wound up or stressed take a break for a bit - come back refreshed and eager to contribute in the spirit in which these areas are intended.

Empathise
Be patient with other users. Even if someone posts in a way that annoys you (in txt spk for example), stay polite and light-hearted in any response.

Please avoid

Bad Language: No swearing is allowed.

Offensive Behaviour
Don’t post in a manner likely to offend users, don’t disrupt the community or be generally mean.

Violating Copyright
Don’t copy and paste large chunks from other sites or include copyrighted material in your post.

Bickering and personal arguments
Don’t get into bickering with other users. We do not allow the abuse of other commenters. If another user is attempting to get into an argument with you please do not rise to the bait. Please contact us rather than getting into tit-for-tat.

Online Safety
Don’t give out any personal information about yourself or another person, especially contact information. You may think you know the people you are chatting to, but you do not know the many thousands of casual guests who can read what you post.

Confidentiality
Be aware that copying and pasting email materials that have been sent to you by either an individual or a company may break the confidentially terms or privacy expectations between you and the sender, which can most often be found in the footer of the email but can also exist in ‘common law’.

Cruel and naughty stuff
We will remove any obscene, malicious or cruel material so be mature and consider your own legal position when making statements.

Rumours & Lies
You may use this service to obtain factual information. Be careful not to defame people in statements which may not be accurate or true.

Spam
Don’t try to promote your website, business, dodgy money making scheme, ferret-breeding farm or your lonely single self.

Deleted Comments
Do not repeatedly re-post deleted topics or comments.

Foreign Language
Messages may be removed if posted in languages other than English. No offence meant to your language skills but we need to be practical.

Linking

You can link to any website to illustrate your comment so long as it is not:

• Commercially motivated
• A link to content that breaches copyright or trademarks
• A direct link to a media or executable file, e.g. wmv, mp4, mov, mp3, pdf
• A link to obscene or unlawful content
• Considered spam or off-topic

If you are a blogger, you may add a link to your blog in the 'url' field where available.

Thank you. We trust this advice has been received in the spirit to which it was intended and has proved helpful. Please let us know if it needs further work.