By Following the Policies and Guidelines, you help to ensure that the The Stem Kidz Forums remain an enjoyable environment for everyone. Violating these rules may result in your removal from the forums as well as other The Stem Kidz services. The following Policies and Guidelines apply to public threads, private messages, visitor messages on user profiles, social groups, and any other form of communication within the The Stem Kidz Forums:
Remember the Golden Rule - Treat others as you want to be treated
Misunderstandings on forums are quite common often due to the difficulty in understanding the implied tone in another user's remarks. In fact, quite often something you may interpret as being harshly worded or rude may just be someone else's form of offering you support. Take extra care to be kind in your comments to other users and never react negatively to comments you perceive as rude or otherwise objectionable. Instead, it's always wiser to either end the discussion, ignore the comment entirely, or in more severe cases report the offense to our moderators by clicking the Report Abuse button beside the post. Remember: two wrongs don't make a right. Responding to another user's comments in a manner contrary to our posting policy will be viewed by our moderators as equally inappropriate and may result in sanctions against your forum privileges.
Do not use abusive or disrespectful behavior
Disagreements or conflict may arise in the course of a discussion. Please remember to be courteous when disagreeing with others. Debate on differing opinions is appropriate and encouraged. Personal attacks against other users, however, are not allowed.
The following behaviors are examples of what will not be tolerated in the The Stem Kidz forums.
Flaming - posts that are designed to personally berate or insult another user.
Trolling - posting derogatory or inflammatory comments/threads attempting to bait other users into responding. Accusing someone of being a troll is also a form of trolling.
Personal attacks - posts that insult a poster directly. This includes any attacks against forum moderators, The Stem Kidz representatives, or employees.
This list is non-exhaustive. ANY behavior that is patently offensive is also forbidden.
Do not haze new posters
New members should feel welcome to post their questions, no matter how well-informed. Do not harass them for asking questions or treat them poorly for not knowing an answer. Remember, we were all new once! Please welcome them to our boards and help them find the information they are looking for.
Search for answers before posting
Chances are if you have a problem or question, you're not the first. Someone may have posted the same question before you and received an answer or The Stem Kidz staff may have covered the subject in an Announcement. Read through the forums or do a keyword search on your question on the Forum Search Page. This can save you and our community time and effort and add your thoughts to a larger existing discussion.
Requests for assistance
If you're having a problem and need direct assistance from staff, please contact The Stem Kidz Customer Service. Typically customer service will respond to your inquiry within two business days from the time the inquiry is sent. If after two days you do not receive a response or are not happy with the response you received, you may post a message in the forums detailing the problem.
Do not post personal information
Please respect the privacy of others. Do not give out or re-post ANYONE'S personal information such as names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, etc. This applies to your own information and that of other users, The Stem Kidz employees, family members, etc.
Do not post private communications
This includes conversations between The Stem Kidz Customer Support, community members, moderators, employees, or partners of The Stem Kidz on these forums or any other site.
Publicizing any private correspondence such as support tickets, email, Private Message (PM) correspondence, or chat logs is not permitted without prior permission.
Do not discuss moderator actions on the forums
If you do not agree with a moderator's decision, you may send a private message to the moderator or community administrator. You may NOT start a thread or post complaining that your post was removed. Nor may you post private correspondence from moderators, such as infraction or warning notices. Questions or comments concerning warnings and suspensions (site or forum) should be conveyed through e-mail or private messaging.
Do not make non-constructive posts
Below are examples of prohibited non-constructive posts:
Spam - repetitive posting of the same topic or text or nonsensical posts that have no substance and are often designed to annoy other forum users. The solicitation or advertisement of content, goods, services, or information not found or published on The Stem Kidz is considered spam and not allowed anywhere in our forums.
Bumping - posting on threads in order to keep them near the top of the forum list. Commenting on obsolete or old topics with the intent to bump them into a discussion is also prohibited.
Hijacking - Try to keep all replies to a thread on the topic at hand. Posting's which are intentionally off-topic or try to sway the discussion completely or partially off topic is generally considered rude.
Advertising - The Stem Kidz prohibits the posting of advertising links, images or content for the purpose of self-promotion outside of the Book Announcement and Promotion category. Hijacking or creating a new thread for the purpose of solicitation or advertising of content or any posts which could be interpreted as a solicitation, including the promotion of content published on The Stem Kidz.com, are prohibited outside of their relevant forums. The one exception to this is signature links to your own, The Stem Kidz-published books, either on an Author Spotlight or The Stem Kidz Shop page.
Lobbying - continually bringing up the same topic in numerous different threads or as an off-topic post in existing threads to get a developer?s attention.
Cross-posting - Posting the same topic or thread in more than one forum is considered cross-posting. As a courtesy to others before beginning a new thread, please look to see if an active thread on that topic has already been established by using the Search feature.
I'm quitting threads.
Signing - posts which contain only the text /signed or +1 to show agreement with the previous post. These are discouraged, as they do not engender constructive discussion.
Malicious or Disruptive Code - the use of JavaScript, active or other coding, making repetitive posts, or other actions that interfere with site operations are forbidden. Any malicious code or employment of a robot, spider or other process or device to harvest e-mail addresses or other User information or to monitor the activity on the Forums is also forbidden.
Data Mining/Harvesting & Employing Bots - using the The Stem Kidz forums as a means to acquire private information from other community members through any methods.
False obituary threads
Threads that make threats or use other combative languages.
Threads that single out a user for ridicule.
Conspiracy Threads - claims or complaints about The Stem Kidz or any of its employees acting in collusion with or showing favoritism to a group, author, or community member.
NEVER: Impersonate another forum user, moderator, community administrator, or The Stem Kidz employee.
You are prohibited from impersonating anyone, including those named above, on the forum or the The Stem Kidz site.
Do not post disruptive off-topic threads
These forums are for and about The Stem Kidz. We do, however, allow non-disruptive off-topic discussion in our forums as fitting with the community of posters who frequent them. Constructive discussion about other sites (comparing and contrasting) is allowed at the discretion of The Stem Kidz. Likewise, any topics (such as politics or religion) that are volatile or disruptive are discouraged and can be removed at our discretion. Please contact a moderator if you have questions about a topic being permitted on the forums.
Post your comments in the most relevant forum
While at times it's not always clear where to post your comments, do your best to post to the most appropriate forum. And don't forget; posting of promotional material or review requests are prohibited except on the Book Announcement and Promotion board. It's the best way to ensure your comments are visible to the people you want reading them so your comments are not moved or deleted by moderators.
Post your comments to the correct language forum
Whatever your language preferences, please post in the appropriate language forums. The Stem Kidz currently offers forums in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Dutch. Posts in languages other than the language specified for that forum may be deleted or moved to a more appropriate forum without warning.
Do not post advertisements for other companies
Advertising of any kind for other companies on these forums is strictly prohibited.
Do not use proxy posting or account hopping to evade suspension
Posting on behalf of a suspended user is not allowed. Working around a suspension through other people's accounts, the creation of new accounts or use of secondary accounts to continue posting is also prohibited. You are personally responsible for your conduct on the forums. If you create a new account to continue posting after your account has been suspended, any forum and accounts involved can be permanently banned. Forum and site suspensions generally apply to a person, rather than a specific account. Threads designed to announce, appeal or contest a forum or site suspension decision on behalf of a third party will also be removed without notice. If you do not understand why you were suspended or have further questions, you must contact support.
Do not post Legal Action or Boycott threads
Using the forums or Private Messages for encouraging, promoting, endorsing, or inciting any kind of legal action, reporting, or boycott endeavor against anyone is strictly prohibited.
Do not post sensitive or confidential information
This includes any information covered by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or beta testing agreement. Any information about The Stem Kidz or a third party covered by an NDA or Beta Testing Agreement that is posted will be removed. Posters of the information may be banned from all The Stem Kidz Services and may face legal action.
User-Generated Content
You may post images on the forums as long as they are of an appropriate and non-offensive nature and do not otherwise infringe the intellectual property rights of any party. The following images (or links pointing to such images) are examples what may not be posted:
any image which is sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, derogatory, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, contains profanity or depicts illegal activity.
Any image that is disruptive or, in The Stem Kidz's sole discretion, appears to be in poor taste will be removed and your forum account may be banned.
Zero Tolerance Policy
Immediate suspensions from the forum can result from any of the following: the posting of pornography; remarks which are sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive; or vulgar which discuss or illustrate illegal activity; provide links to sites that contain any of the aforementioned.
Proprietary forums
The The Stem Kidz Community Forums are private message boards administered by The Stem Kidz. All message board content is allowed at the discretion of The Stem Kidz. The Stem Kidz reserves the right to remove any message board content without notice and for any reason.
Copyright
The Stem Kidz will respond to clear notices of alleged copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights infringement. For more information, please visit our Terms of Service.
Suspension and Termination
The Stem Kidz shall determine, in its sole discretion, whether there has been a breach of these Policies and may take any action deemed appropriate.
Your use of the forums is conditioned upon your compliance with the Forum Policies and Guidelines as well as the The Stem Kidz Terms of Service. Failure to comply with these Policies and Guidelines shall constitute a material breach of these Terms and may result in The Stem Kidz taking any or all of the following actions:
Remove any material or postings you have made to the forums
Issue a warning
Suspend or ban your The Stem Kidz account and/or your use of the forums
Disclose such information to law enforcement authorities as The Stem Kidz feels is reasonably necessary
Pursue legal action against you
The Stem Kidz excludes all liability for:
Any action taken in response to breaches of these Policies and Guidelines. The responses described in this document are not exhaustive, and The Stem Kidz may take any other action, in its sole discretion as deemed appropriate.
Any loss or damage arising from the use of the forum by you.
Any content posted or uploaded by users of the forum which shall include, without limitation, any liability for offensive and/or defamatory posts.
Changes to Forum Policies and Guidelines The Stem Kidz may revise the Forum Policies and Guidelines at any time by making changes to this page. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes as they are legally binding. Provisions contained within these Policies and Guidelines may be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on the The Stem Kidz site.