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MyFitnessPal Site-wide Community Guidelines
andyxbear
Posts: 269 Member
All of the below can be found by going to this link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/guidelines :flowerforyou:
Groups
In addition to the Main Forums, MyFitnessPal also offers Groups which contain their own message forums. Group forums are self-moderated. Each group appoints it’s own moderators who are responsible for ensuring the group’s (and MyFitnessPal’s) guidelines are followed. The guidelines below are in two sections: those that apply site-wide, including Groups, and those that apply only to the Main Forums.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. No Attacks or Insults and No Reciprocation<
a) Do not attack, mock, or otherwise insult others. You can respectfully disagree with the message or topic, but you cannot attack the messenger. This includes attacks against the user’s spelling or command of written English, or belittling a user for posting a duplicate topic.
b) If you are attacked by another user, and you reciprocate, you will also be subject to the same consequences. Defending yourself or a friend is not an excuse! Do not take matters into your own hands – instead, use the Report Post link to report an attack and we will be happy to handle the situation for you.
2. No Hi-Jacking Topics
Please stay on-topic within a forum topic. Off-topic or derogatory remarks are disrespectful. Please either contribute politely and constructively to a topic, or move on without posting. This includes posts that encourage the drama in a topic to escalate.
3. No Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders
a) Posts intended to promote potentially unsafe or controversial weight loss products or procedures, including non-medically prescribed supplements or MLM products will be removed without warning.
b) No pro-anorexia or pro-bulimia posts, groups, profile names, or profile bylines. Photos intended to promote or glamorize extreme thinness are also not permitted.
4. Show Respect to All Groups and Individuals
No derogatory references to sex, gender, ethnicity, religions, or sexual orientation, or endorsement of violence against any person or group, even if couched in humor, will be permitted. This includes expressing stereotypes about any group or community.
5. No Public Posting of Private Conversations
Do not publicly post an email or private message from any other MyFitnessPal user, moderator or administrator at any time.
6. No Intentionally Hurtful Topics
Topics which are started with the intent to belittle others, either directly named or through enough descriptive commentary to be possibly identified, are prohibited. This includes stalking a poster through the forums, posting about past events gone sour, divulging personal information, or spreading gossip or rumors.
7. Do Not Publish Private Contact Information
For your safety, do not post personal information such as telephone numbers, emails, mailing addresses, instant messenger ids, etc.
8. Posts Must Abide By All Legal Statutes
a) Do not post messages that violate federal, state/provincial, or local laws which include, but are not limited to, anything that violates a copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or is bound by NDA (non-disclosure agreement).
b) Posts which promote or encourage illegal activities, including, but not limited to, use of illegal substances, violence against others, and procurement of prescription drugs without a prescription, are prohibited.
c) Images containing hateful or violent imagery, depiction of illegal activities, or copyrighted material are not allowed and will be removed.
9. Do Not Post the Same Topic on Multiple Boards or Groups
Please choose the most appropriate board or group for your post and post it once. Posting the same message to multiple boards or multiple groups is a form of spam. Please note that this is NOT a guideline against inadvertently posting a question another member has asked before. We explicitly allow members to post questions that have been asked previously by other members. If you see a member post a topic that you think has been asked before by another member, please respond politely or simply move on. However, the same member cannot ask the same question or post the same topic more than once.
10. Multiple Accounts Are Not Allowed
Creating a second account for the purposes of deceiving other members or to work around a Forum suspension is not permitted and will be grounds for a permanent ban from the site.
11. No Airing of Grievances With Moderators
a) Protesting a moderator or admin action is not allowed on the Forums or in Groups. If you have a question or concern about a moderator or admin action, please email one of the moderators or Steven, an MFP staff member, with your concern and we will investigate the matter promptly.
b) If you have concerns about another poster, or wish to report a guideline violation, the only appropriate venue is to use the Report Post link or to message a moderator or Steven, an MFP staff member. You may not air such concerns on the message boards themselves. If you have a general concern that does not involve a specific member, you may post your question in the Feedback or Help forums.
12. No Profane, Vulgar, Sexually Explicit or Illegal Images
All images on the site, including all profile pictures and images posted in the forums, should be work-place friendly. While we reserve the right to remove any photo we feel is inappropriate, here are some partial guidelines as to what is not acceptable:
- no nudity
- no underwear, thongs, g-strings, or banana hammocks
- no photos in which hands or objects are the only bodily covering
- no excessive cleavage (if you would wear it to work, it’s probably OK)
- no close-up shots of cleavage, butt, breasts or crotch in any state of dress
- no hateful or violent imagery
- no images containing profanity
If you are photographing yourself to demonstrate successful weight loss, tight fitting spandex is a great way to show the change in your shape, while still abiding by these guidelines.
13. Violation of These Guidelines May Lead to Disciplinary Action
We reserve the right to delete or lock topics, to disable the posting privileges of any member, or to deny anyone use of our site at anytime, for any reason, at our discretion without warning or notice. Conversely, we reserve the right to dismiss a reported post if we find it does not violate a guideline.
Additional Guidelines for the Main Forums
14. No Advertising, Self-Promotion, or Fund-Raising
a) You may not post any links or mentions of other services, websites, or businesses from which you or an associate might benefit financially or otherwise. You also may not solicit off-Forum contact from which you might benefit, e.g. "message me for more info", “I can get you free samples”, etc.
b) Requests or solicitations for donations are also not allowed. This includes requesting contributions to “pooled fund” competitions, requests for votes in any venue (online contests, etc.), and even requests for charitable contributions. As you can imagine, we have a lot of people who would like to raise money for worthy causes through the site. As much as we'd like to support these causes, if we were to allow requests for donations, the forums would quickly become full of such requests which would take away from the main purpose of the forums - to support one another.
c) Posts or messages to members promoting websites that compete with MyFitnessPal are also prohibited.
15. Divisive Topics Are Better Suited For Groups, Not the Main Forums
Divisive topics, particularly those that seek input from or are relevant only to a select group of users, are better placed within an appropriate Group rather than the Main Forums. For example, topics relevant to only one religion should not be placed on the main forums but rather within a group related to that religion. We reserve the right to move any topic to a relevant public Group which interested members may join if they wish to continue to participate.
16. No Political Topics in the Main Forums
Political content is not allowed on the Main Forums. This includes images. Please form or join a Group if you would like to engage in political debate on MyFitnessPal.
17. No Profane, Vulgar, or Sexually Explicit Language
No explicit, sexual, insulting or vulgar content including expletives, or sexual innuendo, will be permitted. Publicly visible text on MyFitnessPal should be work-place friendly.
We reserve the right to moderate a topic based on the intent of the sexual material it contains. Topics intended to titillate will be removed. Topics with medical or clinical themes related to sex or sexual health may be permitted, at our discretion.
18. Please Post In English On The Main Forums
Because we need to ensure that our English-speaking moderator team can properly understand and evaluate all posts, we request that all posts on the Main Forums are made in English. If you wish to post in a different language, we encourage you to join a language-specific group.
19. No Public Protests Of Moderator Actions Or Decisions
We at MyFitnessPal are people too, and all of our forum moderators are unpaid volunteers. We all work hard to improve the site and ensure MyFitnessPal remains a positive and friendly place for everyone. When problems arise, we do our best to be fair and nice people. We require that community members interact with us in a respectful manner, and while we understand that people get upset, we will not take abuse and we reserve the right to deny you access to the site at any time.
If you have an issue with a moderator decision or action, you may send a private message to a moderator or to Steven from the MFP Staff. But please do not post such disputes on the forums themselves.
20. Three Strikes and You Are Out
We feel strongly that posts or actions disregarding these guidelines jeopardize the supportive atmosphere of MyFitnessPal. Such posts may lead to consequences including warning, suspension of posting privileges, or, in extreme cases, removal of a user from the site. As a general practice, we will operate on a “three strikes” system. If moderators block you from 3 topics for any of the above reasons, you will be permanently banned from all of the Main Forums.
Group-Specific Guidelines
21. Groups Can Establish Additional Group-Specific Guidelines
Group Administrators may establish additional guidelines for their Groups as long as they do not interfere with MyFitnessPal’s sitewide guidelines. Members of the group must adhere to these group-specific rules.
22. Group Moderators Must Uphold Site-wide Guidelines
All group moderators are required to uphold the MyFitnessPal site-wide guidelines to the best of their abilities. Failure to do so will result in the loss of their moderator privileges and possibly the shutdown of the group.
23. Do Not Troll or Harass Groups
There will be groups with opinions that you do not agree with. Do not use groups as a way to harass or insult others.
24. No Mass Invites or Invite Spamming
While we certainly encourage group founders to invite members to join their groups, excessively spamming invites is not permitted and will result in the deletion of the group. Please invite members to your group in moderation.
25. Groups That Allow Mature Content Must Be Marked Mature
If your group decides that it will allow mature content, it must be flagged as a mature group. Failure to do so could result in the deletion of the group. Please note that even groups marked as mature must still adhere to our site-wide guidelines.
These guidelines are subject to change.
Thanks for your cooperation and we hope you are enjoying the site!
Groups
In addition to the Main Forums, MyFitnessPal also offers Groups which contain their own message forums. Group forums are self-moderated. Each group appoints it’s own moderators who are responsible for ensuring the group’s (and MyFitnessPal’s) guidelines are followed. The guidelines below are in two sections: those that apply site-wide, including Groups, and those that apply only to the Main Forums.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. No Attacks or Insults and No Reciprocation<
a) Do not attack, mock, or otherwise insult others. You can respectfully disagree with the message or topic, but you cannot attack the messenger. This includes attacks against the user’s spelling or command of written English, or belittling a user for posting a duplicate topic.
b) If you are attacked by another user, and you reciprocate, you will also be subject to the same consequences. Defending yourself or a friend is not an excuse! Do not take matters into your own hands – instead, use the Report Post link to report an attack and we will be happy to handle the situation for you.
2. No Hi-Jacking Topics
Please stay on-topic within a forum topic. Off-topic or derogatory remarks are disrespectful. Please either contribute politely and constructively to a topic, or move on without posting. This includes posts that encourage the drama in a topic to escalate.
3. No Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders
a) Posts intended to promote potentially unsafe or controversial weight loss products or procedures, including non-medically prescribed supplements or MLM products will be removed without warning.
b) No pro-anorexia or pro-bulimia posts, groups, profile names, or profile bylines. Photos intended to promote or glamorize extreme thinness are also not permitted.
4. Show Respect to All Groups and Individuals
No derogatory references to sex, gender, ethnicity, religions, or sexual orientation, or endorsement of violence against any person or group, even if couched in humor, will be permitted. This includes expressing stereotypes about any group or community.
5. No Public Posting of Private Conversations
Do not publicly post an email or private message from any other MyFitnessPal user, moderator or administrator at any time.
6. No Intentionally Hurtful Topics
Topics which are started with the intent to belittle others, either directly named or through enough descriptive commentary to be possibly identified, are prohibited. This includes stalking a poster through the forums, posting about past events gone sour, divulging personal information, or spreading gossip or rumors.
7. Do Not Publish Private Contact Information
For your safety, do not post personal information such as telephone numbers, emails, mailing addresses, instant messenger ids, etc.
8. Posts Must Abide By All Legal Statutes
a) Do not post messages that violate federal, state/provincial, or local laws which include, but are not limited to, anything that violates a copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or is bound by NDA (non-disclosure agreement).
b) Posts which promote or encourage illegal activities, including, but not limited to, use of illegal substances, violence against others, and procurement of prescription drugs without a prescription, are prohibited.
c) Images containing hateful or violent imagery, depiction of illegal activities, or copyrighted material are not allowed and will be removed.
9. Do Not Post the Same Topic on Multiple Boards or Groups
Please choose the most appropriate board or group for your post and post it once. Posting the same message to multiple boards or multiple groups is a form of spam. Please note that this is NOT a guideline against inadvertently posting a question another member has asked before. We explicitly allow members to post questions that have been asked previously by other members. If you see a member post a topic that you think has been asked before by another member, please respond politely or simply move on. However, the same member cannot ask the same question or post the same topic more than once.
10. Multiple Accounts Are Not Allowed
Creating a second account for the purposes of deceiving other members or to work around a Forum suspension is not permitted and will be grounds for a permanent ban from the site.
11. No Airing of Grievances With Moderators
a) Protesting a moderator or admin action is not allowed on the Forums or in Groups. If you have a question or concern about a moderator or admin action, please email one of the moderators or Steven, an MFP staff member, with your concern and we will investigate the matter promptly.
b) If you have concerns about another poster, or wish to report a guideline violation, the only appropriate venue is to use the Report Post link or to message a moderator or Steven, an MFP staff member. You may not air such concerns on the message boards themselves. If you have a general concern that does not involve a specific member, you may post your question in the Feedback or Help forums.
12. No Profane, Vulgar, Sexually Explicit or Illegal Images
All images on the site, including all profile pictures and images posted in the forums, should be work-place friendly. While we reserve the right to remove any photo we feel is inappropriate, here are some partial guidelines as to what is not acceptable:
- no nudity
- no underwear, thongs, g-strings, or banana hammocks
- no photos in which hands or objects are the only bodily covering
- no excessive cleavage (if you would wear it to work, it’s probably OK)
- no close-up shots of cleavage, butt, breasts or crotch in any state of dress
- no hateful or violent imagery
- no images containing profanity
If you are photographing yourself to demonstrate successful weight loss, tight fitting spandex is a great way to show the change in your shape, while still abiding by these guidelines.
13. Violation of These Guidelines May Lead to Disciplinary Action
We reserve the right to delete or lock topics, to disable the posting privileges of any member, or to deny anyone use of our site at anytime, for any reason, at our discretion without warning or notice. Conversely, we reserve the right to dismiss a reported post if we find it does not violate a guideline.
Additional Guidelines for the Main Forums
14. No Advertising, Self-Promotion, or Fund-Raising
a) You may not post any links or mentions of other services, websites, or businesses from which you or an associate might benefit financially or otherwise. You also may not solicit off-Forum contact from which you might benefit, e.g. "message me for more info", “I can get you free samples”, etc.
b) Requests or solicitations for donations are also not allowed. This includes requesting contributions to “pooled fund” competitions, requests for votes in any venue (online contests, etc.), and even requests for charitable contributions. As you can imagine, we have a lot of people who would like to raise money for worthy causes through the site. As much as we'd like to support these causes, if we were to allow requests for donations, the forums would quickly become full of such requests which would take away from the main purpose of the forums - to support one another.
c) Posts or messages to members promoting websites that compete with MyFitnessPal are also prohibited.
15. Divisive Topics Are Better Suited For Groups, Not the Main Forums
Divisive topics, particularly those that seek input from or are relevant only to a select group of users, are better placed within an appropriate Group rather than the Main Forums. For example, topics relevant to only one religion should not be placed on the main forums but rather within a group related to that religion. We reserve the right to move any topic to a relevant public Group which interested members may join if they wish to continue to participate.
16. No Political Topics in the Main Forums
Political content is not allowed on the Main Forums. This includes images. Please form or join a Group if you would like to engage in political debate on MyFitnessPal.
17. No Profane, Vulgar, or Sexually Explicit Language
No explicit, sexual, insulting or vulgar content including expletives, or sexual innuendo, will be permitted. Publicly visible text on MyFitnessPal should be work-place friendly.
We reserve the right to moderate a topic based on the intent of the sexual material it contains. Topics intended to titillate will be removed. Topics with medical or clinical themes related to sex or sexual health may be permitted, at our discretion.
18. Please Post In English On The Main Forums
Because we need to ensure that our English-speaking moderator team can properly understand and evaluate all posts, we request that all posts on the Main Forums are made in English. If you wish to post in a different language, we encourage you to join a language-specific group.
19. No Public Protests Of Moderator Actions Or Decisions
We at MyFitnessPal are people too, and all of our forum moderators are unpaid volunteers. We all work hard to improve the site and ensure MyFitnessPal remains a positive and friendly place for everyone. When problems arise, we do our best to be fair and nice people. We require that community members interact with us in a respectful manner, and while we understand that people get upset, we will not take abuse and we reserve the right to deny you access to the site at any time.
If you have an issue with a moderator decision or action, you may send a private message to a moderator or to Steven from the MFP Staff. But please do not post such disputes on the forums themselves.
20. Three Strikes and You Are Out
We feel strongly that posts or actions disregarding these guidelines jeopardize the supportive atmosphere of MyFitnessPal. Such posts may lead to consequences including warning, suspension of posting privileges, or, in extreme cases, removal of a user from the site. As a general practice, we will operate on a “three strikes” system. If moderators block you from 3 topics for any of the above reasons, you will be permanently banned from all of the Main Forums.
Group-Specific Guidelines
21. Groups Can Establish Additional Group-Specific Guidelines
Group Administrators may establish additional guidelines for their Groups as long as they do not interfere with MyFitnessPal’s sitewide guidelines. Members of the group must adhere to these group-specific rules.
22. Group Moderators Must Uphold Site-wide Guidelines
All group moderators are required to uphold the MyFitnessPal site-wide guidelines to the best of their abilities. Failure to do so will result in the loss of their moderator privileges and possibly the shutdown of the group.
23. Do Not Troll or Harass Groups
There will be groups with opinions that you do not agree with. Do not use groups as a way to harass or insult others.
24. No Mass Invites or Invite Spamming
While we certainly encourage group founders to invite members to join their groups, excessively spamming invites is not permitted and will result in the deletion of the group. Please invite members to your group in moderation.
25. Groups That Allow Mature Content Must Be Marked Mature
If your group decides that it will allow mature content, it must be flagged as a mature group. Failure to do so could result in the deletion of the group. Please note that even groups marked as mature must still adhere to our site-wide guidelines.
These guidelines are subject to change.
Thanks for your cooperation and we hope you are enjoying the site!
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