Creating a TOS (Terms of Service) is for its members to agree to abide by as they register, so have you created one? Or in need of help creating one?

So if you have one, how about post them here and share it with us? Shall I gather all our examples into one thread? Which I believe would be handy for those who just getting started.

Well, I'll start off with the Guidelines then follow by Rules, Prvacy policy and so forth.


Guidelines


Please be polite

Do not harass anyone

Do not post your personal details or anyone else in the forums

Do not advertise your website or services in the Soccer Picks section. Do it ONLY on My.Com Stall. Any arguments should be posted using the Private Message option

Do not flood the forums

Do not advertise your services in My.Com (bookie, runner, etc). If required we will assist any police investigation if one should take place. This is a forum for punters not illegal bookmakers. Anyone found violating these guidelines will lose their postings privileges immediately while the situation is reviewed. You may be banned permanently as well.

Infringement of copyright
Please do not cut paste any news from other news related websites as this is an infringement of copyright (Have received an email concerning this matter)
With the new season just around the corner, please post any topics that's not related to Soccer Picks in My.Com Stall.


With Effect from 13th October, 2004
While we welcome new members as well as thank our regular and old members for patronising My.Com, we feel that its important for Rules and Regulations to be in place.

This will ultimately help us help you make this forum a better place to stay.
Before you post, please read the Rules HERE.

Runners and bookies, if you're one, read this
My.Com is a place for punters. It is not a place for runners or bookies (illegal one) to attract new clients. There are too many cases of anonymous runners disappearing when they failed to pay their clients.


Forum Rules


My.com Forum is made for fans and managed by fans. We encourage communication and interaction between members to share the common passion that drove us all here – football. To do so, we have to have rules.

1. Language
The official language used here is ENGLISH, as it is internationally recognized. Being a Forum frequented by many Asians though, some leeway is allowed for the use of other languages.

However, abusive or distasteful language, as well as the excessive use of vulgarities (be it English or any other dialects) will not be tolerated and will result in a stern warning. If it is unheeded, an automatic BAN will be imposed.

2. Respect
Be tasteful about your posts and replies. No violent, political, religious, racist taunts or vile posts will be tolerated. Neither will personal attack of any nature. Such behavior has nothing to do with supporting a football team, and you can be rest assured that action will be taken. Behave like an adult, respect your fellow members and they will respect you.

3. Etiquette
This forum is not a fight club. The intention for these forums is to discuss football, and not to flame people. No one's opinion is more correct than anyone else's.

This forum was created as a place to discuss and debate. All members have a right to voice their opinions. It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable. Use of profanity, swearing and smearing will result in automatic Yellow Card, or Red Card if it warrants one.

4. Thread Title and Content
Any threads/postings with header or content that include words such as Insider Tips, Underground Source, etc will not be tolerated or allowed. You have been warned.

Such postings may be removed without warning or notice, and the same will apply to other postings that are deemed to be inappropriate.

5. Posting of Picks
If you are posting PICKS or PREDICTIONS (except the Championship section), you are strongly encouraged to elaborate a little on why you have picked Team XYZ or Team ABC, although it is not required, nor are you obliged to do so.

However, in giving your reasons, it will lend some credibility as to why you are advocating this pick - which it is, not just a guess with no foundation. As a guide, just a few lines of text will do fine for your main pick; there's no need for a full blown analysis unless you feel up to it.

6. Authority
Admin and Moderators are here to ensure the forums are staying within the community atmosphere and should be treated with respect.

Any disputes should be dealt with via PM's. If outside assistance is required, contact a Moderator for help with the resolution. Moderators and Admin have the last say. Period.

7. Problems
If you, as a member, notice a post that is of poor taste, or a member who is willfully bending or breaking our simple rules, you can and should report it. You may use the Report this Post feature, and/or you may PM the Moderator of the forum where you saw the problem.

8. Advertising
Unauthorized advertising of any kind is strictly forbidden on My.Com. We will not tolerate any form of advertising without prior approval.

9. Flooding or Spamming
Do not flood or Spam any Forum in My.Coms. The respective Forums have self-explanatory titles, which gives indication of the kind of posts that are appropriate or expected. Repeated or similar postings across several or all Forums with no regard to whether the content of post is relevant is considered as a form of FLOODING.

10. Uncouth Pictures/Avatar/Nicks/Links
My.Com, being a football forum does not condone the posting of uncouth pictures, using of uncouth avatars (read as porn pictures, sexually explicit images or icons/animations, be it softcore or hardcore) or the usage of distasteful nicks (as determined or deemed to be so by the Admin or Moderators of the forum). The thread in question may be removed, and a warning (short of issuing a Yellow Card) will be given. If it is left unheeded, there will only be one outcome. Be forewarned.

11. Yellow and Red Cards
Members who fail to follow the above rules and continue to be uncooperative and disrespectful will be issued with a Yellow Card as a warning, or alternatively a straight Red Card if it warrants. This would allow other members to view your misdemeanor and also to make an example out of you.

A Yellow Card may be rescinded (over a period of time) if the offender learns his/her mistakes and start to abide to the imposed rules. A Red Card is permanent and the offender will be banned and have no access whatsoever to the forum. Other sanctions that restrict rights or privileges of the use of My.Com may also be imposed by the Admin for errant users.

By registering as a member, you have agreed to abide by the rules. Membership will be revoked if a member persistently breaches any of these rules.

I have some rules but they're in french but I'll traduct them so I'll post them here ;)

mine are the default vB ones... I'll change them some day

Just in case anyone dose not know what a TOS was, please refer to this wonderful article wirrten by Andrew:- http://www.vBulletin-Fans.com/showthread.php?t=6177




Cheers

We have a few areas for our Rules...


This site makes chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available to its users.

Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information...in fact, NZB's advice is: 'NEVER EVER divulge personal info on the internet.'

You should assume that all chat rooms, forums and message boards are logged for historical or monitoring purposes and may be summarised and displayed.

Please do not give out any personal information such as phone number, postal address, zip code, last name, or anything you do not wish others to know. If you choose to ignore this request, we cannot be held responsible for the consequences.

First Name, Age, Gender, Location, and Birthday are all optional upon registration. As stated above, only email address, username, and password are required.

Please know privacy is very important to us; we will never divulge your email address to anyone without first asking your consent.

If you get "spam" emails from a member (this can occur if you check "Yes" for show email on the registration or Profile Options pages) please report the email address to us so we can investigate.


Philosophy and Expected Conduct
The philosophy behind NZB is a friendly environment where any and all topics can be discussed in the interest of personal enlightenment. Since we all are (to some degree) adults, this should be possible without too many rules and regulations. The following is a set of guidelines for suggested behavior on the board. Please read carefully as there are actually a couple of good old-fashioned rules in there.

* Be friendly and respectful. This is especially encouraged towards newbies. Remember what it was like to be the new kid in class? While it’s not realistic that we should all agree on everything (and not even desireable) it should be possible to behave in a civil manner. Attack the opinion, not the person holding it.


Profanity/Swearing
# Profanity. While many boards have rules against profane language, NZB does not. In fact we feel that the occasional swearword may serve well to hammer down a point and spice up the debate. Just keep in mind that if you constantly spew gutter language in your posts your style may detract from your message and many people may be disinclined to respond. If you find swearing offensive, just enable the Censor option in your Control Panel.


Porn and Spam
# Porn. Posting of porn, either by images or links, is not allowed. This is a rule. However, the broader topic of sex and sexuality is by no means taboo on NZB.

# Spam. We all hate it, so let’s not contribute to spreading it. Frivolous solicitation and self-promotion is not allowed. Affiliate links are not allowed. Links to other sites that are relevant to the discussion are fine, but promoting your own or somene else’s commercial venture or competing site isn’t. This rule applies to all functions of the board, including e-mails and private messages. NZB does not provide free advertising space. It is at the discretion of the board owners to make the final decision as to what constitutes spam, but just use common sense and we’ll be fine. If in doubt contact Kall.

# Spam revisited. Silly, pointless, annoying, messages (SPAM, get it?) made purely to gain access to the arcade or for any other frivolous reasons are not tolerated. Rather than being deleted, such posts will be moved to the Recycle Room and the postcount resulting from them will be lost.


Copyright Infringement
# Copyright infringement. Posting of copyrighted material is not allowed without explicit permission from the copyright holder. This is actually the law and you could get in serious trouble if you violate it. Remember, the content of your posts is your responsibility and the owners of NZB will not be held liable for any infractions by the members.


What Should I NOT Post?
# Off-topic. In a discussion among friends off-topic remarks and comments are not reprimanded, nor will they be here at NZB. In the interest of keeping the threads clear and easy to follow, however, it is encouraged that such posts be kept to a minimum. If, during the course of a discussion, an unrelated matter comes up that you want to address, simply start a new thread.

# Private chatter. NZB is not a chat server. While we acknowledge and embrace that not all discussions are of an advanced intellectual nature (hence the inclusion of the Chit Chat forum where a more relaxed environment is observed), purely private exchanges are not of interest to the greater public. Feel free to use the private messaging system, or might we even suggest an instant messaging application such as MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger or AIM.

# Self-Promotion Threads. These fall under the same rules as SPAM threads, and include such gems as 'Look at my Profile', 'I need Mail', and 'I am broke, give me points.' Such threads aren't of much interest to the greater community, and would just clutter up the boards. Every member is encouraged to make a thread in the Welcome Room, this is the one thread that can be used for self promotion. All others will be moved to the Spam Room, and the post count and points from them will be lost.

# Posting of other members' private and personal information is strictly forbidden without their explicit consent. Violation of this rule is grounds for permanent banning from NZB.

# TXT talk. I really h8 it. It’s difficult 2 read and detracts from the message. The occasional abbreviation is OK, but sumthing approaching standard English grammar wud b best IMHO.


The Arcade
# The Arcade. It’s there for your enjoyment! It’s great fun and we all need to relax and wind down every now and then, but please don’t forget to post once in a while; active discussions are what keeps the board alive...and if you aren't a Supporter (Sponsor/Gold/Platinum) you will find there is a minimum post per day requirement.



Use the Correct Forum
# Use The Correct Forum/Thread

We have many different forums - forums for Music, Movies, Books, Site Announcements, and General Discussion.
We ask that you keep discussions related to the forum you're posting in. Please don't post a "Hi, I'm New!" in the Arcade forum - post it in the Welcome Room forum. And so on.
In addition to this, please keep personal conversations (between 2 people, and of no concern to anyone else) confined to our Private Messaging system. To use it, just click the PM button under any member's post. It's like e-mail, but just on the site, and it's secure and private. Private Messages will NEVER be read by any staff members, except in extreme cirumstances, and at Kall's final discretion...cos let's face it, nothing on the 'net is truly Private.
By doing your part to keep things on topic and interesting to our members and visitors, you're helping us maintain the high standards we've set for the site, and we really appreciate it.


NZB - Behind the Scenes
# Who Runs This Site?

This site is owned and operated by Kall, as a private web site. Kall does this for a hobby - the site is not profit-motivated or publicly owned. A staff of moderators, most of whom have been with Kall from the beginning, help with day-to-day management of the site, and planning for future development.
Because of this, Kall may come across as a pain in the ass. But what Kall wants is a place where he enjoys spending his free time, and can hang out with his on-line friends and talk about anything. If you follow the rules, you'll find Kall is pleasant to be around.
Why is Kall always here? Probably because he's self-employed and works from home on computers, and has no kids to pester him.


# What's up with the costs?

The site currently costs about $60 per month to maintain, along with some other quarterly and annual costs. As you can see, there is a single banner at the top of every page. This brings in approximately one tenth of that to cover costs. Kall also sells banner space, has Amazon sales, and also has a Cafepress store with NZB Gear. All of this together still usually leaves him short, and he happily makes up the rest out of his pocket. With the kindness of PayPal and Amazon Honor System donations, we even cover our bills some months.


How do I Become a Mod?
# How do I become a Mod?

I've gotten a few PMs asking this, so this should answer those questions.
Our Moderators are hand-picked from our members, and almost always based on our need, the member's posting style and length of time at the site. We choose our moderators carefully. We do not have forum-specific mods - all of our moderators are active in all forums on the site.
When we've identified both a need and a person who we think might fill that need, we will privately ask them if they're interested, and to provide a sample work for moderator review.
Super Moderators will always appear with their name in red, bold-faced type.
There is only one administrator on this site, and it's Kall.


Multiple Accounts
# Our policy on multiple accounts

We do not allow multiple accounts for the same person, except under specific circumstances and approved by our staff in advance.
If you are the owner of multiple accounts, we will remove duplicates, regardless of post count, and usually without consultation with you. We will leave one account remaining.

# If you are banned for a period of time, and you re-register to circumvent the ban, we will remove all accounts and ban your IP address. The time-period ban is a "cooling down" period, enforced by our staff, and if you can't take a day or two away from the site without re-registering, we don't want you here at all.


Signature Restrictions
# Signature Line Restrictions

The following rules apply to all user signatures:
1) The maximum font size allowed in signature lines is 3
2) NO IMAGES ALLOWED in signature lines, except for a maximum of 2 NZB smilies.
3) Sig line text should comply with our regular posting rules. No all-caps, no alternating caps, etc.
4) Sig text that is too long or obtrusive will be removed.
5) Sig lines with just your name will be removed. User names are on the left of every post, there's no need to have it in your signature, too.
If your sig line is in violation of any of these new rules, the moderators will remove it, without notice. It will be your responsibility to choose another sig line that meets the rules, if you wish to have one.
If you have any questions as to whether something is acceptable, please PM one of the moderators.


Our "fine print" not covered elsewhere
Our "fine print" not covered elsewhere

# As a privately-owned and operated site, we reserve the right to moderate our site in whatever manner we choose for the "greater good" of the site. That means that, even if you're not technically breaking any of the previously-listed rules, you could still be subject to being banned, moderated, or removed from the site if we choose.
Obviously, we try not to take any action not supported by an actual violation of our rules listed, but sometimes someone is disruptive to the other members of our site, and when that happens, we will take action. All we ask of our members is that they act like the mature individuals we hope they are, and use common sense.

# We often hear cries of "free speech" and so on. So, let's be blunt: you have no freedom of speech. The "free speech" claim is part of the first amendment...to The Constitution of THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. But what you fail to post is the entire sentence, which reads "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech." Now, if you can tell me where in there that it says you can say whatever you want on OUR SITE, you can have all the freedom you want - somewhere else. Or, you can send me a large cheque, let me retire to the Bahamas, and do what you want here. Until then, get over it.


When all is said and done there’s not much listed here that wouldn’t be considered common sense in any situation of human interaction. Rest assured that NZB is committed to your freedom of expression and no post will ever be edited or deleted due to its intellectual content. Use common sense and don’t be a jerk and we’ll all get along just fine!

These were created with the help of the community at theadminzone.com and largely modeled (with permission) on those of fansofrealitytv.com.

Here's my set of rules created with the help of.... errmm.... just me...:)

The Commandments of theMouthPiece.com v2.4
v2.1 (December 2003)
v2.2 (February 2004)
v2.3 (February 2004)
v2.3.1 (April 2004)
v2.4 (June 2004)

1. Location: Please try to ensure that your new topics appear in the correct forum

2. Content: Please do not post topics or replies or PM's containing:

(a) Subjects which have already been discussed numerous times.
(b) When promoting your own www site, business or interest - please keep your promotional posts in the same thread. You may open new threads if the subject is considerably different to any exisitng threads however, please ensure that you do not continually update threads to remain at the top of the page [which is considered 'bumping'], or that you do not create new threads that cover;

1. the same www site
2. a similar business promotion or proposition
3. similar subject matter or content.

The Administration/Moderating team of theMouthPiece.com reserve the right to restrict/remove Threads and/or Posts by any individual or organisation which they deem to be:

1. Using the forum for excessive advertising
2. Causing disruption to the forum
3. Bumping Threads
4. Spamming

If a restriction which has been implemented is broken, then a ban will be imposed on the member's account.

(c) Flames directed towards other users (these will be locked on sight, possibly with a temporary ban)
(d) References/links to the illegal downloading from P2P applications - we are not a file sharing service
(e) Derogatory or offensive comments about tMP members & non tMP members
(f) Anything not relating to the original subject of the topic (although General Chat is flexible);
(g) Comments that could be deemed innapropriate or unfair regarding any person, band, contest or competition. i.e. own choice test pieces, pre-drawn contests, closed own choice adjudications etc common sense prevails
(h) Images linked from other sites without their permission (simply giving a URL is much more polite);
(i) Any derogatory comments based on age, gender, race, ethnicity or nationality (which will be met with a swift ban!);
(j) Do not post personal contact details publically, unless you can provide confirmation that the person in question has given you permission to post his/her details. Such details, however, can be sent via PM.

3. Spam and Inappropriate Content: Do not post spam - simple as that.

(a) Spam includes content deemed inappropriate or illegal, and flooding of the boards via mass e-mail, membership or PM, incessant posting;
(b) Spammers will receive a swift kick in the ass - we don't want them at all, as well as a possible lengthy ban.

4. Bad Language: Please do not use bad language or make needless, incessant usage of:

(a) Emoticons
(b) the "quote" function
(c) Line breaks or ALL-CAPS
(d) Swearing or derogatory terms
(e) "txt" Speak - which is very hard to read and quite frustrating

5. Signature and Profile: Ensure that your signature and/or Profile

(a) Remains a reasonable size: please be reasonable here and avoid large files (size (15K max) and pixcels) and try to keep to 3 lines of text. Remember that this consumes bandwidth.
(b) Does not contain links to inappropriate www sites - a ban may be enforced if this is not adhered to
(c) Does not contain links to unauthorised or unapproved content from other www sites - this is considered bandwidth theft and tMP does not support such activity. You will be asked to remove or amend your avatar if this is spotted. Refusal to do so will involve further action.
(d) Does not contain excessively large images or annoying animations; 15K Maximum file size.
(e) Follows all the rules applying to posts themselves.

6. Avatars: tMP permits uploading of your own avatar files. Please respect tMP in your choice of avatar. Use a sensible avatar that

(a) does not contain "annoying" animations. Anims are OK, so long as they don't distract!
(b) Does not contain links to inappropriate www sites or inappropriate images - a ban may be enforced if this is not adhered to
(c) Size: please try to limit the file size to around 8KB
(d) Dimensions: up to around 80*80 pixels

7. God & Moderators: tMP tries to remain impartial and fair - allowing everyone the right to post their opinions. We run the forum in a 'family friendly' manner ... period. Please respect these guidelines.

(a) If any theMouthPiece.com Team Member asks you to comply with one of these rules, you must comply
(b) If you argue the rules with a Team Member, you'll be warned, and all members of theMouthPiece.com Teams will be notified;
(c) Keep it up, and you'll receive a temporary ban.

8. Bumping and Post Count:

(a) If you need to *bump* a topic because of a serious need (i.e. player deputy et al) then this is OK but generally, please can you kindly refrain from *bumping* topics
(b) Do not post replies simply to increase your post count

9. Enjoyment: MOST importantly, enjoy theMouthPiece.com Community Forums!

10. Your tMP Account and General Rules:

(a) Multiple tMP Accounts are not generally permitted. If you need to have multiple tMP accounts, please email one of the tMP team explaining why. tMP reserves the right to delete multiple accounts without explanation - all posts relating to the multiple account will be lost and the original account may be suspended.
(b) tMP does not permit username changes except under certain circumstances. These are: if your tMP username contains a reference to your current band name and you have changed band, if your username contains your real name (or elements thereof) and you decide you no longer wish this, or any other exceptional reason the tMP team deems appropriate.

If you have any problems, just make a post in the appropriate forum, and somebody will be glad to help you. The moderators are here to make everyone's visit more enjoyable, so if you experience any problems with the content of any thread or with abusive users, please tell either myself or one of your moderators.

Thankyou
John & theMouthPiece.com Team

I'll just put the url here and you can come check it out.
http://www.pocforums.com/index.php?page=terms

Great TOS guys, I am sure they help others tweak their existing or new work!

I modified the phrase variable forum_rules_description, so that when people register they see this:

We have chosen to eliminate the routine of dishonesty and the automatic signing away of your rights. We believe that having you check off a box agreeing to something that we know you're not even going to bother reading just encourages complacency and erodes the seriousness of rules, and allows for the authorities to selectively enforce the rules when they feel like it as a way of abusing their power.

Rather than go through all that, we would simply like you to check off the box "I have read, and agree to abide by the The Inferno rules." without thinking that you've just signed a legal contract. Instead you should think of the checking of the box as the geek's equivalent of successfully maneuvering an obstacle course.