Terms and Conditions
Our Aim:
We strive to make the Caravan Talk website a place where relevant information concerned with caravanning is published, while the associated free forum is maintained as a family-orientated discussion platform for topics related to the hobby of caravanning. We also provide a members-only section where friendly discussion of other topics may take place.
Forum Terms and Conditions:
Caravan Talk:
This forum is known as Caravan Talk and all rights remain with Caravan Talk LLP., Wixford Business Park, George's Elm Lane, Bidford on Avon, Warwickshire, B50 4JS.
All Members:
All members joining this forum agree to the following terms and conditions.
Membership:
Individual memberships can be revoked at any time by the admin team, at their discretion. If your original membership has been removed, you are not permitted to rejoin or access this forum, and attempting to do so will be considered unauthorised access to, and misuse of, our systems and services. Multiple registrations by one person are not permitted without the express permission of a forum administrator.
Resignation:
Please remember that you asked to join the forum by completing the online application, and as such, if you do not agree with how the forum is run, or the forum does not meet your needs please feel free to leave. Members wishing to resign from Caravan Talk, may do so by sending a PM to any member of Admin. Their profile will then be removed, but they may rejoin the forum at any time with a new profile.
Free Forum:
This is a free members' only bulletin board, not an open public forum, or a chat room, we don't ask for contributions or subscriptions. The board may be withdrawn at any time without notice.
Guests:
Whilst it is possible to view a number of areas as a guest, it is not possible to see all forums or contribute to Caravan Talk unless logged in.
Registered Members:
New "Members" are encouraged to make their first post within the "Welcome" forum, " Please click and start a new topic to introduce yourself".
Approved Members:
Whilst many forums are visible to "Approved Members", some are read only.
Trade Members:
If, to the best of our knowledge, a member represents a commercial organisation or professional body related to the caravan industry, by invitation from Caravan Talk, these members may be listed as "Trade". Following agreement with Caravan Talk, such members may optionally add to their signature, a small logo and/or URL, a visible email address and a telephone number that relates to their business. They will also be granted access to "Trade Only" sections of the forum, and receive permission to promote their latest special offers, new products and other items they feel will be of interest, in the "Caravan Special Offers and Competitions" forum.
There is no charge for these additional facilities, but we do require "Trade" members to supply to Caravan Talk, a contact address, and landline telephone number. Given that there is commercial advantage to posting as a Trade member we ask that if such members wish to promote their business via this forum, and if they have a website, unless alternative arrangements have been agreed, they clearly link back to http://www.caravantalk.co.uk from their home page and respond positively in the unlikely event that we ask for the format of this link to be changed.
Engineer:
The term engineer when used on Caravan Talk is an honorary title, given on the understanding that any views expressed are those of the individual member, and not necessarily endorsed by Caravan Talk.
Moderators and Administrators:
Everyone who helps run the board does so, on a voluntary basis to help build a better community. As a result, our time resources are limited so please help us to keep things running smoothly by following the guidelines given in these Terms and Conditions. Caravan Talk LLP has entrusted these volunteers to assist with focusing topics of discussion and enforce the terms of membership if needed. They can edit or delete posts; move, close or delete topics; and may temporarily hide a post or topic while carrying out these actions and/or contacting contributors. Please understand that we are not attempting to censor any messages or opinions, but we expect members to show respect for those holding differing opinions. With prior agreement from Caravan Talk Administrators and Moderators may add a small logo and/or URL within their signature field.
Your Responsibility:
You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless this forum, and any related websites to this forum. We at this forum also reserve the right to reveal your identity (or any information we have about you) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any information posted by you.
Your Account:
You have the ability, as you register, to choose your personal username. This can be different from the name you choose to display on your profile but we advise that you keep both names appropriate to a family orientated forum. You agree never to give the password for your user account to anyone else, for your protection and for validity reasons. You also agree to NEVER use another member's account to post messages or browse this forum.
Duplicate accounts:
For the purpose of posting anonymously and known as "sock puppet accounts", these are not permitted. Use your own account for posting personal opinions as posts from known sock puppet accounts may be deleted, and both the "puppet" and "original" account may be closed to prevent continued use of this forum. An exception to this rule is the use of the clearly identified "Admin" ID that can be used by several of the team to post official notes, and to receive PMs, although a quicker response is likely if PMs are addressed to a named moderator or administrator.
Your Profile:
After your registration has been approved, you can log in and edit your profile. It is your responsibility to present clean and accurate information. Any information we deem inaccurate or vulgar will be removed. We particularly would like members to add something in the location field (just the county or nearest town) but ask that you refrain from using animated images for your avatar, or signature.
Participation in the forum:
If you have any questions regarding the appropriateness of a posting, you may discuss that with the author of the post in a Private Message. We expect you to treat other forum participants with respect, and you can cite the appropriate portion of these guidelines if necessary.
Spam:
Posting the same message, or an unsolicited commercial message, to one or many topics areas is considered Spam, and not permitted on Caravan Talk. Duplicate messages may be deleted or consolidated by our moderators. See also "Personal Messages" and "Emails".
How We Work:
Healthy discussion is promoted, dissent, rudeness and deliberate confrontation is not. The moderators and administrators of this forum reserve the right to relocate, remove or edit, any post or thread, for whatever reason they deem necessary, and the members concerned will not necessarily be contacted regarding these actions. However, as noted later, we cannot guarantee that moderators or administrators will review all postings, or threads. If your postings are removed, please do not question the removal, or repost the same again. The board is run by volunteers who give up their limited time freely so cannot be expected to enter into discussions.
Bad Language:
This is a family site, therefore swearing and foul language are not acceptable, and where seen will be removed. Even if you do not find a particular word offensive, please respect others who may. Swearing includes direct swear words, abbreviated swear words, net-speak swearing, and disguised words where symbols or other characters are used to circumvent our automatic word filters.
Accuracy of Posts:
Note that it is impossible for us to confirm the validity of posts on this forum. Please remember that we do not actively monitor all posted messages and are not responsible for their content. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information presented. The messages express the views of the author, not necessarily the views of this forum.
Negative Posts:
Please avoid posting overly negative, aggressive or abusive comments about companies, organisations or individuals. Such posts will be removed, but ones taking a more subtle approach will probably remain. Both slander and libel are offences, and if you have a legitimate complaint, there are accepted routes through which these can be made. This forum is not one of them. Any members that the administrators feel are not contributing to the well being of the forum will be warned and if they continue their profile will be removed, this decision will be final. Caravan Talk reserves the right to disclose such information as we hold regarding any member who posts damaging or defamatory statements about individuals or companies.
All Posts, including images:
Any messages you post on Caravan Talk may remain available to the public for as long as Caravan Talk is online and we will not generally edit the content unless it contravenes the T&Cs. In the unlikely event that we do edit your post and you do not like the changes, we can delete the message at your request.
You should not post any copyrighted material, whether text or images, unless you own the copyright or you have consent from the owner of the copyrighted material. Posting content of any type indicates that you have given permission for Caravan Talk LLP to make royalty free use of that content on this site and waive your right to be credited as author or, in the case of copyrighted material, that you have procured permission from the owner of that material and accept full responsibility for the inclusion and later use of that information.
Manual Post Removal:
If any individual or company believes that a thread or individual post is objectionable, they are encouraged to notify an administrator or moderator of this forum immediately whereupon appropriate action will be taken. We have the rights to remove objectionable content, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process however, so please realise that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately. This policy also applies to member profile information.
Report Button:
There is a report button in at the foot of every posting. Please use this to alert a moderator or administrator to that post for whatever reason.
Informal Warnings:
If a member breaks the T&Cs, normally we will contact them, explaining their error, and requesting that they adhere to the rules.
For minor transgressions the may be all that is needed, however for persistent or deliberate breaking of the T&Cs we may escalate our response to the procedure outlined under "formal warnings".
Approved Member Formal Warnings:
If a member disregards the T&Cs, we may choose to issue a formal warning. The guideline we work to comprises of four stages, however we reserve the ability to increase the warning level in severe cases. Such cases would include sending Spam to the forum, for which we will probably impose an instant ban.
1. A first formal warning will consist of a personal message to the member combined with a 24-hour moderator preview (i.e. all of the member's posts will have to be approved manually for 24 hours before becoming visible to others).
2. If the member ignores this, or has a post reported to Admin a second level warning may be issued. This will comprise of a personal message to the member, combined with a 7-day moderator review.
3. A third offence will result in another personal message, combined with a 1 month posting ban, backed by a copy of the warning to the member's registered email address.
4. If after this a member breaks the T&Cs again, this will result in their removal from Caravan Talk, and an IP ban imposed upon them, backed by an email to their registered email address.
Trade Member Formal Warning:
Since “Trade” members are perceived as representing the industry we can reasonably expect exemplary professional behaviour from them on Caravan Talk, and if the T&Cs are disregarded, we feel the penalties should be more severe than for “Approved” members, therefore the guidelines we work to have just two stages, although we reserve the ability to go directly to stage two in severe cases. Such cases would include sending Spam to the forum, for which we will impose an instant ban.
1. A first formal warning will consist of a personal message to the “Trade” member combined with a 7 day moderator preview (i.e. all of the member's posts will have to be approved manually for 7 days before becoming visible to others) and their "Trade" status may be removed, backed by a copy of the warning to the member's registered email address.
2. If a Trade member (or recently demoted Trade member) breaks the T&Cs again, their “Trade” membership will be permanently revoked and they will be returned to “Approved” member, or at our discretion their total removal from Caravan Talk, and an IP ban imposed, backed by an email to their registered email address.
Copyright Material:
Unless you are the copyright holder, please do not post copyright material on Caravan Talk. If you see such material, please alert us by using the report button.
Commercial Content:
There shall be no commercial content within an avatar or personal signature. Any Approved Member may place personal advertisements in the "Caravan Classifieds" forum and its sub forums, but once posted there may be a delay before you see them, as these posts need to be manually approved by a Moderator or Administrator. Commercial companies may only submit advertisements if they are first registered as "Trade" members, however they can also place personal advertisements in the Caravan Classifieds section. Caravan Talk reserves the right to include, or permit the inclusion of, limited commercial content anywhere in the forum.
Classified Adverts:
"Caravan Classifieds" and its sub forums are provided for the use of Approved Members to place advertisements for personally owned or wanted items, and Caravan Talk take no responsibility for the validity of any advertisement placed there. All posts, including those in the "Stolen" section, remain the responsibility of the member submitting them.
Personal Messages:
You agree not to publish the content of personal messages (PMs) or "conversations" in any public area without the prior written consent of the sender. We ask that you use PMs or board email system for private discussions as these can only be seen by the named recipient(s). Public forum posts should be reserved for matters of interest to the general community. Additionally posting the same personal message to many, or an unsolicited commercial message, is considered Spam, and not permitted on Caravan Talk. If such action is reported to us we will take appropriate action to prevent a reoccurrence.
Emails:
You agree not to publish the content of emails from this forum in any public area without the prior written consent from Caravan Talk. Additionally posting the same email to many, or an unsolicited commercial message, is considered Spam, and not permitted via Caravan Talk. If such action is reported to us we will take appropriate action to prevent a reoccurrence.
Gallery:
There is a gallery section, in which any member can place pictures. These must comply with the same T&Cs as text submissions, and are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. The maximum image size for the gallery is 1024 x 768 pixels. Small images may be added to the body of a posting in the form of a thumbnail, provided it enhances the posting.
Animated images:
Animated images are not permitted anywhere on the board without prior consent from Admin.
Help Button:
For more information on how the board works, please click on the 'help' button to the bottom left of the main screen.
Flood Control:
There is a minimum time limit set between consecutive posts or PMs from any individual member. This is to both protect the forum from unwanted forum Spam, and to prevent any forum being used to emulate a chat room.
Attachments:
Attachments are restricted to 70kb per posting and 500kb total per member.
After pressing "Add This Attachment", you will see the following message
You have used (1) kb of attachment space for this post
You have (2) kb left for this post
(1) + (2) = 70kb per posting
The (1) kb is also deducted from the 500kb Global Space available
Animated gifs are not permitted without prior Admin agreement.
Avatars:
Your avatar must be no bigger than 200 pixels by 200 pixels in size. Uploaded (static) avatars from your computer must be no larger than 100kb. An avatar of 90 x 90 pixels gives adequate resolution. Animated avatars are not permitted. The following file types are allowed: gif,jpg,jpeg,png.
QR Codes:
Members using QR codes anywhere on Caravan Talk remain solely responsible for their content. They may be used as an avatar, but will be checked, and if any are found to be inappropriate, Caravan Talk reserve the right to delete them, and take any action deemed necessary to prevent their resubmission.
Signature:
There is no restriction on fonts that can be used in signatures, but we ask that you minimise the use of bright colours and large fonts and images. URLs are not permitted in the signature field without prior permission from Admin.
Your Agreement:
You agree, through your use of this forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, racist or invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of ANY law. You also agree not to post any copyrighted material unless you own the copyright or you have consent from the owner of the copyrighted material. Posting content of any type indicates that you have given permission for Caravan Talk LLP to make royalty free use of that content on this website or, in the case of copyrighted material, that you have procured permission from the owner of that material and accept full responsibility for the inclusion and later use of that information.
Spam, flooding, advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are inappropriate to this forum. You may place occasional relevant links to commercial websites, but you may not openly promote your own, or any other website without express agreement in writing from Caravan Talk. Computer misuse is a crime, and submissions to this forum can be traced, so for your own protection, think before submitting a post.
Liability:
Whilst Caravan Talk makes every effort to ensure that the information posted in this forum is accurate, under no circumstances will we be liable for any loss or damage including, without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage or any loss or damages whatsoever arising from use, or the loss of use of, data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, information or advice offered. Consequently, Caravan Talk assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information and will not be liable for any claims by third parties for any damage or injury arising from reliance on the information given.