1) Legal Issues

ALL posts must meet the constraints of UK law: -

a) You MUST not make any posts which are liable to incite racial or sectarian hatred. A person who publishes or distributes written material which is threatening, abusive or insulting is guilty of an offence if he intends thereby to stir up hatred or arouse fear; or having regard to all the circumstances hatred is likely to be stirred up or fear is likely to be aroused thereby.

b) Be careful not to post anything which could be seen as damaging to the reputation of any named individual, company, or small group of individuals. For example, you can't claim "a board member of (name) football club got drunk and said nasty things" - unless it has been published in a reputable news source (in which case that source must be quoted).

c) Do not accuse any named individual, company, or small group of individuals of any criminal offence. For example, you can't claim "a board member of (name) football club assaulted another individual" - again, unless it has been published in a reputable news source (in which case that source must be quoted).

d) Don't breach the privacy of any named individual, company, or small group of individuals.

e) Links to illegal broadcasts of matches, file-sharing websites, or any other copyrighted material is strictly prohibited. If you have a link which you think might be ok, please send details by email to webmaster@irishleaguesupporters.com for approval. Asking for a link is also against the rules as this implies that ILS condones such practice. This rule is standard on similar football forums.

If you're in any doubt PM your section mod or an admin and we'll quickly confirm if your post would be within the rules.

2) Child Protection

a) Swearing: -

Commonly used MILD swear words (e.g. feck, arse, balls) are acceptable, but anything STRONGER (e.g. bas**rd, c##t. s%t) must have at least two consecutive letters replaced using any combination of the following symbols (* # . Swear words may NOT be used by splitting the word, rearranging the letters, substituting letters, or similar tricks. They MUST be masked as shown above and by no other method. Any posts containing swear words which do not meet the acceptable standard is liable to editing/removal, with the user having action taken against them, up to and including a ban.

b) Nudity/Explicitness: -

Absolutely NO nudity in images is allowed on this site. Any female or male pictures posted MUST not have any exposed/visible sexual organs, nipples or pubic hair. Please refrain from also using sexually explicit language in posts. Again, posts not meeting these criteria are liable to editing/removal, with the user having action taken against them, up to and including a ban.

c) Pictures Of Children: -

NEVER post images of children, unless that specific image has already been published by reputable local press (in which case that source must be quoted), or you have the permission of their parent/guardian (you must be able to provide proof of this permission upon request).

3) Advertising

a) Commercial Advertising: -

Any commercial advertising must be approved BEFORE posting. Note that this includes inserting into posts links to other websites that may be perceived as being in 'competition' to ILS. Send details by email to webmaster@irishleaguesupporters.com for approval, which will not be unreasonably withheld. If permission is not requested then that thread/post may be deleted without warning. Any attempt to bypass this rule by 'hiding' links WILL result in disciplinary action, up to and including a ban.

b) Charitable Advertising: -

Any charitable advertising must be approved BEFORE posting. Send details by email to webmaster@irishleaguesupporters.com for approval, which will not be unreasonably withheld. If permission is not requested then that thread/post may be deleted without warning. Any attempt to bypass this rule by 'hiding' links WILL result in disciplinary action, up to and including a ban.

c) Football Advertising: -

It is generally acceptable that individual clubs may use their own sections to promote matches, fundraising sales and events held within or by their club. No permission is needed for this. If, however, you wish to reach a wider audience and advertise in sections outside of your own club, please consider this as Commercial Advertising and send details by email to webmaster@irishleaguesupporters.com for approval.

d) Personal Advertising: -

It is not acceptable that any individual would offer any items (e.g. computer games, concert tickets) for sale through this site. You can, however, post up links to items on ebay or other auction sites as long as the transaction takes places through that site, not on ILS.

4) Interacting With Other Members

a) Personal Abuse: -

Keep banter and inter-club rivalry as just that, banter. Unnecessary aggression, including serious personal abuse, is not acceptable, particularly if directed towards an individual forum user. This will be regarded as a major offence, and will be penalised – up to and including a lifetime ban from the forums. Please recognise that words meant in jest may not be seen that way by other users, or in a different context, so don't risk misunderstandings. For your information, being called a twat, dickhead, arsehole or anything similarly mildly abusive isn't against the rules, unless it also contains swear words and/or is the sole content of a post or posts.

b) Threatening Language: -

Please be very careful not to give the impression that you're threatening any other member, whether on open forum or via the private messaging system. Anyone found to be using such language will be removed from the forum without warning. This is a very serious offence.

c) Meeting Other Members: -

Be very careful if arranging to meet with other members. As with meeting anybody you've interacted with on the internet, make sure to let someone you know aware that you're meeting someone, who you're meeting, when and where etc.

5) Posting

a) Languages: -

To ensure forum content stays within the Rules, all Moderators must be able to understand it. While people of all nationalities and cultures are welcome here, we ask that you post only in the dominant language in our location, which is English. As before with common sense - we aren't trying to stop the occasional quote of a common Gaelic expression for example, but if you post a couple of sentences of Klingon you can expect it to be edited.

b) Text Talk: -

Text talk is prohibited on these forums. It's reasonable to shorten the occasional word and it's also reasonable to assume some users will make spelling mistakes, but posts consisting entirely of text talk will be liable to editing/removal, with the user having action taken against them, up to and including a ban.

c) Posting Off-Topic: -

Do NOT hijack threads by repeatedly posting off-topic. It's reasonable for users to expect a thread to broadly follow the original topic.

d) Personal Information: -

You MUST NOT post personal information of another member, and it's advisable that you don't post your own. This includes photographs of people where you also post their name or other means of identifying them, either by their real name or ILS username. You MUST not post workplaces of players, referees, officials and any other named individual involved in local football. Subject to other rules relating to content, you may post publicly accessible images, or links to those, but you may not add any identification information that is not already in that image or link. If you want people to get in touch, ask them to send you a private message.

e) Technically Harmful Posts: -

You MUST NOT post material, or links to material, that can be technically harmful to other users or to this website. This includes, but is not limited to, viruses, trojans, logic bombs, worms, harmful components, adware, malware, corrupted data or other malicious software.

f) Private Messages: -

You MUST NOT post asking for someone to send you a private message. This is simply to prevent multiple posts where people post "PM please" because it annoys other posters and prevents debate. Remember also that anything said by private message is subject to the rules as outlined here. Admin can only access private messages if a member gives them permission, but we will take stronger action against anyone found to be breaching the rules in a private message.

g) Joke Posts: -

It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between a "joke" and a "serious" post, so all posts will be treated as if they are serious. This includes accusing clubs/players of throwing games and also takes into account any legal issues which may arise from such posts.

h) Warnings On Threads: -

If a moderator or administrator has posted a warning on a thread, there can be no excuse for claiming to have missed it. It is up to you to read the full thread before getting involved. Rule breaches made after a warning has been posted on a thread will automatically result in a ban of at least a day.

6) Complaints

a) Post Complaints: -

If you have any complaint about another users post(s), please raise it using the "Report Post" feature (the little warning triangle under the username). If you're going to report a post, you MUST not reply to it either before or after doing so - this just gives moderators more work to do. Once you have reported a post, it's up to our moderation team to decide whether action is needed and what action is appropriate. Please do not report a post more than once, or reporting a series of posts unless we request you to do so. You should also be aware that if we feel you're abusing the report button we may remove you from the thread(s) and/or issue a ban for wasting our time.

b) Private Messaging Complaints: -

If you feel you're being abused or being spammed using the private messaging system, please contact a moderator or administrator and let them know. A site administrator will contact you when time permits. Until then, it is advisable to ignore all such messages and not reply to them.

c) Moderation Queries: -

If you have had a post removed or edited, you can contact a moderator via private message or using the appeals forum. Anyone post made about any moderation action will be liable to editing/removal, with the user having action taken against them, up to and including a ban. If you have a general complaint about the way the forum is run, please contact a moderator via private message or using the appeals forum. Anyone complaint made by posting on public forums will be liable to editing/removal, with the user having action taken against them, up to and including a ban.

7) General

a) Accounts: -

You may only register one user account. Multiple user names are not allowed. When creating a username, please use common sense - all language-related rules also apply to usernames. If we suspect somebody is using multiple user names, we may prevent one of them from using the forums until we can ascertain the facts. If you attempt to create a second user name, the new user will be permanently removed from the site, as will the previous user until we hear from you. If you have a genuine desire with a valid reason for wanting to create a new account or change your username, please send details by email to webmaster@irishleaguesupporters.com for approval.

b) Profiles: -

There are a variety of fields in a user's profile which can be edited to include hobbies, location etc. These MUST not be abused to contain insults to other members. They MUST also not be used for any form of advertising without prior approval (see advertising section).

c) Signatures/Tags: -

Signatures are not permitted on this forum and have been disabled in our user control panel. This includes posting the same images and/or text at the bottom of a number of posts for whatever reason. It should also be pointed out that this isn't twitter and hashtags don't work on here - we request that users do not post up any hashtags of any form on this site.

d) Sections: -

Some sections (e.g. News, Scottish Football) have slightly different rules and modes of operation. Please check the top of any forum where these will be contained in a sticky thread. New members will automatically be prevented from accessing all sections not relating to the Irish League. Once you reach 100 posts you can apply to gain access by sending a message to a moderator or administrator, and we'll look at your post history. If you've made a lot of "useless" or "spam" posts you may not be granted access. These sections are an extra to the main function of this site and are a bonus for long-term and well-behaved members. If, having been granted access, you break the rules in these sections, you can expect to have your access to them removed or limited.

e) Material On Other Websites: -

The practice of copying links and/or material from other websites has become increasingly popular. It is a practice that posts a number of problems for the administration of the forum. Rather than simply prohibit the practice outright, members should note the following:

Members are reminded that they are responsible for the content of their posts, including material copied from elsewhere or material viewed after following a link posted. Any post containing such material will be treated as if the member posted it directly and is subject to the same rules as this site.

If you wish to copy and paste material from a newspaper, a newspaper website, or any other media source, please remember the following. A lot of news sources are behind a paywall. In such cases you're allowed to post the link and main headline, but you're not allowed to post the full article. In the case that the full article is available without a paywall, you may post the full article under the condition you also post the link. You may also post a scan from the newspaper the day after it's publication.

In the case of social networking sites, in most instances admin have virtually no way of independently verifying that the source is the person or persons whose social network site/page has been quoted. Failure to take a robust stance on this issue could leave this site in a difficult legal position. Members should note that it is possible to libel someone by attributing comments to them that they have not made. It is not uncommon for there to be "fake" accounts on Twitter in particular.

It is not acceptable to copy and paste potentially libellous or defaming comments made on other websites, or to accuse any named individual and/or account of making such comments on other websites. It also isn't acceptable to copy and paste threatening language from other sites, or to link to sites were illegal downloads can be made.

If you're in any doubt PM your section mod or an admin and we'll quickly confirm if your post would be within the rules.

f) Last But Not Least: -

It’s impractical to define precisely what is and isn't acceptable on these forums. However, the spirit of the rules should be obvious from this document. If you aren’t sure something is acceptable, you’re probably right, so don’t post it. In broad terms, anything of a nature that may typically be read in national newspapers will be acceptable. You can easily make your point in posts without challenging the finer definitions of forum Rules. If you take a chance with the Rules, accept that you’re taking a risk of disciplinary action. There’s no need. Stay away from the edge.

Disclaimers:

1. Anything published on Irish League Supporters is, to the best of our knowledge, with the consent of the copyright holder. Should we receive a complaint regarding any particular item we will investigate, and the content removed during the investigation. Users may be subject to action up to and including a ban if they knowingly or repeatedly post material that is proven to be in breach of copyright.

2. It is your responsibility to satisfy yourself that any advice or suggestions offered in the forums by any user is safe and appropriate for your circumstances.

3. Privacy: Irish League Supporters will not use or distribute any information about users except to the minimum extent required to manage the forums, or where required by law. You should be aware that if required by law, any information may be extracted from the database, including contents of posts or Private Messages, and/or data that may help identify a user. One exception to this may be in the event of a grievance between two or more members, where the contents of a PM between them is in dispute, then the PM in question may be extracted to establish the facts.

4. Although the administrators and moderators of Irish League Supporters will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views or position of Irish League Supporters or any other person or organisation including their team, club, governing body or employer. Neither the owners, administrators, nor moderators of Irish League Supporters will be held responsible for the content of any message.

5. Irish League Supporters reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason, or to warn, restrict access, or ban any user who they feel has contravened these conditions or for any other reason.

6. These Rules may be updated from time to time. It is your responsibility to keep up to date with current Rules