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AboutMyArea Community Guidelines

AboutMyArea accounts (your AMAZing Place) are intended for the local community to create their own online media, our members share news, photos and video that they themselves have created.

The following Community Guidelines are here to help you understand what it means to be a member of AboutMyArea. Don't forget that your use of your AMAZing Place is subject to these Guidelines and our Terms of Use.

What to do

  • Do play nice. We're a community of many types of people, who all have the right to feel comfortable and who may not think what you think, believe what you believe or see what you see. So, be polite and respectful in your interactions with other members.
  • Do upload content that you have created. Respect the copyright of others. This means don't steal text, photos or videos that other people have created and pass them off as your own. Credit people involved and welcome joint publications
  • Do moderate your content. You need to take responsibility for ensuring that what you upload is appropriate and appropriately placed. Zing (publish) your content to the relevant area and in the correct section of the site.
  • Do link back to AboutMyArea when you post your AboutMyArea content elsewhere. The links for more local people to find their way to the online local news is very important and we are all responsible for that.
  • Do enjoy AboutMyArea! See the world through others' eyes, participate, find your muse, and expand your horizons!

What not to do

    Here's the deal: In most circumstances, we like to give second chances, so we'll send you a warning if you step across any of the lines listed below. Subsequent violations can result in account termination without warning.

  • Don't upload anything that isn't yours. This includes other people's articles, text, photos, video and/or stuff you've collected from around the Internet without permission and/or credits. Accounts that consist primarily of such collections may be terminated at any time.
  • Don't forget the children. Take the time to assess your content responsibly. If you would hesitate to show your article to a child, your mum, or Uncle Bob, that means it needs to be altered. So, ask yourself that question as you upload your content and alter accordingly. If you don't, it's likely that one of two things will happen. Your account will be reviewed then either moderated or terminated by AboutMyArea staff.
  • Don't show nudity in your Zinger profile picture. Only content considered "family friendly" is appropriate for your Zinger profile picture. If we find that you've uploaded an image that contains content we deem unsuitable or offensive, we'll remove the image, moderate your account and send you a warning. If we find you doing it again, we'll terminate your account.
  • Don't upload content that is illegal or prohibited. If we find you doing that, your account will be deleted and we'll take appropriate action, which may include reporting you to the authorities.
  • Don't vent your frustrations, rant, or bore the brains out of other members. AboutMyArea is not a venue for you to harass, abuse, impersonate, or intimidate others. If we receive a valid complaint about your conduct, we'll send you a warning or terminate your account.
  • Don't be creepy. You know the guy. Don't be that guy.
  • Don't use AboutMyArea for commercial purposes. AboutMyArea is an online local news website. So think about your local paper (if you still have one of course), just stick to topical and interesting articles. It's ok to mention information that is helpful to the readers but if we find you over heavy on the commercial plugging, selling products, services, or yourself through your articles, we will terminate your account. You can advertise through the online booking or talk to AboutMyArea staff about ways to promote your business through the sites.

Here are some other things to keep in mind:

Other People (their content, their behaviour)

You will see all sorts of things on AboutMyArea, some of which may offend you. If you are offended by any content you can either click away or report it a inappropriate. If you think there's cause for concern, you can report content and/or someone's behaviour to AboutMyArea staff via the “Report This Article As Inappropriate” link that's available at the bottom of every article.

Copyright Infringement

If you see an article that you've created in another area, don't panic. This is probably just a misunderstanding and not malicious. A good first step is to contact them and politely ask them to remove it (the Author name is normally at the top of the article and you can search for them through the Zingers area). If that doesn't work, please report a Notice of Infringement with the AboutMyArea Staff who will take it from there.

You may be tempted to post a comment on your article or in our the website about what's happening, but that's not the best way to resolve a possible copyright problem. We don't encourage singling out individuals like this on AboutMyArea

In Conclusion

We've crafted these guidelines to ensure that everyone within the community has the experience they want. It's important that you understand the importance of moderating your content responsibly. If you don't feel that you can abide by our Community Guidelines as outlined above, maybe AboutMyArea isn't for you.

If you ever have any questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to drop us a line through Help by Email.