Rules of Engagement

Some plain English on the Rules Of Conduct

Reader Comments Rules

We really want your opinion and comments—but people who want to post comments on outandaboutnewspaper.com are going to have to follow our rules. They aren’t hard, and they won’t restrict you from making a good robust posting. Bottom line, be nice and play nice.

In a nutshell, here’s what we ask of you: no libel, slander, no lying, no fabricating, no swearing (so that’s subjective but if you use words that teenagers use a lot, that some people think aren't swearing, we probably do), no insulting groups or individuals, no ethnic slurs and/or epithets, no religious bigotry, no threats of any kind, no bathroom humor, no comparing anyone to anyone. So, keep your comments polite and civil. Yes, surprisingly, this is public space—so behave and write accordingly.

Sure, all of this subjective. outandaboutnewspaper.com absolutely reserves the right to remove posts we think break any of the rules or the spirit of the rules and we reserve the right to ban individuals from commenting. We will use language filtering programs to block certain words and we will use human editing too.

Comments should be limited to the topic of the original posting. If you want to have a private conversation, take it to a chat room. This is not the place for private conversations.

We require everyone who comments to register and provide a real e-mail address. No exceptions. Guess what?—your user name will show up on the comments you post. Oh, posting comments is not the same thing as complaining to us of about a problem—legally, there’s a big difference.

If you see a comment that you feel is inappropriate, let us know by emailing us at web@outandaboutnewspaper.com.

Announcement Rules

It is a condition of your use of O&AN Reader Submitted Announcements and this Site that you do not:

  • Use any Reader Submitted Announcements for any illegal purposes (or to solicit any illegal act)
  • Restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Reader Submitted Announcements
  • Post or transmit any unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane or indecent information of any kind, including images and language
  • Post any message that solicits gambling or engage in any gambling activity
  • Transmit or upload any information, software or other material which violates or infringes upon the rights of others, including material which is an invasion of privacy or publicity rights or which is protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right, or derivative works with respect thereto, without first obtaining permission from the owner or right holder.
  • Transmit or upload any information, software or other material which contains viruses, time bombs, trojan horses, cancelbots, worms or other harmful or deleterious components or devices
  • Post any defamatory, libelous, hateful, or harassing messages, information or material
  • Post, or transmit or in any way exploit any information, software or other material for commercial purposes or which contains advertising, promotion or marketing
  • Use the Services for the purposes of sending junk email, chain letters, duplicative or unsolicited messages or “spamming” or in connection with contests, surveys or pyramid schemes
  • Try to gain unauthorized access to the Services, other users’ accounts, or computers connected to the Services though password mining or other means
  • Interfere with another user's use and enjoyment of the Services or any other individual's user and enjoyment of similar services.