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Users on the ezboard site agree to abide by our Terms of Use (TOU), and our legal/abuse staff is responsible for reviewing and responding to complaints related to alleged violations of our TOU. This guide is intended to describe the types of complaints to which we will respond, and how to provide information that will allow us to act on user complaints. We may modify this guide at any time in our sole discretion.
Below you will find categories of violations of the Terms of Use which are likely to prompt action from ezboard.
These examples are meant to help you understand our Terms of Use and report violators. However, they do not replace the Terms of Use. In its sole discretion, ezboard may warn a user, locally or globally ban a user, lock down or delete a group and/or take legal action against a user suspected of violating the Terms of Use, even if that violation is not listed below.
All complaints and requests for action must be submitted via electronic (for fastest response) or physical mail; we cannot respond to telephone complaints.
Consistent violators of our Terms of Use may be traced to their Internet Service Providers and reported for abuse which may result in having their Internet service terminated. Users and boards displaying a pattern of TOU violations may be globally banned and locked down, respectively.
Failure to maintain a valid email address in ezboard's database may result in failure to receive warnings and notifications from ezboard legal/abuse staff, which may in turn result in alterations, bannings, and lockdowns without prior notice.
CATEGORIES OF LEGAL ISSUES:
- Personal Abuse
- Subpoena/Court Order
- Posting of Illegal Material
- Invalid Payment Method
- Use of ezboard to Promote the Sale of an Illegal Product or Service
- Direct Linking/Bandwidth Theft
- Copyright Infringement
- Unauthorized Distribution of Proprietary Information
- Violations of Privacy
- Disruption of ezboard Support Forums
- Board Destruction
- Flood Attack/Destructive Posting
- Password Theft
- Posting of Unsolicited Commercial or Non-ezboard Advertisement
- Interference with ezboard-Affiliated Advertisement or Copyright Information
- Unauthorized Use of CSC Icon
I. PERSONAL ABUSE
Definition: Uploading, posting, emailing or otherwise transmitting any Content that is threatening, abusive, tortious, defamatory, or libelous.
ezboard is one of the world's largest online message board services, and it should come as no surprise that users occasionally post materials to a board that someone may find objectionable. Unfortunately, ezboard cannot evaluate the propriety of the hundreds of thousands of new posts made on its service each day. For example, we are simply not in any position to evaluate an allegation that a particular post is defamatory.
It is for this reason that under United States federal law (47 U.S.C. §230), service providers like ezboard are not liable for content posted to their services by third parties. Accordingly, ezboard will not, as a matter of practice, remove postings based on allegations of abuse without legal process that ezboard reasonably believes compels a response. By contrast, where a party presents a court order establishing that particular content is abusive and should be removed, ezboard will respond as it believes appropriate. We will also respond appropriately to intellectual property claims, and may remove any post as we see fit, in accordance with our Terms of Use.
To be clear, ezboard does not condone abusive conduct on its service. We cannot, however, censor legitimate content based on the mere allegation that it is abusive.
Complaint Procedure: All requests or information related to subpoenas and court orders in conjunction with abuse should be directed to Steven DeMello, President and COO, at sdemello@ezboard.com
topII. SUBPOENA/COURT ORDER
Definition: Any legal process that ezboard reasonably believes compels a response.
Complaint Procedure: All requests or information related to subpoenas and court orders should be directed to Steven DeMello, President and COO, at sdemello@ezboard.com
III. POSTING OF ILLEGAL MATERIAL
Definition: Posting or otherwise causing to appear, or linking to, on any ezboard, any material ezboard reasonably believes to constitute or solicit illegal activity, including but not limited to: child-pornography; animal-related ("farm sex") pornography; and posting of materials soliciting involvement in illegal business schemes (also known as "scam spam")
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Posting of Illegal Material" under "Specify Your Issue"
- In the description, include URL's that contain the specific posts that you believe are in violation; where appropriate, provide a description of the posts, including type of illegal material, the poster's name, and a description of contents
IV. INVALID PAYMENT METHOD
Definition: Submitting payment for ezboard services involving any of the following:
- any transaction not authorized by the cardholder
- any action which results in a chargeback to ezboard's account from a credit card company after services have already been provided in part or in whole by ezboard
- a personal check for which there are insufficient funds to cover the transaction
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Invalid Payment Method" under "Specify Your Issue"
- In the description, include any information on the actual violation, including URLs to relevant posts and/or information on the users involved in these activities.
V. USE OF EZBOARD TO PROMOTE THE SALE OF AN ILLEGAL PRODUCT OR SERVICE
Definition: Creating an ezboard, ezboard forum, banner, announcement, post, link, or any other communication on an ezboard, in what ezboard believes is an effort to sell illegal products or services (e.g., prostitution, piracy) or as part of such an effort.
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Sale of Illegal Product or Service" under "Specify Your Issue"
- In the description, include URL's that contain the specific posts that you believe are in violation; where appropriate, provide a description of the posts, including user name and a description of contents
VI. DIRECT LINKING/BANDWIDTH THEFT
Definition: Posting or otherwise causing to appear an image which is hosted on webspace which one is not authorized to use, draining bandwidth from that webspace and costing its owner money every time the ezboard page containing the image is viewed. Often occurs in tandem with Copyright Infringement.
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Direct Linking/Bandwidth Theft" under "Specify Your Issue"
- In the description, include URL's that contain the specific posts that you believe are in violation; where appropriate, provide a description of the posts, including user name and a description of contents. Also include links to locations of the material on your own server, and evidence of ownership/copyright of the material in question.
VII. COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
Only the creator, authorized publisher, or an authorized agent of the creator or authorized publisher of the original work may submit a valid complaint of this type.
Definition: Posting or otherwise causing to appear on an ezboard a reproduction of any of the following without permission from the creator (or, if the right of reproduction has been legally transferred, the authorized publisher of the work):
- a work of graphic art or a "derivative" (altered) version of such a work
- an artistic photograph or a "derivative" version of such a photograph
- a piece of cinematic art
- a work of literary art (poem, passage from a novel or short-story, etc.), without proper citation of authorship or against the wishes of the author or authorized publisher
- a journalistic piece, without proper citation of authorship or against the wishes of the author or authorized publisher
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Copyright Infringement" under "Specify Your Issue"
- In the description, include URL's that contain the specific posts that you believe are in violation; where appropriate, provide a description of the posts, including user name and a description of contents. Also include information required for DMCA compliance (see link above).
VIII. UNAUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTION OF PROPRIETARY INFORMATION
Definition: Posting or otherwise causing to appear on an ezboard or posting a link on an ezboard to any of the following:
- Trade secrets
- Passwords to pay-websites
- Pirated software, DVD's, DivX, or CD's ("warez") "keys", "cracks", "serials", or emulators
- Codes or instructional information for illegally intercepting and viewing satellite pay-cable television channels
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Proprietary Information" under "Specify Your Issue" In the description, include URL's that contain the specific posts that you believe are in violation; where appropriate, provide a description of the posts, including user name and a description of contents. Posts including codes, download sites, and/or instructions for illegal activities are the most compelling evidence.
IX. VIOLATIONS OF PRIVACY
Only the individual whose information is posted may submit a valid complaint of this type.
Definition: Posting or otherwise causing to appear on an ezboard any of the following, without the permission of the subject(s):
- Full name
- Residential or business address
- Phone number
- Social Security number
- Credit card number
- E-mail address
- Pictures of subject or subject's family/friends/pets/place of residence or employment/study
- IP address
Partial names, addresses, etc. (e.g., "555-1x5x") will be treated as complete.
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Violations of Privacy" under "Specify Your Issue"
- In the description, include URL's that contain the specific posts that you believe are in violation; where appropriate, provide a description of the posts, including user name and a description of contents.
X. DISRUPTION OF EZBOARD SUPPORT FORUMS
Definition: Posting or otherwise causing to appear any material covered by Flood Attack/Disruptive Posting, Posting of Unsolicited Commercial or non-ezboard Advertisement, or Interference with ezboard-Affiliated Advertisements of Copyright Information in any ezboard support forum (i.e., anywhere on bezboard or linked forums administrated by ezboard staff).
Complaint Procedure: Reportable by ezboard staff and support forum moderators only
XI. BOARD DESTRUCTION
Definition: Falsely appropriating a user account with admin powers at a given ezboard and using its admin powers to delete or otherwise alter any content on that board (e.g., deleting forums).
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Board Destruction" under "Specify Your Issue"
- First, move any posts involved into a password-protected forum and provide a link to the forum in question. Second, save a copy of the Admin Log File if possible. In the description, provide information including user name(s) of the parties involved and a description of events.
- Send an email to nnguyen@ezboard.com to request restoration of your board. There is no charge for Gold Communities.
XII. FLOOD ATTACK/DESTRUCTIVE POSTING
Definition: Posting repeatedly and rapidly, or posting code, or posting pornographic images or text, alone or in coordination with other users, in an effort to disrupt the normal functioning of an ezboard on which the posting user(s) does not have administrative powers.
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Flood Attack" under "Specify Your Issue"
- First, move any posts involved into a password-protected forum and provide a link to the forum in question. In the description, provide information including user name(s) of the parties involved and a description of events.
XIII. PASSWORD THEFT
Definition: Using or altering any ezboard user account for which one is not the original registrant without permission from the original registrant.
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Password Theft" under "Specify Your Issue"
- In the description, provide information including user name(s) of the parties involved and a description of events.
- If you would like your account returned to you, include your full name, complete address, and birth year. The provided information will be checked against the information you submitted when you registered your account. If they match, you will be sent a new password to the email address from which you sent us the complaint.
XIV. POSTING OF UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL OR NON-EZBOARD ADVERTISEMENT
Definition: Making unsolicited posts on ezboards where one does not have administrative powers in an effort to promote a non-ezboard site, or a commercial product or service.
Unsolicited single posts, personal messages and emails on an ezboard to promote another non-commercial ezboard are not considered a violation.
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Spamming" under "Specify Your Issue"
- In the description, provide information including user name(s) and URLs for boards of the parties involved and a description of events, including URLs of specific posts.
XV. INTERFERENCE WITH EZBOARD-AFFILIATED ADVERTISEMENTS OR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Definition: Placing a "pop-up killer" or any other code or program in any coding field or other section of an ezboard, upon which one has administrative power, to circumvent the appearance of pop-up advertisements, ezboard-affiliated banners, or copyright information on a non-CSC-Gold ezboard; posting or otherwise causing to appear on any ezboard a link to a site which offers "pop-up killers".
Claims of this behavior are not sufficient - evidence of code or other specific means are required.
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Interference with ezboard" under "Specify Your Issue"
- In the description, include any information on the actual violation, including URLs to ezboards and forums in violation, relevant posts, and/or information on the users involved in these activities
XVI. UNAUTHORIZED USE OF CSC ICON
Definition: Placing any ezboard CSC icon (gold, orange, or blue) in any field in an ezboard Control Center when that ezboard has not been granted (by ezboard) the CSC status commensurate with the icon; placing in any post or user profile any ezboard CSC icon when that user has not been granted (by ezboard) the CSC status commensurate with the icon.
Complaint Procedure:
- Fill out and send a Legal Issue Request Form
- Select "Unauthorized Icon Use" under "Specify Your Issue"
- In the description, include any information on the actual violation, including URLs to relevant posts or profiles and/or information on the users involved in these activities
Legal Issues and Requests Form
IMPORTANT! Submissions not related to any listed Terms Guide Category above may not receive a response. Be sure to select the appropriate category BEFORE submitting the Legal Request/Abuse Report form - this will ensure a faster response.
For additional relevant information, see our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
For "Hacking Reports", click here.
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All emails will receive a reply, however you should expect a slower response to non-priority questions. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
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