Rules, Policies, and Disclaimers 

Registration to post on these forums is open to all Lotus Seven Club Members.  All that we ask is that you abide by the policies outlined below. Please read them, at the bottom of the page you will find a couple of buttons to choose whether to accept or decline.

Blatchat – Code of Conduct

Introduction

Blatchat is the web forum of the Lotus Seven Club where club members can share knowledge of cars, events and Seven related activities plus buy and sell cars, parts and accessories etc.

Background

The forum is a ‘virtual area’ and the club expects the forum to be a place where members can post without fear of derision or personal attack. To date the club has relied upon the Rules, Policies and Disclaimers and the following warning ‘Please remember, you are responsible for what you post. Don't jeopardise BlatChat by posting something which may be taken as libelous, defamatory or offensive’. However, it is clear from recent events that this guidance is insufficient and therefore this Code of Conduct sets out the club’s vision on the standards of behaviour expected from all Lotus 7 club members.

Please remember that unlike a conversation a posting on the forum ‘lives forever’ and can potentially be seen by anyone. Note: in 2009 Blatchat had 1.5 million hits from 150,000 unique visitors so therefore it is important that posts are accurate and reflect the ‘true spirit’ of this club so should not be negative or unfriendly. Please think before posting as to how it could be viewed by others and remember you are solely responsible for the content you write here. Your co-operation is appreciated.

Blatchat Code of Conduct

When using the clubs websites you agree not to:

1. Post insulting, threatening or defamatory material.
2. Post any material likely to cause undue annoyance, provocation, upset or embarrassment to any reasonable person.
3. Post damaging threads about this club or its members on Blatchat or any other forum. This includes continuously posting negative threads that undermines people’s enjoyment of Blatchat. If you are unhappy with any aspect of the club please contact any member of the management team.
4. Name companies or individuals in relation to accusations of malpractice, fraud or other criminal or civil offences. If you have a fault with a product or service provided by a company please speak to them as the club does not wish to become embroiled in disputes and start providing transcripts of threads to solicitors.
5. Use the forums to harass anyone, including but not limited to posting personal or private information and images.
6. Post material which infringes copyright or other intellectual property rights.
7. Post material or links to material that may be considered pornographic, violent, racist, sexist, and voyeuristic or is otherwise offensive or unlawful.
8. Post commercial adverts for your own commercial gain. However, links in signatures are permitted. Please use our classifieds section for cars, parts etc. or contact the Membership Secretary regarding advertising.
9. Impersonate another club member.

Please remember that the club is not responsible for any messages posted. Nor does the club vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and is not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this club. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to use the ‘report this post’ function on the thread. The moderators have the ability to remove objectionable messages and will make every effort to do so within a reasonable time frame if they determine that removal is necessary.

Moderation

When a post is reported to a moderator they will consider whether a post is unacceptable or not and the post can then be edited/removed as necessary. The reason for the moderation will be recorded on the post that has been edited.

Where a post has been edited or removed the moderator will then consider if the post is serious enough to warrant the immediate suspension of the members posting rights for a period of time and is likely to ask the poster for an explanation of their actions. The matter will be referred to another moderator to agree what further action is required.

No more than two suspensions will be allowed, with any further breaches leading to the permanent suspension of posting rights and consideration of excluding the member from the club. The club reserve the right to implement the permanent suspension of posting rights and/or the immediate termination of membership should the incident warrant this course of action.

Content

Considering the real-time nature of these forums, it is impossible for us to review messages or confirm the validity of information posted.  Please remember that we do not actively monitor the contents of, and are not responsible for, any messages posted.  We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message.  The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of the Lotus Seven Club or any entity associated with the Lotus Seven Club.  Any information contained in these forums is delivered "as-is" without any form of warranty expressed or implied.  Any use of the information contained within is solely at your own risk.  Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email at sitemanager@lotus7club.co.uk.  We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, 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.

Although the Lotus Seven Club does not, and can not, review the messages posted in real-time and is not responsible for the content of any of these messages, we at the Lotus Seven Club reserve the right to delete or edit any message for any or no reason whatsoever.  You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Lotus Seven Club and its agents with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s).  We at the Lotus Seven Club reserve the right to revoke your membership to the Lotus Seven Club forums or disable your posting ability for any or no reason whatsoever.

We at the Lotus Seven Club also reserve the right to reveal your identity (or whatever information we know about you) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any message posted by you.

Note: the Lotus Seven Club will not tolerate personal attacks.   Posting something to the Lotus Seven Club forums which personally attacks another forum member or contains profanity or any type of racial or ethnic slur may result in immediate suspension of your user account.