Forum FAQ - Privacy

The Forum is open to anybody to subscribe, but the content of all messages is to be considered private and for the eyes of members only. The technology of email distribution means that messages may sometimes inadvertently be seen by non-members (system administrators, for example), but all members must take care to preserve the privacy of messages as far as they are able.

Copyright in all messages sent to the forum remains with the original poster. Reproduction or redistribution in any form, electronic, printed or otherwise, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the explicit written permission both of the original poster and of any other person whose words are quoted within the message. This includes, but is not limited to, the sending of any Forum message to any other person, mailing list or Usenet newsgroup, or making any message available through any web site visible to the public.

The only exception is where the message is already in the public domain, for example forwarded news items or jokes. You should still take care not to violate the copyright and redistribution rules of the original author, though, in any further redistribution, and to attribute your sources carefully.

There is no "fair use", "fair comment", "right of reply", or similar provision: the "already in the public domain" provision is the only exception to the requirement for explicit permission before redistribution. If you feel that an individual person who is not on the Forum should be made aware of a discussion, you should invite them to join the Forum and if appropriate add their views here. Other organisations are welcome to have representatives join the Forum, provided they abide by these rules and don't further redistribute messages within their organisation.

There is not, nor will there ever be, a public web archive of Forum messages. The archives are, however, available to all current subscribers: details are here.

Messages received in private email are not to be reposted on the Forum (or anywhere else) without the explicit permission of the original correspondent. You need to take particular care if your mail system makes it difficult to tell whether a message arrived privately or via the Forum.

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