Rules of the Road

We want the Message Boards to be a friendly, useful resource for all of our members. Please follow the rules when you post.

These rules come from the Terms of Service you accepted when you became a member of The South Beach Diet Online. (Take a look at the Terms of Service, especially Section Two, before you post.) In particular, please note these rules:

1. Please use text that is easy to read. All caps, (LIKE THIS), is seen as shouting on the Internet. We will delete messages from users who repeatedly "shout." Also, please do not use all italics, all bold, large or small fonts, or fonts in colors that are difficult to read. Your message is more likely to be read if it is easy on people's eyes.

2. Some of our members' computers and connections are slower than others. We ask that you do not include images or animations in your posts that are larger than 10K or 200 by 200 pixels. (Any standard image program can measure and resize your picture in pixels.) Even if these images are hosted off-site, they slow down connections and prevent some members from seeing your posts.

3. You should not claim to be someone you aren't. We encourage you to create a member name for yourself using the alias tool in the Profile menu. However, you may not claim to be a site administrator or staff member, or pretend to be a different member.

4. Do not post material from somewhere else—including this web site—without attributing it so that someone else could find the same information. Please do not cut and paste lengthy information from a web site, including this one. Instead, please use a hyperlink to the information you'd like to quote.

5. Do not spam the Boards or repeatedly flood the Message Boards with the same or similar posts.

6. You may not use the Message Boards to advertise. All advertising is prohibited. Certain advertising, particularly advertising for financial schemes, is prohibited by various federal and state laws. Also, you should not post an opinion on the Message Boards about a product with which you are currently affiliated.

7. Treat others as you would treat yourself. You should not post any message whose content might invade another's rights. Messages threatening another member, insulting another member, or exposing another member's real life identity are prohibited. Unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, or otherwise objectionable messages are also prohibited.

8. We value our members and what they have to say. However, in order to have a safe, friendly, supportive community, we must enforce these rules. If you engage in behavior that is against the Terms of Service and requires us to take immediate action, we will delete or edit your post and send you an e-mail to let you know what was done and why. Otherwise, we will send you an e-mail requesting that your posts conform to these guidelines, and we may ask you to take down posts yourself. If you do not cooperate, we may be forced to delete or edit your posts.

If you have any questions about the rules, please e-mail us at communityadmin@southbeachdiet.com. Enjoy the Boards!