It has come to my attention that some users are engaging in the practice of posting other people's personal information on TNET. This practice is strictly forbidden on TNET, and posts which publicly expose anyone's private information will be removed, and may result in the poster's privileges being suspended or revoked. Personal information shall be considered to include, but not be limited to real names of TNET members - whether such names are actually real or not is irrelevant, the attempt to "out" someone is hereby proscribed; personal addresses and/or telephone numbers (including IBT/local union-provided cellular telephones); social security numbers; workplaces; names/personal details of family members of those the poster is attempting to harrass/"out"; financial data; legal history; and/or any other information deemed by the TNET staff to be personal in nature.

If someone posts the name/contact information for an IBT or local union official - provided that the information is not personal in nature (e.g. posting the person's work telephone number [although not their home and/or cellular] is acceptable if this proviso does not become abused, although - again - posting that person's home/cellular number, or any other information either expressly stated or otherwise implied in the above paragraph, is prohibited. Moreover, posting *ANY* private information (details above) of *ANY* IBT/local union official is hereby officially proscribed.

The reason for this rule is straightforward: We do not condone, permit, or otherwise support any actions which might potentially bring harm to *ANYONE*. Period. As providing someone's private information might contribute to the possibility that that person could be harmed, TNET will begin taking a very hard line against any violations of this rule; violence against anyone - especially for something as stupid as who's TDU/supports TDU and who isn't/doesn't - is and should be viewed by *ALL* Teamsters as unacceptable ... and it's viewed as precisely that by the TNET Administrative staff.

Moving forward, the first violation of this rule - depending on the severity of the information provided - will result in a one week suspension. The second violation - no matter how severe - will result in expulsion; note, though, that there will not be any ex-post-facto sanctions ... all repercussions will be dished out for violations occurring *AFTER* the posting of this warning. However, if their are extant violations of which we're not aware, please notify us using the report feature, and we'll simply remove them without any additional sanctions being levied.

If anyone spots a potential violation of this rule, please utilize the "report" feature located on the bottom left corner of the post itself. All reports will be investigated, the reporter will remain anonymous to the TNET community, and sanctions up to and including expulsion will result if the report is valid.

Here are some examples to clarify: If someone were to refer to me as "Jim," then that wouldn't be a violation considering that "Jim" is in my username; the same logic applies for EdHeisler. Similarly, if someone were to refer to the username "TeamsterNet" as "Phil," that wouldn't be a violation either because we're all fairly aware that Phil owns this site, and he's made absolutely no effort to conceal that ... in fact he's offered his own name up on multiple occasions. However, other names obtained through "outings" or any other means not endorsed by that user - no matter how commonly known they are now - is hereinafter proscribed.



Therefore, if those of you who continually have problems operating under TNET's rules continue to attack me (personally or professionally) with redundant whining, complaining, and/or through other posts blatantly violating the self-evident rules TNET has (such as, but not limited to, intellectual property, intentionally posting in the wrong forum, and harassing/abusing/stalking other TNET members), then there'll be no more simple warnings and nice guy tactics.

From now on, when it's obvious that you're intentionally violating the rules, or that you simply refuse to act like an adult, then I'll simply remove your post and bump up your "warning level" no questions asked. When your warning level reaches a pre-determined plateau, your account will be suspended for 10 days. If after serving that suspension you again engage in similar behavior, your account will be suspended for 30 days pending a review for possible termination. If you're not terminated and are instead allowed back after the 30 days but again flaunt the rules, then you'll be permanently barred.



The following are the rules on copying and pasting materials that were not authored by you. These rules cover *ANY* and *ALL* material you did not personally write, and these rules cover every forum on TNET. If you do not follow these rules, your post will be removed.

This is *NOT* done to limit anyone's access to material. Rather this is done to prevent Teamster.net from getting sued under the auspices of intellectual property copyright law. Further, by following all of the steps below, readers will have the option of clicking on the link you provide to get the full story; access to information is limited only to the extent that readers are too lazy to click on your provided link.

All of the following steps must be followed. You cannot simply pick from the list and call it a day.

(1) Provide a link to where the material was found. If the material comes from a printed book or magazine or some other non-linkable but printed source, then posters must provide the name of the book as well as the author;

(2) Provide the author's name at the top of the post below the link

(3) Include no more than 4 paragraphs of the work. If the work is equal to or less than 4 paragraphs, then you must omit at least one paragraph.

The link provided *MUST* actually link to the material itself. Any links which direct TNET visitors to something other than the material in question are a direct violation of the rules, and any such thread which makes an obvious effort to steer TNETters astray will be removed.

Additionally, *NO MATERIAL* coming from emails is allowed to be reposted under any circumstance. The reason for this is that it's nearly impossible to figure out if emailed material is simply copied and pasted from someone's [potentially] copyrighted website/work.



The first new rule is as follows: There are some on the board who deem it necessary to respond to threads of almost any topic with a "stock" response railing against this or that, despite the fact that the rant has little or nothing to do with the topic. This practice is hereby banned. If you post an off-topic response to a thread, your response will be removed upon its discovery. Additionally, those who violate this rule repeatedly will have their account suspended and possibly removed depending on the severity and frequency of the violation(s). No exceptions. Moderators and administrators will have the sole discretion of determining what is and what isn't a violative post; there will be no debate, discussion, or reconsideration on their part. The rules is the rules, as they say.

The second new rule dovetails from the first. That is, we will now be taking previous violations of the rules as evidence of your failure to comply. For example, let's say you post 3 articles which violate the intellectual property rule. Your account will then be suspended. Do it again, you'll be banned. Our rules are very non-restrictive, and are extremely easy to follow. As such, we'll make the natural assumption that your failure to follow them is blatant and wanton, and that you do not respect our right to set rules on our own website.

The third rule is as follows: We all know that there are some posters on this board who irk the hell out of others. While everyone will be under the same set of rules, those who choose to follow certain posters around and reply to each and every one of their posts with some personal invective will have those posts removed, and will be suspended/banned as the severity dictates. No exceptions. Keep the smack talk where it belongs: the smack talk forum. All personal attacks will be removed once discovered. Period.



Phil and I have recently discussed the practice of cloning others' TNET handles, and have decided that this practice is inconsistent with TNET's policies. Therefore, folks with cloned usernames are currently being contacted to select alternate handles. Further, if cloned usernames appear in the future, they'll be removed as they're discovered.

I kindly ask people to report violative posts using the "report" button located on the bottom-left of the post itself. Once received, each complaint will be reviewed and action taken as necessary.

Thanks for everyone's cooperation.