Updated May 11th, 2013

View the Change Log

1. Terms
2. Disclaimer
3. Limitations
4. Rights of Staff
5. Revisions and Errata
6. Links
7. Conduct
8. User Accounts
9. No-spam Policy
10. Chat
11. Content
12. Projects and Advertising

1.  Terms

By accessing this web site, you are agreeing to be bound by these Terms of Service and Conditions of Use and all applicable laws and regulations and agree that you are responsible for compliance with any applicable laws. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are encouraged to leave The Paranormal Society immediately. The material contained in this website is protected by applicable copyright, trademark and service mark law. As a condition of use, you affirm that you will not use any content contained within this website for unlawful or fraudulent use, or any other use not intended by our website. Use of www.theparanormalsociety.org by you constitutes your agreement to the Terms of Service.

2. Disclaimer

1. The materials on The Paranormal Society are provided "as is". The Paranormal Society makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties, including without limitation, implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property or other violation of rights. Further, The Paranormal Society does not warrant or make any representations concerning the accuracy, likely results, or reliability of the use of the material on its web site or otherwise relating to such materials, or on any sites linked to and from this website.
2. Although we make reasonable efforts to verify the reliability of information provided, we do not guarantee against human and/or machine errors, omissions, delays, interruptions, or losses. Regardless of our own beliefs, the world of the paranormal remains a mystery. Although we strive to provide you with accurate and reliable information, we do not guarantee that any information contained in this website will be useful and that any methods or advice will be successful.
3. The Paranormal Society website is not intended to provide psychological and/or medical advice and should not be interpreted as such. Under no circumstances shall The Paranormal Society be liable for misuse of any information contained within this website. Your use of this website constitutes your acceptance and understanding that it is not a substitute or replacement for any type of medical service.

3. Limitations

In no event shall The Paranormal Society, its partners, associates, or staff be liable for any damages (including, but not limited to, incidental and consequential damages, mental, emotional and personal injury or wrongful death), whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory arising out of the use or inability to use the materials on The Paranormal Society's website. The use of  information contained within this website is at your own risk.

• The posting of spam;
• Posting or display of inappropriate, offensive or pornographic content;
• Any illegal content, links or display of copyrighted material;
• Advertisements not in accordance with the terms;
• Any member's photos or avatar depicting them engaged in what is considered obscene gestures;
• Advertisements for other websites;
• Photos showing persons engaged in illegal activity.

5. Revisions and Errata

The materials appearing on The Paranormal Society could include technical, typographical, or photographic errors. We may make changes to the materials contained on www.theparanormalsociety.org at any time without notice.

6. Links

With the intent on furthering the research into the paranormal, or to provide entertainment value, The Paranormal Society displays external links to third party websites. The Paranormal Society, its parent, Staff or partners are not responsible for the content of any linked site. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement or support by The Paranormal Society. Use of any such linked website is at the user's own risk.

7. Conduct

Do not abuse, threaten, harass, intimidate or commit any other unlawful or inappropriate act upon, or attempt to commit upon, any member or user. When stating your personal opinion regarding any subject matter, we ask that you refrain from lashing out or insulting.

The following are some examples of what is prohibited, some of which can result in a permanent ban:

• Hateful Comments or Racial/Ethnic Slurs or slurs against someone's sexual preference, religion;
• Name Calling: This is childish and non-productive. Don't do this, or insult someone's intelligence or character;
• Attacking or Harassing any member or engaging in any personal argument not within the scope of the site. This includes: Racism, hatred, violent language, threats, real-life threats, insults, extreme vulgar language, flaming, otherwise inappropriate or hurtful language, harassment,  or grammar policing.
• Posting any users private information;
• Trolling: We define 'trolling' as the act of causing deliberate disruption or offense. Such behavior involves the posting of comments designed to provoke or annoy other members;
• Attempting to obtain any member's personal or private information by any means;
• Hijacking forum threads. Hijacking means to post non-related comments or to change the subject of a thread;
• Off Topic: Off-topic threads should be limited and be placed in the proper category. Remember, this is a paranormal related website and the majority of material should reflect as such;
• Duplicate Posting: Be sure to search for what you're looking for first. We discourage duplicate posting and delete content posted as such;
• Pointless Content: Do not post pointless or non-productive threads;
• Moderator Based Actions: Actions taken against a member or member's posts are not to be discussed in public. Contact the moderator personally for inquiries. Violations will result in deleted content and member bans, no exceptions;
• Suggestive conduct: Do not post sexually suggestive comments or innuendos or engage in sexually oriented personal exchanges in public. Remember, you have a private message system... Use it for private communication between you and other members;
• Flamebaiting: Do not taunt or bait another member in to an argument;
• Bumping: You may not 'bump' threads in an attempt to gain exposure to yourself or any other member. Bumping is considered the posting of meaningless information, posting one-liners, or any other action to deliberately keep a thread hot or to promote a member or yourself. Moderators use their own discretion, depending on the nature of the post, as to whether or not it's removed.
• General Unpleasantness: This is a place to share information, make friends, and further the research of the paranormal. Within this realm, there is no place for intentional rudeness and continuous unpleasantness. We realize nobody is perfect, but you can communicate and converse with someone in a polite, or at least neutral, manner.

Evidence Analysis:
Those who are reviewing evidence should stick to the subject at hand and refrain from personal attacks. If you submit evidence for review, expect both positive and negative feedback. You may not like the feedback you receive, but that's part of the learning process. You need have have thick skin if you put it out there for the world to see. We strive to promote solid paranormal evidence and further the field, so if other site members believe your evidence is not factual or can be debunked, expect to be told so. We are all very passionate, and false evidence can hurt everyone involved. If you know the evidence is false and you submit it regardless, you can expect a variety of responses, including being "raked over the coals". Best advice: Do not submit knowingly false evidence.

If you submit evidence and label it as 100% irrefutable proof, be prepared to be questioned and the evidence to be scrutinized to its core. Also be prepared to back-up your claims of authenticity. Our advice here: Do not label any evidence as "irrefutable", "authenticated" or similar strong words... because in the end, you don't have 100% positive proof, nor does anyone else.

8. User Accounts

When registering an account at The Paranormal Society, you are presented with a box that must be checked in order to proceed with registration. By checking this box, you affirming that you have read, acknowledge and accept the Terms of Service. In addition, the following are to be adhered to:

• Name and Username: When creating your account, you must register with your "Real" name, not an abbreviation, only one or two letters or an obvious bogus name. In addition, your username must not contain any profanity, hate, racism, or any illegal, sexual or what is commonly known to be inappropriate implications or references;

• Photos and Avatars: No explicit photos are to be uploaded to the site. All images including your avatar, should not contain nudity, partial nudity or be sexually explicit in any form or depict a sexual or erotic pose or gesture. Images and profile avatars are not to be offensive in nature. Users must refrain from posting any image that depicts, suggests or otherwise conveys illegal activity, hate towards any group, religion or nationality;

• Email Address: You must maintain a valid email address while using your account at The Paranormal Society. We do validate email addresses manually and at random;

• Duration: Your account at The Paranormal Society will remain indefinitely, unless canceled by either you or us. However, we do require that you log into your account at least once every six months. Accounts not logged into after this period may be deleted at the discretion of staff;

9. No-Spam Policy

The Paranormal Society has zero tolerance for spam. There is an appropriate route for advertising, and we ask that you take this route rather than spam. Any account deemed to be spam, or created for the purpose of spamming, will be deleted without prior notice and the IP address of the registering account blocked at server level.

10. Chat

When accessing the chat, remember that you are bound by the rules of conduct. While we won't explicitly restrict your conversations, we do ask that you refrain from using vulgarity, sexual, abusive, or any "inside" language, references or innuendos meant to convey any type of inappropriate message, unless entered into mutually. We are very protective of our members under 18, so do not subject minors to any type of inappropriate conversation, language or behavior. Users are encouraged to report any type of inappropriate behavior to us. The chat is not monitored by staff, however, chat logs will be reviewed if a complaint against a member is filed.

11. Forum Content & Posting

The Paranormal Society is a social networking website and information portal, and as such, encourages members to post content and participate ,in discussions, groups, and forum posts. Each member is responsible for the content they post and The Paranormal Society, its parent, staff, or affiliates are not responsible for member content. In addition, members retain ownership of their posted content, however, by posting that content, members agree to, affirm, and issue an automatic, indefinite, irrevocable, unlimited use license to The Paranormal Society for use of such content. The Paranormal Society, its parent, and staff may use posted content for advertisement and/or promotion, however, The Paranormal Society shall withhold any and all personally identifiable details and content in order to protect the privacy of its members.

• Posts in the forum's General Discussion category will expire 10 days from the date of posting. However, content may remain if it's relevant enough and/or is a particularly popular topic.
• Titles in threads should to be descriptive of the thread. One-offs, such as "So cool?" or "Ohhhh wow" or "This is neat" are not permitted. Folks should know exactly what they will be reading before opening the thread. No guess work. An exception to this is posts that are placed in the categories 'I Need Help' and 'Share Your Experiences'.
• Responses to threads should be pertinent to the subject: Members are to refrain from excessive use of short replies, such as greetings or off topic comments.
• New threads are not to be constructed solely of one-liners, with or without links. If you want to include a link in your thread, it should contain information relevant to the subject matter. Example: The posting of a thread that includes a single external link to a page located outside of The Paranormal Society.

12. Projects and Advertising

The Paranormal Society encourages and supports the promotion of paranormal research/investigation groups and individuals and these groups/individuals are eligible to receive free advertising, including banner creation and promotion, so long as they are not a commercial, for profit organization, either registered or unregistered. Commercial organizations, or for-profit organizations, are not eligible for such advertisement and promotion and should utilize the proper channel for commercial advertising by contacting us. Individuals determined to be abusing this privelage may have their account suspended or terminated and content removed, at the sole discretion of Staff.