Terms and conditions

Hi,

this is already planned

Hi Julien,

It's just like many other sites, or lots of software installations, you have a page that has the Terms of Use or License Agreement in the case of software. You can't progress to the next step in registration or installation as the case may be until you have checked the box which indicates that you've read and agree to be bound by those conditions. In some it is linked both to the checkbox and the text itself, so you HAVE to read to the bottom or at the very least scroll down to the bottom of the text and check the box too. If the text isn't on the last line you can't go on to the next step. 

The Terms of Use also needs to clearly spell out the anti-spam rules, copy & paste prohibitions and also more fully explain to new members how to 'activate' their private message privileges. There must be something inherently wrong with the way it is explained now because hundreds of new members simply can't figure it out and NONE of them bother to read any of the hundreds of other postings on that very subject - ALL OF WHICH EXPLAIN WHAT TO DO.

This is getting very OLD - boys and girls!!! It isn't rocket science all you have to do is read.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

Julien,

The problem of new members failing to read the Terms and Conditions of Use, not understanding how to activate their private messaging privileges and not understanding the restrictions on "copy and paste" spamming in PMs and in the forums continues unresolved.

Surely there must be some easy way to make it necessary to actually READ the Terms of Use and verify that you have done so before membership can be processed. It really is getting to be quite a nuisance. When the weekend rolls around then there is a flood of new membership applications which are submitted simply to allow individuals to spend a few days spamming until they get reported, caught and have the membership revoked.

Also the forums are filled with posts by individuals who don't wish to put forward the effort to read any of the hundreds of other posts about why they can't send PMs and they simply add one more much to the frustration of serious members. I'm sorry, but if you're here as a member and don't want to participate in the forums or if you came here simply to fill everybody's mailbox with copy and paste garbage  then why did you come here??? At least that's my opinion.

There has to be some solution to this ongoing problem. I would strongly suggest that like many other sites the registration process be finalized via an existing e-mail address. Prospective members must provide a valid e-mail address and complete the application, Expat-blog sends a link to that e-mail address which then activates the account. This should also be tied to some mechanism to make it absolutely necessary to read the Terms of Use and acknowledge that you will abide by the rules, not post copy and paste messages or other forms of spam. It's really getting to be a colossal pain finding all kinds of junk floating around here or in my mailbox on the weekends especially. Maybe even delaying the activation of accounts requested on weekends should be considered. If you're serious about using the blog, waiting a day or two shouldn't be such an inconvenience in my opinion.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team