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Terms of Agreement for the MOST Forums and Other Interactive Features of the MOST Website 
Below are specific terms of agreement related to use of the:
These terms provide rules governing the use of those forums in conjunction with the MOST Website Terms of Use and MOST Privacy Policy. We encourage participants to familiarize themselves with all 3 policies.
This policy has the following sections:
Disclaimer (Purpose of the MOST forums and other features)
Registration (Who qualifies to participate)
Moderation (How the MOST forums and other features are monitored)
Postings Requirements (Quality of posting content)
Maintenance (Who to contact about concerns)
Abusive Participants (Actions taken for violators)
Use of Participant Information (Privacy and confidentiality)
Disclaimer (Purpose of the MOST forums)
Unless specifically expressed otherwise, all postings, comments, links, subject lines, instant messages, online chats, email and private messages generated by participants of the MOST forums and other interactive features of the MOST website are for entertainment, convenience, emotional support, or general informational purposes only. Content posted or sent from these features represents only the thoughts and opinions of the content's author and do not necessarily represent those of MOST (Mothers of Supertwins), its advisory board, or staff. Material presented on the MOST website forums and other features is generally believed to be from reliable sources, but MOST makes no representations as to its accuracy or completeness.
Important Note: Information in postings on the MOST website is not meant to replace the advice of a health professional; therefore MOST advises all forum participants not to make treatment decisions based on information posted to the forums or received in related communications without the guidance of a qualified health care provider.
Registration
(Who qualifies to participate)
In compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), all participants on the MOST forums and other interactive features of the MOST website are required to be 13-years of age or older. Participants should assume that other participants are not medical professionals by default, and any health professional who gives medical information must clearly indicate his or her status as a medical professional. See our forum information page for specifics on qualifications for the MOST Family Support Forums.
When participants register for the MOST forums, they can create detailed profiles. As users register and choose a username, MOST advises they keep their username appropriate. Inappropriate usernames may be rejected. With this user account, registered users agree NEVER to share their password with anyone. They also agree NEVER to use another member's account to post messages or browse the forums. Users are responsible for presenting clean and accurate information. Any information MOST deems inaccurate or vulgar will be removed.
Moderation (How the MOST forums and other features are monitored)
The MOST Forums, Stories from the Heart blog, and other features are moderated by MOST staff members and volunteers who check them each week to ensure compliance with these terms of agreement. Moderators are required to read and understand these terms of agreement, are given training on how to use the forum and blog software by MOST, as well as training on key communication skills as part of the MOST Volunteer Training Program.
Moderators must be members of MOST for 1-year in good standing and parents of multiple births. Like all other participants, moderators are identified by the username they setup at registration. Although some moderators may be medical professionals (and those who are will state their credentials), this is not a requirement for this volunteer position. How moderators intervene when posts do not comply with these terms of agreement is outlined in the following sections.
Postings Requirements (Quality of posting content)
While administrators and moderators will attempt to remove or edit any generally objectionable material as quickly as possible, it is impossible to review every message. Therefore you acknowledge that all posts made to the forums, blog and other features express the views and opinions of the author and not the administrators, moderators or webmaster (except for posts by those people) and hence will not be held liable. MOST requires that all participants, including moderators, disseminate only information that is true and correct to the best of their knowledge, and that they behave at all times with respect and honesty.
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- To keep content appropriate for all participants, users are prohibited from posting any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of ANY law.
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- Spam, flooding, unauthorized advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are not permitted on the MOST website interactive features. See our advertising page for details on advertising with MOST and to read our Advertising Policy.
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- Any material protected by copyright, unless the participant owns the copyright or has consent from the owner of the copyright, should not be posted without proper reference, links, and/or citation.
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- Postings that reference health/medical information that is not related to the poster’s personal experience must also provide proper reference, links, and/or citation. (Personal experience refers to any symptom, test, treatment, etc. that the person or a close family member has undergone himself/herself.)
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- Reproduction of content made by another participant on any forum, MOST or otherwise, email transmission, website or blog, or print publication should not be posted to the MOST website without permission from the person who posted the content, and if the content came from a MOST source, permission from MOST as well.
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- Solicitations for media or research study participants are prohibited. Research study requests should be submitted through our Research Study Contract (PDF).
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Posts, like those described above are inconsiderate of other participants, and may lead to an immediate and permanent ban of users who violate these terms. MOST reserves the right to notify your service provider, and legal actions can be taken against violators. The IP addresses of all posts are recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions.
Maintenance (Who to contact about concerns)
Since MOST cannot always confirm the validity of posts, MOST is not responsible for content not posted by MOST directly. MOST does not warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information presented by forum participants. The messages express the views of the author, not necessarily the views of MOST.
Any participant who feels that a posting is objectionable or violates these terms of agreement is encouraged to take one of these actions:
- On the MOST forums, report the post using the forum reporting feature or notify the forum's moderator through a personal message within the forum.
- On the MOST Stories from the Heart Blog, post a comment through the blog comment feature.
- Contact the MOST Forum Coordinator through our contact form.
- Call or email the MOST office directly at (631) 859-1110
MOST retains the right to remove objectionable content within a reasonable timeframe when removal is necessary. Removing content is a manual process, so please realize that MOST may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately. This policy applies to user profile information as well.
Abusive Participants (Actions taken for violators)
Participants remain solely responsible for the content of their messages. They agree to indemnify and hold MOST and any related websites harmless. MOST also reserves the right to reveal a user’s identity (or any appropriate information MOST has about that user) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from information posted on the MOST website. As mentioned above, IP addresses may be recorded with each post to facilitate banning abusive users or contacting Internet Service Providers (ISP); however, these events only occur in the event of a serious or potentially criminal violation of this agreement.
Use of Participant Information (Forum privacy and confidentiality)
Participants on the MOST website must keep in mind that:
- Any postings made in one of MOST’s public forums, blog, or other public feature are available to be read by anyone!
- Postings in any of the member-only forums are available to all MOST members.
- Postings in a special group forum, like Special Needs or Lost Angels, are available to all MOST members who qualify to participate on those forums.
(See the forum information page for details on individual forum requirements.)
Participants should be especially careful when posting personal or sensitive information online. To protect the confidentiality of all participants, MOST PROHIBITS forwarding, copying or using content within postings on the MOST website in any manner without expressed consent from both the author of the post and MOST.
As a user you agree to any information you have provided to register or entered to participate on the MOST forums being stored in a database; however, this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent. See the MOST Privacy Policy for additional details on the use of personal information by MOST.
The following are privacy/security features of the MOST forum and blog software:
- All postings are automatically time-stamped (date and time) .
- The forum software allows MOST to use individual user as well as group access privileges to limit who can see a forum, read posts, make a new post, reply to existing posts, edit or delete posts, create and vote in forum polls, moderate posts, and make announcement or sticky posts.
- Access to some features of the MOST blog can be limited to certain participants only, but most features will be considered public.
- All levels of access privileges are determined and strictly enforced by MOST to allow as many participates as possible while still maintaining the safety, privacy, and security for all participants.
- Forum participants are allowed to edit or delete any of their own postings at any time, but blog comments can only be edited or deleted by MOST once submitted.
- The forum and blog software may use cookies to store information on your local computer; however, these cookies DO NOT contain any of the information you have entered to register or participate. They serve only to improve your experience on our forums.
- The e-mail address you provided to participate on the MOST website is used only for confirming your registration details and password, sending new passwords should you forget your current one or sending rare announcements to participants about important changes or notices.
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Updated 6/4/10
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