Welcome to American Mensa's online Community, a place where Mensans from across the country can interact, debate and meet new friends. You'll find the general guidelines for the Community here.

PURPOSES

The purposes of the American Mensa Community are

1. to stimulate member, group, and community related Mensa activities;
2. to provide a forum for the exchange of opinions and ideas among Mensa members;
3. to facilitate communications for groups, officers and National Office staff;
4. to promote the overall health and growth of the American Mensa organization; and
5. to aid Mensans and invited guests in pursuing the ideals of Mensa as expressed in the MIL Constitution.

American Mensa’s online Community is for general discussion in a number of topic areas. Subscribers must be current members of Mensa or otherwise approved by the Communications Officer. For questions about the Community or to volunteer as a moderator, please email community@americanmensa.org. For technical assistance, visit our Forum Support category and Community FAQ, or email community@americanmensa.org.

LIMITS

Content deemed inappropriate for this service, based on the moderators’ opinions, may include:

1. messages or attachments which undermine the spirit of camaraderie on the service such as (but not limited to):

• Personal attacks or inflammatory or antagonistic comments (incl. trolling, flame-baiting or picking fights, etc.)
• Making fun of or belittling others and/or their beliefs, age, intelligence, career choices or credentials, etc., including posting outside information that’s likely to be humiliating
• Ongoing, offensive private messaging
• Bullying – deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour intended to harm or intimidate others
• Ignoring requests to return to the topic of a given thread

2. messages or attachments which contain personal attacks against another Mensa member, whether or not he/she is a service member

3. messages or attachments which do not contribute to the purpose of this service

4. messages or attachments which aren’t primarily text in a standard alphabet (e.g. binaries, pictures or sounds files)

5. long messages which contain more than 200 lines or 10,000 characters, except for FAQs that have been posted by the moderator; messages or attachments cross-posted to several services (except proper FAQs)

6. flooding (multiple or repeated posting) in order to increase your post count or to attempt to get your point across.

7. messages or attachments which are chain letters, known hoaxes, or commercial advertisements.

8. activity which violates or infringes the rights of others including trademark, trade secret, copyright, publicity or other proprietary rights

9. use or abuse of another member’s account

GENERAL DISCLAIMER

American Mensa, Ltd. accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted via its Internet Communications Services by its members or guests. Additionally, American Mensa is not liable for damages resulting from information transmitted via these services or from any interruption or failure of these services.

ORGANIZATION

Administration of American Mensa’s online Community is organized in a tiered structure as follows:

• The Communications Officer and the staff Internet Services Manager are responsible for ensuring that the Community fulfills the purposes stated above.
  
• The Communications Committee is responsible for developing and reviewing the guidelines and policies for AML’s Internet Services.
  
• The Communications subcommittee on community issues (Com3) acts as the evaluative body for issues arising on AML’s online Community. Appointed by the Communications Officer, Com3 is responsible for maintaining the sense of camaraderie, moderating or facilitating other appointed moderators, and advising the Communications Officer and the Internet Services Manager. Com3 will review complaints and may recommend corrective action for violations of the these guidelines.
  
• Moderators are appointed by the Communications Officer. They are responsible for the overall flow of discussion on the Community forums, for resolving minor disputes, and for ensuring a congenial atmosphere. They may move, rename, edit or delete messages to keep message threads and subjects consistent and to keep topics within the scope of this service. They may declare off-topic discussion threads to be locked and warn subscribers regarding inappropriate rhetoric.

MODERATION

Mensans have many strongly held opinions, and there will be disagreements from time to time on the Community, some of which may get quite heated. It is important that all participants remember that this is not a war zone and disagreements are not battles to be won. If you are experiencing a difficult interaction with another member and are unable to resolve the issue yourself, please notify the moderator(s).

If a member violates the intent of this service, these guidelines, or the American Mensa’s Minimum Standards for Internet Services, he or she will be subject to any or all of the following actions:

Informal Intervention
A moderator may participate in the discussion thread, asking participants to tone down and self-edit their posts.

Take it to Private Messages
A moderator may request that participants move the conversation to private messages.

Ignore User
Members are under no obligation to read posts they consider negative or abusive. Additionally, members don't have to like everyone or agree with anyone. Members do have to get along at least within the extent of these guidelines. Sometimes this may entail ignoring and distancing oneself from other participants or discussions. A moderator may request that participants disengage from unpleasant and hostile situations by simply ignoring each other. Like shunning in medieval times, "ignoring" can be a powerful social tool.

Moderator Intervention
A moderator may warn one or more participants that certain posts are not acceptable. The moderator will note the offensive behavior, and after receiving such a warning, participants should conduct themselves more appropriately. A moderator may also edit or delete posts or "lock" topics.

Interim Suspension
If a poster’s online behavior is alarmingly out of line, the Communications Officer or Internet Services Manager will suspend that member from the Community until Com3 has a chance to review the situation and determine the wisest long-term course of action.

Formal Warning
If a participant continues to violate these guidelines, despite moderator intervention, a formal warning will be given. Following a formal warning, participants will be monitored for compliance with these guidelines.

30-day Suspension
If a participant continues to disrupt the social atmosphere of the Community, Com3 will review the situation and may suspend online Community access for 30 days. A formal written letter explaining the specific rationale for the suspension will be sent.

90-day Suspension
If, after a 30-day suspension, a participant resumes inappropriate posting, Com3 will review the situation and may decide to suspend online Community access for 90 days. A formal written letter explaining the specific rationale for the suspension will be sent.

Longterm Suspension
If, after a 90-day suspension, a participant resumes previously identified inappropriate activity, Com3 will review the situation and may decide to suspend online Community access indefinitely. A formal written letter explaining the specific rationale for the suspension will be sent.

Other actions deemed appropriate
While these actions cover most instances of intervention, it may not cover all situations. Consequently, other actions may be taken to ensure this Community is not disrupted or abused.

Any decision to suspend a member from the AML’s online Community will be reviewed by the Communications Officer, Internet Services Manager, and Com3 before implementation. If suspension for 30 or more days is recommended, the participant(s) will be requested to share their views and explanations.

APPEAL

Members may appeal to the AMC Communications Officer concerns regarding moderator interventions. The Communications Officer will consult with the moderator(s) involved, the Internet Services Manager, Com3, the Communications Committee, and/or the AMC Chairman in review of any appeal.