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Grapevine Info
Frequently
Asked Questions
Q. My password doesn't work and I can't post. What's wrong?
A. In the vast majority of cases when people complain that they
are unable to post, they are entering their user name and/or password incorrectly. Go down this checklist before
you contact us for help.
- Have you registered? You must register before
you can post. You will receive your password in an e-mail sent to the address you provide during registration.
- Are you typing your user name and password correctly? Your
user name and password are case-sensitive. That means if your password is Shakespeare then SHAKESPEARE or shakespeare (not to mention Shaxpeer) will not get you in.
- Do you remember your password and user name correctly? You
may wish to look up the e-mail you got from us when you registered; it has your correct credentials. If all else
fails, you can just re-register to get a new set of keys to the system.
If you have tried everything and you still can't get in, send
an e-mail to grapevine@brokeruniverse.com. Include details, particularly your user name, to make it easier to
help you.
Q. Why can't I see the message I just posted?
A. Chances are your browser serves up a less-than-up-to-date
page from cache. Try reloading the page a few times.
Q. Someone has posted a message about our company, calling
us cheaters, liars and all sorts of unprintable abominations. What do I do?
A. First of all, resist the urge to sue the guy. It's pretty
hard to prove libel and whatever restitution you can get is probably not worth the cost. Don't sue us, either.
Federal law specifically immunizes operators of message boards against this type of lawsuits. Also, please do not
ask us to remove the posting or disclose the identity of the poster; it is our policy not to do so. Removing the
posting would require us to take sides in a debate between you and the poster. Disclosing the poster's identity
would raise privacy concerns.
So what can you do? Plenty:
- We will be happy to forward your message to the poster. In
it you can ask him to step forward and you can explain to him that his behavior is irresponsible. Unless the guy
is totally irresponsible, you may be able to rationally explain to him why he is wrong and even get a public apology
(it has happened on the Grapevine before).
- Do send a complaint to grapevine@brokeruniverse.com.
Five complaints will earn the poster a warning, and we may also warn the poster on our own initiative. After three
warnings, the poster will be barred from the Grapevine.
- Post a rebuttal on the Grapevine. Set the record straight.
Ask the guy publicly to explain what his problem is. Offer a solution. This can be a great PR opportunity showing
that your company cares about customers. Don't threaten the poster: creating the impression that he stood up and
told it like it is and you are bullying him is the last thing you want. On the other hand, if you reason rationally
and he keeps using those unprintable abominations, soon there will be others who will tell the poster to back off.
- Ask yourself: why is this guy doing what he is doing? Is he
a disgruntled employee who was fired last week for poor performance?
Then let everyone know: that will put the original posting
into a quite different light. On the other hand, maybe what you have is a frustrated customer who lost his temper.
Is it possible you have other frustrated customers? Should you do something about that?
Q. Someone with the user name X666 has posted a message that
is hateful and offensive. What do I do?
Send a complaint to grapevine@brokeruniverse.com.
Five complaints will earn the poster a warning, and we may also warn the poster on our own initiative. After three
warnings, the poster will be barred from the Grapevine.
Be specific in your complaint. Tell us exactly which
posting you are talking about and why you think it is objectionable.
Q. Why can't I post my ads on the Grapevine?
That's because we have a Classified
section on our web site (as well as in our papers) where people who pay a fee can place their ads. If we let you
place your ad on the Grapevine, we wouldn't be fair to our paying customers and would soon lose their business.
If you are interested in buying a classified ad, call Steven Gallego at 212-803-8822 or send him an e-mail at steven.gallego@sourcemedia.com. We will remove postings that do not respect this policy.
Policies
The Grapevine is an electronic bulletin board maintained by
National Mortgage News Daily, the online version of National Mortgage News. All three entities ("we")
are owned by SourceMedia, whose offices are at 1325 G St. NW, Suite 910, Washington, DC 20005. You can also e-mail
your comments to us at grapevine@brokeruniverse.com.
The purpose of this document is to describe the type of conduct
we expect from participants in Grapevine discussions and the courses of action we will and will not take while
maintaining the board. This list is admittedly incomplete and will, from time to time, be amended. All such changes
will be announced on the message board itself. You should read the Grapevine
Rules of Conduct as well. These are general policies
only. We reserve the right to enforce these policies at our discretion.
Conduct
- Users are expected to observe the Grapevine Rules of Conduct,
which requires them, among other things,
- to avoid using obscene or hateful language,
- to respect others' privacy and dignity,
- not to violate others' intellectual property rights,
- not to pretend they are someone else and
- obey the law in general
- Users are also expected not to attempt to gain unauthorized
access to our servers and not to attempt to hinder others from using the Grapevine.
- Users may post their messages in plain text format only.
- Advertisements are not appropriate on the Grapevine.
Privacy
- Anyone may read Grapevine messages without having to disclose
their identity.
- If you wish to post to the Grapevine, you will have to register
and you will have to provide your (valid) e-mail address. We will keep your address confidential and will not disclose
it unless a subpoena or some similar extraordinary circumstance compells us to do so.
- We will not send you e-mail to the address you specify, except:
- correspondence regarding your use of the Grapevine,
- the Daily Briefing, if you requested to receive it or
- if you provided your e-mail address to us in some other context
as well.
Complaints and Corrective Action
- Although we try to monitor the Grapevine, we cannot hope to
read every message on it. Consequently, users are encouraged to send their comments or complaints to the webmaster
at grapevine@brokeruniverse.com.
- If a single posting triggers five or more complaints, the poster
will receive a warning from us.
- We will also warn posters if we find that they have broken
the Grapevine Rules of Conduct.
- Any user who has received three warnings and needs to be warned
again will be barred from posting to the Grapevine again.
- We will not delete postings unless a subpoena or some similar
extraordinary circumstance compells us to do so.
- We will, however, delete "help wanted" or any other
type of advertisements from the Grapevine.
Intellectual Property
- Users may not post material in violation of intellectual property
laws or confidentiality agreements.
- All postings become the property of SourceMedia, which may
retain them in an archive and may reprint them.
Rules
of Conduct
By using the Grapevine, you acknowledge and agree to the
following:
You understand that all information, data, text, software, music,
sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other materials ("Content"), whether publicly posted
or privately transmitted, are the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated. This means
that you, and not National Mortgage News, are entirely responsible for all Content that you upload, post, email
or otherwise transmit via the Grapevine. National Mortgage News does not control the Content posted via the Grapevine
and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. You understand that by using
the Grapevine, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances
will National Mortgage News be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, for any errors
or omissions in any Content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content
posted, emailed or otherwise transmitted via the Grapevine.
You agree to not use the Grapevine to:
a. upload, post, email or otherwise transmit any Content that
is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive
of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
b. harm minors in any way;
c. impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise
misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
d. forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order
to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the Grapevine;
e. upload, post, email or otherwise transmit any Content that
you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside
information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships
or under nondisclosure agreements);
f. upload, post, email or otherwise transmit any Content that
infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights ("Rights") of any
party;
g. upload, post, email or otherwise transmit "chain letters,"
"pyramid schemes;"
h. upload, post, email or otherwise transmit any material that
contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit
the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
i. disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, or otherwise act in
a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to engage in real time exchanges;
j. interfere with or disrupt the Grapevine or servers or networks
connected to the Grapevine, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected
to the Grapevine;
k. intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local,
state, national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation,
the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of
law;
l. "stalk" or otherwise harass another;
m. collect or store personal data about other users;
n. post content in formats other than plain text; or
o. post classified or any other type of advertisements.
You acknowledge that National Mortgage News does not pre-screen Content, but that National Mortgage News and its
designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse or move any Content
that is available via the Grapevine. Without limiting the foregoing, National Mortgage News and its designees shall
have the right to remove any Content that violates the Rules of Conduct or is otherwise objectionable. You agree
that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the
accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you acknowledge that you may not rely on
any Content created by National Mortgage News or submitted to National Mortgage News, including without limitation
information in the Grapevine.
You acknowledge and agree that National Mortgage News may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required
to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to:
(a) comply with legal process;
(b) enforce the Rules of Conduct;
(c) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of
third-parties; or
(d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of National
Mortgage News, its users and the public.
You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Grapevine, including your Content, may involve
(a) transmissions over various networks; and
(b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of
connecting networks or devices.
Pictures
of fellow Viners
Curious about what we all look like? Click here and find out.
If you'd like to add your own picture email it to georgiana.lee@sourcemedia.com. It would probably be good to include your username and put "Grapevine
image" in the subject heading.
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