ThinkExpats.com is proud to be "the global citizen's local", and like your favorite local there are certain behaviors which are acceptable, and those which are not. We believe in being positive, that communication is a universal bond of sharing that connects all of humanity in a global family'. Members of the ThinkExpats community need to work together effectively, and this code of conduct lays down the "ground rules" for our cooperation. Membership to the site remains at the discretion of the administration at all times.

Ground rules

This Code of Conduct covers your behaviour as a member of the ThinkExpats Community, in any forum, mailing list, wiki, web site, IRC channel, install-fest, public meeting or private correspondence. The ThinkExpats administrators will arbitrate in any dispute over the conduct of a member of the community.

• General. Open discussion and debate is always encouraged on ThinkExpats.com - and as regular users of the internet, we know that discussions can get rather heated sometimes, but you must always respect our other users. If you have a problem with any posting, please notify us.

 • Be considerate (no flaming). Your work will be seen by other people, and you in turn will be reading the work of others. Any decision you take to personally insult or put down another person or their ideas in a malicious manner will have repercussions, so if you have some issue with another user, use the PRivate Message feature to resolve the matter.

• Be respectful. The ThinkExpats community and its members treat one another with respect. Everyone can make a valuable contribution to ThinkExpats. We may not always agree, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behaviour and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It's important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. We expect members of the ThinkExpats community to be respectful when dealing with other contributors as well as with people outside the ThinkExpats network, and with users of ThinkExpats.

• Be expressive. ThinkExpats is about sharing and discovery. If you find something that needs updating or expanding upon, feel free to add to the conversation! However, if you feel the need to express yourself with foul language, including anything that is considered degrading to someone or something, please find another site to do so. Insulting a person's race, religion, nationality, gender or sexual preference is strictly prohibited.

• Keep private matters private. Users that publish the contents of private messages from other users will be banned from using the site. Same goes for the publishing of another person's personal information on our site. There will be no exceptions to this rule..

• When unsure, ask for help. Nobody knows everything, and nobody is expected to be perfect in the ThinkExpats community (except of course the moronic burn outs (MBOs) that make this site, so questions are encouraged. Those who are asked should be responsive and helpful. However, when asking a question, care must be taken to do so in an appropriate forum. Keep in mind though that off-topic questions detract from productive discussion.

• Post considerately and purposively. The internet is full of crazy people and ThinkExpats is no different. When you something that has no substantial content whatsoever will be deleted as spam. This also covers pornography, or references and links to any site with pornographic content as well.

• No commercial advertising. ThinkExpats.com runs on advertising revenue, because we all have to face teh fact, running a website is not a cost-free endeavor. Commerical concerns are not permitted to advertise their products by posting to the comments, forums or in the article sections. If you'd like to promote your products or services on ThinkExpats.com, feel free to contact us, we're sure there's a perfect solution to grow your business!