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ThrillNetwork CoasterChat Terms of Use

(Updated December 2, 2003)

When you enter one of the CoasterChat chat rooms you will be meeting a large number of other CoasterChat members from all over the World. Sometimes while you are in the chat room you will see a user with the "@" before their user name. Example: @Bob, @Johnny, etc. The Moderators are our room monitors or other members of the CoasterChat staff. They are there for your protection and are to be respected as you would your parent, teacher, or coach. 

It is a big responsibility to act at all times with proper chat room "etiquette" and good "manners." To help you figure out what is okay to do and what is not okay, we put together a list of some very specific rules that really are not hard to understand or follow. If you do not understand any of these rules, ask a moderator. Here's a list of the CoasterChat Chat Room Rules: 

1) Follow all ThrillNetwork and ThrillNetwork Terms of Services, Rules, and Acceptable Use Policies: All of these rules also apply in CoasterChat. 

2) Registered Members Only: We only allow registered members of ThrillNetwork and ThrillNetwork to use chat. Anyone who is not registered must register or face an immediate IP address ban. 

3) No 3rd Party IRC/Chat Applications: This includes programs such as mIRC, Pirch, XChat, etc. This is for security reasons, as these programs tend to be powerful, and allow for easy add-ons that can pose a security threat or extreme annoyance to other members/staff if used improperly. We provide a browser-based Java chat application for everyone to use, that will allow you to communicate sufficiently with other members. Anyone using such a 3rd party program will be banned immediately. Exceptions can be made, such as if you are a chat moderator or if you have certifiable problems using the Java application. 

4) No Shouting: Do not use all capital letters when posting messages. The use of capital letters is considered shouting and is considered to be very poor chat room etiquette. Here is an example of shouting: THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF SHOUTING IN A CHAT ROOM. Shouting is also very irritating to a lot of users. Please do not try to get around this rule by typing in a combination of lower and upper case characters. The final judgment of what is ruled to be "shouting" is at the sole discretion of the moderator(s). 

5) Limit use of colors as much as possible: We realize that colors may be fun at the time, but they do get annoying very quickly. Please limit yourself to one color that is easy to read and stick with it, or use a color to emphasize a point and leave it at that. 

6) No Flaming: Do not engage or participate in any activities directly or indirectly which harass, threaten, abuse or intimidate other users. In other words, don't be mean to others. The final judgment of what is ruled to be "flaming" is at the sole discretion of the moderator(s). 

7) No Flooding: Do not rapidly enter text/or images that tend to occupy multiple lines of the message screen. When this is done it keeps other chatters from being able to post messages. It is very rude and disrupts the flow of chat in the chat room. 

8) No Offensive Language: Do not post or attempt to post ( by disguise or any other method), any words which are generally known by the chat room participants to be "foul", "obscene", or "cuss" words. In addition, substituting characters to create look-alike swear words (such as @$$) are not allowed. The final judgment of what is ruled to be a "foul" word, an "obscene" word, or a "cuss" word inappropriate for viewing by CoasterChat members is at the sole discretion of the moderator(s). 

9) No Disrespectful Behavior: The CoasterChat staff (Moderators) are sometimes in the chat room to watch over things and keep our chat rooms safe and fun. You can always recognize a chat moderator when they are in the room because they will have the @ sign before their name (like @Steven or @Bob). Sometimes Moderators have to make decisions which are not popular but have to be made for the benefit of all concerned. it is important that you respect the moderators like you would your teacher at school or your athletic coach. Please do not engage in a conversation with a chat moderator which is disrespectful or argumentative to the chat moderator. Again, the final judgment of what is ruled to be disrespectful or argumentative and in violation of this rule is at the sole discretion of the moderator(s). 

10) No Posting of Inappropriate Web Sites or Spamming/Advertising web sites: Do not post web site addresses (URL) to the chat room which have content for adults or are inappropriate for viewing by children 14 years of age or younger. Also, this is not a place to advertise other websites. URLs may be posted for informative purposes related to the current discussion at hand. 

11) No Sex/Drugs/Drinking talk: Do not solicit or engage in any conversation that is about sex, sexual activity, drugs (making or using), or alcohol. Exceptions can be made depending on the subject matter (i.e. alcoholism, abstinence, etc.). 

12) No Sharing Of User Name: One of the most serious offenses while you are using a CoasterChat chat room is to share your user name and password. The reason it is such a serious matter is that we take security seriously. When we do not know who is on the other side of a keyboard we have to assume they are a threat to our secure chat service. 

13) No using other nicknames other than your registered username: Like the "no sharing of username," we consider this a security issue for the same reasons as above. The only exception is that if you get disconnected, and your "ghost" is still there. However, you must use something like "Nickname1" to signify your ghost. If your ghost is not leaving within an acceptable period of time (like 5 minutes) let a Moderator know. 

14) Treat all others in the chat room the same way you would want them to treat you. We think this is the biggest rule of them all. If you can follow this rule you will probably find it easy to follow the other rules. 

What Happens When Rules Are Broken? 

We have specific procedures we use when disciplinary action is required. When a chat room rule is broken, one of the following things can happen: 

Warning to stop: First, in most cases, you are given a warning to stop violating the rule. How many warnings you get is left up to the CoasterChat staff member, so you may get one warning, get up to three warnings, or you may get no warning at all! 

Kicked/banned from room: If you do not listen to warnings or the offense is deemed to be too serious to permit warnings, you will be "kicked" from the chat room. Once "kicked" your access can be blocked for a pre-determined time of anywhere between 5 minutes to indefinately/permanently. 

Disciplinary Notice: When you are banned for 24 hours or longer, you will be notified of such by a CoasterChat "Disciplinary Notice" email. The "Disciplinary Notice" email will detail the nature of the offense (rule(s) broken) and the ban period. In addition, if you have been banned on ThrillNetwork Forums, or CoasterChat, the ban will apply to the other (i.e. a ban in the forums will also apply in chat, and vice versa). 

When a "Security Incident" is observed: In our effort to maintain a high degree of security in the chat rooms we may observe what we conclude to be a "Security Incident" which requires immediate action by one of our staff members. When it comes to protecting the security and safety of our CoasterChat users, the CoasterChat staff will not hesitate to err on the side of caution. Examples of a "Security Incident" include: 

False User Information: Observations concluding the user may have provided false user information in the creation of their account. 

Multiple User Names: Observations concluding the user may have created multiple user names (identities). 
Nickname Changes in chat: Observations showing the user has changed identities, including usernames that generally do not exist in ThrillNetwork or ThrillNetwork. 
Suspicious Behavior: Observation of user behavior that is concluded to be suspicious in motive. 

In these cases involving a "Security Incident" a CoasterChat user's account will be kicked/banned indefinitely or until we can successfully conclude our investigation of the "Security Incident," in which a ban for at least two weeks may be placed from the point of the conclusion of the investigation. If the security incident is determined to be of a very serious nature, the user's account may be terminated. 

When a ThrillNetwork, ThrillNetwork, or CoasterChat "Acceptable Use" policy is violated: If a CoasterChat user account violates a policy prescribed in our Statement of Acceptable Use Policies, we reserve the right to terminate that user's account without advance notice. Clearly, we prefer to advise our members of inappropriate activity by the means described above. However, flagrant violations of the these policies and rules can result in immediate termination of membership and access to the ThrillNetwork forums and the CoasterChat chat services without prior notice. Our failure to enforce this policy, for whatever reason, shall not be construed as a waiver of our right to do so at any time. 


 All of these Terms of Service are subject to change without notice.