Site rules

Rules for the use of ProZ.com

The following rules have been created to extend and protect the pleasant, results-oriented atmosphere of the ProZ.com translation workplace. By using the site, you indicate your acceptance of, and agreement to abide by, these rules.

Site Rule

3.1	(Guideline) Confidence level should be indicated using the mechanism provided. Answerers must indicate, using a scale, the degree of confidence they have in their suggested answers. Occasional guessing of translations is acceptable; guessing systematically is not allowed.
3.2	(Guideline): Links are preferred over cut-and-pasted text for large texts. When substantiating one's suggested translation with information available elsewhere on the web, rather than copying a large segment of text as reference, it is preferable to include an excerpt from the text, along with a link for those who desire more information.
3.3	In general, an answerer should submit no more than one answer per question. Occasional exceptions are allowed, but users are not permitted to make a habit of providing multiple answers to single "help" KudoZ questions.
3.4	The only acceptable means of commenting on another's answer is by using the peer comment feature. Using the discussion area, the answer posting form or the answer explanation box to comment on another's suggestions is not allowed.
3.5	A peer comment must be based on linguistic evaluations of the answer. These linguistic considerations must be provided in the case of a disagree or neutral comment. Personal comments are not allowed in peer comments. Backing up peer comments with references, in general, is encouraged.
3.6	No attempt may be made to influence others' decisions. Encouraging an asker to choose one's own suggested translation, or peers to agree with one's own answers and/or disagree with answers provided by others, is prohibited.
3.7	Commentary on askers or answerers, and their postings or decisions to post, is not allowed. Comments or insinuations concerning an answerer's or asker's experience or profile, his/her decision to post a certain question or answer, grade or close a question in a certain way, make a certain glossary entry, etc., are strictly prohibited (whether posted publicly, made directly to the person in question, or made to another site user).

Adherence to the above rules is a condition for continued right to access and use the site.

Enforcement

Staff members and moderators may take any of the following actions to enforce the above rules:
* contacting site users to call attention to specific rules
* refraining from approving (or removing/hiding) postings that violate a rule
* causing a message related to the rules to appear to certain users when they undertake certain actions
* suspending, temporarily or permanently, access to site features that have been used in violation of the rules.
* termination of profile or membership (staff only)

Moderators and staff members must act in accordance with, and are protected by, site rules in exactly the same way as other members.

Termination

In rare cases of severe infraction, ProZ.com staff members may terminate a profile (and membership) with immediate effect. In most cases, however, ProZ.com uses a "yellow card/red card" policy, akin to yellow-card/red-card practice in the sport of football/soccer, for terminations.

Yellow and red cards are issued only by staff members. Rules are cited by number, and the date of the card is logged. The terms "yellow card" or "red card" are used explicitly; if an email is sent, the terms appear in the subject line.

A site user who has been issued a yellow card may continue to use the site (sometimes with certain restrictions), but is otherwise under notice that further infractions will lead to termination. A person whose profile has been terminated will not be readmitted to ProZ.com.

Outsourcers are subject to the site's Termination policy.

Clarification

For clarification regarding any of the above rules or rules enforcement, please submit a support request.