Ground Rules/Terms of Use

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• 1 Membership Requirements
  The only absolute requirements for joining this group are that you speak English and you enjoy or believe you may enjoy the company of Americans. It's possible that you aren't in Copenhagen, aren't American, and aren't an expat, and you are a worthy member of this group. You might join because you're thinking of moving to Copenhagen, because you visit Copenhagen regularly, or because a loved one lives in Copenhagen. You might be from anywhere (including Denmark), but have lived in the US, or have close American friends, or would like to make some. These are all valid reasons for joining the group, but you must bear in mind that the main focus of the group will be for American expats in Copenhagen.
  
  To maintain membership in the group, you should make a reasonable effort to stay active. There are many ways to stay active, including
  
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  • attending an event
    
  • posting on the message board
    
  • voting in a poll
    
  • RSVPing "no" to an event when you can't come
    
  • communicating ideas directly to the Organizer or an Asst. Organizer
    
  
  Failure to stay active for several months will result in termination of your membership. A membership terminated for inactivity may be reinstated by simply applying again. If you will be unable to stay active for a prolonged period of time, but you would like to remain a member, please inform the Organizer.
  
  A completed profile allows other members to find out more about both you and your interests. The questions on the introduction section serve as your calling card to the other members of the Meet-up Group. Please fill them out to the best of your ability so the other members can become better acquainted with you. This Meet-up group requests all members to fill out their profiles and will reserve the right to terminate any memberships lacking this information. While we strongly recommend that all members post a photo, it is not a requirement. However, if you do not post a photo, an organizer or an assistant organizer may need to verify your identity in another manner, such as by seeing you at a meet-up event or by speaking with you on the telephone.
  
  
• 2 Organizer's Veto Power
  The Organizer has veto power over the Asst. Organizers, Event Organizers, and Co-Organizers in all matters.
  
  
  
• 3 Events’ Pages
  
• A. Same rules for message board behavior apply to the events’ pages.
  
• B. Furthermore, comments on the events' pages are to be limited to practical information about the event itself, such as questions and comments about what to bring to the event and how to get there.
  
• C. It is not okay to post mean-spirited comments about the event. If you have a legitimate concern about the event, contact the organizer of the event directly. If you aren’t satisfied with the event organizer’s response, contact the main organizer instead.
  
  
• 4 Message Board Behavior
  Members are to remain civil and respectful on the message boards. Remember that our boards are public, and may be seen by anyone who knows how to use Google. What you say can make an impression on those people about the nature of our group and may affect someone's decision to join or not join.
  
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  • A. No name-calling. Do not call anyone names. No matter how upset you are, you can make your point without it.
    
  • B. Think before you post. Before you hit submit, re-read your post in the preview section. Think about how your post will make others feel. When in doubt, don't post.
    
  • C. No foul language. We have a number of events where no children are present, and you can speak however you like. On the boards, however, keep it safe for kids, and respect that some of our members may let their whole family participate in our group.
    
  • D. Keep it relevant. Whatever you post on the boards should be something related to American expats living in Copenhagen. This covers a lot of topics from Copenhagen restaurant reviews to questions about work permits.
    
  • E. No trolling. Don't post something controversial for the sake of controversy. It creates drama, and we don't need any more of that in our lives. The group is for finding people with things in common, and not for highlighting our differences.
    
  • F. No disrespectful or hateful remarks. Racist or prejudiced comments, remarks attacking a country or its population, and other sweeping generalizations are not allowed. You can express those opinions and feelings in respectful ways. When in doubt, refer to how something makes you feel, rather than how you perceive that thing to be.
    
  • G. Be nice. It's fine to tease each other if it is good-natured, but mean-spirited snarkiness is not okay. Don’t mock others or question their intelligence. [/url]
    
  • H. No flame-wars. I don't want to see a bunch of dramatic, over-the-top threads on the message boards. Please, if you have a problem with another member, remain calm and contact your organizer.
    
  • I. No spamming. You may let us know about your business, as it relates to our group or something in conversation, but our group is not about free advertising. If you would like to sponsor the group, please contact the Organizer.
    
  • J. Keep things positive. Trashing the group and constantly complaining about the events will not be tolerated. What you can do, however, is give your criticisms a positive spin and make suggestions for improvement. Suggestions are ALWAYS welcome.
    
  • K. In order to enforce these rules, the message boards will be moderated by the Organizer and anyone else the organizer officially deems as a moderator. Official moderators will have the word “mod” in their title.
    
  • L. Any post deemed by the organizer or the moderator(s) as being in violation of these rules maybe be deleted or edited at any time.
    
  • M. Repeat offenders will be warned, and if the behavior persists after warning, membership may be terminated. Only the organizer of the group may terminate membership.
    
  • N. The organizer and moderator(s) have the authority to freeze threads (i.e. close a thread to new replies) on the message boards.
    
  • O. No deleting or editing other’s posts and no freezing of threads. Only organizers and official moderators may delete/edit other’s posts and freeze threads.
    
  • P. A user’s first post must include one and only one exclamation point.
    
  
  
• 5. RSVP/Event Behavior
  Members should endeavor to RSVP as much as possible, even if their RSVP is "no." If you must change your RSVP within three hours of the event, please contact an Organizer or Asst. Organizer who is attending that event and let them know.
  It is fine to RSVP "maybe" but within 48 hours of an event, make up your mind and change your RSVP to a "yes" or "no." It can be very frustrating for an organizer to not know who to expect at an event.
  If you RSVP "yes" to an event, show up. For some events, there are fees (for tickets, admission, rental of equipment, etc) that an organizer has to pay ahead of time. If you RSVP "Yes" to such an event you are obligated to pay this fee (as long as the fee was stated clearly in the event description), even if you don't show up to the event or you back out after the organizer has already paid on your behalf. If you don't pay the organizer back, you will be banned permanently from the group.
  Members who know they will not be able to attend events for long periods, such as those outside the country, may contact the Organizer directly stating that their RSVP should be considered as "no" due to their situation, rather than repeatedly RSVPing.
  Members who RSVP "no" are encouraged to state why in their comments, as this helps with planning future events.
  Be on time to events. An organizer will (when possible) wait 15 minutes for members who RSVPed "Yes."
  
  
• 6. Email/Mailing List
  
  
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  • A. Only the Organizer and the Assistant Organizers of this group may email the entire membership list.
    
  • B. Hitting "reply" to meetup emails from the Organizer/Assistant Organizers will send an email to all the members of the meetup group. This is strictly forbidden.
    
  • C. Regular members who email the entire membership list will be warned. Repeated violations of this rule will result in the termination of membership in this meet-up group.
    
  
  
  
  
• D. Meta-rules
  Rules may be changed or added to at any time by the Organizer. Any changes or additions made to the rules for reasons other than spelling or grammar must be announced to all members via email and the message board to ensure that everyone is aware of the changes.