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Article # 26 URL: http://aquabid.com/faq/index.php?a=26 Category: Policies Negative User Ratings or Comments Removal Policy AquaBid.com has provided a User Rating System for our registered users to post positive or negative comments and ratings about the buying, selling or transaction behavior of other users. This system allows users to view any comments about a particular Buyer or Seller which have been posted by other users who have completed transactions with them. Users sometimes choose to make decisions on whether to conduct business with another user based on that user’s ratings and comments. Because ratings tend to be viewed by users as "reputations" in the AquaBid.com online community, we recommend that users exercise wisdom in how they assess another user through our rating system. Once a rating or comment has been posted to another user’s rating, it becomes permanently attached to the user’s record on AquaBid.com, and may only be removed by AquaBid.com under special circumstances, which we have listed below. Additionally, your remarks about another user may subject you to legal liability if a court of law finds your remarks to be libelous or defamatory in nature. Please note, AquaBid.com does not censor nor check for accuracy the opinions or comments of its registered users as posted on our auctions or on other user’s rating histories, nor are we legally responsible for the nature of the opinions or comments posted on our site (whether they are libelous or defamatory or not), as provided by Federal law. However, in an effort to protect the AquaBid.com rating systems and auctions from abuse, we will, under special circumstances, remove negative ratings or comments posted to this site. Also, to protect our users from harassment, a user is not able to post a comment or rating about another user without going through their closed auctions page, and one comment per transaction per user is allowed. Special Circumstances Warranting Removal of Negative User Ratings or Comments If you have received a negative user rating or comment from another user, in order to be considered for removal from your profile by AquaBid.com, one or more of the following conditions must be met: * The rating or comments contain vulgar language, profanity or adult related material. AquaBid.com strongly advises users to avoid the use of offensive or provocative wording such as "swindler", "liar", "impostor", "crook", "double-dealer", "con artist", "fraud", "fake" or other such similar words, although these words will not be removed if used. * Multiple comments or user ratings (more than two) posted by the same user, intending to badger or harass another user for the same transaction. Multiple negative feedback for multiple transactions is okay. * The rating or comments contain private information about the user, which may be used to identify them (i.e. name, address, phone number, credit card information, email address, etc.). * The rating or comments contain inferences that the user is under investigation by either law enforcement officials or AquaBid.com, or that the person leaving the comments has contacted law enforcement officials or AquaBid.com to investigate the user. * The rating or comments do not have any association with AquaBid.com, such as personal comments about users or transactions that took place at a location other than AquaBid.com. This includes ratings or comments that mention any other auction service available online or offline, promote the products or services provided by an entity other than the user the comments are about, or reference a web address not posted on AquaBid.com. * The rating or comments are left by a user that provided false information during the registration process with AquaBid.com, and attempts to contact the user are unsuccessful. * The rating or comments indicate that they were left by a minor. * The rating or comments were originally meant to be posted to the profile of another user, and the person posting the information notifies AquaBid.com of the error. The user posting the comments must post the information to the profile of the intended user before we will remove the comments from the profile of the user where the information was mistakenly posted. * One of the users involved provides AquaBid.com with a court ordered ruling, finding, or affidavit that the rating or comments left on a user’s account are libelous, slanderous, defamatory or unlawful, or the users provide AquaBid.com with a settlement agreement resolving the dispute legally which must be executed and notarized by both parties and their attorneys. It is also acceptable to provide a binding agreement between both parties, which has been arbitrated by a certified arbitrator. If you feel that a comment or rating posted to your user profile falls under one or more of the above criteria, please contact us, and you may place a formal complaint. Review of matters of this type may take several weeks, and whether or not the comments or rating will be removed will be determined pending review. |