PRINT
Oprah.com House Rules

Oprah.com   |   June 22, 2011
Whether this is your first time online or you're a seasoned Internet user, we require respect and good manners from everyone participating in our online communities, commenting forums, twitter feeds message boards, blogs, O Groups, chat rooms, user review forums or other interactive communities (collectively, the "Forums"). Review our House Rules and Terms of Use, use common sense, and you'll feel right at home.

Our community is a place where people can strive to live their best lives, achieve personal growth and generate positive, thoughtful dialogue. Members can come to one another for support, comfort and shared experiences. While we invite healthy debate, Oprah.com is not intended as a forum for personal attacks and destructive postings. If that is your intention in posting on this site, please do not participate in Oprah.com's community.
Abide by Our Rules 
By participating in the Forums, you agree to abide by Oprah.com's House Rules, Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If we become aware that a member has violated the Terms of Use, House Rules or other posted Oprah.com policies, that member's account may be immediately and permanently suspended, without warning or other notice. Use common sense and have a wonderful time at Oprah.com.
 
Age Requirement 
Online safety is of the utmost importance at Oprah.com. For this reason, you must be 18 years old or older to participate in the Forums. 
 
No Personal Information 
For the safety and privacy of Oprah.com's Members, please do not post or solicit personal information such as phone numbers, addresses, social security numbers, last names (you may use last initials), medical, financial, license plates, or any other private information about yourself or others.
 
No Obscene or Hateful Language 
We don't allow obscene, hateful, profane, racist, sexually explicit or otherwise objectionable language or material in any of our online forums. Further, you may not harass, insult, defame, slander, abuse or threaten another person. We suggest you discontinue any conversation that makes you uncomfortable. 
 
No Solicitations or Advertisements 
You may not post any content for commercial purposes. Such posts add to clutter and devalue conversations. This includes advertisements for your business, the latest get-rich-quick scheme, solicitations for a charity and spam. Unfortunately, it is impossible to verify the validity of each and every organization that solicits donations; therefore, in an effort to protect Oprah.com Members from fraud, we must prohibit solicitations for charities.
 
No Illegal Activity 
You may not suggest or encourage illegal or violent activity. Oprah.com will assist law enforcement officials.
 
Personal Advice 
Any advice or information provided on Oprah.com is of a general nature. It cannot substitute for the services of trained professionals in any field. You should always check with an appropriate licensed professional before relying on, taking or not taking action based upon the advice or information provided on Oprah.com. Please keep in mind that Members may claim expertise or status (legal, medical, etc.) that they do not, in fact, possess. Thoughtful discretion should be given to all advice found on the site.
 
Register One Username 
You may not create more than one username. It is confusing to other Members and does not help in building a trustworthy community. 
 
English Language 
All public postings must be made in English. 
 
Truthful and Accurate Information 
Please only post content that is truthful, accurate and not misleading.
 
Authorized Postings 
It is inappropriate to post content that infringes upon or violates the copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights of any person or entity. You must have copyright ownership of all content you post or the necessary rights from the copyright owner to post such content in our Forums. By posting content, you are certifying that you have the permission of everyone who has contributed to or is incorporated in the content. If there are any individuals under the age of 18 in any photos, videos or other content that you post, you certify that you are their parent or legal guardian of any such minor and have the legal right to consent on his or her behalf to incorporate their appearance in the content. You further certify that the content you post does not contain the full name, physical address, email address, telephone number or social security number of any minor. 
 
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Notice 
If you believe any material posted in our Forums infringes a copyright, please click here to fill out our electronic DMCA form in accordance with the DMCA. Repeat infringers' membership accounts will be subject to termination. 
 
Post at Your Own Risk 
You participate in the Forums at your own risk. Oprah.com takes no responsibility for the content or opinions posted. You take full responsibility for any and all use under your account and username, regardless of whether you've authorized it. 
 
No Linking 
You may not post any links to third party sites, other than to those sites owned and operated by Harpo or OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. 
 
Post a Message Only Once 
Good manners online mean that you don't post the same message more than once. 
 
All Posts Are Subject to Review 
While we do not review all material posted and are under no obligation to do so, we reserve the right to accept, reject or remove any postings, including those that are off-subject, not in English or that contain personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity, impersonations, advertising or that violate the Oprah.com House Rules or Terms of Use. 
 
Archiving and Read Only Discussions 
Oprah.com reserves the right to Archive or make any discussion "Read Only" at any time at its sole and exclusive discretion, including, without limitation, any postings or discussions that are disruptive in nature or are in contravention of any posted policies. 
 
Video Submissions 
All Video submissions must be no more that four (4) minutes in length. 
 
Report a Problem If you feel that someone in the Forums is behaving in an inappropriate manner, please let us know. Make sure you are logged in, click on the members profile to ‘report abuse’ and fill out our report abuse form. An Oprah.com staff member will look into the problem.
 
Technical Problems 
Are you having technical problems using Oprah.com or a tool on our site? Email our Technical Help.
Printed from Oprah.com on Wednesday, June 19, 2013
© 2012 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.