| FAQ Table of Contents: |
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See also: our Terms and Conditions.
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| Understanding the Forum |
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AngloINFO Costa Blanca's aim is to deliver English-language information about "Life in the Costa Blanca" that is:
The AngloINFO Forum, just one of AngloINFO Costa Blanca's many services, allows the site's users to support that aim by asking and answering
questions regarding "Life in the Costa Blanca", and to post classified advertisements.
The Forum Administration's role is:
- To further the website's overall aim and deliver the most useful resource to the readers of the
website
- To enforce the Terms & Conditions to which each member has agreed upon
registration (some of these reflect specific legislation; others reflect a belief in the vital importance of
courtesy)
As a matter of policy, postings that do not contribute to AngloINFO Costa Blanca's overall objectives, or fail to meet the stated legal or social standards
are removed or edited to make them
acceptable and useful.
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| What the Forum is not |
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There are many forms of discussion forum on the Internet, and no one form is "right"; they serve different purposes in different contexts.
AngloINFO does not aim to provide all things to all people in its Forum - only to further the very specific aim outlined above.
There will always be a small number of people who sometimes wish to do things that are not considered acceptable on AngloINFO, whether that means to debate certain matters more "robustly",
to insult other people, to post off-topic, or to engage in chit-chat with other individuals on subjects that are clearly only of interest to the individuals in question.
The wealth of the World Wide Web means that they have plenty of places to do so - but AngloINFO Costa Blanca is not one of them.
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| Registering |
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Registration is not required to view current topics on The AngloINFO Forum; however,
if you wish to post a new topic or reply to an existing topic registration is
required.
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Registration is free and only takes a few moments.
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The information you provide
during registration is not
outsourced by AngloINFO.
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If you believe someone
is sending you inappropriate e-mail as a result of the information you provided through
your registration, please
notify us immediately.
- When registering, you have to agree to our Terms and Conditions.
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| Registration problems |
When you have completed the registration form you are sent a confirmation e-mail to the e-mail address you have
provided during registration.
- Click on the e-mail link to activate your registration
- Log on to the Forum using the user name and password you have supplied. The registration code is not to be
used
If the e-mail does not arrive you may have entered an incorrect e-mail address
- If you think this is the case then you must re-register with a new username and the correct e-mail address
- Some e-mail suppliers will send registration e-mails directly to your
"spam" mailbox - it is always worth checking
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| Posting Messages |
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To post a message:
- Go to The AngloINFO Forum (/forum/)
- Register, if you have not done so
- Login with the username and password you have chosen
- Go the appropriate forum (such as Jobs Offered, or General)
- At the top of the message list you will see a link saying "Create a
New Private Advertisement in this Forum" (for classified advertising
forums) or "Create a new Topic in this Forum"
(elsewhere). Click on this and it should all be obvious...
From there, you should be able to follow the on-screen prompts.
Please remember that the Forum is specifically for discussing
"Life on the Costa Blanca, in English!" - you must not make off-topic postings, nor reply off-topic
to the postings of others.
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| Editing postings |
There is no facility to edit a posting
- If something has changed you must post a reply to your original message, outlining
any changes
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| Deleting postings |
It is not possible to delete a posting once it has been made.
- If the posting is no longer valid (e.g. an article has been sold),
you must post a reply to your original message stating this
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| Finding postings |
If you have problems finding your original posting there is a Search facility on the
left-hand side of each Forum page.
- Type in a word or words used in the posting
- Click on Search
(The posting may have been made in an inappropriate forum and moved to the correct
forum.)
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| Finding replies to your postings |
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It is possible that you cannot find a reply to your posting even though you have been notified by e-mail that one has been made.
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| Spamming |
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When posting a message, you must do so only once, and in only one (the most appropriate) forum. Multiple postings of the same
message will be regarded as "spam" and dealt with harshly - as will spam.
If something relating to your post changes (such as the price of an item
entered in our classifieds) then you MUST NOT re-post.
Instead, reply to your own, original message with the altered information.
This helps to keep all related information in one place.
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| Commercial postings |
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Commercial postings can represent something of a grey area - although mostly the matter is clear.
Some postings will necessarily be somewhat "commercial" in nature - job offers, for example. However,
the AngloINFO Forum is not intended as a platform for the posting of commercial messages or
advertising. Such messages will be removed
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If you want to promote your business to the users of The AngloINFO
Forum, please submit a Commercial Classified advertisement.
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For other ways to promote your products or services on AngloINFO,
please visit our sales pages.
- If you want your business listed in The AngloFILE, AngloINFO's directory of local businesses, please
click here.
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| Copying and pasting from other websites/e-mails |
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Content must not be copied and pasted into postings to The AngloINFO Forum from other websites or from
e-mails you have received. The vast majority of online information is
protected by copyright laws (as are the contents of e-mail messages) and
the action would thus typically be a breach of the restriction on posting
copyright content to the Forum. While it is true that there is also online
information that is in the Public Domain, there is no way for AngloINFO to
know whether any given piece of content is in the Public Domain or not, so
the prohibition extends to all content, whatever its copyright status.
However, it is perfectly fine for you to post a link to the content if it
is available on another website.
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| Posting jokes |
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It is generally inappropriate to post jokes to The AngloINFO Forum. First, the majority are unoriginal and would thus typically be a breach of the restriction on posting
copyright content to the Forum. Next, while jokes can amuse they can also have a
remarkable capacity to offend; the requirement to treat all other Forum members with
courtesy therefore makes the posting of any joke that might offend someone
for any reason unacceptable - it is very unwise to assume that others
share your sense of humour!
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| The Great Debate |
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The Great Debate is there to provide a place for members of The AngloINFO Forum to discuss matters that do not relate to "Life in the Costa Blanca, in English" with each other. In all other respects the policies for its use are identical to the other forums. The same standards of courtesy and staying on-topic are to be met.
People who post only to The Great Debate are not encouraged on AngloINFO Costa Blanca. It is there for people who "know" each other via the main body of the Forum to have polite, respectful discussions covering subjects that would be considered irrelevant elsewhere. It is not a platform for ranting or arguing, which are as unwelcome on The Great Debate as they are elsewhere on the Forum.
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| Postings looking for a job |
The Jobs Wanted forum is, as its name implies, for those seeking jobs. That means those looking for
full-time or part-time employment.
- It is not a place for the self-employed or those with their own businesses to seek customers
- If you have a business (however small) that you wish to promote on AngloINFO you can find out how
here
- It is not for those seeking (typically illegal) "casual", "informal" or "cash-in-hand"
work
Small businesses and the self-employed may advertise using Commercial
Classified advertisements.
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| Postings offering employment |
You may make postings offering jobs.
- The posting must satisfy all local laws regarding gender, age and racial discrimination
- You must not offer "casual", "informal" or "cash-in-hand" work
- The employer must be you or a business in which you are employed; you may
not recruit on behalf of a third party
Recruitment agencies and other third parties may advertise positions using
Commercial Classified advertisements.
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| Renting property & real
estate |
You may offer your property for rent under the following circumstances:
- The property must be located in the Costa Blanca
- The rental period must be 6 months or longer
- The property must be your own, and not owned by a company or any third
party
- The property must be the only property you own in the Costa Blanca
- The property must not be rented out for short-term or seasonal
accommodation at any other time
Properties that do not satisfy these criteria may be advertised using Commercial
Classified advertisements.
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| Selling of property & real estate |
You may offer your property for sale under the following circumstances:
- The property must be located in the Costa Blanca
- The property must be your own, and not owned by a company or any third
party
- The property must be the only property you own in the Costa Blanca
Properties that do not satisfy these criteria may be advertised using Commercial
Classified advertisements.
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| e-mailing Forum Members |
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To protect your privacy, we do not publish the e-mail addresses of
members of The AngloINFO Forum.
However, by clicking on the e-mail link by each posting you have the
ability to send a brief e-mail to the poster.
- Note that by so doing, you will expose your own e-mail address to that
user
- A copy of your e-mail will be sent to you for your records
Messages e-mailed using this facility can contain a maximum of 1,500
characters (including spaces). Longer e-mails will be truncated before being
sent.
This service must not be used for the sending of Unsolicited Direct
Mail (UDM), promoting a business or service unless that specific business or
service has been directly requested by the AngloINFO user you are contacting.
Such e-mails are an abuse of The AngloINFO Forum.
- Please be aware that UDM is not the same as bulk e-mailing. UDM can be a single
message to a single person.
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| Dealing with scam e-mails |
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Any publicly accessible electronic service is open to abuse. AngloINFO
takes many measures (technical and other) to minimise the potential for
abuse, but it still exists. From time to time, e-mails are sent using the
AngloINFO e-mail service that are illegal "scams", most
frequently Advance Fee Fraud, variations of the so-called "Nigerian
Letter" or
"419" scam (see here
for more information).
Should you receive such an e-mail via the AngloINFO e-mail service,
please do the following.
- Do NOT reply to it
- Forward the e-mail in its entirety, with all headers if possible, to
costablanca.forums@angloinfo.com
- Do NOT make a public posting to the Forum. Such a posting would
seriously impede our ability to deal with the offender and, if made,
will be removed by the Forum Administration
AngloINFO will use the information you provide to take the necessary
technical (and, where appropriate, legal) steps to prevent recurrence.
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| The Forum Administration |
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The Forum Administration controls, moderates and edits The AngloINFO Forum.
They may edit, delete, relocate or prune any posts in the forums. Breaches
of the Forum Terms & Conditions or
AngloINFO's Terms of Use will obviously be removed, but posts
may also be edited or deleted simply to enhance the readability, value and
ease-of-use of The AngloINFO Forum (an example is the removal of off-topic
or irrelevant comments). If you have a question or comment about the
actions of the Forum Administration or a particular
Forum-related matter, you should direct it to
the Forum Administration by
e-mail. Please allow at least a working day for any response.
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| Changing your profile |
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You may easily change any
information stored in your registration profile by using the "profile" link located near
the top of each page. Simply identify yourself by typing your Username and
Password and all of your profile information will appear on screen. You may
edit any information (except your Username).
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| Cookies |
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The AngloINFO Forum uses cookies to store the following information: the last time you logged in, your
Username and
your Password, if you set it in preferences. These cookies are stored on your hard drive. Cookies are not used
to track your movement or perform any function other than to enhance your use of AngloINFO.
If you have not enabled cookies in your browser, many of these additional features will not work properly.
You
need to have cookies enabled if you want to post a topic/reply, or to
e-mail another member.
- You may delete all cookies set by these forums in selecting the "logout" button at the top of any page.
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| Attaching Files |
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For security reasons, you may
not attach files (including images) to any posts.
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| Signatures |
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You may attach signatures to the end of your posts when you post either a New Topic or Reply.
Your signature is editable by clicking on "My Profile" at the top of any forum page and entering your
Username and Password.
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| Is there any censorship? |
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The term "censorship" is inappropriate in the context of The
AngloINFO Forum. A censor is a government official who examines books,
papers, films and the like with the power to delete material or forbid
their publication or dissemination. The AngloINFO Forum is not a state;
its Administration does not have the power to censor. It is an
independently-owned electronic publishing tool to which the public is
granted limited access for a specific purpose subject to certain clearly-defined and
actively-enforced rules. Anyone who does not agree with those rules is
free to use alternate tools or methods to publish or disseminate their
views, subject to applicable legislation.
There is extremely active editing on The AngloINFO Forum. All material posted must conform to
the Forum Terms and Conditions and
AngloINFO's general Terms of Use.
Material that doesn't conform to the Forum's rules, purpose and standards -
stated or implied - will be removed. This process may involve the deletion
of an entire posting, or the editing of it to remove unacceptable
material. It is important to note that material does not have to be
blatantly offensive to be removed (although such material clearly will be
removed); it is sufficient for it not to add value to the Forum.
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| Lost Username and/or Password |
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Retrieving your Username and Password is simple. All of the pages that require you to identify yourself with
your Username and Password carry a "lost Password" link that you can use to have
your Username and Password mailed instantly to your e-mail address of
record.
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| e-mail notification |
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When you create a new topic,
you have the option of receiving an e-mail notification every time someone posts
a reply to your topic. If you wish to use this feature, simply check the e-mail
notification box on the "New Topic"
page when you create your new topic.
Similarly, if you reply to a topic you can opt to receive e-mail notification each time someone replies to that topic in future.
Should you change your mind, each notification includes a link that
allows you to turn off notification for that topic.
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| Problems logging out/in |
You may have problems logging in to or out of The AngloINFO Forum. One of
the following circumstances may occur:
- You press the Logout button, are informed that you have logged out
successfully, but find you are still logged in.
- You enter your username and password, and press the Login button.
You are informed that you have logged in successfully but you find
this not to be true.
This is usually a sign that your cookies are corrupt. Try visiting the
following links one after the other (use your browser's Back button to
return here):
You will now be logged out. You should also now be able to login.
If this doesn't work, the most likely explanation is that you have
cookies disabled in your Web browser (typically a setting under your
Privacy options). The AngloINFO Forum requires cookies to function, so you
must change the appropriate setting for your browser.
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