Discussion Guidelines (Please Read Before Participating)

Here are a set of rules to follow when participating in Steepster Discussions (or any part of the site for that matter). Please take them seriously or we’ll be forced to take action (we don’t like being the bad guys). If you have any questions or want to call attention to an issue, please email jason at steepster.com.

1) Keep topics related to tea.

2) Keep reviews and tasting notes for individual teas to your own tealog. That’s what it’s there for.

3) Communication that is directly or implicitly offensive, meant to harass or attack another user, inappropriate, etc. is strictly prohibited (You know what we mean! Review our Terms of Use if you’re unsure) and may be grounds for removing your content and deactivating your account.

4) Don’t spam or post duplicate content. No one likes spammers and we’ll just delete your stuff anyway. If you encounter a spam account or post, contact us at the above email. Do not respond to the spammer, it can occasionally cause issues when that spam content is deleted. And don’t include signatures with irrelevant links, it’s also considered spammy.

5) Don’t submit false testimonials. No one likes liars either.

6) Respect the tastes of your fellow Steepster members. Every one has their own way of preparing and enjoying tea and that’s what makes this place interesting. Share your opinion, but don’t force it on others.

7) Make your titles as descriptive as possible. Help people understand exactly what they’re getting themselves into.

8) We’re all trying to make a living, but don’t sell anything or ask for money without permission from Steepster site administrators. You can contact [email protected] with any inquires.

9) If you’re a tea company, please do not start new forum topics about your products or promotions. Feel free to post replies where relevant, but anything overly self-promotional will be removed. Also, don’t rate your own teas because of the (obvious) conflict of interest. It’s misleading and everyone will figure it out anyways – you’ll turn away the very customers you’re trying to attract.

10) This is an English language forum and non-english contributions should be translated into English. We apologize to our international, non-english speaking friends.

11) If you encounter someone/something you think may violate these rules, please report the offense to [email protected] and do not respond…your Steepster overlords will protect you.

12) If you arrange to mail items to other members, please do not share personal information (address) publicly. Also, Steepster does not monitor or moderate users participating in mail exchanges, so swap at your own risk! But let us know if someone isn’t keeping their end of the bargain.

You can check the swap credibility thread to see which users have been vouched for: http://steepster.com/discuss/5163-i-would-vouch-for-username-tea-swap-credibility

Basically, we’re all here to have fun and enjoy tea in all its glory. Don’t be a jerk and ruin everyone’s time. Drink tea and play nice!