Guidelines for Participation in Eos Online Discussions

Eos Online Discussions provide an opportunity for extended discussion of items published in Eos or of issues raised by a published item. Thus, the views of more individuals can be presented than would be possible within the space limitations of the newspaper.

To post a comment, participants must register and must identify themselves by their first+last name (NOT member number) and affiliation, although it is permissible to give city, state, and country if the participant does not have a formal affiliation or has other legitimate reasons. Participants are fully responsible for the comments posted. AGU is not responsible for content provided by third parties.

Comments will be reviewed for adherence to the discussion guidelines. AGU will decline to post comments that it deems are inappropriate. The following points will be used as an aid in evaluating appropriateness:

• Comments must be germane to the discussion topic. [Note: Any AGU member may request that Eos Editors initiate a new topic.]
• Comments must be civil and constructive; no inflammatory, inappropriate, offensive, or objectionable language will be accepted. Right to privacy of third parties must be honored; personal contact information or details about another person will not be accepted for posting.
• Copyright, trademark, patent and other rights of third parties must be honored; no one should knowingly post content that violates these. If permission to reproduce any material is requires, the participant is responsible for obtaining that permission and providing it to Eos along if the comment.
• The maximum length of a comment is 1500 words, and figures/attachments cannot be included.

AGU reserves the right to remove postings or discontinue user access at any time.

Comments posted in the Eos Online Discussions are considered unpublished. They will not be archived. Ideas that are gleaned from posted comments should be attributed as follows: "<Author's name>, informal communication via Eos Online Discussions, <year>"

Discussions are expected to remain open for contributions as long as there is ongoing activity and will be available for reading for a period thereafter. Long-term preservation is not an aim of Eos Online Discussions, however.

21 November 2007