Bowl-Tech Terms of Use

Warning: If you sell, re-sell, distribute or manufacture a part or service that is used in the bowling industry you MUST read and understand the visiting company guidelines The visiting company guidelines can save you, your company and Bowl-Tech some discomfort. All visiting companies should be familiar with current FTC 16 CFR Part 255  Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising guidelines.

I know this looks like a lot of stuff to read, but a happy relationship here depends on understanding our community and how it operates.

If you do not agree to the following terms please do not continue the registration process and do not visit Bowl-Tech.

Bowl-Tech Inc. does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of information posted in the forums. Bowl-Tech members and visitors agree to hold Bowl-Tech Inc. harmless in the case of losses financial or otherwise as a result of use of any information or technical data on this site.

You agree through your use of Bowl-Tech that you will not use Bowl-Tech to post any material that is knowingly false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, racially insensitive, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy or otherwise violates any law.

You agree not to post copyrighted information unless it is owned by you or you have written permission from the owner. Submission of such information requires the contact information and/or written release of the owner to be sent to you for verification purposes, and have it kept on file as proof that consent was given.

You agree that private messages will not be used to spam. Only authorized persons will be allowed to collect mass member or visitor information via PM or poll's on the site.

You agree not to represent yourself as another person, company or entity.

You agree to identify yourself to the Bowl-Tech community as a supplier of goods or services that provides such to the bowling industry. You may do this by providing accurate information in your member profile. If your status changes, you must update your profile to indicate such.

You agree not to post information that is considered proprietary or a trade secret.

You agree that you are at least the age of 16.

Your signature in your posts may contain a link to your home page or a business link to the company you work for. Any others will need site administrator approval.

Avatar's are governed by site rules and can be removed at the discretion of the site administrator.

If a vendor or supplier asks you to endorse or promote a product that company and yourself could be breaking the law and they should be asked to read the visiting company guidelines.

Bowl-Tech is in no way affiliated with or endorses any companies mentioned or advertised on the site.

You agree that prior to posting you will review your companies policy regarding public postings on the internet. Many companies have policies that limit what can or can not be discussed in public forums. To avoid potential problems with your employer please ask about your employer's internet posting policy.

Bowl-tech will review and comply with requests from properly-identified representatives from a company or supplier to remove a post that contains proprietary, confidential information or trade secrets that they do not want disclosed publicly.

You agree that any posts you make on Bowl-Tech are done at your own free will in attempt to help other members or visitors. These posts become a permanent part of Bowl-Tech once your ability to edit or delete the post expires. (60 minutes from time of post) Removal of any post is at the discretion of site administrators or moderators. Posts that violate site rules can be removed at any time. If a post needs to be removed please contact a site administrator or moderator.

Bowl-Tech Inc. Reserves the right to remove or retain any message or messages for any reason that is posted in the forums. As a message poster on Bowl-Tech you retain sole responsibility for the information contained in that post. You also agree to indemnify and hold harmless Bowl-Tech Inc.  and their agents with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your messages.

Bowl-Tech Inc. reserves the right to revoke your membership / access or disable your ability to post forum messages or visit the web site at anytime for any or no reason.

In the event of any legal action Bowl-Tech Inc. will cooperate with legal authorities and turn over any stored data such a user information and IP address logs to assist in an investigation.

Bowl-Tech retains all copyright on all images and text. Reproduction or use of graphics or text on the site must be done only with written permission of Bowl-Tech Inc.

Information collected by Bowl-Tech from the subscribing members during the registration process or there after is used and maintained solely by Bowl-Tech Inc. The information is not shared or sold to any other entities. For more details you may read our privacy statement.

Good Posting etiquette

* Try to keep your remarks positive. If you have nothing good to say about it don't say it at all.

* Support and abide by Moderators direction. Bowl-Tech has several moderators that help manage the site. They are given as much authority as a site administrator when it comes to enforcing site policy. Moderators are also here to help. Feel free to ask them or a site admin for advice or any questions that you may have about Bowl-Tech.

* Help out the new guys. Remember everybody including yourself was a beginner once. Be patient and helpful with everybody no matter what level of experience they have.

* Keep posts on topic. If you start a thread please make sure it is in the correct subject forum.

* Be specific with topic heading. That is the best way to get attention. Do not post topics that just say "Help" and please do not post topics of a technical nature in the general discussion forum. If you are unsure where to post a topic ask one of the forum moderators or the site administrator.

* Do not type in ALL CAPS. Typing in all caps can be considered yelling and offensive.

* Avoid "Which is better" posts. These types of post often end up with hurt feelings. It is ok to ask for specific information on a product that will help you make a decision on which is better.

* Do a search. Prior to asking a question try doing a search for the topic to be sure it has not already been discussed. This could save you time.

* Would you want your mom to see this post? When posting a message in the forums make sure the topic is not offensive or in any way abusive to other members, visitors or a company.

* Be factual. A posting that says "XYZ's product sucks" will probably get you booted from the site. And could cause legal issues for yourself. If you have a specific complaint or issue with a product and you use technical and factual descriptions of the problem you are having it would not be considered defamatory but an informative notification to the products producer of a specific issue.

* Promoting A product. We have no problem with posts that tell how a product or service is working. Our community is about sharing experiences good or bad. Excessive promotion of a product, company or service could be perceived by moderators as self promotion or posts by that vendor, company or service provider. These situations are investigated and can be very embarrassing for those parties involved.

* Take it up with the producer. If you have a problem with a product do not use Bowl-Tech to try to get it solved. Make sure you have FIRST contacted the company involved to resolve any warranty or product issues.

* Agree to Disagree. You are not going to agree with every post you read on Bowl-Tech. If you wish to make your disagreement public then please do so in a respectful manner and explain your disagreement.

Help / Work Wanted Forums.

* Postings will be by approval only. Questions about jobs should be sent to the originator by private message or by contact means in the ad. Public postings of questions about jobs will not be posted.

* Posting Approval is not an endorsement. Posting approval by Bowl-Tech is done to insure that no public comments are posted about the help wanted or work wanted ads.

For Sale / Wanted Forums.

* Postings In For Sale will be by approval only. Approval ensures that each posting has the following information. Bowling center name, phone number and contact person name.

* Posting for Center to Center Trades or Sales Only. Each posting will have to have a bowling center name, phone number and contact name or it will not be approved.

* For Sale or Parts Wanted Posts In Classifieds Only. For Sale or Parts Wanted posts are ONLY allowed in their proper classifieds forums. This rule also applies to links to classifieds outside the Bowl-Tech server.

* Posting Approval is not an endorsement. Bowl-Tech approval of a post does not signify an endorsement by Bowl-Tech or its management. Posting approval is done to ensure at least the minimum required information is on the ad and that non bowling center ads are disallowed.

* Buyer Beware. If the deal seems to good to be true it might just be too good to be true. Be very careful who you deal with. You can ask a person if they have sold anything on Bowl-Tech before and ask them who they made the deal with. Contact that person for a reference.

* Purchase Disagreements. If an issue arises that results in a disagreement with a purchase or sale via the Bowl-Tech forums, the parties involved must solve the issue on their accord. Any and all information on the accounts such as contact info, IP addresses or what ever info legal authorities may need will be turned over upon request.

Visiting Company Guidelines.

* Companies or Individuals who supply our industry are welcome. We strongly encourage companies or individuals who supply the bowling industry to participate on Bowl-Tech.

* Advertising in the Forums. Unauthorized advertising in the forums is completely un-acceptable to the members and visitors of the site. The members and visitors of Bowl-Tech have gotten used to an environment where they do not have to wade through piles of advertising to get to the discussion topics. Advertising without consent can work against your company. Many members and visitors will not do business with a company that violates Bowl-Tech's advertising policies.

* Asking members/visitors to endorse products. Asking a member or visitor to endorse a product is against site policy and can get you into legal trouble. Be familiar with FTC guidelines FTC 16 CFR Part 255  Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising guidelines.

* Do not initiate a thread on your product. If you start a NEW THREAD on Bowl-Tech about your product or services or a competitors it will be removed. Initiating a post of this type could be considered self promotion. You may respond to a post about your product if you are providing technical support or facts for the issue being discussed. There are details for this type of post below.

* Postings comparing one product with another. These kind of postings from a known vendor or employee of a vendor are considered advertising or propaganda and will be deleted from the system. The originator of the post will be removed from membership or blocked from visiting site. This could also include ban of any future membership or visiting by IP blocking.

* Posting http links. You are allowed to have one link and a phone number to your company along with your name in your signature lines at the bottom of your posts. Links promoting web sites will be allowed at the administrators discretion. Links to items for sale are not allowed.

* Posting of Service or Technical Bulletins. Technical bulletins from manufacturers or suppliers are very much welcome and have a home on Bowl-Tech. They can be placed in any of the sites Technical Reference forums at Bowl-Tech. Postings in these forums are approved by moderators prior to public posting. If your topic does not have a Technical Reference forum you can request that we ad a new forum or where it could be uploaded to. Please direct your questions on this to Mike Wilson

* Information about advertising. Advertising information can be obtained by contacting the site administrator via private message or by filling out the advertising info form.

* Member / Visitor has a problem that you have a solution for. In direct response to a post you may send that person a Private Message with your solution.

* If a member / visitor has a problem with a product of yours and you would like to address it, you can do it one of a couple of ways.

1. You can send a private message.
But a private message will not provide the solution to others who visit the site or see the post.

2. You can post a public reply with a solution to the problem. The post must fit within the following guidelines.

**Considerations**

Thanks for visiting Bowl-Tech we are glad you have decided to join our fine community. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask.

Bowl-Tech Inc.