The Elance Water Cooler is a place where Elance customers gather to connect and meet one another as well as learn and share information. Because the Water Cooler relies on the active participation of Elance customers and employees, we have created a set of Guidelines to facilitate a communal and supportive environment in the Water Cooler area built on the principles that a positive, nurturing environment will the Elance community to share, grow, and learn from one another.
Elance regularly monitors and moderates content on the Water Cooler area. Violations of the Guidelines or the Elance Terms of Service or Site Policy shall result in removal of the offending content (either part of a post or the entire post and/or thread), and may result in the issuance of a warning to the offending person and/or a temporary or permanent ban from the Elance Water Cooler area or termination of the person's Elance account. (See escalation process below.) Please note that decisions on violations are determined by the moderator and are considered final.
Water Cooler Index
The Water Cooler categories are modeled after the same areas commonly found in an office environment. It is expected that behaviors in these sections mirror what would be expected and considered appropriate in the real world.
The Conference Room: This area is for discussion about work. Treat others in this area with the same respect and professionalism as you would in a real-world conference room.
The Help Desk: Your peers are some of the best resources available online today. The Help Desk functions as a place for all elancers to give help and get help. Aiding others in your community will not only earn you respect among your peers, but you’ll also feel pretty good about it, too.
The Suggestion Box: We’re always working to make Elance even better, and hearing the voice of the community is without a doubt one of the best ways to search for improvements. Drop your idea or suggestion into the box, and we’ll do our best to hear you out. We cannot facilitate every request, but know that team members here are watching this forum and are taking notes.
The Break Room: Taking a load off and chatting with associates is something that all workers do, regardless of if they’re in a live workplace or working online. The Break Room is a great place to discuss anything and everything that isn’t related to Elance. Remember to keep it clean and ”work-place appropriate.”
The Boiler Room: Sometimes you just need to let off a little steam to get back to feeling normal, and The Boiler Room is a place where you can do exactly that. Reminder: While more colorful discussions go on in the Boiler Room, Elance’s Terms of Service still apply. Reference the “The Boiler Room” addendum for more information.
Announcements: This forum is as straightforward as it sounds. It’s a place for you to get updated with the latest information regarding Elance directly from HQ. Only Elance team members are authorized to post in this forum.
Archives: Old yet relevant threads get moved to the archives after a period of time. Threads are archived to preserve topics but cannot be commented on.
Water Cooler Rules Of Conduct
The following is absolutely unacceptable and may result in the termination of your account:
1. The posting of threatening, profane, racist, obscene, adult, or violent content of any kind.
2. The posting of any material that violates the Elance Terms of Service in any way, shape, or form.
Repeated instances of the following will not be tolerated and may result in the suspension or termination of your account:
1. The posting of disparaging remarks targeted at another member, project description, or business.
2. The posting of content deliberately targeted to elicit a negative response from another member.
3. The posting of private communications with the Elance team or other members.
4. The posting of personal contact information (names, email addresses, etc) belonging to you or other members.
5. The posting of promotion, advertisements, or services on or outside of Elance.
6. The posting of links to your personal or business website.
7. The posting of specific projects through links, project ID numbers, or excerpts.
8. The posting of consistently negative content (for example, “laundry lists” or “rants”) without recommending or suggesting a potential solution.
Escalation Process
Moderators will issue a warning on the first notice of improper content. This notice will be explicit and identify the WC guideline, Elance Terms of Service, or Site Policy violated.
For subsequent violations, the following disciplinary actions will be taken:
First Strike: A 7 day suspension period where offending user is not allowed to post to the Water Cooler
Second Strike: A 30 day suspension period where offending user is not allowed to post to the Water Cooler
Third Strike: Permanent banning from the Water Cooler and possible account Elance account termination
In severe cases, offenders may be terminated from Elance before three offences. This will be determined by Elance staff.
Elance reserves the right to remove any post at any time.
The Boiler Room Addendum
“The Boiler Room” forum exists to provide an environment where the social norms are somewhat more forgiving compared to other sections of the Water Cooler. If you’re feeling “snarky”, be so here, not in the other sections of the Water Cooler. However, in order to protect users and Elance team members, moderation, although very limited, will be in effect. This will operate on a “I Know It When I See It” basis, and any content that is obscene and unprofessional or that violates of the Terms of Service will result in disciplinary action including possible termination of your Elance account.
