The United States Chess League Group

     Welcome to the U.S.C.L.

      Group on Chess.com!

     We would like to welcome all Chess.com members who have taken the time to view our Group Forums and News.  One of the primary reasons we have created this group is to increase awareness of the league and it's activities, including activities here on Chess.com!  It is our goal to present the information that you need in order to better understand this league in a clear and organized manner.  We hope that you take the time to look around in the Group's Forums and News, as well as join us in supporting the United States Chess League!

     We would also like to thank those of you who have become members of the group!  Another reason we have created this group is to help Chess.com members show their support of the league.  As membership continues to grow, we hope to provide you with unique activities and options that will keep interest, as well as participation, in the group... not only during the season, but during the off-season as well!

     In the following sections, we will try to outline some of the general goals and policies of the group.    We look forward to your participation.

     The Purpose and General Policies of the Group

Purpose Number One:  Awareness

     One of the primary goals of this group is to increase awareness of the United States Chess League here on Chess.com.  In order to achieve this goal, the following policies are in place:

• It will be group policy to have the setting "Anyone can join?" set as "yes."  This will allow for easy access to the group for everyone on Chess.com.

• It will be group policy to have the Forums; Notes; News; Events; and Photos all set to "public," so that anyone on Chess.com may access them (no matter if they are a group member or not).

• It will be group policy to start an initial post (and then update monthly) about the group in the "Chess.com Community" section of the Chess.com Forums, in order to make site members aware of the group and invite them to join.

Purpose Number Two:  Support

     One of the primary goals of this group is to build, and sustain, support for the United States Chess League here on Chess.com.  In order to achieve this goal, the following policies are in place:

• It will be group policy to supply access to information outside of Chess.com that is related to the league, for the benefit of the group's members.

• It will be group policy to offer group notes and forums access to all group members, so that they may initiate (and participate in) discussions and topics of interest concerning the U.S.C.L., Chess.com, as well as the United States Chess League Group itself.

• It will be group policy to generate interest and participation within the group by providing activities for, as well as opportunities to contribute to, the group during the playing season of the league as well as during the off season.

• It will be group policy to generate content that is unique to the Group found on Chess.c (in the form of articles; interviews; reviews, etc.), that may not be found on other online sources about the league.

Purpose Number Three:  Interaction

     One of the primary goals of this group is to initiate and promote interaction between:  Members within the Group; between members and Group Administration; and between the Group and the U.S.C.L.  In order to achieve this goal, the following policies are in place:

• It will be group policy to follow and enforce the United States Chess League Group policy for member conduct and etiquette (please see the next section titled: "Group Policies on Member Etiquette").

• It will be group policy for the Group Administration to designate an Administration Contact, in order to better address member needs and problems in a timely fashion.  The current Administration Contact is:  William_Smitham.

• It will be group policy to encourage member interaction through the various community tools offered to all groups by Chess.com, as well as other activities created by members and administration.

•   It will be group policy for administration to work towards establishing contact with administration; team management; tournament directors, as well as players of the U.S.C.L., and through that contact encourage participation, as possible, with the members of the United States Chess League Group.

             Group Policies on Member Etiquette

     As stated in the section above ("The Purpose and General Policies of the Group"), one of the purposes of creating this group is the promotion of interaction between members within the group.  We desire that the group atmosphere created will be one that is enjoyable for everyone.  In order to achieve this goal, the following policies are in place:

• It will be group policy to ask all members to follow Chess.com's guidelines when interacting with other members on the Group Notes and/or Group Forums.  For those members who are unaware (or need a reminder of) the site policies on this subject, a link will be provided near the end of this section that leads to these policies.

• It will be group policy for administration to interpret, and enforce, the policies and guidelines set forth by Chess.com as well as those set forth by the United States Chess League Group.

• It will be group policy to encourage members to keep interaction within the Group Notes and Group Forums "on topic" about the U.S.C.L., Chess.com, as well as the United States Chess League Group and Group members, as much as possible.  It is natural that discussions tend to drift off a bit into other directions.  If material strays too far off topic though, members must be aware that administration may ask that the discussion be moved to a more appropriate forum on site, or that a discussion be shut down.  A link will be provided near the end of this section that leads to the Chess.com public forums.  There are many different sections within those forums that may prove to be a more suitable home for topics and threads that stray too far off from the focus of this group.
  

• It will be group policy to encourage members to contribute:  Diagrams; pictures, and links within their posts.  We again ask that these things remain reasonably on topic.  NOTE ABOUT PICTURES:  If members wish to include pictures within their posts, we ask that they be as small as possible while still showing the details you wish to share.  Please crop or re-size any material that is too large (or your picture may be removed).

• It will be group policy to edit and/or delete any posts (or parts there of) that violate site and/or group policy.  In some instances, the original poster will be contacted and asked to edit/delete themselves.  But in many instances, administration will act beforehand in order keep the group interaction safe and healthy.

• It will be group policy that administration will handle disciplinary actions against members who violate any of these policies.  The actions may include:  Messages added to threads; messages sent from administration to the violator; editing and/or deleting material posted, reporting behavior to Chess.com,  and even banning violators from the group.

     The icons below contain links within them that lead to other online sources that have a connection to the material discussed in this section.  Click on them to activate the link.

     Chess.com Legal

      Chess.com Public Forums

    Reporting errors/issues with content/members

     In order to best serve our membership, the following section is being provided to help us serve you better!  Please Note:  As group policy, an Administrative Contact has been designated to help address issues and concerns for group members.  As of this time, the Administrative Contact is:  William_Smitham.

Errors and/or Issues with Content

     If an error in content is discovered, or if there is an issue with any content presented in:  Group Notes; Group Forums; or Group News, please take the time to follow the procedure listed below so that we can address the error and/or issue as soon as possible.

• Contact, by message, the Administration Contact directly.  Posting a message in a thread or even in the notes may cause delay in addressing the issue as these may get buried behind posts from other group members.

• In your message, please include:  The title of the forum topic or news post (if applicable); the post number (if applicable); as well as a description of the error or issue in question.

• The Administration Contact will look into the situation as soon as possible, and respond to your message once it has been resolved.

Errors and/or Issues with Links

     If you find a link that is broken, or leads to a site other than the one intended, or leads to a site with objectionable content, please take the time to follow the procedure listed below so that we can address the situation as soon as possible.

• Contact, by message, the Administration Contact directly.  Posting a message in a thread or even in the notes may cause delay in addressing the issue as these may get buried behind posts from other group members.

• In your message, please include:  The title of the forum topic or news post (if applicable); the post number (if applicable); a description of the link (if applicable); as well as the issue with that link.

• The Administration Contact will look into the situation as soon as possible, and respond to your message once it has been resolved.

Issues with Group Members and/or Administration

     We are well aware that everyone will not always get along.  In some instances, members may have problems with each other that date back long before they even joined this group.  Others may begin to have issues with each other after joining.  No matter what the situation is, we ask that any issues between members not be played out in our Group Notes, Group Forums, or in Group News.  Listed below are some thing that we would like our members to do (an not do) should they find themselves having issues with others.

• If you have issues with someone and/or something in the Group Notes; Group Forum; or Group News, please do not respond or retaliate back as this just continues the issue and never really resolves anything.

• Please remember, you can block members who are abusive/rude, and this prevents them from communicating with you.  A link near the end of this section will direct you to a page describing this procedure.

• You can report rude/abusive behavior within the Group to the Administration Contact.  Please do so by message, and include:  The location of the rude/abusive behavior (thread title/news title/group notes); the post number (or name of poster in the case of Group Notes); as well as the content that is rude/abusive.  We will look into it and get back with you.  Please remember, there is nothing that we can do about material not posted in the Group sections (personal messages, other group forums, public forums, etc.).

• You can also report rude/abusive behavior to Chess.com.  Click on the "Help & Support" link found on the bottom of every page on the site.  Follow the instructions listed to file a report. 

     The icon below contains a link within it that leads to other online sources that have a connection to the material discussed in this section.  Click on it to activate the link.

     Chess.com description of how to block users in games, and in general

              Group Notes About Outside Sources

     The United States Chess League Group; Chess.com; nor the U.S.C.L. are not responsible for other online sources, or the material in those sources.