Terms and rules

Acorn Domains Terms of Service and Forum Rules

Welcome to Acorn Domains (“aka AD, Acorn, AcornDomains.co.uk, AcornDomains.uk”)

This is a privately owned forum established in 2004.

We reserve the right to accept or decline your membership application, so you are not guaranteed membership and your membership is subject to revocation. We will try to consult with members however we reserve the right to ban or delete your account without notification. No membership fees will be refunded.

Basic membership of this forum is free, you can pay to upgrade for additional services and privileges, go to the Membership Upgrade page for full details.

Violation of the rules will result in a warning and possibly a ban, depending on the severity of the violation.
Warnings will be issued by PM or by the warning system.
Permanent bans are at the discretion of the Management.
EACH FORUM MAY HAVE ITS OWN SET OF RULES. PLEASE READ ALL STICKIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE INDIVIDUAL FORUMS BEFORE POSTING, ESPECIALLY THE SALES FORUMS.

Here are the general forum rules: The Management reserves the right to make judgment calls. We cannot write a rule for everything, so if we see nonsense on the forum we will take care of it and let you know why. This is the "no nonsense" rule!

        General Forum Rules

1. Although the administrators and moderators of Acorn Domains will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and neither the owners of Acorn Domains, nor Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. (developers of vBulletin) will be held responsible for the content of any message.
2. Do not post accusations against people or Companies on our forum over their tactics and ability to catch dropping UK domain names. This includes posting Domain Names in question. Go to Nominet if you think you have a case.
3. No content that is considered racist, sexist, obscene, illegal, objectionable, or otherwise offensive comments will be tolerated. All such posts will be deleted without notice. This includes avatars. This could result in the loss of your membership without reimbursement.
4. You will not violate a persons privacy by publishing against someone's will information that is private and personal unless you have evidence of a crime or scam. A person may ask us to remove personal details for any reason so get permission before you post anything personally identifiable that is not about yourself. Your post will be deleted if you cannot back up your claim.
5. Personal attacks on others will not be tolerated. We take politeness very seriously. You are welcome to challenge others points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully. Trolling - posting immediately after each time a particular other member will result in a ban.
6. Create threads in the proper forum. Threads created in the wrong forum are subject to deletion. Do not use the "General" forum for everything, repeat offenders will be asked to leave.
7. Users may disagree with the decisions or actions of the moderators and/or Admin, however, disagreements, criticism and the like are not to be aired within the forums. Please feel free to PM the person directly rather than air your dirty laundry in public.
8. Any abuse towards our staff and/or management will result in immediate suspension of your account.
9. You may not have more than one account. Accounts may not be shared by more than one individual unless you are the same Company.
10.  Accounts may not be sold or transferred.
11. Please do not post Nominet WHOIS records on the forum (partial records are OK but not the whole thing.)
    

    New Member Restrictions

12. To protect the integrity of the forum, and the quality of content for the existing members, new members are subject to the following rules:
    • All new members will be added by the system automatically into a forum group called "New Users" for 2 weeks.
    • The New Users group can create 1 new thread and make 7 posts, per sales forum, per week, for the first 2 weeks after registration.
    • New users can make unlimited posts on all the other forums, except the "Wanted" section.
    • New Users cannot created wanted ads. If you have a specific requirement to post one, please contact Admin.
    • New users will have no signature rights for the first 2 weeks and after 25 posts.
    • After 2 weeks, New Users will (automatically) have standard forum user rights, if your reputation is zero or higher (so if you have negative a reputation you will stay as a New User).
    • For the non-UK sections, you will need to have 50 valid posts before being able to create a Sales Thread or Reply to an existing one. This is to keep the site biased towards the UK domain markets.

    Forum Advertising

13. Do not spam the forums, spammers will be banned and deleted. Only post one thread per topic or sale, and do not cut and paste it or change it slightly and post it. No spammy content such as different colours or *** LOOK AT ME *** type text.
14. Do not PM spam. You should only PM to reply to a PM sent to you, or to answer a post that has requested a PM response.
15. If you wish to advertise use the Services Offered forum - payment of fees is required, no free advertising.
    
    

    Sales Forum Rules

16. Make sure you only post your domain name in the right section. Most Sales Forums are for UK domains including .UK, .co.uk, .org.uk and .me.uk - other GgTLD domain name need to go into the NON UK Domain Names Section.
17. Make it clear who is responsible for paying any transfer fees or any other terms you are attaching to your sale.
18. If you are selling a UK domain name, indicate if the .UK (DOT UK) domain name or rights are included or not.
19. No Olympic Games related domains may be posted for sale here, they will be removed immediately.
20. Any transaction entered into is entirely at your own risk. AcornDomains does not accept ANY responsibility for transfer of domains or receipt of monies due.
21. No *tragedy* style domains may be promoted or published for sale (like after MJ passed away).
    



22. Premium Domain Names
    • UK domain names only (.UK .co.uk .org.uk .me.uk)
    • One Domain Name per thread
    • Domain Name at start of thread title
    • Premium domains typically selling for £x,xxx upwards
    • Admin will decide to list or not (valuing domain names is very subjective, do not be offended if your domain name is not approved)
    Premium Domain Names posting require Admin approval, so your post will not automatically appear. Send a PM to Admin or email admin/@/ acorndomains.co.uk
    



23. Domain Name Offers Invited forum:
    • UK domain names only (.UK .co.uk .org.uk .me.uk)
    • One Domain Name per thread
    • Domain Name at start of thread title
    • No set prices, offers invited - put a ball-park of what price you want, it will encourage bids
      



24. Fixed Price Domain Names For Sale forum:
    • UK domain names only (.UK .co.uk .org.uk .me.uk)
    • One Domain Name per thread
    • Domain Name at start of thread title
    • You must specify an asking price
      



25. Domain Name Auctions forum:
    • UK domain names only (.UK .co.uk .org.uk .me.uk)
    • One Domain Name per thread
    • Domain Name at start of thread title
    • You must specify an ending date and time
    • Use the PREFIX drop-down to identify which auction site you this domain is listed on. When you add the new thread there will be an option to choose the domain name auction site your domain is listed upon or you can post the the thread as normal.
      
26. 
    
    Bargain Basement Domains forum:
    • UK domain names only (.UK .co.uk .org.uk .me.uk)
    • One Domain Name per thread
    • Domain Name at start of thread title
    • Domains for sale for £50 or less, all names must state a price.
      



27. Domain Portfolio Sales forum:
    • UK domain names only (.UK .co.uk .org.uk .me.uk)
    • List as many domains as you wish
    • Put at least 1 domain name at start of thread title
      



28. .UK Domain Names forum:
    • UK domain names only (.UK (DOT UK) domain names only)
    • One Domain Name per thread
    • Domain Name at start of thread title
      



29. Other Domain Names forum:
    • NON-UK domain names only, anything goes
    • One Domain Name per thread
    • Domain Name at start of thread title
    • sub-forums include: .MOBI Domains, .CO Domains, EU Domain Names
      



30. ADULT Domain Names forum:
    • UK domain names only (.UK .co.uk .org.uk .me.uk)
    • One Domain Name per thread
    • Domain Name at start of thread title
    • Anything related to the Adult industry is considered an "Adult" domain such as "escort"
    • Adult-related domains posted in the public forums will be moved here or deleted
    The ADULT forum is hidden and only accessible by you joining the Adult Forum User Group
    



31. Websites for sale: must have a developed website for sale, not a parking page:
    UK Websites For Sale
    NON-UK websites for sale
    
32. Our Domain Name marketplace operates on a trust only basis, Acorn Domains does not accept any responsibility or liability for your domain trades here so please employee the assistance of a Domain Broker if your require additional security as either the Buyer or Seller, Domain Brokerage Services are typically backed by a secure domain transfer and payment escrow service.
33. Make sure you complete your Domain Sales transactions - we have a Domain Trader rating system where people can vote or comment on your domain sales activity however if you do a deal then stick to it, deals are done on a trust basis. If you require security over your transaction then use the appropriate Domain Escrow Service
34. If a member posts "sold" or PM's that he/she will buy your domain, website, service, etc., please attempt to complete the sale in a timely manner. This goes for both parties, please make yourself available to complete the sale as soon as possible. In addition, your word is your bond. If you agree to a deal, you shouldn't back out - even if you receive a higher offer (sellers) or if you think you offered too much (buyers).
35. The Domain Trader feedback is permanent. It may only be removed by the person who left it. You may also ask Admin to review feedback you feel was left in error, or contains attacks, etc.
36. ALL DOMAIN SALES MUST list the actual domain name IN THE POST, and at least one of the domain names being sold in the title of the post, you must post the ACTUAL DOMAIN NAME. No spacing of letters or domains is permitted in titles and/or posts. If you wish to avoid spiders indexing your domain name for sale, you may use example(.)uk or example(dot)uk. In addition, most forums have a sticky thread or an announcement thread (or perhaps both) with more rules specific to that sub-forum. Please check for specific sticky threads and specific announcements that pertain to the sub-forum before posting in the forums. This rule is echoed in many sticky threads across our forum.
37. NO COMMENTS IN SALES! - only questions pertaining to the sale at hand.
38. NO APPRAISALS in Sales Threads - do not post your opinion on the value of a domain name is someone else's for sale thread. If you require help with pricing your domain name, either post it for appraisal in the Domain Appraisal Forum or Website Reviews forum. If you require a professional opinion then you can purchase a Premium Domain Appraisal
39. Do not "bump" your sale threads with the word "bump" or no relevant information. All replies to your own threads in sales MUST contain information pertaining to the sale. Trading bumps is not permitted. As a seller, you can reply to an offer but you must have some new/additional information. All sales threads which are inactive and more than 3 months old are considered null and void unless otherwise stated by the original poster / seller and can be closed by Admin at any time.
40. Only one party may represent a domain name/website for sale at any time. Brokered domain names/websites must be authorised by the legal owner. If you require some to broker a domain name sale for you then hire a
41. Do not list sales on behalf of members that do not have selling privileges. Both members could be banned.
42. Do not promote or link to your websites, domains, blog, company, or services in any of the discussion forums. This includes starting a thread, or replying to a post. If a member is seeking assistance or looking for a certain type of product, the best way to offer your services is to send a PM, unless the thread has been created in one of the Advertising forums, where you then may reply to a post with a self-promotion.
43. Promoting other domain name or webmaster related forums (or any forum that resembles the structure and/or content of Acorn Domains) in your posts, signatures, or in any way on the forum is not permitted, THIS INCLUDES ANY FORUMS THAT HAVE ANY OF THE SAME CATEGORIES WE HAVE (meaning they don't have to have the word "domain" to be a competitor).
44. "What other domain forums are there?" and "Which domain forum is best?" types of threads are not allowed and will be closed.
45. No charity, fundraising, "woe is me", or any other form of persuasive posts. This includes Multi-level marketing (MLM). You may have a well known charity in your signature. Threads designed to persuade members to provide sympathetic consideration will be deleted and infraction points or bans will be issued.
46. Affiliate links of any type in posts not allowed in posts, signatures, or anywhere on the forum. However, there's an exception to the signature affiliate link rule for Exclusive Members. One of the benefits of becoming an Exclusive Member is that you would then be allowed to use affiliate links in your signature. The administrators of Acorn Domains are the only ones permitted to post affiliate links in posts.
47. New users can post 1 new sales thread per week and 7 posts per week for the first 2 weeks.

    Forum Signatures

48. Your forum signature may not exceed:Regular User: 2 lines maximum 500 characters in length No more than 3 linksExclusive Club Member: 4 lines maximum 500 characters in length No more than 6 links
49. Adult or other dubious or offensive links are not allowed in your signature for any membership level.
50. No Affiliate links or advertising links in signatures.
51. The buying or selling of signatures is prohibited.
52. Sales of obvious Trade Mark (TM) domains will not be allowed. If you post it and it's a known TM or TM typo, it will be removed.
53. Acorn Domains does not wish to get involved in user issues with other members or issues they have with Companies. All opinions and posts made by users does not reflect those of the forum. Please resolve domain sales disputes off the board. We recommend filing a civil complaint with the other party if a transaction goes awry. Remember that Acorn Domains cannot get involved in user issues with domain sales.
    • If you have an issue with someone on the forum, take it up with them.
    • Do not attempt in any way to use Acorn Domains to voice your disputes or accusations, this includes forum signature message or links to sites with defamatory content.
54. You may not use, reproduce or distribute any forum topics or posted content anywhere other than on AcornDomains.co.uk
55. Acorn Domains cannot get involved in user issues with domain sales. Please resolve domain sales disputes off the board.
56. Username changes are possible by request if available.
57. Any member found liable for click fraud or any other form of fraudulent or deceiving activity will immediately be terminated from Acorn Domains.
58. There is an option in the left side box (small warning triangle) to report posts. Please use this if you wish to advise Admin of an issue with any particular post - it takes us a lot of time if you don't send us the link. It only takes a moment to click the image. Thanks for your help!

    Account Termination

59. Account termination and deletion. If you wish to leave Acorn Domains at any time please advise Admin by PM. Note that Retired accounts are permanently that way and we may not accept your return on a new account. Generally speaking, Acorn Domains does not delete accounts - accounts are lifetime memberships so if you wish to leave the forum, your account will remain. We may help to remove all personally identifiable information such as names and domain names but it is impossible for us to delete all your threads and posts.
60. All existing posts and feedback will remain associated with the account. We can update your user title and signature to identify that you have left the forums usually using "Retired_Member XX". In the case where members are banned, the account may remain with the posts and feedback as well.
61. Due to the nature of a forum, if a member is banned or asks to be removed from the site, we reserve the right not to have to remove every single post the member has made. We may help (but do not guarantee to) to remove your identity from your profile and rename it to "retired_memberX". By registering here you agree to these conditions.

Rules subject to change without notice. Please enjoy the debates and discussions and do your best to lead by example in creating a civil environment of mutual understanding and learning. This is your playing field, there's a lot of business to be done here at AD, so make the most of it!
Admin