Terms Of Use

Before registering and posting at the Forum, please review the following, which are part of our Terms of Use for participating in our EpicureanFriends Community:

1. the About Us page;
2. the Community Standards page;
3. the Key Posting Rules page;
4. the Not-Neo Epicurean page;
5. the Classical Epicurean Philosophy page.

Clicking through and registering an account  is your representation that you have read, understand, and agree to the Terms of Use of EpicureanFriends.com:

1. The purpose of EpicureanFriends.com is to promote the study and application of the philosophy of Epicurus, and to allow those who share this goal to communicate with one another in a friendly and dedicated community free from contemporary political controversies and from adulteration through Humanism, Stoicism, Buddhism, and other competing viewpoints. Posters should conduct themselves as part of a community of friends and always treat each other with consideration "as though Epicurus were watching." 
2. Registrants agree to familiarize themselves with the goals an rules of conduct of EpicureanFriends.com as set forth in the five pages linked above.  Registration is your agreement to adhere to these rules.  This online community was founded by and for people who are interested in Classical Epicurean philosophy, rather than non-Epicurean or eclectic combinations of the philosophies.  Many forums for the discussion of other philosophies exist elsewhere, and discussion of non-Epicurean viewpoints should be conducted here only to assist in the better understanding of Epicurus. Posts which are primarily discussion or promotion of non-Epicurean ideas should be made elsewhere.
3. If your postings prove to be disruptive to the purpose of the forum, as determined by the Administrators, your posting privileges may be terminated at any time.
4. Posters shall respect the right of each member to "live unknown" to the extent that he or she sees fit. Postings here will be deemed licensed to the forum to be made available to others to reread for an indefinite time in the future, regardless of whether the account is terminated or withdrawn, so please post responsibly.  In order to encourage the free flow of information, participants are welcome to register with a pseudonym / "pen name." Use of real names is not necessary, and posting of personal information of any kind should be minimized. Participants are free to disclose personal information about themselves as they see fit, but personal information about other participants  in the Forum shall not be disclosed without their prior consent.
5. To repeat the Key Posting Policies:
   1. No Contemporary Politics:  This forum is dedicated to promoting the philosophy of Epicurus, and not to any contemporary political positions whatsoever, whether “left,” “right,” or “center.” The task of rediscovering Epicurean philosophy requires that such controversies be pursued elsewhere.  Posts and accounts violating this rule are subject to immediate removal without warning at the sole discretion of the Administrators.  This rule does not exist because Epicurean philosophy has no application to these issues, but because our primary goal is to build a friendly community dedicated to the rediscovery of Epicurean philosophy. Discussion of contentious contemporary political issues which distract us and divide us before our goal can be accomplished is not consistent with the goal of this site. Please keep this big picture in perspective and pursue discussion of how Epicurean philosophy may apply to contemporary political controversies elsewhere.
   2. No Appeals To Supernatural Religion:  Epicurean philosophy firmly rejects the viewpoint that there are any supernatural forces which define right and wrong conduct. Arguments based on such premises are improper for pursuit on the forum. Posts and accounts violating this rule are subject to removal.​
   3. No Appeals To Absolute Virtue:  Epicurean philosophy rejects the existence of absolute virtues or Platonic ideals of any kind.  Posts or accounts which pursue such arguments based on claims of “absolute” virtues or ideals are improper for this forum and are subject to removal.

Thank you for your participation here!

NOW FOR THE STANDARD LEGAL TERMS:

Limitation of liability for internal content

We use our best efforts to compile the content of this website with care and to the best of our knowledge.  Discussion of philosophy is inherently a matter of opinion, however, and we cannot assume any liability for the up-to-dateness, completeness or accuracy of any of the pages.  You are responsible for the content of your posts, and EpicureanFriends.com is not responsible for the content of your post or that of any other user.

Limitation of liability for external links

Our website contains links to the websites of third parties (“external links”). As the content of these websites is not under our control, we cannot assume any liability for such external content. In all cases, the provider of information of the linked websites is liable for the content and accuracy of the information provided. At the point in time when the links were placed, no infringements of the law were recognisable to us. As soon as an infringement of the law becomes known to us, we will immediately remove the link in question.

Copyright and continued use of posted material

The content and works published on this website are governed by the copyright laws of the United States.  Any duplication, processing, distribution or any form of utilisation beyond the scope of copyright law shall require the prior written consent of the author or authors in question.  The forum does not claim copyright for any material not stated as produced originally at EpicureanFriends.com, and postings here are, unless stated specifically otherwise, open to reuse under the GPL 3.0

All registrants agree that they are granting to EpicureanFriends.com a non-exclusive license in perpetuity to continue to host the information submitted in their posts, even if their account is withdrawn or terminated.  While a limited degree of editing of posts is allowed, it is essential to the flow of information that posts remain in place over time so that the conversation builds value for all readers of the forum.  Please use discretion in posting and refer to our recommendation that registrants not create user names or posts which contain personally identifying information.

Data protection

A visit to our website can result in the storage on our server of information about your access, such as date, time, and page accessed. This does not represent any analysis of personal data (e.g., name, address or email address). If personal data is collected, this only occurs – to the extent possible – with the prior consent of the user of the website.  Any forwarding of the data to third parties without the express consent of the user shall not take place.  It is our intent to collect and store as little personally-identifying information about you as we are able to do while still providing these website services.

It is essential to understand that transmission of data via the Internet by postings, messages, email, or other messages creates inherent security vulnerabilities. It is impossible to safeguard the data of this website completely against hacking, governmental monitoring, or unauthorized access by third parties. We cannot assume any liability for damages arising as a result of such security vulnerabilities.  The best rule of thumb to follow is that the only way to be sure that your communications, posts, or other material do not appear in the New York Times, or stored for use by the NSA or other governmental or internattional agencies, then do not post the material in the first place.

The use by third parties of all published contact details for the purpose of advertising or commercial profit is expressly excluded. We reserve the right to take legal steps for the protection of the forum's interests as stated herein.

When you register, let us know you are not a spammer or bot!

Please note our anti-spam rule! Once you are registered, you must respond to the "Welcome" message within three days to show that you are a real human being.  If you do not respond, we will presume you are a spammer and your account is subject to deletion!