[carriemb2]

We thought it might be helpful to have all the forum rules in one place for your reference. The rules will still be in the applicable forums, but this is a place you can go if you have a general question. Please keep in mind that rules do need to be changed now & then, and as we add things, we sometimes need to amend the rules. So, check back here often!

[carriemb2]

FSOT/Auction Related Rules

FSOT Guidelines & Rules
The FSOT Rules were most recently updated on 5/5/2013. Please review all of the rules again. Thank you!

A minimum of 50 meaningful posts AND a 6 week time period as a member are required to participate in FSOT! Please note the term "meaningful" ~ posts that are made clearly to increase post count interfere with the flow of discussions and will be removed.

Additionally, we want to remind all members that you are responsible for checking a member's post count and join date BEFORE engaging in a trade. If the member does not meet the requirements of 50 posts and a membership time of 6 weeks, then do not proceed with the trade and report the member to the mod/admin team. If you trade with someone that does not meet trading requirements, you will receive a rule reminder. Repeated trades with members who do not meet the requirements will result in removal of FSOT privileges and/or banning from the site. Please help us keep our FSOT forums as safe as possible.

Thank you!

Trading coupons, forms and qualifiers and a great way to easily get what you need while sharing what you don't need with others.
Once a trade is complete, we encourage traders to use the Trader Rating system to let everyone know how the trade went!

FSOT Rules:
1. Members are not allowed to trade for or request the following in threads or via wishlist:
*RAOKs (If someone sees your thread and wishes to send you a RAOK, they will. You can find the full guidelines for RAOKs and PIFs here.)
*Receipts
*Complete deals
*Rain checks
*Transaction numbers (such as Rite Aid transaction numbers which are used in place of a receipt for RA's rebates and gift card promotions)
*Survey codes from Rite Aid receipts (actual $3/$15 coupons may still be traded, but codes may not be)
*Printable CVS Coupons for x amount off a purchase, such as $3/$15 or $4/$20 (please see this thread for more details regarding CVS coupons)
*Store Credits
*Burnt/Copied CDs and DVDs


2. The trading of forms and qualifiers (UPCs) is allowed.

3. Any items(coupons and actuals) that are offered for sale or trade must be in your possession, before offering these items for sale or trade.

4. This is not a place to advertise your online store or business. This includes coupon clipping or whole insert businesses operating outside AFC. If you have a distributor license to sell 'party' products (ex: Avon, Tupperware, PartyLite, etc), you may post in the "I am a distributor of" forum. If you are a store owner or website operator (and not a distributor) and wish to advertise your business on AFC, please contact: advertising@afullcup.com. Additionally, directing members to your website store via thread or PM is not allowed.

5. AFC will allow charity type donations and/or auctions IF payment goes DIRECTLY to the charity via the charity's website. Charity, donation-type requests for individuals, and benefit auctions cannot be held without the approval of an administrator.

6. You agree you will not reference any sort of "personal cause" in your FSOT and ISO posts. Regarding auctions and trades: "I Need Paypal" is acceptable. "Help me Buy XYZ" or is not.

7. We will no longer allow the mass trading of cigarette coupons, prescription checks, or formula checks here at AFC. Some people are monopolizing these trades for illegal redemption, and this makes it very difficult for others to trade for coupons/checks that are needed. To further clarify this rule, please note that you may not post seeking any brand of formula checks or cigarette coupons. You may post in search of a specific brand of formula checks or cigarette coupons, with only one ISO for a particular brand posted at any given time.

8. Any member that is on Garnette's Bad Trader List will not be allowed to participate in trading or auctions at AFC.

9. If you are placed on AFC's Caution List, your access to the FSOT and Auction forums will be removed until all trades are cleared. Members on the Caution List may NOT attempt to make trades in other forums, pm members for trades, or advertise any online auctions (such as in the "Whatcha Selling" forum). Failure to abide by these rules may result in being banned from AFC.

10. Please do not post that you are "selling" coupons. If there is a fee involved, it must be stated in your post and should include a disclaimer that any fee is for the time it takes you to locate, sort, and clip the coupons, but the coupons themselves are free.

11. If you have or need certain coupons, please post your own thread in the appropriate FSOT forum. It is not courteous to list what you have on another member's FSOT thread. For example, if someone is offering Popsicle coupons for trade and you also have those coupons, please do not post on their thread offering your coupons to others.

12. FSOT posts may only be bumped once per day. Also, please be aware that you may not bump your FSOT thread on the day that you originally posted it. You are not eligible to bump it until the next day. Posting replies in your thread such as "thanks," "updated OP," or "sent you a pm" are considered bumps.


Guidelines for Using the Trader Feedback System:
As mentioned, we encourage members to leave trader feedback for all trades. It is a courtesy, and it helps other members know that someone has successfully completed trades here. If a trade is not fulfilled as expected, please proceed as follows:

Before leaving a negative rating, you must contact the other member regarding the issue. Trader ratings are very important to members, and in all fairness, sometimes things get lost in the mail or misplaced. Contacting the member and allowing them a reasonable amount of time to respond is courteous, and many times, this can be the first step in resolving an issue. Please do not leave a negative rating without first attempting to make contact regarding the trade issue.

If there is a trade issue and the other member offers to send a replacement envelope or refund the money involved, we recommend that you take them up on the offer. Even if you are upset or timing is a factor, this attempt shows good faith on the other member's part. Sometimes it is best to allow others the opportunity to make things right. You still have the right to leave a neutral rating for the transaction, even if the other member resends or makes up the trade. Please note that if a member offers to make things right and follows through, a negative rating cannot be left.

If you have a bad trade with someone and the issue cannot be made right, you may leave a negative rating. You also have the option of reporting the person to Garnette's Bad Trader List (check here for info on how to do that). However, reporting to Garnette's requires you to give the person's e-mail address, and due to legal issues, AFC cannot release that information to you. It is in your best interest to ask for someone's e-mail address when trading in case an issue arises. We also strongly encourage everyone to save their private messages when working out a trade with someone in case an issue arises.

Retaliatory feedback at AFC is not allowed. If you received your end of the trade according to the terms agreed to by you and the other member, then you may not leave a negative if the other member has an issue with your end of the trade.

Discussing trade issues on the open boards, in private forums (such as Serious Stockpiling, Controversy Corner, SM Lounge), or in social groups will not be tolerated. It tends to create a lot of ill will between the parties involved and really reduces the likelihood that things can be worked out. If you have a trade concern, please post that issue in Contact Us only. Posting trader issues in the forums will lead to removal of the thread and a Rule Reminder from the team.

Please note that the AFC Team reserves the right to amend or remove any trader ratings if we determine that a rating was left without following the rules listed above.

AFC provides this forum as a place in which to sell, trade, or purchase items. Entering into a trade is your responsibility. AFC accepts no responsibility for any trade posted on this site. Make sure that you are familiar with the AFC terms of service All trades are subject to modification or removal by AFC’s owners/team. Trades and ISO posts can only be bumped once per day.

Suggestions to help make your trade easy and sucessful:

~When PM'ing about a trade, use the REPLY button instead of the QUICK REPLY box while replying. This helps keep all the information about a trade in the most current PM. You may not be the only member that person is currently working on a trade with. This helps both of you keep the details connected to the right member/mailing address.

~When trading, put your AFC username somewhere on the envelope or on a piece of paper (trade slip) in the envelope. Trade slips are available HERE. This helps the recipient know who the envelope came from - they can't always tie your name and address to your user name. This is very helpful to those people who do many trades in a week.

~Make sure you are both in agreement about the trade before sending out your end of the deal. Once in agreement, be sure you stick to it to avoid conflict.

~It's a good idea to mention the expiration date(s) of the coupon(s) you offer in your title and original post.

All FSOT posts that are older than 30 days (last activity, not the OP) will be moved to the FSOT Graveyard. You may access them there if you need to, but they will be taken off the main board so as to keep it less cluttered.



Pay It Forward Guide
Pay It Forward (PIF) can be defined as "I'll send you something and you send something on to the next person."

It is important to note that AFC cannot be held responsible for any part of the PIF, including but not limited to, maintaining the PIF thread, following up on the PIFs and/or negotiating resolutions to the PIF.

1. A PIF is considered a trade. We suggest that a member has a 10+ trader rating in the seller category to participate. Negative feedback may be left if the PIF that was agreed upon was not fulfilled. If a reasonable attempt to make-up the PIF is made, then the negative will be removed.

2. If you decide to start a thread for a "chain" type PIF, you must post in Contact Us for approval. You must be a STAR member to start a PIF and you may only have 2 PIF threads going at a time.

For Approval of new PIF threads:
Please post the thread, which includes the following rules, in the form you want it to be when it goes live. Once approved in Contact Us, your thread will be moved to the PIF forum and will be live.

Threads sound include in the following:
*Name of the PIF
*Rules of the PIF
*Shipping costs
*Approximate value of items
*Types of items

You must be prepared to:
*continue to monitor the thread in order to keep it going smoothly.
*move the thread to GONE or report the thread to the AFC team once the thread is done or you no longer wish to monitor it. **Please note that due to forum limitations, we are unable to change ownership of the PIF threads. if you wish to give ownership of your thread to someone else, move the thread to GONE and then the new owner can submit a new thread for approval.

3. Please do not post a PIF issue within a PIF thread. PM the member in question to discuss the matter privately. If it is an item not received or there is a trade issue, please post in Contact Us for a moderator or admin to review the situation.

Note: it against AFC policy to trade burnt/copied dvds or cds.

A coordinator may ask privately that a member not participate in their PIF or swap. Please respect the request.

Any questions, please post in Contact Us. Thank you!



ISO Sub-Forum Rules
The ISO (In Search of) forum is to be used for posting threads when you're looking for something in particular~~whether it be a coupon, MIR form, BTFE...or whatever...please make your title as specific as possible.

When you are no longer searching for your item(s), please click on the "Dead" button at the top lefthand corner of the page. This will automatically move your thread to the FSOT Graveyard. There is no need to change the title of your thread or to delete the contents of your post. Clicking on "Dead" will keep the forum up-to-date.

DO NOT bump your ISO more than once in a 24 hr period!



What should I do if my trade goes badly?
This could include, but is not limited to: not receiving agreed upon item, receiving expired items, receiving wrong item, receiving copied coupons, receiving less than agreed upon items, etc.

• Contact the member you traded with and explain your concerns. If you have PM'd them twice and received no response or a less than desirable response, you may leave a negative rating.

• Please do leave negative a rating,if warranted, because this is how AFC and our members track bad traders. After 3 negative ratings, a member will be banned from all FSOT activity until all negative ratings are cleared. The team also reserves the right to remove trading privileges prior to three negative ratings if there are extenuating circumstances, such as an emerging pattern of bad trades or failure to respond to messages sent by an administrator.

• Report the trade to Garnette's List. If it has been two weeks since your initial trade agreement and you have made at least one attempt to resolve the trade, send an email to blanton19@hotmail.com containing the following information:
  Items in bold are REQUIRED.
  
  *First and last name of the person who owes you a trade:
  *Email address of the person who owes you a trade:
  *Approximate date of the trade (Minimum 2 weeks):
  *What you sent and what you expected in return:
  *Your first and last name and email address:
  *What board or email list was the trade made?
  *User name of person who owes you a trade:
  *Mailing address of the person who owes you a trade:
  
  Please be advised: AFC's privacy policy prohibits the sharing of anyone's email address with another member.

Please keep in mind that all trading is done at you own risk, and trading IPs is especially risky because of the risk of receiving copied coupons.

AFC cannot be held responsible for bad trades and/or traders. It is not necessary to contact the AFC team before taking the above steps. If you'd like the advice of the AFC team, please post your questions in Contact Us, but keep in mind that trades must ultimately be worked out between the the parties.

Please note that the following policies regarding the use of our Trader Feedback System are now in effect. If you encounter a trading issue, please make sure that you follow this process.

These changes include the following:
As mentioned, we encourage members to leave trader feedback for all trades. It is a courtesy, and it helps other members know that someone has successfully completed trades here. If a trade is not fulfilled as expected, please proceed as follows:

Before leaving a negative rating, you must contact the other member regarding the issue. Trader ratings are very important to members, and in all fairness, sometimes things get lost in the mail or misplaced. Contacting the member and allowing them a reasonable amount of time to respond is courteous, and many times, this can be the first step in resolving an issue. Please do not leave a negative rating without first attempting to make contact regarding the trade issue.

If there is a trade issue and the other member offers to send a replacement envelope or refund the money involved, we recommend that you take them up on the offer. Even if you are upset or timing is a factor, this attempt shows good faith on the other member's part. Sometimes it is best to allow others the opportunity to make things right. You still have the right to leave a neutral rating for the transaction, even if the other member resends or makes up the trade. Please note that if a member offers to make things right and follows through, a negative rating cannot be left.

If you have a bad trade with someone and the issue cannot be made right, you may leave a negative rating. You also have the option of reporting the person to Garnette's Bad Trader List. However, reporting to Garnette's requires you to give the person's e-mail address, and due to legal issues, AFC cannot release that information to you. It is in your best interest to ask for someone's e-mail address when trading in case an issue arises. We also strongly encourage everyone to save their private messages when working out a trade with someone in case an issue arises.

Discussing trade issues on the open boards, in private forums (such as Serious Stockpiling, Controversy Corner, SM Lounge), or in social groups will not be tolerated. It tends to create a lot of ill will between the parties involved and really reduces the likelihood that things can be worked out. If you have a trade concern, please post that issue in Contact Us only. Posting trader issues in the forums will lead to removal of the thread and a Rule Reminder from the team.


Retaliatory feedback at AFC is not allowed. If you received your end of the trade according to the terms agreed to by you and the other member, then you may not leave a negative if the other member has an issue with your end of the trade.

Please note that the AFC Team reserves the right to amend or remove any trader ratings if we determine that a rating was left without following the rules listed above.



RAOK Forum Rules
1.) RAOK is an acronym for Random Act Of Kindness. This forum is only for true RAOKs. A RAOK is when someone has something that they do not need or would just like to give away, without asking anything in return.

2.) This forum is only for genuine RAOKs. If you have items that you would like to give away but need shipping in return, please use the FSOT forum. If you would like to give an item away in the form of a contest, please use the Member's Contests, Swaps, & Drawings forum. Please do not ask for trader ratings in return for a RAOK. If a member wishes to leave a rating, he/she will. Please remember that a genuine RAOK requires absolutely nothing in return.

3.) Negative feedback cannot be given for a RAOK.

4.) If you are in need of coupons, GC's, etc., please post what you need and what you have to trade in a thread in the ISO forum. You may not ask for RAOKs. If someone wants to send you an RAOK after seeing a post of yours in the ISO forum, they will.

5.) If you would like to do a RAOK for someone, you may ask the member directly for their address. The AFC staff cannot give out any personal information (including names and addresses of members). Please do not contact the staff with such requests.

6.) No mass private messages concerning RAOKs.



Auction Rules
If you are listed on Garnette Blanton's Bad Trader List, you WILL NOT be allowed to bid or host an auction here at AFC, NO EXCEPTIONS!!

Basic Rules for hosting an AFC Auction
~You must be an active member with at least 50 significant posts outside of the auction forum.

~Your auction must be for tangible things, i.e. no “How to items or ebooks”.

You may not auction off rain checks.

~All charity auctions must be approved by a member of the AFC Team.
If your auction is for a charity, you must link the charity’s webpage support page for all payments. No payments shall be made to you directly for your charity.

~You agree that you will not reference any sort of “personal cause” as the reason for hosting your auction. “I need paypal funds” is acceptable, however, “help me buy XYZ” is not acceptable.

~You agree that you will be available to monitor your auction periodically throughout the duration of the auction period.

~You agree that you will be the only person hosting the Auction and that you will not allow other members to add items to your Auction.

~You agree that you will not host an auction where bidders pick a number which represents an item (known or unknown) and where the bidder has the option of "stealing" that item from another bidder. These are sometimes referred to as "white elephant", "dirty santa", and/or "dirty elf" auctions.

~If you're hosting a "REVERSE AUCTION" you must specifiy in your original post what items you wish bidders to submit for your determination. You will not be allowed to "refuse all boxes if they do not meet your needs".

~If you've specified your requirements in your original post and bidders have complied with your requirements you must choose a winner. If there are no bidders who complied with your requirements you may seek Moderator or Administrator approval to refuse all boxes.

~You agree that all items/coupons are in your possession when you begin the auction.

~You agree that all food items and health and beauty items posted for auction are at least 3 months from expiration. If the expiration date of a food or health and beauty item in your auction is less than 3 months away, you must list the expiration date. These rules apply to mystery auctions as well. For example, if your mystery box will contain any item expiring prior to the three month time period, you must note that in your auction description. In that case, you may make a general note such as "This box will contain an item expiring before..."

AFC will allow an auctioneer to hold up to 3 auction simultaneously as long as the following conditions are met:

1. Must have an iTrader "from buyers" feedback of 10 or more. To view your current buyer rating, click on your Trader Rating and the click on the From Buyer tab. You have to have 10 or more positive ratings in this category.
2. No negative feedbacks for the last 6 months. If you have a negative rating in the last 6 months and still want to host more than one auction, you need approval from the admin team prior to your auction being approved. Please post in contact us for this approval.

If you are failing to meet both of these conditions, you may only host 1 auction at a time.

Posting an Auction:
Your title must include ending date and time as well as the time zone. Please list the ending date/time/time zone first in your auction title, before any description of the auction. For example, here is a sample auction title: "Ends 10/14/09 9 pm EST~ My Coupon Auction."

Your original post must include the following:
a) ending date, time and time zone (as indicated in auction title),
b) type of auction, i.e. adding items as bid increases, type of game (wheel of fortune, alphabet, go fish), reverse auction,
c) any coupons shall list the expiration date as well as any other restrictions, d) method of payment accepted,
e) who is responsible for shipping charges,
f) estimated shipping charges,
g) your requested opening bid with established minimum bid increments (please nothing less than $.50).

If you name your auction “Bill’s Alphabet Auction”~~you can not change the name during the auction, however titles can be changed to reflect “ending today” or “new items added” or something along those lines.

A member of the AFC Team will quote the original post of your auction as a way to ensure no changes are made to the original terms initially stated.[

Bidding on an Auction:
~Your bid amount must be clear.

~Bids cannot be edited once placed.

~If more than one person bids at the same time and you need to raise your bid, do it in a separate post.

~The person holding the auction must notify the winner by private message with the total cost of the auction within 24 hours of the auction ending.

~The bidder must respond to this message within 24 hours.

~Payment must be received within 3 days of the end of the auction and it must be made in the form originally agreed upon.

~Please edit your auction to reflect the winner.

All auctions must be shipped within 5 days of receiving payment. Please allow for mail holidays and be understanding about this.[

How do I know if I won?
Examples of Bidding/Winning:
The auction is over at 9:00 PM EST. All bids are up for grabs up until 9:00.
The highest bid (within increment guidelines) wins it. Any Bids posting at 9:01 will not be counted. You may have 5 people with a bid in at 9:00!! Now that is FUN!! It isn't the last bid.....but the highest bid that wins! If you have a question, please post in Contact Us at that time for a decision!

Here are a few examples:

Bidding in the correct increment~
8:59 Bert Bids $5
9:00 Ernie Bids $6
9:00 Bert Bids $6.01

Ernie Wins because Bert's Bid was not in the $.50 Increment Guidelines.

Another example~
8:59 Ernie Bids $5.50
9:00 Bert bids $6
9:00 Ernie Bids $6.50
9:00 Bert Bids $7
9:01 Ernie Bids $7.50

Bert is the winner with the highest bid prior to 9:01!

Canceling and/or Extending your Auction:
~If no bids are received within 24 hours of posting your auction, you may cancel your auction without Team Approval.

~Auctions cannot be canceled or extended if there is less than 24 hours remaining.

~Any other cancellation or extension must be approved by a Moderator or Administrator. To get this approval, please post in Contact Us. Be sure to include the auction link.

Non-Compliance with Auction Terms:
~If a payment or the winnings of an auction is not received within the time allotted and you have made 3 attempts to contact the negligent party, please post a thread in the Contact Us forum describing your situation. A member of the AFC Team will make an attempt to resolve the situation.

~Failure of the negligent party to respond and/or resolve the situation within a reasonable time may result in that user being placed on the AFC Caution List, being banned from AFC and/or being reported to Garnette's Bad Trader List.

All auctions are subject to change or removal by a member of the AFC Team if not in compliance with the above rules. AFC provides this forum as a place in which to advertise, sell, trade, or purchase your auction items.

Entering into an auction either as a seller or bidder is your responsibility. AFC accepts no responsibility for any auction posted on this site. Make sure that you are familiar with the terms of service you agreed to when becoming a member of AFC.



AFC's Train Conducting Rules
A Full Cup's Train Conducting Rules
In order to avoid trading issues with trains, we are going to begin a process of approval before a train can begin.

Trains that started before these rules were put in to place on February 1, 2012 will be "grandfathered in" and allowed to maintain rules that don't meet these guidelines as long as there are no complaints or issues. All new trains will be required to follow the new requirements.

Starting a New Train
If you want to start a new train, post your rules in a post in contact us and the team will review it. Once approved, the thread will be moved to the trains subforum regardless of where the train business will ultimatly be conducted.

The conductor may choose for train business to be conducted in a Social Group, but EVERY train must have the train rules in a thread that will be moved to the trains subforum. If this is the case, wording could be: "All train business will be conducted in the Social Group. Please post here if you are interested in riding, and if you receive an invitation to the Social Group, please join us."

Rules for Conductors
- must be a star member plus have a trader rating of 5 or more to start one.
- must ride a train for at least 6 weeks before conducting one to understand how they work, what works well and what doesn't work so well.
- The team may contact the conductor of a train/trains you've ridden for a recommendation.

Train Rules
Trains may be in many formats (traditional, continual/round robin, special interest, etc) and a conductor can be creative with the format as long as the following guidelines are followed:

- Rules clearly state when a rider needs to send out. Must allow a reasonable turnaround if it's a traditional train (at least 48 hours from received to mailed out).
- Rules state how many coupons are in an envie, including how many are specifically from the wishlist if that is a part of the rules of the train.
- Train rules cannot require that riders leave Trader Feedback, the riders may leave feedback if they want to.
- Conductors may ONLY leave feedback when they are senders/receivers themselves. Only the specific matched up riders may leave feedback on a train.
- A conductor cannot protect a bad rider from negative feedback (e.g., sending make-up envies with the stipulation that no one leave negative to the original rider who messed up.)

Social Groups
- Some conductors find it useful set up a social group for snail mail addresses, etc. Under forums, select "social groups", and at the bottom of the page, click "create a new social group". Make sure to make your group private (so details like addresses are only viewable by the group).

Note that setting up a social group is not a requirement, some trains use other venues such as pm's for exchanging personal information.

Closing a Train
When a conductor wants to close a train, he/she lets the riders know when the last mailing is, then "reports" the first post of the train and lets the mods/admins know to move the train thread to the graveyard.


My at Home Business Guidelines
Have an at home business? Tell us about it in this forum!

If you are a distributor for one of those at home party companies (such as Avon, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, candles, jewelry, scrapbooking, etc.), you may share about it here. However, it must be your own business link, not one you're posting for someone else, including if you are hosting a party for their business.

MINIMUM POST COUNT REQUIRED:
In order to create a thread in this forum, you must have a minimum of 50 posts. This is a place for "contributing members" of AFC to post. Additionally, since this is a subforum of FSOT, the minimum membership time requirement of 6 weeks also applies.

BUMPING:
You may bump your thread ONCE a MONTH.

Failure to follow these rules will result in Rule Reminders and/or removal of access to this forum. Please keep in mind that AFC is not responsible for a seller's failure to deliver.

Please note if you wish to discuss survey sites, mystery shopping, consumer research panels, or auctions, those discussions should be posted in the Making Money From Home forum.

All information must be posted here. Please do not ask people to private message you for details.

[carriemb2]

Supporting Member-Only Perks

How to Become a Supporting Member
A Supporting Membership is a way for you to show your appreciation of AFC by donating and getting some extra features in return. The fee is $12 per year AND now we offer Supporting Memberships + Tote Bags.
Being a Supporting Member will give you:

* Access to the Arcade
* Private messages increased to 350
* Increased avatar size
* Ability to add an animated avatar or profile picture
* Increased file upload size
* Ability to see who is online
* User name is a bold green so that people can see you are a supporting member
* Contests/Drawings specifically for supporting members
* One referral link allowed in signature line (must comply with signature rules)
* AFullCup.com email address which will be forwarded to the email of your choice!
* 20 Album photos!!
* 10 Custom Smilies! You may choose 10 smilies to add to your account (just keep them within the guidelines of the TOS, please)
* Ability to post Vote For Me links in the Vote For Me sub-forum in Chit Chat

If you choose not to buy a yearly subscription, NO BIG DEAL AT ALL!!! None of the features that you currently have available will be affected.. i.e. we are NOT becoming a pay board! These are just 'extra features' that in no way affect your ability to get the best deal information available on AFC.

Thanks to all our great members for everything!!

Become a Supporting Member - for PayPal payments

If you do not have a PayPal account and would rather mail your support, please send it to the following address. Be sure to put your username in the envelope and a note that it is for a Supporting Membership for AFC. Thanks!

Please make checks payable to Escalate Media

Send to:

Escalate Media
207 CR 6401
Dayton TX 77535

Legal Talk: Purchasing a Supporting Member subscription in no way affects the AFC Terms of Service. Supporting Member payments are not refundable.




The Fundraising Forum
AFC is delighted for all of those that are raising money for various charities. We are glad that so many are posting and helping to get the word out about such worthy causes.

In order to maintain things, we ask that you follow these guidelines:

Only Supporting Members may post a thread in the Fundraising forum. If you would like information about becoming a Supporting Member, you can find it here.

All Supporting Members who wish to post a fundraising thread must have a minimum trader rating of 25 and at least 100 posts.

All fundraising payments must go DIRECTLY to the charity via the charity's website. If you are walking for an event, you can have the donation go to your personal walker page but it must be hosted on the charity's website.

Before posting a thread in the Fundraising Forum, we ask that you first post it as you want it to appear in this forum:Post a New Fundraising Thread. You will not be able to start a new thread in the main Fundraising Forum. A team member will review your thread and then move it to the Fundraising Forum for you if it meets the above guidelines.



Blog Giveaways
AFC is now allowing Supporting Members to post about giveaways or contests that they are hosting on their personal blog.

Please post your contest only in the Sweeps, Rewards & Points forum once. If you are having multiple giveaways/contests within a month, they may be listed in one post and not in several different posts. The link may only be posted once a month.

If you have questions, please post them in Contact Us.



Guidelines for Vote for Me Requests
As a perk for our Supporting Members, we offer the Vote for Me forum. This is a forum where Supporting Members can post about online contests and ask the AFC Community to cast votes on their behalf. This is a "thank you" extended to Supporting Members, and we ask that voting requests be posted in that forum only.

Vote for me requests posted in other forums will be removed. Thanks!



Signature Rules for Supporting Members
* One image (photo) is allowed up to max size of 350(w) x 80(h) pixels. (this can NOT be a reference to an external link you may have in your signature line, i.e., if you have a swagbucks external link, you can not also have a swagbucks image).

* ONE external link is allowed, however text may NOT be added to accompany the link. The external link can be a referral link or a blog link. The external link should be a simple text link in regular font size or an image link with NO additional text before or after the text link or image. Image links may only be up to 100 pixels wide x 70 pixels high.

* Signatures may be 4 lines total.

* Please note that all images and links are subject to the approval of AFC Administrators. If a link or image is deemed inappropriate for any reason, you will be asked to remove it or it will be removed at the discretion of AFC Staff. Thank you!

[carriemb2]

Blogs/Websites/Competitor Links

Guidelines For Posting Of Blogs/Websites
As the site grows, we have seen an increased need to clarify the rules regarding competitor site and blog links. Please read over these and post in Contact Us if you have questions. Thanks!

Guidelines for posting of Blogs/Websites:
Supporting members and members with at least 250 posts may post an external link in their signatures. Only Supporting Members may
have a referral link as the external link in their signature. No additional text may accompany the link, and the link must be in regular font size.

If you post information from another site, you may give credit to that site by posting a link to the site at the bottom of your post. The link should be a title, URL, or abbreviation only. No other text accompanying the link is allowed. Please note that some large competitor sites will continue to be censored, so if your link is censored you can thank the OP at that site by using the initials of the site.

Examples of credits that meet these requirements (posted at the bottom of the thread only):
Couponblogsite.com
Coupon Blog Site
Thanks CouponBlogSite.com
Thanks Coupon Blog Site
Thanks CBS

Examples of credits that are NOT allowed:
Check out this Coupon Blog Site where I found this deal.
CBS is Awesome.
This Deal Was found on a site I frequent- Coupon Blog Site.

Please keep in mind that posts promoting another site are not allowed. Also, if you are the owner/writer on another site and you are posting on AFC, then no credit is due at all. You simply write as an original author on AFC.

Spamming with deals from the same site just to post link credit is not allowed. Posting deals from the same site in order to link to that site will not be tolerated.

Use of a member's avatar, tag line, or status line to promote a blog or another site is not allowed per A Full Cup's Terms of Services.



Couponing Classes Forum!
We have set up some new guidelines for posting in the Couponing Classes forum.

Please note the following:
You may share a link for a coupon classes site in this forum only.
You may post the link once per month.
Please do not bump your post. You may reply to questions asked in the thread, but no bumping is allowed.
Links to online classes offered by competitor sites (such as other deal sites) are not allowed.
All information related to a class must be posted here. Please do not ask people to private message you for details.

Thanks for following these rules to help us keep the Couponing Classes forum organized and useful for all members! If you have any questions, please post in Contact Us



Making Money From Home Guidelines
The Making Money from Home Forum is the place to discuss survey sites, consumer panels, marketing research companies, mystery shopping, and auctions such as those on ebay or Listia. Please note that if you have a home-based business or you are a distributor for companies such as Avon or Scentsy, any posts regarding those businesses should be posted in the My At Home Business forum, rather than this forum. If you wish to advertise your products for sale, post a link to your business, or offer a discount to AFC'ers related to your business, please post in the My At Home Business forum ONLY.

Please use the following guidelines when posting in "Making Money From Home:"

If you are posting about a survey site, consumer panel, or marketing research panel:
No referral links are allowed.

Before posting links, make sure the offer is available to the general public and not just registered members of a website.

Please DO NOT copy and paste from other places on the internet. Only post offers that you have personally participated in and provide your experience. There are many spamming sites out there claiming to be "survey sites" so please only post sites with which you've had positive results.

Although we try to verify each link AFC does not make any guarantee on an offer's availability or that you will be accepted. If you find the survey or panel registration is closed, report the thread so we can mark it dead.

If you are not sure about posting an offer, please post your question in Contact Us and we will respond accordingly.

Some useful tips for using survey sites:
~DO NOT PAY for any survey service or lists!
~Add your survey sites to your e-mail address book so offers do not go to your junk mail.
~Check your e-mail often, most survey quotas are met quickly.
~Sign up with many companies, the more you belong to, the more offers you will get.

If you are posting about mystery shopping:
Only Mystery Shopping Company representatives may post details about shops. As a member, you may never discuss in any way (either on the boards or through PMs) which company represents a certain store/restaurant/etc. Only Mystery Shopping Company representatives may do this, if they wish. You may ask general questions about mystery shopping, but nothing about a specific shop or organization.

If you are a Mystery Shopping Representative and wish to post details regarding a shop, you may only bump your thread once in a 24 hour period.

If you are posting about an auction outside AFC:
If you are hosting an auction on ebay or another auction site, such as Listia, you may share the details here and include a link.

Please note that you may only bump your auction thread once in a 24 hour period.

All information must be posted here. Please do not ask people to private message you for details.

[carriemb2]

Coupons

Guidelines For Posting Printable Coupons
~You may post a link to a printable coupon if it is hosted on the manufacturer's site or other legitimate company who is doing a promo for the product. This may be a PDF file or other image file.

~When that link is no longer valid, that coupon is no longer allowed to be shared on AFC. No posting of image files, no requests or offers to share the file you may have saved.

~If at any point a manufacturer asks that the coupons be removed from our site, we will comply. There will be no further discussion of the distribution of such coupons.

~Please be as specific as possible in your thread title and include a dollar amount and an expiration date if available.

~Please check to see if the coupon is already posted - after you've typed the thread title, hit TAB and see if you see any similar coupons already posted before hitting submit.

~Please check the sub-forums and see what category your coupon fits best into and be sure to post it there.

~Please do not post "mailing options" for Coupons.com/BRICKS coupons. We have been asked not to reference those since they are truly only meant for those who cannot print the coupon.



Rules regarding sharing of IP/PDF coupons via email/PM
Because of legal issues and because we want to protect AFC and our members, we have put an end to the sharing of coupons on AFC through private messaging and email. Effective immediately, all threads that offer to share a coupon via a private message or email will be removed for your protection. Here are some details:

1. If the manufacturer is no longer hosting the pdf, we cannot illegally host the file. Sending it by PM is still using our server to host it. If it is a valid, unexpired pdf that is on the manufacturer's site, there is no reason to need to pm it as it is perfectly acceptable to be posted in the printable coupons section of AFC. This also applies to Bricks coupons.

2. You can not post any of the following:
~I have XX coupon email me for a copy
~I have XX coupon pm me for a copy
~ Will some one please email/pm me a copy of XX coupon...

3. Coupons emailed to an individual were meant for the individual and CVS has been cracking down on that. We ask that actual CVS coupons not be posted without getting approval from an admin or mod.

4. If there is a link to a coupon that is on an online newspaper, providing the link and instructions is okay since it is on the public internet (newspapers website).



A BOGO Coupon Can NOT Be Combined With A $x/2 Coupon!
You can not combine a Bogo coupon with a $x/2 coupon.

However, you can combine a Bogo coupon with a $x/1 coupon as long as either coupon does not prohibit it!

Any discussion will result in an rule reminder and posts/thread will be edited or removed.



Affiliate Links
Please note that we do not allow the posting of members' own affiliate links when sharing printable coupons. Only AFC affiliate links are allowed, and all other links will be removed and/or edited to the AFC link. Failure to follow this rule will result in a Rule Reminder and potentially banning from the site if the posting continues.

If you see an affiliate link other than AFC's link, please report the post to the team. Keep in mind that we are all volunteers and it is impossible for us to find and change all links without your help. If you have any questions, please post in Contact Us for further discussion and help from the team.

Thanks!

[carriemb2]

Private Forum Rules

Controversy Corner Rules
Controversy Corner is a private forum for discussing controversial topics and hot button issues. Due to the nature of the topics involved, CC members cannot start a new thread in the forum. All threads must be posted for approval by the team here. Once approved, the thread will be moved to CC by the mod/admin team.[/size]

CC Membership Guidelines:
1. must be an active member for at least 3 months
2. contributed at least 100 legitimate posts


Forum Rules:
1. This is not a forum for personal attacks, criticizing other members, or name calling. Discussing members who may/may not be a part of this forum in a negative manner is also not allowed. Posts need to be focused on the topic of debate and NOT on the member posting.

2. No foul language of any kind. Even if the language is censored, this is not allowed. All areas of AFC are PG-13including the CC.

3. The debating will be kept in this forum and not spill over to other areas of the board. Do NOT mention or insinuate anything that was said in the CC out in the open forums.

4. All topics are open for debate; however, any thread can be locked or removed entirely at the AFC Team's discretion. This is not open for discussion.

5. If there is foul language, personal attacks, name-calling, or flaming, the member(s) involved will receive a Rule Reminder and the post will be edited. The AFC Team will NOT edit a post due to conflict of opinions/views/thoughts/theories.

6. Discussion of team actions, including removal of threads, is strictly prohibited by AFC's Terms of Service. This rule applies to all areas of the boards, including private forums, such as the CC. If you have questions or comments about how the team performs its duties, those need to be posted in Contact Us.


Reporting Posts in the CC:
Please report any post in Controversy Corner that violate the CC Rules listed above or that violate AFC's Terms of Service. Rule violations will result in a Rule Reminder from the team. After 2 Rule Reminders, members violating the rules will be permanently banned from the CC.


IMPORTANT!!!
Please remember, if the debate gets too heated for you, walk away! Think before you post, it is much easier to just NOT post than to try and apologize for it later.



Serious Stockpiling Rules
This forum is for people who want to share their stories of big buys and huge savings with others who are just like them! We all have differing opinions about how much is too much stockpiling (or if there is even a limit at all!).

If you are a serious stockpiler or are striving to become one, you may join the Serious Stockpiling usergroup and gain access to a private forum where discussions may take place on this topic. You will be able to post your shopping trips where you got 100 bottles of shampoo for 50 cents OOP and not be afraid someone will look down on you.

You MUST agree to the rules of the forum before gaining access!

1. I am either a serious stockpiler who wants to share my mega shopping trips with like-minded people OR I am someone who enjoys seeing how much some people can get for cheap/free and strive to learn to be like them.
2. I agree with stockpiling in general and will NOT post any derogatory remarks towards anyone.
3. If I do not adhere to these rules, I understand I will be issued a Rule Reminder and will be removed from the group.
4. You must have 100 posts before joining this group.

If you have read the above rules and agree, click here to join the Serious Stockpiling group and do the following:

1. Find the User Group that is called "Serious Stockpiling".
3. Check the button "Join Group" next to that group.
4. You will be directed to a page that says "Request to Join Group: Serious Stockpiling"
5. You will be asked to state your reason for this request. Here you should type in the words "I agree".
6. Click "Send Request"

The group leaders will manually approve your membership to Serious Stockpiling and upon approval you will be granted access to the Serious Stockpiling forum. Please be patient as this could take a day or two.

Please note: This is not necessarily a group designed for you to learn HOW to Stockpile. There is a public forum (Stockpiling 101) for that purpose. This is for SERIOUS stockpilers to go and share their trip stories. Be warned, you will see stories of mass stockpiling in here, and there will be NO FLAMING TOLERATED.

Also, please remember to agree to the rules when applying for access to this group!

Please remember that there is to be NO FLAMING/BASHING of anyone in regards to how much they bought for their stockpile. We are not here to judge - everyone has their reasons for stockpiling and everyone has their methods.

HOWEVER - we will NOT tolerate any discussions of doing anything ILLEGAL in order to get your stockpile items.

If anyone sees a post that is out of line, please report it and we will take care of it. There will be very little tolerance for anyone not abiding by these rules.

[carriemb2]

Signature Rules

Signature Rules:

* Signatures may be 3 lines total.

* No references to home business. No statements such as: "Ask me about XYZ" where XYZ = your business.

* No images are allowed except smilies.

* Links to eBay items are allowed, but no other external links are allowed for members who have less than 250 posts.

* Members with at least 250 posts can have one external link, however text may NOT be added to accompany the link. The external link may be not be a referral link. The external link should be a simple text link in regular font size with NO additional text before or after the text link.

* Excessive use of smilies is frowned upon.


Supporting Members:

* One image (photo) is allowed up to max size of 350(w) x 80(h) pixels. (this can NOT be a reference to an external link you may have in your signature line, i.e., if you have a swagbucks external link, you can not also have a swagbucks image).

* ONE external link is allowed, however text may NOT be added to accompany the link. The external link can be a referral link or a blog link. The external link should be a simple text link in regular font size or an image link with NO additional text before or after the text link or image. Image links may only be up to 100 pixels wide x 70 pixels high.

* Signatures may be 4 lines total.

* Please note that all images and links are subject to the approval of AFC Administrators. If a link or image is deemed inappropriate for any reason, you will be asked to remove it or it will be removed at the discretion of AFC Staff. Thank you!

[aidan&logansmommy]

Miscellaneous Rules

Guidelines Concerning the Posting of Political Information
With the upcoming presidential election in 2012, we want to take a few minutes to remind everyone of our guidelines concerning the posting of political or information. Obviously, AFC is a coupon/deal focused website, and it is not the place to debate politics. We ask that members do not post threads that are political in nature, and member avatars, signatures, and status lines should not include political references. If you wish to discuss politics, please limit those threads or comments to AFC's Controversy Corner, a private forum for debating and discussing hot button issues. If you wish to learn more about CC, you can find details here.

Thanks for following these guidelines and helping us keep the boards friendly and deal-focused.


Policy Regarding Hot Button Issues & a Tone of Kindness
We have heard many of you express how the recent negativity on the board has been affecting you. To serve the best interest of all our members, we will be addressing these problems and taking a stronger stance in dealing with them.

AFC is a community where people share deals, trade coupons, and talk about their sales. We feel that the community as a whole does not want AFC to be focused on "hot button" topics, including but not limited to, shelf-clearing, taking peelies/tearpads, etc. We realize that many people have strong opinions on these topics, but debating these issues is not the focus of our boards. We want everyone to feel comfortable sharing their deals, and we owe it to our members to take steps to maintain the friendly, welcoming feel that our community has always been based on.

In general, we do not intervene in thoughtful disagreements and we know all members need to vent at times; however it is clear that certain topics and behaviors are becoming a pattern. Therefore, discussions meant to disrupt or shock will no longer be tolerated. We will be issuing rule reminders and removing these posts as needed. If members continue to act in a disruptive manner, further action will be taken, which may include banning from the site.

Thank you for helping us maintain a friendly atmosphere where all members can share their deals. If you see posts of this nature, please click on the "Report" button in the bottom righthand corner of the post in question and alert the team. This will help us address the issues more quickly, and we can all work together to keep AFC a friendly, positive community.

If you have any questions, please post in Contact Us


Member's Contests, Swaps, And Drawings Rules
The Member's Contests, Swaps, and Drawings sub-forum is open for all members to use.

Please note this important change:
In order to host a contest, drawing, or swap, you must first post in Contact Us to ask permission from the team. No one but team members can start a new thread in this forum. Please post all of the details as you wish them to appear in your thread when you post in Contact Us. The team will then review your thread, ask you to make revisions if necessary, and then move it to this forum for you.

A few guidelines to keep in mind if you wish to host a contest, drawing, or swap:
1. As stated above, if you want to sponsor a contest, swap or drawing, please post in Contact Us for permission from the mod/admin team first. Please note that members who wish to host a swap, contest, or drawing, cannot have more than one negative feedback.

2. Please refer to general trading rules when posting your contest, swap, or drawing. If something is not legal, ethical, or may be offensive to someone, it will not be approved.

3. If your thread is approved, please be prepared to follow through. This is a general courtesy to all members, and we want everyone to feel comfortable using this sub-forum and participating in any contests or swaps.

4. If you want to host a swap or exchange, please make sure that you include all details in your post. This includes the theme of the swap, rules relating to what can be included, and specific dates for sending packages. If you host a swap and a member does not fulfill his or her obligations, we recommend that the member that did not receive their end leave negative feedback. Furthermore, if you host a swap and someone does not send as agreed upon, you may use your discretion in deciding whether that member may participate in any future exchanges hosted by you.

5. The admin/mod team will approve all threads before moving them to this forum, but we are not responsible for keeping up with drawings, contests, or swaps hosted by members. We cannot be liable for anything gone astray.

We hope that many members will use this subforum! Thanks!


Gripes and Groans
This forum is where you can vent about anything (that doesn't conflict with one of our rules ). However, please keep in mind that AFC is a PG website. No curse words or misspelled inappropriate words, will be allowed.

Your posts may be edited and threads may be be moved for review if needed per the AFC Terms Of Service - TOS

If it's a problem with another member, please report the post or use Contact Us for the AFC Team to review the situation.


Playground Guidelines
This forum is for jokes, riddles & having fun.

AFC is a PG rated website. Adult-oriented postings are not allowed.

If you are not sure if something is ok, please post in Contact Us for approval.


Rule Reminders
Rule Reminders are one of the tools that we use to keep our boards organized and to ensure that AFC remains a welcoming and friendly community to all! Here are some frequently asked questions regarding Rule Reminders:

What is a Rule Reminder?
A Rule Reminder is simply a friendly reminder of the rules. It is a notification that your post violated one of the rules found in AFC's Terms of Service. AFC team members issue Rule Reminders, rather than sending a personal message, because it is an efficient means of communicating with members and it helps us as a team to know that the issue has been addressed. It also notifies members that we will be editing, moving, or merging the material in question and the reason for the action taken.


Why are Rule Reminders issued?
Some of the reasons that a Rule Reminder may be issued include:

• Bumping your FSOT post more than once per day
• Posting the same information in multipe forums
• Discussing improper coupon use, such as using a coupon on a product other than what is stated on the coupon
• Posting competitor site links
• Violating signature rules
• Insulting other members
• Using inappropriate language

What are the consequences of a Rule Reminder?
A Rule Reminder is not meant to be punitive. It is a friendly reminder to review AFC's Terms of Service so that future posts will meet the guidelines of our board. It does not affect your standing as a member. However, repeated rule reminders for the same offense may lead to further action being taken. Five Rule Reminders for the same offense in any period of time will be cause for banning from the site.


What should I do if I receive a Rule Reminder?
If you receive a Rule Reminder, please take a moment and refer to AFC's Terms of Services, so that future posts will meet those rules. If you have questions regarding why the RR was issued, please do not send a pm to the team member who issued the RR. You may post any questions or concerns in the Contact Us forum (which is viewable only by you and the team), and we will be happy to address any concerns. Please note that team members will not respond to private messages sent regarding rule reminders. We ask that you follow the instructions here and post any concerns or questions in Contact Us. Furthermore, please be respectful of the moderator/admin team. We are a team of volunteers, doing our best to keep the boards friendly and organized. Rudeness towards the team in response to a RR will not be tolerated.


Thank you for being mindful of our rules and always helping us make AFC an awesome place to be!