AppleVis is internationally recognized as an authority on accessibility for blind, DeafBlind, and low vision users on Apple’s platforms. AppleVis caters to a wide audience, including end-users of all ages and abilities and people from all walks of life.
AppleVis is a shared space, and content moderation is everyone’s collective responsibility. We have established the below guidelines to ensure that AppleVis is a welcoming place for all. All users who post on the AppleVis website are expected to abide by the below guidelines.
In situations where there is a question as to the appropriateness of a post/comment for the AppleVis website, we may temporarily 'unpublish' the post/comment in question while we gather additional information and communicate with the author. If after this process it is determined that no guidelines were violated, the post will be republished and the author will be notified of our decision.
Posts which violate our guidelines will be removed, and substantiated user violations of this policy will be recorded and tracked internally. Users who repeatedly violate our guidelines will have their posting privileges permanently revoked.
If a user violates our prohibitions on harassment or discrimination as outlined below, AppleVis reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to immediately revoke a user’s posting privileges without notice or recourse.
AppleVis Guidelines
- Please be polite. The AppleVis forum is designed to build a positive, thriving community. Please give the same consideration and tolerance to others that you would like to receive from them. It is perfectly okay to have a differing viewpoint from someone else; please remember, though, to express your views in a respectful manner. Posts that are deliberately insulting to other members of the AppleVis community will be edited and/or removed.
- AppleVis has a zero tolerance policy regarding discrimination or harassment. This includes content that targets a person or group of people based on any personal characteristic; such as (but not limited to) race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, or political or religious affiliation. These types of posts are absolutely not allowed and will result in the immediate removal of the offending post and all necessary corrective action, up to and including immediate revocation of a user's posting privileges without recourse.
Please do not appropriate copyrighted material or others’ intellectual property. This includes using copyrighted material in podcast or other audio content without express written permission from the copyright holder; and using copyrighted material in written content without properly citing the source. If you would like assistance in ensuring that your content complies with this guideline prior to posting, please reach out via our Contact Form and a member of our Editorial Team will gladly assist you.
Please do not post inappropriate or offensive content. This includes posting messages with insults or profanity; or messages which are religiously, racially, or sexually offensive. This includes use of characters like *&#@ in place of profane language. These types of posts will result in the post being edited or removed and could also lead to your posting privileges being revoked.
- All content must relate directly to the use of Apple hardware, software, or services, or to third-party apps or accessories that can be used with Apple hardware. For the non-Apple technology forums, content may relate to the usage and accessibility of those platforms/technologies, even if not directly involving Apple products, but must be relevant to the specific topic area of the selected forum.
- Before starting a new forum topic, we strongly recommend that you use the site’s search facility to check if a similar topic already exists or if the question that you are about to ask has previously been asked and answered.
- Please use clear and descriptive subject lines for your forum posts. Doing so will significantly increase the likelihood that others will read your post and answer any questions that you may have asked.
- Please only post questions about a single topic in any new post to the forum. For example, do not ask a question about using an iOS app and another question about Bluetooth keyboards in the same post. This will improve your chances of getting appropriate and helpful answers and also make discussion easier to follow.
- When contributing articles, guides, reviews, or other written content to AppleVis, we request community members refrain from relying solely on AI tools like ChatGPT to generate this content. We also require that if AI tools have been used for content generation, that this clearly be stated in the body of the post. While these tools can be useful for some tasks, the generated text often contains inaccurate, misleading, or impractical advice when discussing accessibility tools and features. By writing original content based on your own perspectives grounded in lived experiences with visual impairments and Apple products, your articles will provide reliable and practical advice to readers. If you do choose to utilize AI tools as part of your writing process, please make sure to verify the accuracy of any instructions or technical details generated.
- Please do not post replies which add no value to the existing discussion. For example, if somebody has asked for information on a specific app, replying to say that you have not used that app is of no value and only serves to get in the way of what might be helpful answers. Additionally, if someone asks a question about how to do a particular task, replying to the post and saying to do an internet search to find the answer is not at all helpful.
- Please stay on topic. Always stick to the original topic that was stated by the person who started the forum thread. If you have a suggestion or comment that is on a different topic, please start a new thread.
- No trolling. Examples of this type of behavior include:
- Creating threads for the sole purpose of causing unrest on the forums.
- Causing disturbances in forum threads, such as picking fights, making off topic posts that ruin the thread, insulting other posters.
- Making non-constructive posts.
- Excessively communicating the same phrase, similar phrases, or pure gibberish.
- Please do not spam. Repeated posting of a message (or very similar messages) multiple times is considered spamming and is not welcome here. When making a post, please post it only one time in the most appropriate forum category that fits the topic of your post. Multiple posts will be unpublished or deleted, and continued abuse of this guideline may result in having your posting privileges revoked.
- No advertising. The AppleVis Forums are not to be used for trading/swapping or selling/advertising products or services. If you wish to post information about a product or service that you believe would be of interest to our community and falls within the scope of the website, please contact us beforehand for our approval.
- Referral links are not permitted. Posting referral or affiliate links that provide a financial benefit to the poster is not allowed, as it can compromise objectivity and create conflicts of interest when discussing products or services. This helps maintain the integrity and trustworthiness of content on AppleVis.
- Discussion of crowd-funding campaigns is permitted, but any posts must satisfy the specific guidelines set out here.
- Please do not use AppleVis to promote or discuss your own website, podcast, YouTube channel, mailing list or other online resource.
- Please do not post press releases unless the intention is to inform or contextualize a new or existing discussion; and the press release is only part of your post. A press release posted to do nothing more than promote a product or service will be removed.
- Please do not post illegal content. For example, no posts about the illegal use of licensed software.
- To keep your identity and personal information safe and to keep from being added to a spam distribution list, it is recommended that you not include email addresses or other personal information in your posts.
If you have a question about any of the above guidelines or whether a post would be appropriate for AppleVis, please ask first using the Contact form.
Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions for additional information about your use of AppleVis and more details of some of the above rules.
Last Modified: September 25, 2024.