Independent Evaluators’ Webring
Consolidated rules – v. February 2008

Preamble
1. The Webring is a tool to promote websites of independent evaluators and small evaluation enterprises, and to attract more traffic to them.
2. The Webring is furthermore a tool to promote independent evaluators not owning a professional website.
3. The Webring is not a professional association, nor a quality certification mechanism.
4. Webring Membership is entirely voluntary and its organizers are volunteers trying to offer the best service possible to Members; as such, Webring Members agree to hold organizers and managers harmless from any damages, expenses and costs incurred from Membership.

Joining up the ring
5. In order to join up the Webring you must apply on-line at the following page: http://www.evaluators-Webring.net/subscribe.htm.
6. Applications shall be in English.
7. Your application will be completed with the payment of the yearly fee.
8. The yearly fee is to be paid via PayPal; in case you reside within the Euro-zone, you are encouraged to pay via bank transfer.
9. If you own a professional website:
• Within two weeks from the receipt of your payment your data will be included in the Webring database of evaluators, and you will receive by email the instructions to add the Webring logo and a HTML code (linking to the Webring) to your homepage.
• From this date, you have two weeks to add the Webring logo and the HTML code to your homepage. If they have not been added within this timeframe, the link to your website will be removed from the Webring database of evaluators.
10. If you do not own a professional website: within two weeks from the receipt of your payment your data will be included in the Webring database of evaluators.

The Webring services
11. With your application process you require the management of the Webring to publish in English, on the website of the Webring (www.evaluators-webring.net) some elements identifying your business that you agree to consider to be as not confidential. These elements are to be provided in English. By their publication these elements will be made publicly available on internet.
12. Some further elements are needed during the application process in order to invoice and contact you (full address, telephone…). These elements, defined as ‘confidential data’ are framed in a specific, easily recognizable section of the application form. Confidential data will not be published. This will be done in order to protect your privacy.
13. The management of the Webring will never distribute or sell to anybody for commercial purposes the ‘confidential data’ that you will communicate during the application process.

Your website (for Members owning a professional website)
14. Your website must be related to your/your company’s professional activity as evaluator.
15. Your website must be well maintained.
16. Your website cannot be merely a link to a commercial website, nor a list of other evaluators.
17. The Webring logo must be published at least on your homepage. You are free to add the Webring logo on any further pages of your website, at no additional cost.
18. The Webring logo must be used in its entirety, and the HTML code required to link to the Webring cannot be modified.
19. Links to personal / familiar websites or blogs will not be included into the Webring database of evaluators.
20. Your website cannot contain graphics or words that can be perceived as instigation of racism, xenophobia, criminal facts, pedophilia, religious or ethnic intolerance, violence, or terrorism. It cannot contain obscene or offensive graphics or words.
21. Your website will be checked periodically, at the full discretion of the Webring management. The link to any website not complying with these rules will be immediately excluded from the Webring database of evaluators, and the website owner notified. Then a two week period is applied for correction or definitive exclusion.
22. If you decide to leave the Webring, you must remove the Webring logo from your website, and send an email to support@evaluators-webring.net. Your data will be removed from the Webring database of evaluators within two weeks of receipt of the email request. You will not be reimbursed of your yearly fee.

Evaluators not owning a website
23. Evaluators not owning a website are entitled to join up the Webring, as well. They will be included in the Webring database of evaluators, and they will be searchable as any other Member. As soon as they will publish a website, they undertake to inform the management of the Webring for the needed changes and for sending them the instructions to publish on their homepage the logo and the HTML code linking to the Webring.
24. Members not owning a website commit to include the mention of the Webring and its link into their email signature.

Yearly fee – renewal – invoicing
25. The fee for the inclusion into the Webring is yearly, and entitles Members to the inclusion into the Webring database of evaluators from the 1st January to the 31st December of each year of payment. In reason of the small entity of the fee, pro-rate discounts are not considered for Memberships starting after January 1st.
26. The current yearly fee for Full Members is of 30 Euro.
27. Towards the end of each calendar year, all Members will receive an invitation to pay the fee for the following year. In case of non payment by mid January, their data will be removed from the Webring database of evaluators.
28. For each yearly payment of fee Members will receive an electronic invoice in pdf format from Bridges – Marco Lorenzoni, which is the Webring manager.

Quotation of the Webring
29. Any Member of the Webring is free to use the Webring logo and web address on their heading paper, business cards and printed materials, if they wish so. For documentation purposes, the receiving of a copy / scanned copy of such a material will be highly appreciated by the Webring management.

Final dispositions
30. By sending us your electronic application for inclusion into the Webring you accept all of the rules stated above.
31. All communications related to the Webring will be in English.