Operating a community in a mixed mode of employees, customers, partners and just about anybody that subscribes to us, is equally challenging online as it would be if we were all physically in the same room. We have to find the best way to serve you. Nevertheless, we already had some experiences that we would like to share with you. Some are fundamental or obvious and some might just be handy to know. By joining our community, you are adhering to these guidelines.

Respect and Safety
RWS operates across the globe. We will treat everybody with equal respect and dignity. It is of utmost importance that, above all, every individual can feel at home at our community. This requires at all times an engagement that you would reserve for your friends also if you disagree business-wise. We are all different but nobody is more or less. We believe in the power of bringing people together across the globe and the enriching experience to work globally.

In that context, we are mindful of each other's culture and life convictions. We always intend the best and are open to positive dialogue if the effect sometimes is less than the best intention. 

Safeguard your privacy and that of others
We at RWS are serious about your privacy. There is a myriad of measures we have taken to secure your privacy and to make sure that others do not see what you do not want to be seen. We've done that on the technical, functional, people and process levels. However, a Community is, by definition, a Real-Time system. We have elected not to 'release-to-publication' information through a moderator 'bottleneck'. This means that whatever is delivered, is published immediately and is there at your fingertips. Real-time.

Good custom: No company names and company-specific information
It is a good custom not to speak about company names but focus on the knowledge required to be successful in your business. Especially check your screenshots, code dumps, attachments, etc for information that your management probably do not want you to distribute. Typically employee names, server names are something you might want to anonymize before posting. We rely on common business sense. We instruct our moderators to be vigilant and properly assist and protect all our members in their journey with RWS.

Good Custom: No pricing information or discussion
Communities should not be used to share or discuss pricing information. Moderators will intervene and protect all our member's privacy. This community is for discussion and conversation only. Please do not use this as a platform to spam members with ads or unrelated content. Attacks, foul language, and all other rude behavior will not be tolerated and will be removed. We want to maintain the quality of this group and will remove those who abuse it.

The RWS Community is built to support you to be successful
In the community, we strive for ONE version of the truth.  It is the nearest thing to reality. We strive for perfection but we know there are so many variables that we will never reach completeness. The community is designed for you and around you, no matter where you are in your journey with RWS. Your growth is the growth of RWS. It is that simple.

Opinions & Facts
Opinions are always welcome but are more for Forums or Blogs. Forums and Blogs are now an integral part of every RWS Community group. Anybody can use them. They are moderated by the core teams of that group. Wiki's are there for recording factual information that doesn't perish over time.

Comments
Comments on the content are highly appreciated. We have dedicated teams for each group and they really love the interaction. Each page has a comment footer. Feel free to comment on the article. Any article.

Edits
So, you see something that is not correct or needs a nuance. Be bold. Be brave! Click the edit tab and edit the article. This is also YOUR content. The community of 'minds alike' really likes to see others edit their articles. It only improves the quality of the article making it more valuable. The more active the community, the more gains for all that participate. So, instead of logging a call or sending an email, why not correct it instantaneously!

Rating
Rate an article that you like or dislike. We use the rating to learn and to make sure that the articles are to the point and helpful. Equally, low rated articles are removed and discussed internally why they are low rated. It takes a single click to let the author know what you think. 

User Access & Malintent
Anybody can enter, but we make sure we know who you are. Also the knowledge ownership and moderation - usually the hard part to organize - are firmly embedded in our organization. The work is done inside the community, not as work on the side. So we see you as part of our organization. And we are serious about serving you. Conversely, anybody with a clear bad intention will be spotted immediately. For the sake of the ever-growing number of serious members, we will be swift and firm to those who seek malice.

A Community is not "Support"
The good thing is that now RWS both has a Community and Support service. The distinction is obvious. In a community, you may or may not get an answer, in Support you can simply refer to your support contracts and associated Service Level Agreement. This doesn't mean RWS doesn't pay attention or doesn't care. It's just a different way of solving a business problem.

For more on RWS Community terms of use see here.