Rules of the House

Mybrains is intended to be a refuge from the howling vapidity and opportunism of the rest of the internet. For this to happen, we've got to have rules, and lots of em! Rules about nigerian money scams, rules about contacting the underage, rules about spam and chain letters, and most importantly rules about which fork is the shrimp fork. These are mostly for your protection and privacy, and the enjoyment of everyone.

1. No one under 13 years old allowed. If you are 13 years of age or younger, you may not post penpal requests on this site. We're very sorry about this, but laws passed in the United states recently have made it illegal for us to let you use this site without your parents' consent, and we have no way currently to get that consent.
   
   
2. Read the penpal requests before replying. If someone says "NO penpals from USA," and you are from the USA, do not respond to that request. If someone says "Females only," and you are a male, do not respond to that request. We will quickly ban without notice anyone who does not respect a person's wishes in this matter.
   
   
3. NO spam or chain letters! If we get complaints about you sending spam or chain letters through this system, you will be banned. Please ask your penpal first if it's okay to send them a chain letter.
   
   
4. Please stick to your age group. We're sorry, but as we are located in the United States, there are issues with people over 18 contacting those under 18 years of age. If you are 18 years of age or over, we ask that you not contact anyone under 18.
   
   
5. DO NOT use Mybrains for your school or research projects! People are here to find friends, and not to answer interview questions. If you find someone you're interested in being friends with, and later want to ask their help with a project, feel free, but don't use your initial contact through the site for that. It's disrespectful.
   
   
6. NO solicitations! That means no asking for money, coins, postcards, souvenirs, etc, unless the person has specifically indicated that is their interest in their profile. No asking people to visit your website (unless it's just a personal website with your picture and/or information about you), take your survey, apply for your new business opportunity, etc. If we get complaints about this, you will be banned.
   
   
7. Mybrains is not a dating service! This site is meant for finding friends, not romance. There are thousands of romance and dating sites on the Internet -- please search for your true love on one of them. :-) Please don't bother other members of this site with dating, romance, marriage proposals, or other such posts or you will not be allowed to use this site.
   
   
8. IMPORTANT: keep your email address private! When you fill out a request for a pen pal, please do NOT put your email address anywhere else but the "Email Address" field! Our system is set up to keep your email address private, and we will delete any requests which have a visible address outside the "Email Address" field.
   
   
9. NEVER send money or gifts to people you meet on the Internet, especially those that offer some sort of "business opportunity" or who want help getting millions of dollars out of some foreign country. Postcards or small trinkets are cool and fun to exchange -- just don't be surprised if your new "friend" disappears with your cash. There are a lot of wonderful people on the Internet, but there are some scam artists too. If you are suspicious, please Email us immediately!
   
   
10. NEVER post your real-life address or telephone number in your profile! It's probably a good idea not to give it out at all, at least until you have been corresponding with your penpal for a long time. Certainly do NOT post your real-life address in your profile on this site -- you never know who might be reading it! If we find penpal requests with "snail mail addresses," telephone numbers, ICQ, AIM, YIM, MSN numbers/addresses, email addresses, websites, etc, we will delete them without warning. If you wish, you can give this info to any penpal you contact (although we still think you should wait a bit), but do NOT post them on the site in your profile or it will be deleted.
    
    
11. Don't lie or be deceptive. It's really not helpful and doesn't help you find a penpal if you lie about yourself, your age, your nationality, etc. Please don't pretend to be from one country when you're really from another, for example.
    
    
12. Communicate nicely. :-) We ask that you not use obscene or abusive language in your penpal requests or replies to penpals on this site (at least not on first contact!). Our moderators will try to delete any inappropriate posts, but this just creates more work for everyone. MyBrains.com is about making new friends: please be kind and considerate of others.
    
    
13. Mybrains is not an advertising or recruiting forum. Do not post requests or ads for money-making schemes, business opportunities, or commercial solicitations of any sort. This site is for finding penpals, not recruiting.
    
    
14. Report abuse or suspicious contacts! If someone is abusive to you, please LET US KNOW immediately! We will try to take action to keep abusive users off the system, but because people can easily change their email address, we can't prevent this kind of thing completely.
    
    
15. Remember that this service is provided without warranty, and is not guaranteed in any way. While we try to keep your email address private, and monitor the system, the system is made up of people and people make mistakes. Therefore, by using this service, you agree NOT to hold us liable for anything you may see on this site.
    
    
16. Above all, be considerate to others on the system, and be patient. Remember, this is supposed to be fun! If you have any problems with the site, or the service, or have suggestions on how we can make it a better place for you, please let us know! With your help, we can make this the best site for Pen Pals all over the world!