I, S L Rottenpig-Rules, as Chairman & Chief Executive of The Institution of Silly & Meaningless Sayings (ISMS) and owner of the ISMS Awards Program held on The ISMS web site (www.isms.org.uk), do hereby declare on behalf of myself and any other Evaluators who may be contracted at any time by The ISMS to evaluate for any ISMS Sponsored Award Scheme, that we agree to advance and promote the Web site Evaluator Code of Ethics in order to ensure fairness to all Applicants and to maintain the honour and integrity of Applicants, Evaluators and Awards.

• We agree that all critiques given will be constructive in nature and as positive in comment as is productive. We will refrain from criticism unless specifically requested by an Applicant, and in such instances, will remain positive where possible in an effort to promote goodwill and advance the level of quality among Internet sites.
   
• We agree to allow eligibility to all Applicants who meet the stated Criteria of The ISMS Awards Scheme. We agree to be uniform in our eligibility requirements (Criteria) and will fairly evaluate all sites and the pages within them that meet our Criteria and which are submitted by any Applicant. We further agree to clearly post these Criteria on the ISMS web site.
   
• We agree not to discriminate on grounds of race, gender, nation of origin, religion, profession, mental or physical handicap or any other reason which is not globally viewed as an illegal trait or manner of conduct. We will positively discriminate regarding the age of Applicants because, to comply with the COPPA rules, this Award scheme will not accept applications from persons under the age of 18.
   
• We agree to set forth Awards Criteria and to adhere to same. Changes to the Award Criteria will be posted for two (2) weeks prior to the final publishing of same with notices posted on site so all potential Applicants can view and understand the proposed changes.
   
• We agree to evaluate web sites under the ISMS Criteria and Rating system which was in place at the time of any and/or all applications. If changes are made to our Criteria after applications are received, the submitted sites will be evaluated using the Criteria that was in effect when Applicants initially submitted their sites.
   
• We agree to immediately inform any Criteria-compliant Applicant if it is found that a conflict of interest would occur in evaluating their web site - e.g. such as may occur upon being requested to evaluate the web site of a good friend or work colleague. We will offer such Applicants a choice of Evaluator taken from our Membership Listing.
   
• We agree to maintain a professional, friendly and positive manner in any and all correspondence and communication held with any Applicant.
   
• We agree to acknowledge receipt Applications, but only if they meet they meet the Criteria in effect at the time the Application was submitted.
   
• We agree to evaluate all accepted Application sites within four (4) weeks of receipt of submission. If this deadline cannot be met, we agree to suspend submissions until we can again work within this timeframe.
   
• We agree not to divulge any information about any Applicant to persons, groups, or agencies not directly connected to our Awards Schemes, and only then for the purpose of evaluating submissions and notifying winners. All information received from Applicants via e-mail submissions or submission forms will be deemed private.
   
• We agree to encourage and promote the use of original material for Awards Scheme criteria and evaluation processes. PLEASE NOTE: The Awards Evaluation processes in use at The ISMS are copyrighted material and written authorisation is required for their use.
   
• We agree to maintain any owned individual web sites that include Awards Schemes to a standard that meets the Criteria of the Awards given. In the case of any Award offered that is outside the main subject of our web site, any and all such web sites will be maintained to a high standard of integrity in all their main areas.
   
• We agree to maximum dimensions of ISMS Awards given, in courtesy of the web sites that will use them. If the maximum dimensions cannot be adhered to then a text only link will be permitted for graphics larger than maximum size. (Maximum size dimensions offered from this web site are currently no more than 200 pixels high and 150 pixels wide.)
   
• We agree that there will be only one obligation for winning Awards from this web site beyond meeting the Criteria. It is not, and never will be, mandatory at this web site to be a Member of the ISMS, to sign a Guest Book or to join a mailing list. It is not a mandatory requirement that any Awards granted by The ISMS should be linked back to our web site; where this option is taken up be the Award winner it will be in a method that will be outlined in ISMS Award notification e-mails.
   
• We agree that we will not grant Awards to, or in any other manner endorse or promote, any web site that endorses, promotes or contains content which is considered globally to be illegal or discriminatory whether same be against human or wildlife.
   
• We agree that we will not accept favours of any sort in exchange for preferential treatment of submissions. We will at all times maintain a high standard of honesty and integrity.
   
• We agree that we will take all measures necessary to maintain the honour and integrity of our Awards Scheme.

You may also wish to read the Chairman's comments about why he formed the ISMS and the ISMS Award Scheme.

Submitted: 1 November 2003

The Declaration of Ethics was originally written by Rhonda Serong, of ONZCDA, and has been given for use and considered public domain.  It may be used with appropriate modifications where necessary to meet your own personalized criteria.
 

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