Site Rules

By using this site you agree to abide by and be bound to these terms and conditions.

While most of these rules apply to the broadcasters of LiveSkies©, there are some that apply to guests as well. Please read them. Remember that watching or broadcasting on LiveSkies© is a privilege not a right. These rules are in place to protect not only LiveSkies©, but also those who use the site as well.

Here is a brief statement of the LiveSkies© rules:

  • NO BROADCASTING OF ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL ALLOWED ON LiveSkies© EVER. PERIOD! THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE!
  • THE SELLING OF PRODUCTS ON LiveSkies© IS NOT ALLOWED.
  • NO FOUL LANGUAGE, HATESPEECH, DEROGATORY INNUENDO, NO DISPARAGING MEMBERS, THEIR EQUIPMENT, THEIR STATUS AND/OR THEIR PERSON IS PERMITTED ON LiveSkies©.
  • UNATTENDED BROADCASTS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON LiveSkies©.
  • ALL VIDEO, CCD, DSLR AND WEB TYPS CAMERAS WILL BE ALLOWED TO BROADCAST ON LiveSkies© WITH A MAXIMUM INTEGRATION OF 3 MINUTES MAXIMUM.
  • MANDATORY EQUIPMENT DISCLOSURE.

FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE RULES CAN LEAD TO BEING BANNED FROM LiveSkies©.

For a better understanding of the LiveSkies© rules please read further.
Contact liveskies2@gmail.com if you have any questions or want clarifications to any of the terms.

RULE #1

To avoid law suits.

NO BROADCASTING OF ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IS ALLOWED ON LiveSkies© EVER. PERIOD! THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE!

This means no movies unless they are home made. No TV shows science shows or sporting events and anything that is covered under the FCC Copyright Office and FBI copyright material laws. For example just because you bought a DVD movie does not give you full copyrights authorization and therefore cannot be broadcast. No advertisements of any kind will be allowed. Music playing in the background from a radio or CD player that is copy righted is not acceptable. Having a device with music playing in the background is also a copyright violation so please make sure your music is not going out to your audience. Other broadcast sites like LIVE STREAM, USTREAM and JUSTIN TV are being sued because of copyright violation. We want to avoid that by making it clear that such violations will not be tolerated. Broadcasters own the rights to all their productions on LiveSkies©. Users are not permitted to distribute, sell, re-market, re-brand or use any portion of the video, broadcast, or images in any way shape or form without verifiable authorization by the broadcaster. Verifiable means that it can actually be verified, verbal agreements are void and not acceptable regardless of state / provincial law. LiveSkies© reserves the right to use any and all productions by any broadcasters without previous approval. Though we will ask anyway.

RULE #2

LiveSkies© is about sharing the night skies with others not about selling a product of any kind or bragging that you have something that is better than someone else’s. Things become misinterpreted way too easy so please refrain from such practice. It is OK and natural for us to talk about the products we use, but please think about others when doing so. Think about the manufacturer who makes the product also. They put a lot of time into the development of their products. Try not to speak too harshly if they have a product you don’t like. No vender or product will have a channel name other than the site sponsor. He has one for obvious reasons. He’s paying for it along with yours. You might take the time out to thank him for his support of LiveSkies©.

RULE #3

NO FOUL LANGUAGE IS ACCEPTED, by you the broadcaster or by guests who are watching. The broadcaster is responsible for the actions and language on his/her channel. Let’s try and keep our conversations on the main subject astronomy. Broadcasters please warn your viewers and ask them kindly to stop using foul language. If they don’t, then KICK them out! There are some families and clubs that like to tune in to LiveSkies© so please watch how your guest converse. They may have only one name, but that one name could be a class of students or a club tuned in to watch. This happens more and more. There are guests who may have a very limited knowledge so please do not make remarks about their questions. Correct them and try to help them gain better understanding.

RULE #4

Remember people are coming to LiveSkies© to watch and see our nighttime skies and to learn. UNATTENDED BROADCASTS and fixed PICTURES broadcast ARE NOT ALLOWED ON LiveSkies©.

Do not leave your channel running unattended unless you are at your scope working on something for a few minutes. If you are working on something, please let your audience know this.

DO NOT leave software running on your channel that shows a logo. If you are testing that software then please state so on the information bar above your screen image. A week or two of testing should be all the time you need to know if it works for you. Don’t leave out door scenes from your camera running unless you are testing your set up and camera. Again let your audience know if you are testing. State so in your channel information at the top. Don’t waste people’s time. Let them know what you are doing. LiveSkies© was designed to be use with video type cameras that feed FPS. This is not a site for still images being posted up and talked about. There are hundreds of sites for CCD long exposure imagers out there. Use one of them please.

RULE #5

LiveSkies© was intended to provide a real to near real-time experience; therefore we shall be limiting exposure times to a 3-minute maximum rate, which includes all specialty filters when observing DSOs. This would include various types of cameras such as true Video Astronomical cameras, DSLR, CCD’s and web type cameras with video mode that refresh a image per exposure. 30 FPS (NTSC) or 25 FPS ( PAL) output for true video ccd cameras with frame grabbers and constant live refresh for all other cameras such as DSLR, CCD’s and webcam type. Extremely long exposure times tends to lead to off-topic chat, since there is nothing happening on the screen. 3 minutes exposure include total single exposure and total stack image of shorter exposures.

RULE #6

Mandatory equipment disclosure. All broadcasters will need to list the OTA, Camera model and type of filters in use as well as third-party software used to enhance the image. This will make it a lot easier for all to see what is being used, and also reduce confusion about the resulting image quality and such. The reason for this disclosure is to let all viewers; especially new viewers understand what software if any is being used to enhance the image. (Example software like Camtwist, Virtual Dub, etc…)