When you express your personal opinion in an online forum, you must be as courteous as if you were speaking with someone face-to-face. Insults and personal attacks will not be tolerated. To disagree with an opinion, an idea or an event is one thing, but to show disrespect for other people is quite another. Great minds don't always think alike - and that's precisely what makes online dialogue so interesting and valuable.

Netiquette is the set of rules of conduct governing how you should behave when communicating via the Internet. Before you post a message to a blog or forum, it's important to read and understand these rules. Otherwise, you may be banned from posting.

  1. RCInet.ca's online forums are not anonymous. Users must register, and give their full name and place of residence, which are displayed alongside each of their comments. RCInet.ca reserves the right not to publish comments if there is any doubt as to the identity of their author.
  2. Assuming the identity of another person with intent to mislead or cause harm is a serious infraction that may result in the offender being banned.
  3. RCInet.ca's online forums are open to everyone, without regard to age, ethnic origin, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
  4. Comments that are defamatory, hateful, racist, xenophobic, sexist, or that disparage an ethnic origin, religious affiliation or age group will not be published.
  5. In online speak, writing in ALL CAPS is considered yelling, and may be interpreted as aggressive behaviour, which is unpleasant for the people reading. Any message containing one or more words in all caps (except for initialisms and acronyms) will be rejected, as will any message containing one or more words in bold, italic or underlined characters.
  6. Use of vulgar, obscene or objectionable language is prohibited. Forums are public places and your comments could offend some users. People who use inappropriate language will be banned.
  7. Mutual respect is essential among users. Insulting, threatening or harassing another user is prohibited. You can express your disagreement with an idea without attacking anyone.
  8. Exchanging arguments and opposing views is a key component of healthy debate, but it should not turn into a dialogue or private discussion between two users who address each other without regard for the other participants. Messages of this type will not be posted.
  9. Radio Canada International publishes contents in seven languages. The language used in the forums has to be the same as the contents we publish. The usage of other languages, with the exception of some words, is forbidden.
  10. Messages that are off-topic will not be published.
  11. Making repetitive posts disrupts the flow of discussions and will not be tolerated.
  12. Adding images or any other type of file to comments is forbidden. Including hyperlinks to other websites is allowed, as long as they comply with netiquette. Radio Canada International is in no way responsible for the content of such sites, however.
  13. Copying and pasting text written by someone else, even if you credit the author, is unacceptable if that text makes up the majority of your comment.
  14. Posting any type of advertising or call to action, in any form, to Radio Canada International forums is prohibited.
  15. All comments and other types of content are moderated before publication. Radio Canada International reserves the right to refuse any comment for publication.
  16. Radio Canada International reserves the right to close a forum at any time, without notice.
  17. Radio Canada International reserves the right to amend this code of conduct (netiquette) at any time, without notice.
  18. By participating in its online forums, you allow Radio Canada International to publish your comments on the web for an indefinite time. This also implies that these messages will be indexed by Internet search engines.
  19. Radio Canada International has no obligation to remove your messages from the web if one day you request it. We invite you to carefully consider your comments and the consequences of their posting.

Eye on the Arctic

Geopolitics

Norway and Russia Resolve Barents Sea Dispute

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Tuesday, 27 April 2010 16:31 Written by By Ian MacDougall, Associated Press

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Read more...OSLO, Norway – In a surprise move, Norway and Russia agreed Tuesday to evenly divide a long-disputed area in the Barents Sea, a promising oil and gas region in the Arctic made more accessible by global warming.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said only technical details remain to be worked out before a deal can be signed delimiting the border, ending negotiations that have dragged on for decades. Such an agreement would also have to pass the two countries’ legislatures.

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Geopolitics

Greenland and Nunavut, Canada Want Arctic Protection

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Friday, 04 February 2011 09:29 Written by CBC News

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Read more...Some of Greenland's politicians say they want to team up with Nunavut to demand better protection for Arctic waters, as areas like the Northwest Passage open up to more marine traffic.

Several members of Greenland's home-rule government's foreign affairs and security policy committee are meeting with Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak and other leaders in Iqaluit this week to talk about issues concerning the regions, both of which have large Inuit populations.

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Environment

Ozone Layer at Dangerous Record Low

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Friday, 08 April 2011 08:25 Written by Lynn Desjardins, The Link, Radio Canada International

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The United Nations World Meteorological Organization reports the ozone layer suffered a record loss of about 40% over the Arctic last winter. Although chemicals which deplete the ozone have been banned, many of them remain in the upper atmosphere and weather conditions can magnify their effect. Lynn Desjardins asks what the dangers are and how countries are working to mitigate them.

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Environment

Cleanup Slow Going in Norway Spill

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Monday, 28 February 2011 11:01 Written by Annie Feidt, APRN

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That question of whether oil can be cleaned up in icy waters is getting a real world test in Norway right now. Last week, a container ship ran aground off Norway's southern coast, near a nature preserve. It was carrying about 200,000 gallons of fuel oil.

Frieda Bengtsson is an oceans campaigner for Greenpeace in Oslo. She spent the day Thursday with the Norweigian Coast Guard at the clean-up site. She says it's shocking how slow the clean up process is.

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Geopolitics

Denmark Plans to Stake Claim to North Pole

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Thursday, 19 May 2011 05:25 Written by Associated Press

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Read more...Denmark plans to lay claim to the North Pole and other areas in the Arctic, where melting ice is uncovering new shipping routes, fishing grounds and drilling opportunities for oil and gas, a leaked government document showed Tuesday.

The draft document titled "Strategy for the Arctic" said Denmark's Science Ministry has started collecting data to formally submit a claim for those areas to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf no later than 2014.

Russia, Norway and the U.S. have their own claims — sometimes competing — in a region believed to hold as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas.

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