OpenX consulting directory guidelines
OpenX encourages independent consultants to provide paid services to the OpenX community, who increasingly demand professional support, training and customization.
The OpenX consulting directory is intended to provide a neutral, transparent place where the OpenX community can find suitable consulting services from professional services providers.
These guidelines provide an overview of what you, as an independent consultant, can expect by participating in the directory, our expectations of your conduct and the principles by which OpenX will manage the service.
Note: To participate in the OpenX consulting directory you must agree to the terms and conditions published on the OpenX website. These guidelines supplement the terms and conditions and highlight some key elements with examples for convenience.
How does the consulting directory work?
The OpenX consulting directory provides a categorised list of consultants who provide services which may be suitable to someone using OpenX's software or services.
The consulting directory allows the list of consultants to be filtered based on the type of work a potential client is interested in and their budget expectations. They can then evaluate each potential consultant based on the profile information provided. The profiles include a summary of forum activity and the community rating where available.
Potential clients can contact their preferred consultants through the directory.
Who can participate?
We would like to encourage any business providing services relevant to the OpenX community to register to join the directory. All participants are must agree to abide by the terms and conditions on our website and these guidelines.
You can register to participate here.
OpenX brand and trademarks
Participating in the OpenX consulting directory does not imply a business relationship or affiliation with OpenX Limited. As such, you must not claim or infer any formal association with us and you should not use our brand or trademarks without our prior written consent, for example:
- Please do not use the OpenX logo in your website or business materials.
- Please do not use "OpenX" in your business name or domain name
- Please do not claim that you are a partner or preferred supplier of OpenX.
These terms are covered by the OpenX terms and conditions published on the OpenX website.
Reasons for rejecting or removing listings
OpenX will actively manage the list of consultants included in the directory. We will use our discretion and remove consultants from the directory if we believe they are in violation of the OpenX terms and conditions or these guidelines.
For example, we may remove a consultant if we believe they are:
- taking money but not delivering the promised services
- using the directory for criminal activities
We will also remove consultants who we are unable to contact for an extended period of time.
If OpenX finds that a consultant is simply performing poorly we will not remove him/her from the consulting pages but will encourage clients to use the ratings and comment system to leave a review of the services they provided.
Community rating system
Registered consultants are required to participate in a community rating system where OpenX community members can leave comments and rate a consultant based on their personal experience.
We encourage people who have direct dealings with consultants to rate their experience and leave a review. Reviews should be expressed based on the personal experience and opinions of the reviewer based on their direct interactions with consultants.
Reviews which violate the terms and conditions of the website will be removed. In particular, please avoid posting defamatory comments.
Community members submitting comments which breach the website terms and conditions risk their account being disabled and having their rights to use the OpenX website and services removed.
Conduct on the forums
All participating consultants will be identified on the OpenX forum with a 'Independent consultant' badge with a link to their consulting directory profile.
We ask that consultants adhere to forum guidelines, in particular:
- Only solicit work on the forums in situations where the poster has explicitly expressed an interest in paid consulting services.
- Only post new threads about their services or software in the "Consulting, Freelancing, Mods, and Job Offers" section of the forum.
- Ensure that all communication make it clear that they are independent consultants not officially affiliated with OpenX.
- Not to speak on behalf of OpenX.
Dispute resolution
Please contact hello@openx.org if you wish to report inappropriate conduct on the consulting directory.
Please note: OpenX does not guarantee the quality of work provided by consultants listed in the directory and will not mediate between disputing parties.