Disclosure Policy

In the Forum's User Profile area (when you are logged on, click on "My VF" then on "Edit Profile") there is now a "Disclosure Statement" area. This field was created so that any potential biases or conflicts of interest such as those below can be listed as part of your profile. This area should be used by (for example):

• video instructors/producers of fitness videos
• owners, employees or contractors of a company that sells any of the types of products we discuss (workout videos/DVDs, fitness equipment, gear, clothing)
• BeachBody coaches
• those who have appeared in an infomercial for a fitness product
• those who have appeared as a cast member in a video
• those who are moderators on vendor or instructor-owned forums
• close personal friends, colleagues, or family members of video instructors or vendors
• those who do unpaid work for a company/vendor

If one of the above situations applies to you, or if you feel there are any other factors that might potentially affect your objectivity, please use the Disclosure Statement area to describe the situation. For example "I was a cast member in Enter the Red Zone with Team VF, and received a free copy of the DVD for my participation" or "I am a volunteer moderator at Instructor X's forum" or "I designed Instructor X's Web site." This field allows up to 250 characters.

In addition, if you are an employee, contractor, or receive regular and/or significant compensation (e.g. money, merchandise, travel) from companies that sell the products we discuss (this includes BeachBody coaches) or if you own such a company, please put this small GENERIC disclosure at the bottom of your signature block:

DISCLOSURE: I have a professional relationship with a seller or producer of fitness videos or products. For details, please see my profile.

Those who were cast members in a video who received no compensation other than a free copy of that video do not need to use this signature disclosure, however if they are participating in a thread about the video in which they participated, I would ask that they work a small disclaimer into their first post in the thread (e.g. "FYI, I am a background exerciser in this workout").

This policy is not meant to be punitive and is not meant to suggest that someone can't be objective even in cases where there are potential conflicts of interest. The intent is just to make relationships with vendors as transparent as possible without interrupting the flow of discussion any more than is necessary. Please pm or email me if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Wendy Niemi Kremer
Videofitness.com