Read Before Posting: Forum Rules/Suggestions

[Paul Gilmartin]

MISSION STATEMENT
This forum is intended to be a place where people can come to share their feelings and experiences with others, seek friendly non-professional advice from people who may have had similar experiences, discuss the podcast, and most importantly to see that they are not alone. We want this community to be a safe place for people to open up and get honest; To help and be helped.


POSTING RULES
- No abusive postings; we could write a couple of pages explaining what that might encompass, but let’s keep this short and sweet. We'll use our judgment. We are here to comfort each other and share our experience. Minimizing other people's issues will not be tolerated. Most of us come here because we struggle to have compassion for ourselves.

- Do Not Ask For or Provide Medical Advice here. This site is by non-professionals for non-professionals. It's not a doctor's office it's a waiting room. While we do have some professionals volunteering advice in the "Ask a Professional" section it is not meant to be a substitute for one-on-one counseling and should be taken as opinion only and to be weighed alongside other opinions/resources.

- No Trolling. We define a troll as someone who posts a deliberately provocative message with the intention of causing disruption and argument. You’ll note that nowhere in that description is the phrase, “someone who disagrees with me.” We want people to be open to disagree and even have a spirited conversation, but when it is deemed by the moderators or administrators that the intent behind a specific post is to cause trouble or distress, you will be labeled as a troll and treated as such.

- Each Member May Only Have One Profile. Some people enjoy creating multiple user profiles for themselves to post under on forums. These secondary profiles are called sock-puppets and they will not be tolerated here. We want all of our members to be secure in feeling that they know who they are talking to.

- No Spamming. We define spam as being unsolicited posts or topics intended to promote a commercial product, service, or destination (be it virtual or physical). This is not meant to stifle legitimate members from sharing links to other web content or information about things offline. It is an attempt to stifle unsolicited and undesired advertising. Posts may also be considered spam if they are copied and reposted several times in that thread or elsewhere on the forum.


NOTES ON TONE (i.e. not rules, but suggestions)
- Don’t Be a Jerk. Can't define it. We'll probably know it when we see it.

- Be Respectful of Others When Their Beliefs, Ideologies, Demographics, or Affiliations Differ From Your Own. There are plenty of places online where you can go to have a heated, angry debate on the validity of religious traditions, the civil rights of groups of people, and politics. This should not be one of them. We understand that these things are important to our members and are not suggesting that you cannot or should not talk about them or even discuss their merits, but we would like to see these conversations remain topically related to the agenda of this message board and podcast.


WHERE SHOULD I POST?
Every section and subsection has a clear name and description on it. If you do not see a section or subsection which seems related to the thread you want to start, there is a general section to post anything you’d like. If a thread is determined to be off-topic (which includes having a better place than General) by a moderator or administrator we will move the thread without prior notice to a more appropriate section and leave behind a locked shadow-post with a link to that thread. We are open to considering any arguments as to why it should remain where it was posted. We also have a section for forum suggestions should you feel that a new section or sub-section would be more appropriate.


WHEN SHOULD I USE THE REPORT BUTTON?
Short answer; whenever you feel it is appropriate. There is no punishment for misuse of the report button except when it’s intentional. If you see something you don’t like, even if you’re not involved in the thread, report it. If you have or notice a technical problem with a post, report it. If you want to split a post into a new topic or merge with an old one, report it. Basically, if it’s related to a post and you want us to know, report it.


DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS
There are several levels of actions which can be taken against members; Unofficial Warnings, Official Warnings, Suspensions of varying length, and Bans. There are only two things which will get you banned without prior actions; Spamming on your first post and sock-puppeting. All other rules will be enforced based on the manner in which the offense was made, but the default mode will be to give an unofficial warning first which means a generally-phrased (i.e. not naming names) post from a mod or administrator in the thread or a private message to the offending individual. Failure to yield to that will lead to an official warning which the forum software tracks. Two to three warnings within a month on any matter will earn a suspension of a length to be determined at that time. After the suspension is over any warning gained on any matter within two weeks will result in a ban.

All disciplinary actions are open to debate by those being punished and all arguments will be considered. Any suspensions and bans (except for random spam bots) will be announced on the forum so other members are not wondering where someone went. On those posts, we will also be open to arguments from other members about the actions taken.


FUTURE CHANGES TO THESE RULES AND GUIDELINES
We reserve the right to change these rules at any time for any reason. When that happens, we will add a new post to this thread letting you know what changed. Any disagreement over anything contained in these rules and guidelines should be taken up in the forum suggestions section. We will listen and consider all honest requests and contentions.

[whispershadow]

Sorry I'm confused about something in these rules

There is no punishment for misuse of the report button except when it’s intentional.

I thought if someone clicked report button thing and filled in the box they meant to fill it in and send it

Maybe I'm being stupid and should hide behind here

[Paul Gilmartin]

I think the person who wrote the rules means that unless you intentionally misuse it.