Rules of the Road Update, time to review the rules of the board Options

[ADDflower]

For some time now we have been very lax about enforcing the TOS, a.k.a. Rules of the Road, set out for the use of this board. If you haven’t read the rules lately I am here to remind you to take a look at them Board Rules and refresh your memory. Go take a look… I’ll wait (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink_anim.gif)

I’m going to address a few rules regarding posting specifically. The first is the “bumping” of posts. This has never been permitted on this board, but it gets done often. I know first hand how frustrating it is, especially if you’re using the “view new posts” feature of the board, to not get replies to a post you’ve made and to watch your post go further down the list where it might never get read by anyone. Any post that just says “bumping this up” or something similar will simply be deleted. Use common sense with this. If you come across an older post that you think is relevant to a current issue post to the current thread with a link to the older post. First offenders will get a warning, but repeatedly doing so will result in your account being placed on a probationary status and if you really can’t stop yourself we will escort you to the door.

The same actions will be taken for failure to follow any of the guidelines set out in the TOS (did you read them yet?). If violations of the guidelines are felt to be severe enough you may not get a second chance. I do not know any other way to say this: This is a support community. Behavior that is not supportive of a community that cares for and is welcoming to its members will result in your no longer being a part of this community.

The support boards are here to provide a source of information and support for all of us. The intention here is to create a feeling of community. While we realize that in any community there will be disagreements from time to time, I want to remind all of you that we have community leaders whose job it is to get involved when this happens. They are here to smooth out any bumps in the road.

Truth be told this board very rarely has issues. But, when we do, it often affects many of us deeply because of our unique health circumstances. We know it’ll happen from time to time, and we want to be able to get involved before it becomes a crisis. That’s where you come in. Each and every post on this board has a button at the bottom left that allows you to bring that post to the attention of the moderators. If ever you are concerned about a post we want you to use that button. That is why we have moderators, to help maintain the community. But moderators are not all-seeing. This is an active board and we need you to help us.

If you have any questions about the TOS please feel free to ask them here. I will do my best to get you an answer.

[SusanM]

Hi and thanks for posting. I am hoping that folks review these rules and appreciate that they are designed to bring out the best in our sharing and suporting efforts!!!!

[Kathryn G]

Ami,
Thanks for reminding us of these rules and thanks for reminding me. I can only think of two times since I have joined the boards that I have made a comment that I later regretted. I joined the boards three years ago, and for the most part, I have found lots of support and I hope I have offered support, too.
The two times that I have opened my big trap, I later regretted it terribly. This just happened the other day and I am feeling so guilty about what I said. The person starting the thread meant well and I like her. I just was trying to point out that there could be a better way of saying what she was trying to say. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings at all but I should have said nothing in hindsight. I want to say how deeply sorry I am to this person.
Thanks for this thread. It comes at a time when I personally needed to read theses rules again.
Kate

[OregonChick]

Thanks for the reminder. I read the TOS when I signed up but I forgot it exists. Kathryne, I have some "foot in mouth" moments too and its those crabby days that I have to stay off and not talk.

[sallyc]

I was going to post *bump* but didn't think my wisecracking would go over well!

Thanks again for the reminder. It is hard sometimes when we're all feeling so cruddy to not take things personally, and get upset. We've got a great group here.

[leannabanana]

Sally- I was going to to the exact same thing. I guess we got the same type of humor!!

Thanks for the reminder. Is carp (when spelled correctly) considered profanity?

Leanne

[MCF]

I was going to complain about how badly the no profanity rule compromises my communication style and freedom of expression, but I wasn't sure it would elicit exactly the sort of sympathy I'd be looking for.

I mean, there goes half my vocab, right there.

[philb]

Got it. Please let me know when I get out of line with the board terms. I am not really lecherous...

[peaches]

Man, I am sooo guilty of this. I apologize, I never knew it was a no no.

Sorry (IMG:style_emoticons/default/deal.gif)

[ttiffany20191]

Just reading over these rule again and I know I am not with it but what does flaming and trolling mean?

[MaryO]

Sally- I was going to to the exact same thing. I guess we got the same type of humor!!

Thanks for the reminder. Is carp (when spelled correctly) considered profanity?

Leanne

Naah - just think before you post.

Just remember that there are some young folk who read and think about what you'd want your kids to say.

Although some kids say things I'd never heard of at their age!

There is a profanity filter on here that will substitute the really bad ones for something else (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[MCF]

Got it. Please let me know when I get out of line with the board terms. I am not really lecherous...

<*snort, snerk*>

[ADDflower]

Just reading over these rule again and I know I am not with it but what does flaming and trolling mean?

I went and got definitions from NetLingo

flame
To send nasty or insulting messages via e-mail or to post them on a newsgroup or a blog. This is usually done in response to someone having broken the rules of netiquette. A "flamer" is someone who sends these message, sometimes resulting in a flame war.

flame war
When an online discussion degenerates into a series of personal attacks against the debaters, rather than a discussion of their opinions and positions. A heated exchange.


troll
a.k.a. trolling

Online it originally meant the act of posting a message in a newsgroup that is obviously exaggerating something on a particular topic, hoping to trick a newbie into posting a follow-up article that points out the mistake. In general, to "troll" means to allure, to fish, to entice or to bait. Internet trolls are people who fish for other people's confidence and, once found, exploit it. Trolls vary in nature; here are four types of online trolls:

* Playtime Trolls: an individual plays a simple, short game. Such trolls are relatively easy to spot because their attack or provocation is fairly blatant, and the persona is fairly two-dimensional.
* Tactical Trolls: This is where the troller takes the game more seriously, creates a credible persona to gain confidence of others, and provokes strife in a subtle and invidious way.
* Strategic Trolls: A very serious form of game, involving the production of an overall strategy that can take months or years to develop. It can also involve a number of people acting together in order to invade a list.
* Domination Trolls: This is where the trollers' strategy extends to the creation and running of apparently bona-fide mailing lists.

I hope that helps...

[raggettyjoanne]

I dont know if I have made this mistake or not..most days I am functioning with confused mind, afraid of bringing stress on myself and very shy..if I have I sure would not have done so intentionally. I find myself wanting to talk but being afraid, shy and scared. lately, I find I have to read things over and over again and still dont get it..I do hope that when this is all over for me this will get better..again, if I have done this..I am sorry

[ADDflower]

I've actually gotten a number of messages from people wanting to know if they're the reason for this message... no one is the "reason". The board adminstrators have been busy and/or sick themselves and have not been on top of things.

We didn't want to just start out of the blue enforcing rules that people hadn't looked at for a while. In fact, this will probably become a regular reminder every so often.

So please... don't worry about anything that happened "before" because we're starting fresh with today.

Hugs to everyone!

[mindylindy]

Yeah, I think I made a boo boo with a link I put in about my bridesmaid dress. Sorry. It was good to read through these more thoroughly. Thanks for taking the time to make us all more aware. These boards are a real blessing.

[MaryO]

Mindy, I thought the link about your dress was great - I loved the dress and saved the link so I can maybe get one of their neat dresses sometime.

That rule doesn't really apply too much here. It's more to prevent people from coming on and saying that they have a cure for Cushing's by using something like CortiSlim (bad idea!), then linking to a site that will sell them CortiSlim. And, of course, the poster gets a percentage of the sale.

That kind of thing happens much more on menopause, cancer, and similar sites. Unfortunately, we don't have much that will work, so we don't get many of this kind of masked sales pitch.

But we're ready, if we ever do!

[mindylindy]

I am glad people liked it. That truly was my only intent to share. I just appreciate everything you do Mary to keep us running. I would not be getting the help I need without everyone here.

[Christy Smith]

MCF- You kill me! That was hilarious
Leanna- According to my kids carp is a cuss word...but I think they listened to my mom too much who thought butt was a cuss word too... :-) They finally quit chewing me out for saying it when I explained over and over it wasn't considered a cuss word. They about had a cow when Ash use to call batman, batdam ...teeheehee

Thanks Ami, your a good reminderer :-)