HER Foundation Forum Posting Guidelines

Stop in and read special posting guidelines that are unique to the HER Forums. Any official annoucements will be posted in this read-only forum.

Moderator: Kimber

HER Foundation Forum Posting Guidelines

Postby Forum Administrators » Nov 10, 2007 4:55 pm

These are the rules and guidelines for our forums. While we are open to feedback, the rules are not open to debate. We all recognize we are all here by choice and therefore responsible to choose, as with any community, to adhere to them or to not be a part of the community.

Judging Others:

It is of utmost importance that all HGers here are accepted. We are an open, inclusive community made up of members from many walks of life. We all comprise the HG experience and community and are safe to ask questions and receive respect and support.

Although rarely required, we will take action against posters who are judgmental and unwelcoming or abusive toward other members. This applies to public posts, private messages, emails sent via the HER site or chat messaging done via the contact info provided on members' profiles.

It is because women have felt safe coming and sharing and receiving support that such a strong network of women has been formed at the HER Foundation. It is our goal that with sufficient education and support from HGers who have been there, terminating HG pregnancies will be a much less common occurrence than before. We can only obtain this goal in a welcoming, non-threatening environment.

Prescription Medication Offering/Exchanging/Sharing:

For liability purposes, we cannot allow the offer to sell, trade, or share prescription drugs. Posts that suggest or imply any such solicitation will be edited or possibly removed. Please note that the suggestion to sell, trade, or share any prescription medication that is not issued to you directly is against the law in most jurisdictions and considered a criminal offense.

Advertising Products:

Advertising products is not allowed on these forums, and all posts advertising products will be deleted per our spam policy.

FOODMENTS- Special Rules for Discussing Food & Drink:

For quite some time we have used "FOODMENT/DRINKMENT" in order to alert other readers that we are about to discuss food specifics. We do this as a courtesy for those who are too nauseated to read about food. This policy may be a little cumbersome at times, but this is done simply to keep our HGing mothers from being ill from what they read here, so in fact they ]can read and receive help and support. This is a posting guideline that is unique to our forums but necessary, and your cooperation is appreciated. If you are discussing non-specific foods, please refer to them as liquids/solids so to help avoid nausea triggers.

If your thread discusses food and liquids, please add the words **FOODMENT** in your title so our HG-sensitive mothers may avoid certain topics altogether.

Also, we also request that you please keep your usernames, avatars, signature tags (including photos) free of FOODMENTS and DRINKMENT.

Picture, Avatar, Signature & Emoticon Posting Guidelines:

We know that we have two distinct groups here, those who are pregnant and those who are not. This request comes from those who are in the grips of HG.

We ask that all avatars, pictures, and signatures which include pictures, ticker strips, etc., have no moving or flashing parts. Pictures/avatars/tickers that are sparkly or very bright and/or have movement may make our HGers more ill, and therefore unable to read and post and benefit from our forums. Please change these avatars and signatures so that there is little to no movement when they are viewed.

Pregnancy Tickers & Condolences:

Many members have pregnancy tickers that show how far along they are in pregnancy or how old their children are. We love to see these, and they are a great help in keeping track of how far along everyone is in their pregnancies and how old their children are after they are born. But sometimes we experience loss here in the forums, and out of respect to those who have suffered a recent loss, we recommend that when posting condolences, and when posting in the Grief, Loss, & Recovery Forum, forum members who have tickers in their signatures click on the small box at the bottom of the typing screen to deselect "Attach signature" before submitting their post. "Attach signature" is automatically selected with a green check mark in our forums. It is this check mark that must be clicked on in order to remove the signature including a ticker from a post.

Thank you for your show of love and consideration.

Guidelines for Handling Forum/Posting Concerns and Problems:

How to Handle Concerns:

Please review all the guidelines posted above.

If you have an issue of "language" or with what or how someone said something in a given thread, you should first contact a moderator if you are not able to resolve it between yourself and another member directly. If moderators feel more action is warranted, they will contact our admin team.

The following are examples of things that the admin team will address:

- ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR/HARASSMENT (with public posts or private messages, or email/contact by one member to another offsite)
- SECURITY PROBLEMS
- FORUMS/POSTING ABUSE
- SPAM OR TROLL ACCOUNTS

TROLLS- As is common with most online communities, "trolling" is not allowed and troll accounts will be shut down. Trolling includes (but is not necessarily limited to) creating a new or alternate account in an attempt to conceal one's identity in order to post abusive, inflammatory, judgemental or otherwise disruptful content. It also includes copying posts and content from our forum for use outside these forums without permission from the original author. If you wish to use someone's words, netiquette says you should ask them first. In essence, trolling is creating an account or using an account with no intention of being a contributing member to this community, or acting in total disregard of the forum rules and members.

Our members are encouraged to NOT reply or respond to trolls or suspected trolls in any way and to please report them to a moderator or administrator.

SPAM- Advertising or linking to non-HG outside sources is strictly prohibited. Please report any spam or suspected spam (they are crafty sometimes!) to that forum's moderator or any administrator.

PERSONAL CONFLICTS - If you feel it appropriate you may contact an administrator for advice/support/reassurance. We are here to help, not to further disagreements. We can’t help if we aren’t aware of issues, and we cannot act retroactively. Of course, if you feel it is a 'personal' matter and wish to keep it that way you can do so, but make sure it stays off the board. It is the job of the admin team to resolve the conflicts and issues of the forums, but of course we can't change anyone's thoughts, feelings, or opinions.

Action may not always be immediate--please keep that in mind. We are a team and make most decisions jointly. This process takes time and discussion. We all have families and jobs and responsibilities outside of these forums, and we are not always instantly available. We expect that our members will recognize this and act with patience.

Editing/Deleting/Moving of Posts:

When it is warranted our moderator and admin teams reserve the right to edit/delete/move posts as needed. We do this usually as a last resort and it does not happen often. We follow a guideline of sending involved parties a PM to alert them to action taken, but it may vary according to particular situation. If a moderator feels a "hot" or abusive thread needs a time-out or a review by admin team, the post may be moved where it is not publicly viewable. Keep in mind that this move is not always permanent.

Locked Threads-
If a discussion has gotten out of hand, then a moderator or admin may choose to lock the thread. In this situation, starting a new "spin off" thread is not allowed. This only serves to perpetuate problems. If you have questions, sending a PM or email to the folder moderator(s) or any admin is the best route to take.

Moved Threads-
If a post/thread that you started or responded to happens to get moved/edited/locked, it is important that you realize this is a time for cooling off while the situation is being handled. Starting new threads publicly is not appropriate. Please do not panic or rush to assumptions. Threads may be moved WHILE the issues are being addressed and then moved back. We will try to keep you informed to the extent that it is "your business". We will not share with you what is between other users and the leadership team. If you are unsure, please PM an administrator or moderator. Please allow time for administrators or moderators to respond to private queries!

The "Ask the Administrators" forum is open to suggestions and feedback. We're always open to listening to new ideas and suggestions though the majority will probably not be instituted due to the focus and scope of these forums. Please do not take it personally. We have a very large forum here, and in general we believe it is best to keep it as simple and navigatable as possible. The “Ask the Administratorsâ€Â
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