Post by Administration on Aug 5, 2007 10:01:18 GMT -5
The suggestions posted below are not an attempt on our part to control, demean, or irritate anyone. They are standard rules of etiquette that are posted on most forums, and following these recommendations will ensure a pleasant atmosphere for everyone who reads here.
Don't Flame the Staff
Flaming (or arguing with) the staff on their message board is akin to going to someone's house just to insult them; it isn't proper etiquette and it's just plain rude. If you have a legitimate complaint, PM it to the appropriate party with courtesy and decorum. If possible, wait until you calm down to discuss any gripes you may have. Often it's due to a simple misunderstanding and blasting out hateful remarks only leaves a lasting impression about yourself that isn't too pleasant. People do remember these outbursts, especially if they are constant.
Also remember that we are human, we're sick like you are, we have our own families to take care of, and we can't be here all the time. Instead, we often have to read a little bit several times a day instead of taking it all in once a day. This means we will frequently use the "30 Most Recent Posts" thread for our info and this does not show us which categories your threads have been posted in.
Accordingly, we cannot always catch everything that some of you might deem inappropriate or not in line with previous decisions we have made. That doesn't give you the right to make unfounded accusations or assume we are biased toward any particular person. Likewise, mistakes have been made on our part but bringing them to our attention privately is the best way to resolve these matters.
Criticizing the Moderators of a forum openly on their board is a very tacky and thoughtless thing to do. If you are bothered by anything at all, we have always welcomed your complaints as well as your suggestions. If we aren't aware of something, we appreciate it being brought to our attention privately so we can act on it. Showing disrespect for us and what we are trying to do here only reflects back upon yourself as well as every member here. Please try to refrain from this and understand that we are doing the very best we can under quite trying circumstances.
Keep in mind that just because you may not visually see us responding to a particular issue doesn't mean we haven't done so. We simply don't feel it's anyone's business what goes on behind the scenes here where other members are concerned and thus, we do not publicize it openly. If the situation ever involved you, we're sure you would be most grateful for this practice.
When We Lock A Thread
When a thread is locked by the Admins you can trust that we have good reason to do so. We have learned from past challenges that it's best to stop a potentially ugly situation before it has a chance to get out of hand. If you feel like you still need to address the subject, please write to us personally and we'll discuss it with you. Starting another thread about the same topic will only get it deleted from the board - if we wanted the conversation to continue, we wouldn't have locked the other thread to begin with.
If you are the originator of a thread that gets locked or removed and you don't understand why, more often than not it doesn't even have anything to do with your initial post. If you feel like your topic should continue in another manner, please write to us privately and we'll try to work it out for the betterment of all.
Disclosing Email Addresses and Other Personal Info
We ask that you please not disclose personal information about others without their consent. This especially refers to information on any doctors who may be treating Lyme and/or Morgellons, unless you have their written consent to do so.
These doctors are far and few between, and we are very grateful to them for their contributions, despite their being monitored regularly with the intent of having their practices shut down and their licenses revoked. They are risking so much by trying to help us and we must return the favor by using common sense and discretion.
In the few posts where our doctors are referenced, please try and address them as Dr. "so and so" instead of using their first names only. You may be best friends with this doctor but using a first-name basis for them on a public forum is a little disrespectful, plus the other readers don't always know who you are talking about.
We will not allow the sharing of personal emails without the consent of all parties involved. Personal addresses are often displayed in these emails and it's not wise to have them made available to the entire internet world.
It also is not wise for you to post your own personal information and email address on message boards. You may use the PM function here to exchange your email with another Member, but please keep in mind that you often do not know who this person really is. We like to think of ourselves as family here but the truth is, we don't always know everything about a person and great caution should be exercised when giving your personal information to them.
tcs.cybertipline.com/knowthedangers6.htm
tcs.cybertipline.com/knowthedangers8.htm
Pinned Threads
You may have noticed that most of the pinned threads at the top of the Morgellons board are from the Morgellons Research Foundation (MRF), and there is good reason for that. Our Lymebuster forum opened with MRF by our side and they have had our support since the day their Foundation was established (actually even before that). We want all newcomers to the forum as well as our Members to have immediate access to current news regarding MRF research.
However, you can be sure that we support ALL efforts on behalf of gaining more knowledge and assistance for Morgellons "disease", and occasionally we will make an exception by pinning other warrented topics at the top. You can always request this of yours through the PM system, though we hesitate to place too many up there since people tend to skip over that area if it gets too cluttered.
The Personal Message (PM) Function
This board function is for your own personal use to exchange off-board chat with another member. It is NOT a tool for you to slam, bash, or otherwise insult either the recipient, another board member, or someone not even associated with the forum. Using this function to further your own negative agenda by forcing rumor or gossip onto others will not be tolerated.
Marketing a product from which you will profit via the PM function will not be tolerated.
If people ask you to not contact them via this function, please respect their wishes. We urge anyone to contact us if there is knowledge of this function being used in any manner which is offensive.
Avoid Hijacking a Thread
Hijacking involves posting your own idea or topic on someone else's thread and this can be very offensive to the entire forum. There are a few who do this with the sole intention of causing problems so please respect the original poster's intent for the thread by starting your own. If you have some information that is important, it won't be noticed nearly as much in someone else's thread anyway.
Refrain from Using ALL CAPS
Typing in all capital letters is frowned upon and is considered the equivalent of screaming - it also makes your message more difficult to read. If you have personal challenges that prevent you from using certain keyboard functions, discuss this with us and we will try to offer suggestions that could help with the use of your computer as well as this forum.
Try To Space Out Your Posts Into Paragraphs
If possible, try to use paragraphs for lengthy posts as it's quite difficult for Morgie- and Lyme-brains to read, follow, and comprehend long messages whose sentences all run together.
Post Under the Proper Categories
It is never enjoyable to find a post about politics under a forum category designated as a support place for those who are ill. Keep your threads consistent with the topics that govern them. The moderators don't want to spend all their time rearranging threads and they certainly don't like to be reminding you of this anymore than you like to hear it.
Making a political or otherwise inappropriate post, then inserting one word that is applicable to the board just so it appears to fit the category is not exempt from these rules and may be deleted by Staff at their discretion.
We realize that often we appear inconsistent where moving unrelated threads off the Morgellons board is concerned, but as you can imagine it's quite difficult to know just where to draw the line. If one of your topics gets moved and you honestly believe it belongs where you put it, please contact us privately and we will gladly discuss it with you. Different people see things in different ways, but we won't be as inclined to work with you if you handle it by criticizing us openly.
We can only ask that you use common sense when starting your threads and ask yourself if this REALLY pertains to the category you are placing it under. We think that most of the time you will know the answer before even posting your message.
It's good to keep in mind that people with compromised health don't always have a lot of time to read the boards so when they go to the one of their choice, they should expect to see thread topics that correlate with that board. Having to sift through dozens of off-topic messages only discourages them from coming back and defeats the purpose of having this forum.
When We Move Threads To Another Board
We understand that most are so used to posting on the Morgellons board that you automatically go there with any information you would like to share, not realizing that your topic might not be a relevant one for that board. If it turns out that we move it to another board, please do not take this personally. We are only trying to ensure that each board contains threads that are specific to its related topic, which in turn makes it much easier to navigate the forum.
Although we have the option to leave a forwarding message when a thread is moved, we won't always utilize this function for various reasons. Often people will start an obvious non-related thread when the board is very active, knowing that a lot of people will see their post before it gets moved. In this case we will not leave a forwarding message, which in essence still gives your thread priority on a board where you knew it didn't belong in the first place. It's not fair to the other readers to do this, and we won't reward you with a forwarding post if our rules have been broken.
Sometimes we don't always catch the unrelated threads until they have moved on to other pages, and we would not leave a forwarding message in this instance either. If you have started a thread which you cannot find, the best way to discover which board it's been moved to is to view the posts in your Profile.
Changing Your Mind About A Thread You've Started
If you start a thread and later change your mind about what you've written, please go into Modify Post and just remove the text you no longer want visible, either leaving an empty post or making a short statement why your text was deleted. If you delete your post entirely, none of the other responses to your thread will make any sense. If people can see that you've edited your initial post for whatever reason, at least they will better understand the meaning of the posts that follow.
Ask Before You Attack
In many cases, a seemingly offensive post is not meant the way it sounds due to the lapses in communication on the Internet. Before you provide a nasty comeback, consider asking the original poster to clarify what he or she meant. If it turns out that you were correct in your original interpretation, you can feel free to discuss this calmly via the PM system; however, if you weren't correct, people will respect you for giving others the benefit of the doubt.
Cross-Posting
The practice of cross-posting is also frowned upon and any duplicate posts directing readers back and forth to duplicate messages will be moved or deleted from the forum.
We encourage you to direct people to informative links they may have missed, but posting a message on one board with a link to it on a totally different and irrelevant board is annoying and a misuse of precious space.
People read threads that interest them, and forcing your opinions onto them via cross-posting in a non-related thread and/or board does not endear you to them.
Meaningless Messages & Power Posting
Posting messages that say nothing more than "Me too" is a quick way to irritate other members. If you agree with a posting, either enjoy your consent by yourself or reply with an informative comment about why you agree. Imagine how dull a board would get if it contained nothing but hundreds of "me too's".
Power posting involves replying to threads with empty messages, saying nothing more than "LOL" or an emoticon, or posting repetitive info in order to bring up the number of your personal posts. If you don't have anything useful to say, please don't waste valuable space with continuous empty replies.
Avoid Personal Communications
Please refrain from exchanging personal communications that belong in a PM or email. Other people reading do not want or need to see these private exchanges, and it only takes up valuable space that should be used more productively.
We all love to insert jokes here and there and it's encouraged to relieve the stress that we all feel. However, jokes that everyone can appreciate are not the same as a personal conversation between a couple of people that clearly is relevant only to them. We deserve the right to delete all ongoing personal chit-chat that is not consistent to the thread topic or the board in general, should this become a clear and constant pattern of behavior.
A perfect example is a totally unrelated topic started between 2-3 individuals in which questionable language and thoughts were exchanged. Because it was posted on the board, others responded and tried to help with what they thought was a misunderstanding. Even though others had every right to respond to this public thread, they were told in essence to "butt out", that it was private and none of their business. At the very least this was an unnecessary comment, and all of the hurt feelings could have been avoided if the personal discussion had been left off the forum.
Bottom line is, please keep communications of a personal nature confined to the PM function; otherwise, they will either be moved to Off-topic or deleted permanently.
One last reminder: Please do not post on the boards that you have sent someone a PM and ask them to read it - people know to check their messages without you having to tell them. If everyone did this, imagine how much wasted space would be taken up with these personal messages that do not belong there.
Take Personal Agendas Off the Boards
Internet forums and message boards are for public discussions on specific topics which bear relevance to more than a few people. If you have a personal issue with someone else, take it off the forum and use either the PM function of the board or email that person.
Don't Flame the Staff
Flaming (or arguing with) the staff on their message board is akin to going to someone's house just to insult them; it isn't proper etiquette and it's just plain rude. If you have a legitimate complaint, PM it to the appropriate party with courtesy and decorum. If possible, wait until you calm down to discuss any gripes you may have. Often it's due to a simple misunderstanding and blasting out hateful remarks only leaves a lasting impression about yourself that isn't too pleasant. People do remember these outbursts, especially if they are constant.
Also remember that we are human, we're sick like you are, we have our own families to take care of, and we can't be here all the time. Instead, we often have to read a little bit several times a day instead of taking it all in once a day. This means we will frequently use the "30 Most Recent Posts" thread for our info and this does not show us which categories your threads have been posted in.
Accordingly, we cannot always catch everything that some of you might deem inappropriate or not in line with previous decisions we have made. That doesn't give you the right to make unfounded accusations or assume we are biased toward any particular person. Likewise, mistakes have been made on our part but bringing them to our attention privately is the best way to resolve these matters.
Criticizing the Moderators of a forum openly on their board is a very tacky and thoughtless thing to do. If you are bothered by anything at all, we have always welcomed your complaints as well as your suggestions. If we aren't aware of something, we appreciate it being brought to our attention privately so we can act on it. Showing disrespect for us and what we are trying to do here only reflects back upon yourself as well as every member here. Please try to refrain from this and understand that we are doing the very best we can under quite trying circumstances.
Keep in mind that just because you may not visually see us responding to a particular issue doesn't mean we haven't done so. We simply don't feel it's anyone's business what goes on behind the scenes here where other members are concerned and thus, we do not publicize it openly. If the situation ever involved you, we're sure you would be most grateful for this practice.
When We Lock A Thread
When a thread is locked by the Admins you can trust that we have good reason to do so. We have learned from past challenges that it's best to stop a potentially ugly situation before it has a chance to get out of hand. If you feel like you still need to address the subject, please write to us personally and we'll discuss it with you. Starting another thread about the same topic will only get it deleted from the board - if we wanted the conversation to continue, we wouldn't have locked the other thread to begin with.
If you are the originator of a thread that gets locked or removed and you don't understand why, more often than not it doesn't even have anything to do with your initial post. If you feel like your topic should continue in another manner, please write to us privately and we'll try to work it out for the betterment of all.
Disclosing Email Addresses and Other Personal Info
We ask that you please not disclose personal information about others without their consent. This especially refers to information on any doctors who may be treating Lyme and/or Morgellons, unless you have their written consent to do so.
These doctors are far and few between, and we are very grateful to them for their contributions, despite their being monitored regularly with the intent of having their practices shut down and their licenses revoked. They are risking so much by trying to help us and we must return the favor by using common sense and discretion.
In the few posts where our doctors are referenced, please try and address them as Dr. "so and so" instead of using their first names only. You may be best friends with this doctor but using a first-name basis for them on a public forum is a little disrespectful, plus the other readers don't always know who you are talking about.
We will not allow the sharing of personal emails without the consent of all parties involved. Personal addresses are often displayed in these emails and it's not wise to have them made available to the entire internet world.
It also is not wise for you to post your own personal information and email address on message boards. You may use the PM function here to exchange your email with another Member, but please keep in mind that you often do not know who this person really is. We like to think of ourselves as family here but the truth is, we don't always know everything about a person and great caution should be exercised when giving your personal information to them.
tcs.cybertipline.com/knowthedangers6.htm
tcs.cybertipline.com/knowthedangers8.htm
Pinned Threads
You may have noticed that most of the pinned threads at the top of the Morgellons board are from the Morgellons Research Foundation (MRF), and there is good reason for that. Our Lymebuster forum opened with MRF by our side and they have had our support since the day their Foundation was established (actually even before that). We want all newcomers to the forum as well as our Members to have immediate access to current news regarding MRF research.
However, you can be sure that we support ALL efforts on behalf of gaining more knowledge and assistance for Morgellons "disease", and occasionally we will make an exception by pinning other warrented topics at the top. You can always request this of yours through the PM system, though we hesitate to place too many up there since people tend to skip over that area if it gets too cluttered.
The Personal Message (PM) Function
This board function is for your own personal use to exchange off-board chat with another member. It is NOT a tool for you to slam, bash, or otherwise insult either the recipient, another board member, or someone not even associated with the forum. Using this function to further your own negative agenda by forcing rumor or gossip onto others will not be tolerated.
Marketing a product from which you will profit via the PM function will not be tolerated.
If people ask you to not contact them via this function, please respect their wishes. We urge anyone to contact us if there is knowledge of this function being used in any manner which is offensive.
Avoid Hijacking a Thread
Hijacking involves posting your own idea or topic on someone else's thread and this can be very offensive to the entire forum. There are a few who do this with the sole intention of causing problems so please respect the original poster's intent for the thread by starting your own. If you have some information that is important, it won't be noticed nearly as much in someone else's thread anyway.
Refrain from Using ALL CAPS
Typing in all capital letters is frowned upon and is considered the equivalent of screaming - it also makes your message more difficult to read. If you have personal challenges that prevent you from using certain keyboard functions, discuss this with us and we will try to offer suggestions that could help with the use of your computer as well as this forum.
Try To Space Out Your Posts Into Paragraphs
If possible, try to use paragraphs for lengthy posts as it's quite difficult for Morgie- and Lyme-brains to read, follow, and comprehend long messages whose sentences all run together.
Post Under the Proper Categories
It is never enjoyable to find a post about politics under a forum category designated as a support place for those who are ill. Keep your threads consistent with the topics that govern them. The moderators don't want to spend all their time rearranging threads and they certainly don't like to be reminding you of this anymore than you like to hear it.
Making a political or otherwise inappropriate post, then inserting one word that is applicable to the board just so it appears to fit the category is not exempt from these rules and may be deleted by Staff at their discretion.
We realize that often we appear inconsistent where moving unrelated threads off the Morgellons board is concerned, but as you can imagine it's quite difficult to know just where to draw the line. If one of your topics gets moved and you honestly believe it belongs where you put it, please contact us privately and we will gladly discuss it with you. Different people see things in different ways, but we won't be as inclined to work with you if you handle it by criticizing us openly.
We can only ask that you use common sense when starting your threads and ask yourself if this REALLY pertains to the category you are placing it under. We think that most of the time you will know the answer before even posting your message.
It's good to keep in mind that people with compromised health don't always have a lot of time to read the boards so when they go to the one of their choice, they should expect to see thread topics that correlate with that board. Having to sift through dozens of off-topic messages only discourages them from coming back and defeats the purpose of having this forum.
When We Move Threads To Another Board
We understand that most are so used to posting on the Morgellons board that you automatically go there with any information you would like to share, not realizing that your topic might not be a relevant one for that board. If it turns out that we move it to another board, please do not take this personally. We are only trying to ensure that each board contains threads that are specific to its related topic, which in turn makes it much easier to navigate the forum.
Although we have the option to leave a forwarding message when a thread is moved, we won't always utilize this function for various reasons. Often people will start an obvious non-related thread when the board is very active, knowing that a lot of people will see their post before it gets moved. In this case we will not leave a forwarding message, which in essence still gives your thread priority on a board where you knew it didn't belong in the first place. It's not fair to the other readers to do this, and we won't reward you with a forwarding post if our rules have been broken.
Sometimes we don't always catch the unrelated threads until they have moved on to other pages, and we would not leave a forwarding message in this instance either. If you have started a thread which you cannot find, the best way to discover which board it's been moved to is to view the posts in your Profile.
Changing Your Mind About A Thread You've Started
If you start a thread and later change your mind about what you've written, please go into Modify Post and just remove the text you no longer want visible, either leaving an empty post or making a short statement why your text was deleted. If you delete your post entirely, none of the other responses to your thread will make any sense. If people can see that you've edited your initial post for whatever reason, at least they will better understand the meaning of the posts that follow.
Ask Before You Attack
In many cases, a seemingly offensive post is not meant the way it sounds due to the lapses in communication on the Internet. Before you provide a nasty comeback, consider asking the original poster to clarify what he or she meant. If it turns out that you were correct in your original interpretation, you can feel free to discuss this calmly via the PM system; however, if you weren't correct, people will respect you for giving others the benefit of the doubt.
Cross-Posting
The practice of cross-posting is also frowned upon and any duplicate posts directing readers back and forth to duplicate messages will be moved or deleted from the forum.
We encourage you to direct people to informative links they may have missed, but posting a message on one board with a link to it on a totally different and irrelevant board is annoying and a misuse of precious space.
People read threads that interest them, and forcing your opinions onto them via cross-posting in a non-related thread and/or board does not endear you to them.
Meaningless Messages & Power Posting
Posting messages that say nothing more than "Me too" is a quick way to irritate other members. If you agree with a posting, either enjoy your consent by yourself or reply with an informative comment about why you agree. Imagine how dull a board would get if it contained nothing but hundreds of "me too's".
Power posting involves replying to threads with empty messages, saying nothing more than "LOL" or an emoticon, or posting repetitive info in order to bring up the number of your personal posts. If you don't have anything useful to say, please don't waste valuable space with continuous empty replies.
Avoid Personal Communications
Please refrain from exchanging personal communications that belong in a PM or email. Other people reading do not want or need to see these private exchanges, and it only takes up valuable space that should be used more productively.
We all love to insert jokes here and there and it's encouraged to relieve the stress that we all feel. However, jokes that everyone can appreciate are not the same as a personal conversation between a couple of people that clearly is relevant only to them. We deserve the right to delete all ongoing personal chit-chat that is not consistent to the thread topic or the board in general, should this become a clear and constant pattern of behavior.
A perfect example is a totally unrelated topic started between 2-3 individuals in which questionable language and thoughts were exchanged. Because it was posted on the board, others responded and tried to help with what they thought was a misunderstanding. Even though others had every right to respond to this public thread, they were told in essence to "butt out", that it was private and none of their business. At the very least this was an unnecessary comment, and all of the hurt feelings could have been avoided if the personal discussion had been left off the forum.
Bottom line is, please keep communications of a personal nature confined to the PM function; otherwise, they will either be moved to Off-topic or deleted permanently.
One last reminder: Please do not post on the boards that you have sent someone a PM and ask them to read it - people know to check their messages without you having to tell them. If everyone did this, imagine how much wasted space would be taken up with these personal messages that do not belong there.
Take Personal Agendas Off the Boards
Internet forums and message boards are for public discussions on specific topics which bear relevance to more than a few people. If you have a personal issue with someone else, take it off the forum and use either the PM function of the board or email that person.