Sue
Apr 25, 2004, 05:01 PM
BabyNames Message Boards Rules and Guidelines
revised 08/2011
The BabyNames.com Message Board rules and guidelines were created to make participation on our site a positive experience. We've established them to enhance our community and to make the boards a civil place for members to interact.
What's the difference between guidelines and rules? Basically, they're the difference between questionable behavior and behavior that we don't allow. The guidelines are standards of proper "netiquette" that we and our community have established in consideration of the community at large. While violating the guidelines might not result in disciplinary action, repeated or blatant violations will be grounds for the moderators to take action.
Rules, on the other hand, are pretty much set in stone. Violation of the rules will result in immediate suspension or termination of a member's account.
If you have any questions about particular guidelines or rules, or are concerned with violation of them, please contact one of the BabyNames member advisors or moderators via the private-messaging feature.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MESSAGE BOARD RULES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NO DISRUPTING THE BOARDS
We take a zero-tolerance approach to members' disrupting the message boards, and members who do so will have their accounts terminated. Examples of disruptive posts include, but are not limited to, complaining on the boards about board policy or other members; posting messages for suspended or banned members; using BabyNames.com's resources to solicit other members for goods and services; and sarcastic, derogatory, defamatory, or humiliating posts directed to or about other members, moderators, administrators or administrative decisions. If you have a problem with another member or with a board policy, please contact an advisor or administrator, who will treat your grievance confidentially if you request. Please note that both the BabyNames.com Terms of Service and our Rules & Guidelines state that we have the right to remove any member or any post if, at our discretion, it's in the best interest of our community to do so.
NO SOLICITING GIFTS
We discourage members from giving money or gifts to other members of the board. Members may not send private messages or post threads soliciting money and/or free items from other members of the board. Posts that describe items you cannot afford or specific dollar amounts you need are considered soliciting and are subject to removal.
ALL CONTENT MUST BE CONSIDERED "G"-RATED
The BabyNames.com message boards consist of children, teen and adult users. Inappropriate posts, images or chat conversations will be removed, and the initiating member will suspended or banned. Inappropriate language includes "faux swears" that substitute letters of vulgar words with characters or asterisks, or slightly modified versions of vulgar words.
PHOTOGRAPH POLICY
You may post photographs within your profile and in the messages. However, be aware that it is illegal to use copyrighted photos from other sources, such as magazines, newspapers or other websites. You must have parental consent to post photos of children who are not your own... even for nieces, nephews, friends, students or daycare charges. For safety reasons, children must be clothed in all photographs.
COPYRIGHT
We expect our members to adhere to copyright law for content, as well as for images. You are permitted to quote 2-3 paragraphs from an article, web page, or other copyrighted source; but you may not share the entire article, story, song lyrics, etc. Please include a link to the original source, as well.
NO IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION MAY BE POSTED FOR CHILDREN UNDER 18
For the safety of our children, please do not post identifiable information such as school names, last names or address information. Please do not post pictures of children other than your own, unless you have the express permission of the parents or guardians. That includes relatives and friends. Also, please don't link to a baby's website or photo page unless it's your baby. Minors (anyone under 18) are NOT allowed to participate in board exchanges, as that involves distributing their personal info to other members.
THREATS ON OTHERS OR YOURSELF
We take all posted threats seriously. If there is a post or private message that threatens violence against another or against yourself including suicide, we will work with the user's ISP to bring the issue to local law-enforcement officials.
TROLLING AND FAKING
Faking is not against the rules at Babynames.com; however, there are times when someone's faking can be disruptive and harmful to the community, such as in banned members' returning under aliases for the purpose of causing problems, or members' creating emotional dramas that are disruptive to the boards . If you feel someone may be faking and that it's disrupting the boards, please contact an advisor or moderator privately to discuss the matter. We have a zero-tolerance policy against trolling and cyberstalking, and do not tolerate the flaming or harassment of another member, since that activity in itself is far more harmful than the occasional faker. Members found to be accusing, shaming, confronting, demanding info from or otherwise trying to call out other members as fakers will have their accounts suspended or terminated.
SHARING ACCOUNTS
Sharing BabyNames subscription accounts between two or more people is prohibited, as is posting messages or photographs on behalf of banned members. (It's fine to post updates on behalf of former members who left on good terms, or who are on temporary breaks.) Members who post material from BabyNames to other message boards or social media sites will have their accounts terminated. Banned members who try to rejoin BabyNames under different usernames will have their new accounts banned as well. Members who permit suspended or banned members to access BabyNames using their login information will also have their accounts terminated. Couples in longterm relationships who live in the same household may request approval to share an account - PM snow for details.
SOLICITATIONS OF MEMBERS
BabyNames may not be used as a means of soliciting members for goods or services. Members who use other members' info to PM, email or instant-message other members about goods or services will have their accounts terminated. If trusted members own a legitimate business, we allow them to promote it by mentioning it once on ONE board, and by linking to their websites in their siggies. In regards to contests that offer prizes with any value (e.g. cash, shopping sprees, clothing, services of a professional, etc.), please follow the same rules. Please post about it one time, rather than in multiple threads or posts; and you may include a link to the contest in your signature. If you have any questions about our policy, play it safe and send snow a PM before promoting your business.
REMOVAL OF POSTS/USERS
The staff at BabyNames.com reserves the right to remove any post that we feel does not comply with the board rules. We also reserve the right to terminate any user account if we feel that user has violated a board rule, is intent on causing disruption or "trolling" the boards, or for any other reason that we, in our sole discretion, determine is in the best interest of our community.
REPORTING VIOLATIONS
We appreciate it when members bring board issues to our attention via PM to an advisor or board administrator. If you PM us an issue and you receive a reply thanking you for your concern and saying that we are aware of the problem and have taken certain steps and do not feel further action is warranted at this time, you are going to be suspended or banned if you then post about it to the boards. If you are further concerned, the appropriate response is to bring it up again (with new information/thoughts) to an advisor/snow, not to bring it up on the boards themselves. Sometimes issues are brought to our attention for which there is no clear answer. In that case, we discuss it thoroughly, including member input, and come to the best conclusion we can. We are human, we might potentially make mistakes. And whether we make a mistake or not, not everyone is going to agree with us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MESSAGE BOARD GUIDELINES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES....
Before posting a message, consider how it will come across to others, particularly people from different backgrounds or situations from yourself. The BabyNames community is comprised of members from all over the world, representing different lifestyles, religions, viewpoints, and experiences. We expect members to treat each other with respect and kindness, and to be aware of how their messages may come across to others. Examples of offensive behavior include:
* Slamming another member for her political or religious beliefs.
* Stating that "Anyone who XXX is a XXX" or "I hate people who XXX" -- even if it is not directed to a particular user, it is still offensive and considered a personal attack.
* Insensitivity, such as posting about the joys of pregnancy to the TTC board, or telling a woman who has an early-term miscarriage that she should be grateful that she was hardly pregnant. Or posting a graphic picture (G-rated of course) without a warning in the subject header.
* Ethnocentrism or racism that dismisses or insults the value of other cultures and countries.
WHO ARE YOU, WHO-WHO-WHO-WHO?
As close as you may feel to others on an Internet message board, it's wise not to disclose too much personal information about yourself publicly or privately to other members. We've had members who have posted their deepest secrets to the boards only to find out that people they know in real life are also members of the boards. There are members on BabyNames who are friends in real life. If that description fits you, please keep any private conversations or personal dramas between yourselves to private messaging or emails instead of on the message boards. Participation in gift exchanges and member contact lists is restricted to members who are 18 years old or older. Please note that it's against our rules to demand personal info from another member, whether done privately or on the boards.
PUBLIC POST, PRIVATE MESSAGE
It's bad form--and a waste of time and space--for members to post threads that should be sent as private messages. It's perfectly fine to include a shout-out in a thread title to someone who's been looking for info that you might have, or to continue a discussion that's been buried in another thread, but ask yourself whether the info will be of benefit to the community at large, or to just one person. If it's the latter, send her a PM.
GUESS WHAT?
We encourage you to use descriptive message titles so members don't have to guess what your message is about or waste a click to find out. Vague subject titles such as "Guess What?" or "Look in here" are a sure way to lose the goodwill of fellow members.
CHILL OUT
We know you may get excited about a certain topic, but do not "flood post" -- that is posting a bunch of messages all in a row or within a brief period of time, especially when the contents could have been combined into one post.
SIG LINES
Please don't make your signature file longer than 6 lines. Don't use large fonts, or include more than 6 bumper stickers. Only 3 lines may include bumperstickers or fonts larger than the default size. Everyone has to see your signature every time you post, and if the mods feel yours is visually annoying or cumbersome, even if you are within the guidelines, we will delete it.
SAVE THE DRAMA FOR YOUR MAMA
Some members use "goodbye" posts to solicit attention or gift subscriptions from other members. Types of goodbye posts that we consider inappropriate are:
* Posts that a member is considering leaving at some point in the future; these are usually just a way for a member to get people to say that they want her to stay.
* Posts that are posted to multiple boards on BN. Goodbye posts should be on one or two boards at most; you can PM the rest of your friends to let them know you're leaving.
* Self-pity posts: i.e., "I can see that no one cares about me, so I guess I'll just leave the boards," or "I just can't afford to stay here."
* Posts that threaten a member's leaving if we don't change a particular policy or take action against a particular member. We do not respond to ultimatums. If you threaten to leave unless the board administrators take a certain action, your account will be terminated.
* More than one goodbye post (e.g., posting that you're near your sub expiration date, then posting that your sub expiration date is a day away, then posting... well, you get the idea).
WHERE SHOULD MY MESSAGE GO?
Some of our message boards serve as "town hall"-type communities, where members want to discuss all aspects of their lives. We recognize the value in this, and we don't take as hard of a line on off-topic posts as other message boards do, but we do ask that members post certain topics to the boards created for those topics. Here are some guidelines for which threads belong on certain boards:
* Topics such as circumcision, daycare, breastfeeding and cloth-diapering are fine to post to a community board, such as the Family Life board. Political and war threads, or threads about controversial topics, should be posted to the In the News forum. That board was created at the request of members who didn't want "serious stuff" cluttering the community boards
* We've created a board, Parenting ABCs, for members seeking or offering advice. Members with questions about their children's development or behavior should post those questions to this board rather than to the Family Life board. The Family Life board is a community forum where members discuss various aspects of their lives, and advice questions tend to slip under the radar or get buried among the chit-chat. Please don't use space on the Family Life board to post a link to your thread on Parenting ABCs, or vice versa. The members who read one of those boards read the other one, too.
COUNT TO TEN
If you read a message that makes you angry or offends you, don't fly off the handle and answer in kind. Instead:
* Take a deep breath and DON'T PRESS REPLY right away.
* Re-read the post. Maybe you misinterpreted the tone.
* Tell an advisor or moderator how you feel and ask what they think
Thank you for keeping the boards a positive community!
revised 08/2011
The BabyNames.com Message Board rules and guidelines were created to make participation on our site a positive experience. We've established them to enhance our community and to make the boards a civil place for members to interact.
What's the difference between guidelines and rules? Basically, they're the difference between questionable behavior and behavior that we don't allow. The guidelines are standards of proper "netiquette" that we and our community have established in consideration of the community at large. While violating the guidelines might not result in disciplinary action, repeated or blatant violations will be grounds for the moderators to take action.
Rules, on the other hand, are pretty much set in stone. Violation of the rules will result in immediate suspension or termination of a member's account.
If you have any questions about particular guidelines or rules, or are concerned with violation of them, please contact one of the BabyNames member advisors or moderators via the private-messaging feature.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MESSAGE BOARD RULES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NO DISRUPTING THE BOARDS
We take a zero-tolerance approach to members' disrupting the message boards, and members who do so will have their accounts terminated. Examples of disruptive posts include, but are not limited to, complaining on the boards about board policy or other members; posting messages for suspended or banned members; using BabyNames.com's resources to solicit other members for goods and services; and sarcastic, derogatory, defamatory, or humiliating posts directed to or about other members, moderators, administrators or administrative decisions. If you have a problem with another member or with a board policy, please contact an advisor or administrator, who will treat your grievance confidentially if you request. Please note that both the BabyNames.com Terms of Service and our Rules & Guidelines state that we have the right to remove any member or any post if, at our discretion, it's in the best interest of our community to do so.
NO SOLICITING GIFTS
We discourage members from giving money or gifts to other members of the board. Members may not send private messages or post threads soliciting money and/or free items from other members of the board. Posts that describe items you cannot afford or specific dollar amounts you need are considered soliciting and are subject to removal.
ALL CONTENT MUST BE CONSIDERED "G"-RATED
The BabyNames.com message boards consist of children, teen and adult users. Inappropriate posts, images or chat conversations will be removed, and the initiating member will suspended or banned. Inappropriate language includes "faux swears" that substitute letters of vulgar words with characters or asterisks, or slightly modified versions of vulgar words.
PHOTOGRAPH POLICY
You may post photographs within your profile and in the messages. However, be aware that it is illegal to use copyrighted photos from other sources, such as magazines, newspapers or other websites. You must have parental consent to post photos of children who are not your own... even for nieces, nephews, friends, students or daycare charges. For safety reasons, children must be clothed in all photographs.
COPYRIGHT
We expect our members to adhere to copyright law for content, as well as for images. You are permitted to quote 2-3 paragraphs from an article, web page, or other copyrighted source; but you may not share the entire article, story, song lyrics, etc. Please include a link to the original source, as well.
NO IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION MAY BE POSTED FOR CHILDREN UNDER 18
For the safety of our children, please do not post identifiable information such as school names, last names or address information. Please do not post pictures of children other than your own, unless you have the express permission of the parents or guardians. That includes relatives and friends. Also, please don't link to a baby's website or photo page unless it's your baby. Minors (anyone under 18) are NOT allowed to participate in board exchanges, as that involves distributing their personal info to other members.
THREATS ON OTHERS OR YOURSELF
We take all posted threats seriously. If there is a post or private message that threatens violence against another or against yourself including suicide, we will work with the user's ISP to bring the issue to local law-enforcement officials.
TROLLING AND FAKING
Faking is not against the rules at Babynames.com; however, there are times when someone's faking can be disruptive and harmful to the community, such as in banned members' returning under aliases for the purpose of causing problems, or members' creating emotional dramas that are disruptive to the boards . If you feel someone may be faking and that it's disrupting the boards, please contact an advisor or moderator privately to discuss the matter. We have a zero-tolerance policy against trolling and cyberstalking, and do not tolerate the flaming or harassment of another member, since that activity in itself is far more harmful than the occasional faker. Members found to be accusing, shaming, confronting, demanding info from or otherwise trying to call out other members as fakers will have their accounts suspended or terminated.
SHARING ACCOUNTS
Sharing BabyNames subscription accounts between two or more people is prohibited, as is posting messages or photographs on behalf of banned members. (It's fine to post updates on behalf of former members who left on good terms, or who are on temporary breaks.) Members who post material from BabyNames to other message boards or social media sites will have their accounts terminated. Banned members who try to rejoin BabyNames under different usernames will have their new accounts banned as well. Members who permit suspended or banned members to access BabyNames using their login information will also have their accounts terminated. Couples in longterm relationships who live in the same household may request approval to share an account - PM snow for details.
SOLICITATIONS OF MEMBERS
BabyNames may not be used as a means of soliciting members for goods or services. Members who use other members' info to PM, email or instant-message other members about goods or services will have their accounts terminated. If trusted members own a legitimate business, we allow them to promote it by mentioning it once on ONE board, and by linking to their websites in their siggies. In regards to contests that offer prizes with any value (e.g. cash, shopping sprees, clothing, services of a professional, etc.), please follow the same rules. Please post about it one time, rather than in multiple threads or posts; and you may include a link to the contest in your signature. If you have any questions about our policy, play it safe and send snow a PM before promoting your business.
REMOVAL OF POSTS/USERS
The staff at BabyNames.com reserves the right to remove any post that we feel does not comply with the board rules. We also reserve the right to terminate any user account if we feel that user has violated a board rule, is intent on causing disruption or "trolling" the boards, or for any other reason that we, in our sole discretion, determine is in the best interest of our community.
REPORTING VIOLATIONS
We appreciate it when members bring board issues to our attention via PM to an advisor or board administrator. If you PM us an issue and you receive a reply thanking you for your concern and saying that we are aware of the problem and have taken certain steps and do not feel further action is warranted at this time, you are going to be suspended or banned if you then post about it to the boards. If you are further concerned, the appropriate response is to bring it up again (with new information/thoughts) to an advisor/snow, not to bring it up on the boards themselves. Sometimes issues are brought to our attention for which there is no clear answer. In that case, we discuss it thoroughly, including member input, and come to the best conclusion we can. We are human, we might potentially make mistakes. And whether we make a mistake or not, not everyone is going to agree with us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MESSAGE BOARD GUIDELINES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES....
Before posting a message, consider how it will come across to others, particularly people from different backgrounds or situations from yourself. The BabyNames community is comprised of members from all over the world, representing different lifestyles, religions, viewpoints, and experiences. We expect members to treat each other with respect and kindness, and to be aware of how their messages may come across to others. Examples of offensive behavior include:
* Slamming another member for her political or religious beliefs.
* Stating that "Anyone who XXX is a XXX" or "I hate people who XXX" -- even if it is not directed to a particular user, it is still offensive and considered a personal attack.
* Insensitivity, such as posting about the joys of pregnancy to the TTC board, or telling a woman who has an early-term miscarriage that she should be grateful that she was hardly pregnant. Or posting a graphic picture (G-rated of course) without a warning in the subject header.
* Ethnocentrism or racism that dismisses or insults the value of other cultures and countries.
WHO ARE YOU, WHO-WHO-WHO-WHO?
As close as you may feel to others on an Internet message board, it's wise not to disclose too much personal information about yourself publicly or privately to other members. We've had members who have posted their deepest secrets to the boards only to find out that people they know in real life are also members of the boards. There are members on BabyNames who are friends in real life. If that description fits you, please keep any private conversations or personal dramas between yourselves to private messaging or emails instead of on the message boards. Participation in gift exchanges and member contact lists is restricted to members who are 18 years old or older. Please note that it's against our rules to demand personal info from another member, whether done privately or on the boards.
PUBLIC POST, PRIVATE MESSAGE
It's bad form--and a waste of time and space--for members to post threads that should be sent as private messages. It's perfectly fine to include a shout-out in a thread title to someone who's been looking for info that you might have, or to continue a discussion that's been buried in another thread, but ask yourself whether the info will be of benefit to the community at large, or to just one person. If it's the latter, send her a PM.
GUESS WHAT?
We encourage you to use descriptive message titles so members don't have to guess what your message is about or waste a click to find out. Vague subject titles such as "Guess What?" or "Look in here" are a sure way to lose the goodwill of fellow members.
CHILL OUT
We know you may get excited about a certain topic, but do not "flood post" -- that is posting a bunch of messages all in a row or within a brief period of time, especially when the contents could have been combined into one post.
SIG LINES
Please don't make your signature file longer than 6 lines. Don't use large fonts, or include more than 6 bumper stickers. Only 3 lines may include bumperstickers or fonts larger than the default size. Everyone has to see your signature every time you post, and if the mods feel yours is visually annoying or cumbersome, even if you are within the guidelines, we will delete it.
SAVE THE DRAMA FOR YOUR MAMA
Some members use "goodbye" posts to solicit attention or gift subscriptions from other members. Types of goodbye posts that we consider inappropriate are:
* Posts that a member is considering leaving at some point in the future; these are usually just a way for a member to get people to say that they want her to stay.
* Posts that are posted to multiple boards on BN. Goodbye posts should be on one or two boards at most; you can PM the rest of your friends to let them know you're leaving.
* Self-pity posts: i.e., "I can see that no one cares about me, so I guess I'll just leave the boards," or "I just can't afford to stay here."
* Posts that threaten a member's leaving if we don't change a particular policy or take action against a particular member. We do not respond to ultimatums. If you threaten to leave unless the board administrators take a certain action, your account will be terminated.
* More than one goodbye post (e.g., posting that you're near your sub expiration date, then posting that your sub expiration date is a day away, then posting... well, you get the idea).
WHERE SHOULD MY MESSAGE GO?
Some of our message boards serve as "town hall"-type communities, where members want to discuss all aspects of their lives. We recognize the value in this, and we don't take as hard of a line on off-topic posts as other message boards do, but we do ask that members post certain topics to the boards created for those topics. Here are some guidelines for which threads belong on certain boards:
* Topics such as circumcision, daycare, breastfeeding and cloth-diapering are fine to post to a community board, such as the Family Life board. Political and war threads, or threads about controversial topics, should be posted to the In the News forum. That board was created at the request of members who didn't want "serious stuff" cluttering the community boards
* We've created a board, Parenting ABCs, for members seeking or offering advice. Members with questions about their children's development or behavior should post those questions to this board rather than to the Family Life board. The Family Life board is a community forum where members discuss various aspects of their lives, and advice questions tend to slip under the radar or get buried among the chit-chat. Please don't use space on the Family Life board to post a link to your thread on Parenting ABCs, or vice versa. The members who read one of those boards read the other one, too.
COUNT TO TEN
If you read a message that makes you angry or offends you, don't fly off the handle and answer in kind. Instead:
* Take a deep breath and DON'T PRESS REPLY right away.
* Re-read the post. Maybe you misinterpreted the tone.
* Tell an advisor or moderator how you feel and ask what they think
Thank you for keeping the boards a positive community!