Welcome to the iParenting Community Guide. Please review the following information before using the boards and e-mail lists.

Introduction to Using iParenting Boards and Lists

• Where Do I Belong?
• List Functions and Commands
• Lurking and Listening
• Introduce Yourself

The Golden Rules of Internet Communities

• Flame Wars, Harassment, Spam and More
  • Respecting Opinions
  • Agree to Disagree
  • Dousing Flames
  • The Art of Ignoring
  • Loss of Privileges
  • Moving On

Introduction to Using iParenting Boards and Lists

Where Do I Belong?
Welcome to our supportive, friendly community! We're glad you've decided to interact with other members. But where should you start? Let us guide you.

iParenting has four types of community-centered areas, all accessible through the "Interact" section of each of our sites.

Now that you know more about our community areas, we encourage you to explore the boards, lists and chat areas. Feel free to join as many communities as you wish!

List Functions and Commands
If you've subscribed to an e-mail list, you will receive a welcoming message with information about where to send your messages, how to get digest messages and how to unsubscribe. Keep this message in your files for future reference. You can also read that information and our list FAQ here.

Lurking and Listening
If you're new to a discussion, e-mail or chat group, you may feel more comfortable just "lurking" or listening to the conversations that take place. You may also find the information you were looking for by browsing old posts. It's perfectly acceptable to "feel out" the group before getting your feet wet.

Introduce Yourself
Once you've decided to join in the conversation, it's a good idea to post an introduction of sorts. You don't need to write an autobiography, but do give other members an idea of why you're posting. This helps others get to know you a little and helps you find people who have common circumstances or interests.

The Golden Rules of Internet Communities

Here are some general guidelines that are common throughout all Internet communities.

• Be courteous and helpful. The best way to make new friends in the community is to treat others courteously and offer your support or help when you can. You'll find the Golden Rule applies in cyberspace, too!
• Don't give out private information. Always remember that anyone can subscribe to an e-mail list or join a board or chat room under a false identity. Think very carefully before giving out your phone number, address, last name, and other details that you wouldn't normally announce to a group of strangers.
• Don't spam (post commercial content). Solicitations for commercial purposes are not appropriate in these types of forums. Even if you are selling something that our members would probably be interested in, don't "advertise" on iParenting's boards or lists or you will face the penalty (see below). To legitimately advertise on iParenting, contact us at advertising@iparenting.com.
• Label cross-postings. Many of our members subscribe to multiple e-mail lists and visit more than one board each day. If you are posting a question to multiple lists or boards, label it as a cross-post in the subject line. This helps other members sort through messages more efficiently.
• Refrain from posting chain mail, virus warnings, and other "pass-along" messages. Experienced users are generally annoyed by these types of messages because the vast majority are hoaxes.
• Don't post copyrighted material. Anything that has been published (posted) on the Internet or elsewhere is copyrighted and should not be re-posted by you without the expressed permission of the author. This includes other posts on boards, letters, articles within iParenting or from other sources, etc.
• Post family-friendly content. Do not post any material that is considered vulgar, obscene or profane. Please remember that younger viewers may be reading your posts. Keep your content clean.
• Keep your typing clean. Using ALL CAPS is considered a form of shouting and shouldn't be used. Also please try to keep symbols (like "baby dust" and "positive vibes") to a minimum.

Flame Wars, Harassment, Spam and More

iParenting.com has developed these rules as a way to keep our communities friendly and safe for all users. To report a problem, e-mail webmaster@iparenting.com.

Respecting Opinions
When you enter into a discussion with another person or group of people, opinions unlike your own may be expressed. Everyone has a right to his/her own opinion, and people are more likely to listen when it's expressed respectfully. Remember to voice your thoughts and ideas in a non-confrontational manner and to respond to other opinions with respect.

Agree to Disagree
When a disagreement breaks out, tempers can get hot. When this happens, imagine how you would react if the person you disagree with were standing in front of you. Treat others with respect. If you can't agree, don't rehash everything hoping to convince everyone that you're right. Either take the disagreement to a private area (over private e-mail, for example) or agree to disagree and move on.

Dousing Flames
A "flame war" is characterized by intentional personal attacks. Harassing, vulgar, abusive, obscene, and hurtful or hateful attacks – especially if they are aimed at a sexual orientation, race, religion, gender or disability – will not be tolerated. If you are participating in a flame war, you will be subjected to the penalties listed below. If you are the victim of a flame war, and you have ignored the attacker and contacted iParenting, we will assist you in any way we can. In the meantime, do not respond to the attacker and do not speak about the attacker with other members.

The Art of Ignoring
Sometimes, a person will enter into a board, chat room or e-mail list with the sole intention of "stirring things up." This type of person can appear in any community and can cause a lot of hurt feelings and misuse of the community area. Generally, the person will post anonymously, but sometimes they will assume another's identity or use multiple identities. When you witness or are a victim of attacks from this type of poster, the best course of action is to contact iParenting and ignore the poster. We cannot stress this enough. If everyone stays united in ignoring the poster, they will find no enjoyment in harassing people and they will probably leave.

Losing Privileges
Users who abuse community members and do not follow the guidelines and rules stated above will be subjected to the following penalties:

1. A warning will be given, unless the attack warrants immediate and permanent banning.
2. If the warning is ignored, the user will be unsubscribed from the e-mail list or banned from the discussion board.
3. If an e-mail list is having repeated problems with a subscriber who comes back with a different e-mail address, the list will become secured and all new subscribers will have to be approved by the listmom/dad.
4. Password protected boards may be approved and created for certain groups who are being subjected to an unusually high amount of abuse.

Moving On
A flame war or random abuser affects everyone in the community area. It can be difficult to bounce back into the happy, supportive atmosphere you once had. We recommend trying to move on from the incident as quickly as possible by starting up new topics or posting fun polls or ideas. As always, if there is anything iParenting can do to help, just let us know.

Thanks for being part of our community!