Community Guidelines
by Pregnancy.org Staff
Unlike other online communities, we don't want to bombard our members with a bunch of unreasonable rules. All that does is leave you feeling stifled that you wonder if you are back in kindergarten (and you're not)!
Our guidelines are simple and based on common sense, respect for others, and the basic grounds of civility. We aren't serving as "police" or "big brother". We prefer to spend our time continually improving the site and your experience here at Pregnancy.org.
We've outlined the basic principles to govern our community. We expect that these guidelines will enable the community to remain focused on its original intent -- a place for support, enrichment, camaraderie, and of course fun! Do understand that these apply to all areas of our site and all content posted (both public and private).
1) The Golden Rule
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This statement, (and those similar), have been offered for thousands of years. It is oft mentioned in the tenants of various religions, by philosophers and common men alike.
Considering its proven record we felt it should apply here. Let's be adults that can communicate without the personal attacks, bashing, mocking, and/or demeaning of one another, or harassment. You aren't required to agree 100% of the time, but if you disagree please do so in a civil manner. We can guarantee if you don't that others will certainly call you on it.
Private messages are meant to be just that. Please do not re-post, share, reference, or quote either in whole or in part. Doing so will risk the loss of this privilege and may, at minimum, a temporary ban from the site. Due to privacy concerns and our inability to prove authenticity of off site messages, we also must prohibit re-posting of emails, instant message conversations, and any other private communication on site.
Please practice common sense. Within our community we cover a wide range of topics ranging from fertility methods, birthing/pregnancy matters, feeding, parenting, education, discipline, spirituality, political, lifestyle options, and more. If you visit a forum that is in opposition to your own point of view, you can expect to be offended.
Our advice is to recognize this in advance and elect not to visit those areas. At all times, our support boards should be respected for the topic they represent. Those wishing to debate, may do so in our Debate Arenas.
If it turns out that you are indeed hurting another person on a board, comment area or in chat, then you must be prepared to also accept the consequences of your actions. Again, it is not our desire to baby-sit adults. Act responsibly, show respect for others, and treat others as you wish to be treated. In doing so, we all can enjoy our time here!
2) Trolling, Advertising, and Spam
It happens everywhere on the web and it is hard to avoid. We'd like to mention here that if you plan on using this site to further an MLM scheme, shamelessly advertise a product, site, or service (without permission) or just want to cause havoc and chaos that we will get rid of those postings or comments and disable your account. We won't tolerate rude behavior. Read our terms of use as well and be familiar with it.
"Trolling" our community will not be tolerated in any circumstance. Trolling is defined as purposefully attempting to deceive members regarding your identity or submissions. This includes but is not limited to, posting false or misleading information; provoking drama; passing yourself off as a "legitimate" member; stealing another person's identity, photos, etc; misusing another member's account.
Due to the disruptive nature that trolling causes our groups and community at large, the consequences of this action are severe -- a permanent ban of any current and future accounts within our community.
As for posting web addresses to other sites, we don't mind if you do it but only if it helps someone with information or advice we don't have here. Do it once or twice where appropriate (not multiple times all over the boards), use common sense and netiquette.
We request that our members refrain from posting on the boards specific events that are alternatives to the normal routine at Pregnancy.org.
