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Experience Project.
Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 8:46 pm Post subject: Rules of the Board
The Rule of the forums at This is MS are: use common sense.
For example, if you post an article from another site, credit it (and provide a direct link).
One of the great benefits of this site is that it is entirely independent. There are no corporate overlords, and thus no agenda and no strict censorship. If we don't serve YOU, we serve no one. Everything is fair game, assuming it is correctly classified and within good taste. If you can't find the right forum to post it in, just drop an e-mail to support@thisisms.com and we'll set one up.
Off-topic subjects are encouraged! This is a site for the MS community, which is comprised of vibrant people, who don't necessarily just want to confine themselves to discussing narrow topics. Again, please keep things in good taste and you won't have a problem.
All that being said, the boards are moderated on a volunteer basis-- there are a number of people who have volunteered to keep an eye on the forums to try to make sure things don't get out of hand (illegal ads, personal attacks, revealing personal information, etc.). That being said, we cannot and do not monitor every posting for content-- all problems should be reported to the moderator(s); otherwise assume we have not seen the offending posts.
Enjoy, have fun, and please let us know if you'd like anything to change.
Administrator, Thanks for reaffirming just how great this site can be, once it is up and running full throttle. I like the "simple" and "in good taste" rules you would like us to adhere to. _________________ Bonnie
Joined: Feb 02, 2004 Posts: 863 Location: California, USA
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:44 pm Post subject:
Just a friendly reminder: We love the debating that's been going on lately because it forces people to think critically and challenge their own beliefs.
However, there can be too much of a good thing. If you disagree with someone, please succintly state why and let it go at that. Point, counterpoint, counter-counter point, etc. is not useful-- the reality is that after the first disagreement, you will rarely convince another of something they feel strongly about unless you have shocking new information to share. The drawn-out debates also turn people off from reading the messages in the first place. If you really have to get something off your chest, please send that person a Private Message-- there is no need to have a long argument in public.
For the most part, everything on the board so far is just fine, but I want to keep it that way. We are all in this fight together; Let's focus all of our energies on trying to beat MS into submission, not each other.
If you disagree with what I said (how ironic!), please drop me a private message. However, I have received enough comments from members that are in support of the above to feel confident about what I just posted.
Multiple situations have arisen now where members have been accused of crossing the line in one way or another and a call has been raised to ask them to leave.
It is extremely difficult to determine in a fair fashion if one should be on the site or not. Just because someone does not agree with you does not mean they should be prevented from posting. However, if the manner in which they respond is making a large number of people uncomfortable and negatively affects the tone of the site, the offending member will unfortunately need to leave, or in forum terms, be "banned."
Effective immediately, if I recieve more than 5 PMs from established posters (registered for over 1 month, with more than 10 posts) complaining in detail-- with examples-- about a particular member, I will put the member on notice of the complaints and ask them to provide a public response. If after posting the defense, those same complaints are upheld, the member will be banned. If no defense is provided, the member will of course be banned.
Reinstatement will be on a case-by-case basis, run through me.
The board has become a victim of its own success and we must have fair rules in place to handle the inevitable uncomfortable situations that arise. This is MS wants to be a fair and open community, and we feel this process will allow that while still allowing the community at large to retain control over the tone of the site.
Comments are welcome, but this is now policy until otherwise noted.
Joined: Feb 02, 2004 Posts: 863 Location: California, USA
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2004 3:57 am Post subject:
Personal attacks, which can consist of slightly veiled innuendo or sarcastic comments aimed at the poster as opposed to the content of the post, are not tolerated at This is MS. We of course reserve the right to ban or suspend any member who violates this rule. _________________ Disclaimer: Any information you find on this site should not be considered medical advice. All decisions should be made with the consent of your doctor, otherwise you are at your own risk.
Joined: Feb 02, 2004 Posts: 863 Location: California, USA
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:37 am Post subject:
NO advertising is allowed on the message boards, period. If you like a product, you can tell us about it. But if you gain financially from selling said product, your posts will be deleted and you will be banned from the site without warning. Thank you for your understanding of this simple rule. _________________ Disclaimer: Any information you find on this site should not be considered medical advice. All decisions should be made with the consent of your doctor, otherwise you are at your own risk.
Joined: Feb 02, 2004 Posts: 863 Location: California, USA
Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:25 pm Post subject:
To this point, this site has maintained an open policy on the posting of links (URLs) to other sites (given common standards like good taste, and non-commercial links).
If you don't know, this liberal position is very unique, as most support forums maintain rather draconian rules disallowing all links to external sites not affiliated with the site itself. The reason we allow them is that ThisisMS encourages all members to educate themselves as much as possible, and oftentimes interesting and valuable information can be found just "a click away." Even if you never return to This is MS, we've done you some good if you find valuable information here. There is no problem with that, and it fits in with the original paradigm of the interlinked "web" of data that has become our beloved Internet.
However, this open policy has been abused from time to time, most recently in the arena of extraneous, repetitive links to generic pages at a given website. One generic link in particular has been mentioned in 182 separate threads, and many, many more times in each of those 182 threads, probably approaching 1000 mentions! To any reasonable individual, this constitutes an abuse of an open policy, and more practically, clutters the site with repetitive offsite links that can already be readily found.
As/If I notice this abuse, I will selectively disallow the posting of such URLs. If you're looking for guidelines to avoid this, here are (some, not all) some general rules:
>> Links should not point to a commercial site that is selling something-- if you have a vested interest in what is being sold. For example, links to articles in scientific journals are fine, even though they are usually "for sale."
>> The link should point to information specifically relevant to the discussion it is posted in-- not to a generic page (E.g., it should point to an article highly relevant to a particular discussion, not to http://www.example.com). Exceptions can be made if the generic page is indeed relevant and, to the knowledge of the poster, has not been mentioned before.
>> Repetitive links to a particular site will send up a red flag. Though there are certainly exceptions where doing so might make sense, if the particular link can already be easily found, why constantly post it? All posts are archived (we do not as yet "prune" older information) and thus readily available with a quick search. Therefore the posting of redundant information is akin to forum spam, and will result in the permanent banning of the link in question.
Like all things should be, this is considered a dynamic list of guidelines and will be adapted with time and wisdom. Members who have questions or disagree with what we believe is a very reasonable position should feel free to discuss their concerns with me. Anyone who has spent some time here knows how strongly we support the right of MS patients to learn, educate and empower themselves. When those purposes are no longer being met (and we have to use our best judgment to determine that), we have to step in.
Though I loathe to say this, it is necessary-- members who disagree by simply flounting the rules, and thereby placing themselves in a situation where they are no longer positively contributing to the community, will be asked to leave after being provided a warning.
In summary, this forum prides itself on open discussions of anything relevant to MS. Please do not abuse the open and accepting nature of this board to spam by constantly posting the same information or advertising products and/or services. We have worked very hard to create this resource, this atmosphere, and to attract the brilliant members that call this 'home.' We want to make sure we continue to serve the entire MS community in the best way possible.
Thanks for your understanding, and your visit. _________________ Disclaimer: Any information you find on this site should not be considered medical advice. All decisions should be made with the consent of your doctor, otherwise you are at your own risk.
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