Forum Rules & How Things Work (please read)

[Boomerwang]

It's an unfortunate fact of life that all things need rules somewhere, somehow. That said, we have tried to keep it as simple as possible for you. Please review these rules so you can make the most of the forums, and contact a Mod or Admin if you have any questions!

The Lingo

For those of you who are new to the scene, here's a quick review of the terms we're slinging around to help you understand what we're talking about:

• "Forums" - collectively, this website as a whole. (similar words: website, message board, discussion board)
  
• "Forum" - a single "room" where related discussions can be held (examples: General, Information, Small Group(s), Gender Forums)
  
• "Category" - a collection of "rooms," for organizational purposes (examples: Asian Chapter, Multi-Ethnic Chapter)
  
• "Topic" - a specific conversation where you post back and forth, just like the Facebook Wall (similar words: thread)
  
• "Usergroup" - member groups on the forums that help determine who can access which private forums
  
• "Sticky" - a special type of post that stays at the top of the forum thread list no matter how old it is (normally, topic threads are displayed in chronological order, from newest reply at the top to oldest at the bottom)
  
• "Moderating Team" - a group of members with special administrative privileges on the forum, responsible for helping regular members out, and encouraging harmony between everyone. A single member of this team is known as a Moderator, or Mod.
  
• "Admin" (Administrator) - a head honchos of the forums, one step above Moderators. Unlike the Moderating Team, which can have several members depending on the size of the website, there is usually only one or two Administrators.
  

Forum Rules

These are the same rules listed under the Terms of Service when you first registered.

1. Common Sense: Registering here makes you responsible for following unspoken common sense rules for decency and appropriate behavior.
   
2. Usernames: Feel free to choose any username you want when registering.
   
   
3. Cursing/Profanity: If you're not sure if something can be said, avoid saying it. Just because our website doesn't catch a word, doesn't mean it's appropriate.
   
4. Mutual Respect: Please be respectful each other at all times.
   
5. Authority: The authority of Administrators and Moderators is final. Offending post content may be removed without prior warning. Under the most extreme circumstances, Administrators may issue temporary or permanent bans to anyone at any time, without warning. Should your defiance continue, you will immediately be classified an EX-ALPHA1 Neutralization Priority. We are confident your integrity will ensure that this state of affairs will never arise.
   

Your Member Profile

After registering, you can change your Profile info by going to your Profile (link) in the menu at the top of the site. You are not required to fill out anything in your profile, but these three might be of particular interest to you:

• Name - this is so your fellow AIV/IV-ME members can identify you. If you are concerned about privacy and prefer not to list your real name, a great alternative is to use a nickname that people may know you by!
  
• Year - graduating class year
  
• Major - self-explanatory
  

The cool thing is that these three pieces of info will be displayed under your member name and avatar to the left of every one of your posts. We hope this will help us all get to know each other more quickly!


Public Forums and Private Gender Forums

The forums on this website are public - anyone browsing the Internet who finds this website can come see what we have posted in our various forums. Members (those who have registered and now have a username and a profile) can post in any of these public forums.

The private Gender forums and Small Group Sharing forums are an exception. In order to be able to view and post topics in these forums, you have to be a member of the right usergroup first. To request membership, click on "Usergroups (link)" at the menu at the top of the site, and go from there. Once the usergroup leader approves your request, you're in!

Please Note: Because of the forum software (which was provided to us and can't be changed), Administrators must have access to all forums. We respect and uphold the confidential nature the Gender forums, and will not access opposite Gender forums except in the case of an extreme emergency.

Need to Make an Important Post?

If you have an important fellowship-wide post to make that you need to stay at the top of a forum without getting pushed down by newer topics posted after it, you can request any Mod or Admin to make your topic a "Sticky." You can make this request within your post or Private Message any of us. Private Messaging works just like the Facebook Message system, and is also accessed through the top menu.

The final decision of whether or not a topic can be made a Sticky is up to the Moderating Team. Thanks for understanding.