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Message Board Guidelines
Guidelines for Posting
- Creating new topics vs. posting replies
- Use descriptive "Subject" lines on all your messages
- When to post and when to use email
- Don't post "flames" or personal attacks
- Common courtesy
Creating new topics vs. posting replies
Before creating a new topic, scroll through the topic list to see if someone else has already posted about the same topic. If so, post a reply to that topic instead of creating another topic on the same subject.
If you think it takes too long to scroll through the topic list before creating a new topic, consider that it wouldn't take nearly as long to skim the list if there were fewer new topics to scroll through each time you visit!
Use descriptive "Subject" lines on all your messages
- Give your topics a meaningful Subject line that tells what your message is about. A subject such as "Amy has a brain after all" is meaningful. Subject lines such as "Wow", "I think...", "Please read!!", and so on do not give readers any indication of what characters or storylines you're discussing. Many readers will skip over your topic if they can't tell what it's about by looking at the Subject line.
- If your topic or reply contains information about the current day's show (that has not yet been broadcast on both the East & West coasts) or future shows that would spoil the show for people who haven't seen it yet, ALWAYS check the SPOILER box. Some readers don't like to have the show spoiled for them. NEVER include spoiler information in the Subject line itself!
- Don't post off-topic messages on the soap boards; post them on the SoapZone Community board instead. Messages not relating to a board's topic will be removed.
When to post and when to use email
- Use email rather than posting unless you think you have something new to add to the public discussion that would be of interest to the majority of readers.
- DO NOT post messages of a personal nature directed to one particular poster. Use email instead. If your email system is broken, get it fixed; do not use the message board as a public email service.
- Avoid posting "me-too" or "ITA" ("I totally agree") messages, in which you basically say nothing but "me too" or "I totally agree." Use email instead.
Don't post "flames" or personal attacks
- Follow the Golden Rule. When posting, treat others as you'd like to be treated -- don't be insulting and don't harass others. Everyone who posts on this board is a real person, just like you.
- Remember that actors, writers, and producers are all real people too. Constructive criticism is welcome. Taking pot-shots is not.
- Remember the second most important rule: It's only a soap. Characters on a soap are not real people.
- Don't let mass opinion sway you or dissuade you from posting your own opinions.
- You can disagree without flaming. You can set forth a different point of view without attacking someone else personally.
- If someone disagrees with you, that DOES NOT automatically mean that they are flaming you.
- Don't immediately take offense when someone offers a different point of view. If you have the misfortune of being flamed, DON'T respond by flaming back.
- Ignore trolls and they go away.
- Members who are persistent in trying to turn a message board into a war zone over petty arguments will be denied access. Remember that posting here is a privilege, not a right.
Common courtesy
- Keep your language clean. Remember, people of all ages can access this system. Messages containing obscene, vulgar, offensive, or abusive language will be removed without notice, and repeat offenders will lose their posting privileges.
- Don't post in ALL CAPS. Posting in all caps makes your message harder to read (thereby causing some people to skip it entirely), and some people consider it akin to shouting. This goes for Subject lines, too.
- Don't post copyrighted material without permission of the copyright holder. This includes spoilers and articles copied directly from soap magazines and copyrighted web sites. Paraphrasing the facts is OK so long as you do not infringe on the copyrights held by others.
- Don't post chain letters, commercial advertisements, or tape-for-sale offers. Offers for trading tapes are OK on the Tape Trading board, but remember that ABC soaps are copyrighted programs and it's not legal to sell copies of their shows.