# The News & Current Event Forum Guidelines



## georgia (Jan 12, 2003)

Welcome to the all new News and Current Events forum!

*This forum is open to posting by all MDC Supporting Members I, II and III and Business Signature Advertisers and is viewable by all MDC members and guests.* By participating in the News and Current Events forum, you agree to abide by the forum's guidelines. We reserve the right to take necessary administrative action and/or remove the access of any member who demonstrates a disregard for the forum's guidelines, participants, moderators or administrators. This forum is intended to be an informative gathering place for all MDC Supporting Members and Business Signature Advertisers to discuss news issues in a respectful manner, regardless of our personal differences.

The MDC User Agreement is in effect in the forum. Please remember that no name calling extends to _all people_, groups and companies, and not just other MDC members. These rules also apply to thread titles, which may be edited at moderators' discretion.

Our copyright guidelines require that members post *no more than 100 words or less from an article as long as those 100 words are not a substantial part of the piece.* A link to an original article is helpful to direct readers to the original content and will enable members to read an article its entirety rather than posting copyrighted content at MDC.

Part of the MDC User Agreement reads, "Through your direct or indirect participation here you agree to make a personal effort to maintain a comfortable and respectful atmosphere for our guests and members." News and Current Events can lead to passionate discussions and strong feelings, but we require members post respectfully at all times.

To help create a more positive and comfortable atmosphere:

Remember that first and foremost, all MDC members are active in this community because they want what's best for their families.

Keep posts about the topic, the information and the issue, not about people who don't feel the same as you do. Discuss the post and not the poster.

Leave the combative language out of your posts and avoid directing smileys at one another in a disrespectful way. Be civil. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Reread your posts before you post them. Take a moment to try and think about clarity and tone. Remember, no one can see your face or hear your voice while you are posting, and it is easy to take things out of context.

Post in the spirit of _Mothering_. For more on what that means check out our Statement of Purpose here.

Recognize when it is time to agree to disagree. While people may learn and change their minds about things, people don't usually change their opinions while arguing.
We welcome most topics of News & Current Events. However, we do not wish to host political debate or political/celebrity gossip or speculation. We will not host discussions that involve explicit sexual references and are cautious about discussions on volatile topics such as abortion, religion and race. We do not host abortion debate.

Incidental and occasional reference to politics is understandable. However, politics should not be the focus of the thread. Political or partisan topics will be removed at moderator discretion. If members continue to post in a political or divisive manner, we reserve the right to restrict their participation.

If you see a thread or post that you feel is inappropriate, please utilize the report button rather than posting to the thread itself. Feel free to PM the forums moderators, AdinaL and Tiredx2, with questions, comments or suggestions about this forum.

We reserve the right to adjust the guidelines as needs arise and to further clarify the guidelines to ensure an informative, educational and respectful environment. We look forward to a lot of great discussions. Thank you for your support of MDC/_Mothering_!


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