# A reminder about namecalling



## Arwyn (Sep 9, 2004)

Hello all you lovely Birth & Beyonders! We, your friendly Birth & Beyond Moderators, wish to remind everyone of some of the basic rules at MDC. The User Agreement, which all users agreed to follow upon creation of their account, states:

Quote:

1. Do not post in a disrespectful, defamatory, adversarial, baiting, harassing, offensive, insultingly sarcastic or otherwise improper manner, toward a member or other individual, including casting of suspicion upon a person, invasion of privacy, humiliation, demeaning criticism, name-calling, personal attack, or in any way which violates the law.
While we strive to be supportive of women who have experienced trauma and violation in their birth experiences, it is important to keep in mind this part of the UA in discussing those experiences, and the birth professionals who participated. To that end, we would like to remind everyone that words and phrases like "MEDwife", "sCare Provider", and "sOB" _are_ namecalling, and are against the UA.

In addition, we must avoid all namecalling, personal attacks, or demeaning criticisms while discussing any individuals, including the birth professionals who may have caused us harm. For example, while it is acceptable to talk about a physician's ignorance about normal, natural birth, and the damage that ignorance can cause, it is NOT ok to call _anyone_, no matter how ill-informed, anything like "an ignorant stupid poopoohead." We all must strive to maintain the highest standards in our conversations on such an important topic.

These are not new rules, but we will be enforcing them more strictly now - not in an effort to supress discussion or expression of justifiable anger or pain, but to keep those conversations civil and productive, that we might better be able to instigate positive birth change, both in our own lives and in society.

Thank you all for your cooperation!









In birth trust,
Your Birth & Beyond moderators


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