Messageboard Etiquette

[Primula]

Welcome to the Fellowship of Middle-earth community - we 're glad to have your interest in joining in with other fans for discussions, tales, visiting with one another and general fun. But first, a little word on etiquette for the boards. What is it? This is your own behavior on the boards and how you react and respond to the others. This applies to everyone, new and old.

This is an active and real community of fans posting on these boards, a community that had its start on Decipher's Official LOTR Fan Club boards. We come from many different countries, and while all speak (or type) in English, it may not always be the poster's first language. We have a wide range of ages, education, beliefs and cultural backgrounds.

Some of the folks posting will be more technically knowledgeable then others, some may be used to being on mbs all day, while others may have just found our messageboard for the first time and this way of communicating may seem very strange to them.

Therefore it can be very easy for misunderstandings to occur about meanings, intentions and even humor.

A 'harmless' bit of wittiness that was intended as humor might be taken personally. Offense at feeling misunderstood may occur. These things happen and can snowball into a real brouhaha or severely hurt feelings if left unchecked..

So FIRST: before you jump into a thread or start posting. THINK about what you are saying. THINK about how someone might FEEL when they read your words.

Do not post if you are angry at something someone else has posted. Give yourself time to cool down.

PREVIEW your post before you submit and edit it afterward if necessary. You may also delete your own post if you realize you should have held your tongue, but if it was already posted you can bet others have already read it and a re-wording or apology may be in order instead.

Please use the private messaging (pm) feature to contact users whose posts you desire clarification on, or to try and clear up simple misunderstandings. If a situation arises in which you feel offended or harassed (or someone has accused you of such) and it seems likely that mature communication will not be possible on the part of one or both parties, please contact a moderator. If at any time you are uncomfortable with a situation or a poster, please feel free to contact the mods, bearing in mind that not all situations will be within their authority.

We want everyone to enjoy their time on the boards, "newbies" as well as the "old guard."

Posts may be edited or deleted if that the mods feel they contribute to an overly negative atmosphere , are deliberately insulting, flaming (personal attacks) or profane. Please refrain from expressing extremely dark and suicidal thoughts - these forums are not the appropriate venue to express these issues, nor are they adequate to meet that need.

Posters who feel something is 'out of line' are welcome to pm a moderator about it - the mods are not all-seeing and depend on the others in the community to help keep it friendly for all. Many of our posters may be quite young, and postings on mature subjects need to bear that in mind.

Please refrain from the use of ALL CAPS (which is considered shouting, and rude), alternating shift-keys LiKeThIs, and 'netspeak' or 'chatspeak.' This is not a real-time chat forum, but a messageboard - there is no reason to not take a moment and spell out your words, especially if you want anyone else to take the time to read them. It can be difficult for native English-speakers to understand netspeak, much less those who have English as a second language. Thank you!

Enjoy your time on the boards!

- Primula & TrebleMaker

Many thanks to Rivka of COE for the general gist of these guidelines.