Dear all,
Please read these guidelines in full, as when we are dealing with issues on the site, it will be expected that you have read this topic prior to posting, being the very first BellyBelly forum you are able to see on the Forum page. Therefore we will not accept any complaints that these guidelines weren't read by you.
As you no doubt would know by now, BellyBelly is a place where we encourage men and women to speak as openly and honestly about their experiences, good, bad, upsetting or exciting, from all the stages of pre-conception to parenthood. I really think it is about time we felt comfortable taking about the difficult sides to these stages, so therefore extra sensitivity from all is required.
I will do my absolute best to ensure BellyBelly remains this way and does not get out of control by the way of fighting, stirring or uncalled for behaviour. I have asked my moderators to be extra vigilant to ensure there is a supportive environment at all times. So you will notice the reigns will be much tighter than other sites.
The following guidelines apply and if not followed, I have instructed the BellyBelly moderators to take action immediately and remove the post. If at any time BellyBelly feels that the person posting the messages has overstepped the mark, we reserve the right to warn and / or ban troublemaking posters. After three warnings, this will result in an indefinite ban. No warnings will be given if we feel the problem is severe enough. This applies to all members, Platinum Members, Life Members or not. Should you be an upgraded member and you behave in a way which results in baning, refunds will not be given.
I know I sound like the internet police here and I know most of the population are decent, however I really want to ensure BellyBelly remains a pleasant website! As I am sure most of the population appreciates.
All warnings or breeches of these guidelines will be sent via PM. Unless you are a Platinum Member you will need to reply via email if you wish to do so. We accept no responsibility for you not receiving the PM notifications due to your own email issues, e.g. mailbox full etc. however we advise you regularly check up the top of the page and it will tell you if you have new messages or not.
The basic guidelines are as follows:
Firstly, the opinions expressed on the BellyBelly Forums, as the main website, made by its members, support panel or others are not necessarily the opinions of BellyBelly and we hold no responsibility whatsoever as to these comments or opinions made. Posts are copyright property of the BellyBelly website, therefore and information or posts may not be reproduced or copied in any way without permission from BellyBelly.com.au.
Whilst BellyBelly will attempt to correct any factual errors bought to the attention of administrators or the moderators, any inaccuracies of fact expressed by members are not the responsibility of BellyBelly.
1.
No abuse or flaming of other members, websites or businesses. If you have a problem with any of the above then address it with them privately and politely. As they say, if you don't have something nice to say, then don't say it!
2. No stirring, general troublemaking or posting controversial posts which may upset other members or their beliefs. No judging or slandering of other members based on their parenting choices. We want to keep BellyBelly supportive and have no hesitation removing troublemakers if it means our members have a supportive, non-threatening place to chat. Religious and cultural debate will be very closely monitored.
3.
No posting sexually explicit topics or images. Anyone found posting topics of a sexually explicit/graphical nature will immediately be removed as a member and their IP banned from our domain WITHOUT WARNING. It is okay to discuss relationship issues and topics of a light sexual nature relating to conception, pregnancy, birth and baby, however those exceeding these boundaries will be dealt with.
4.
No spamming or market research posts (i.e. advertising or promoting businesses or products without approval). This includes business names as your forum name or business names in your IM details, posts requesting replies for people to participate in research and studies or for feedback on product ideas - permission MUST be sought prior to posting. Spamming is now illegal in Australia carrying penalties and will not be tolerated. This also includes using business names as your forum name - you will be asked to change it immediately.
In regards to business or website spamming, BellyBelly soley relies on receiving income from advertising and Platinum memberships, in order to fund the running of the website. We also spend much money on advertising to build our own membership base. Therefore unapproved advertising or promotion of websites or products will be immediately removed. Repeat offenders will have their IP address banned from BellyBelly and membership(s) removed.
5.
No foul language! We have sensors on some words but we'd like to keep it clean please!
6.
No insensitive remarks particularly in any forums which you do not usually take part in. For example, those with infertility or problems trying to conceive don't want to know that you get pregnant at the drop of a hat, first try, every try. Think before you post.
7.
No spoiler posts for example if you know who is going to get kicked out next in the latest reality t.v. show please don't spoil it for others without fair warning (e.g. title your topic "Days of Our Lives Spoilers"). It's okay to discuss in private but not on the forums where others may see it and not want to know the results until they've seen the show for themselves.
8.
No images in posts The posting of images within any post on BellyBelly is not allowed. The only images which are allowed within posts are emoticons, or the images posted in Platinum Forums for the winner of the photography competition. If we see an image posted by a user it will be deleted and the poster infracted. Not only does images in post make the forum look untidy, we also have quite a few members who are on dial-up and need to wait for those images to load before continuing.
9. If you are unsure about posting a particular message,
please ask any of our moderators or by leaving a message in an appropriate help forum! We're here to help.
10. Remember this is the internet and it is accessible to anyone who wants to join.
Please keep your personal details private as we cannot be responsible for any actions resulting from members posting personal details on the website, including contact numbers and / or addresses.
11.
The decisions of the Moderators and Administrators are final. There is to be no online defamation or arguments in regards to a decision made by the BellyBelly team or you may be dealt with a warning. If you have any issues with a decision, we have made it very clear in each forum who to contact for any problems and you can always contact myself. The Forums are not a place to complain about decisions made or about others, so please be respectful and contact the appropriate moderators for that forum.
12.
With regard to emoticons within posts: Please note that whilst emoticons are useful for expressing yourself in a post, excessive use of emoticons is not permitted. Multiple emoticons should not be used. Please feel free to use emoticons, but be mindful of excessive use of emoticons. Moderators will automatically edit multiple repeated emoticons.
13.
In regards to links in posts, www tab and spam
We've had a few instances lately where the guidelines have been disregarded or not read, with spam (unsolicited advertising / promotion of a business or website) and by members placing links and other business information in their posts, or WWW tabs without first seeking permission from either myself, or ideally the moderator of the forum. We've found that it has been posted across various forums, which you may not have noticed as its generally immediately removed.
In regards to spam: If you're not sure what spam is, let us know and we'll help - but basically it is straight out promotion of a website or business, which has been posted specifically for the purpose of income / traffic generation. More often than not, this happens when brand new user signs up, posts about a business or product then never posts again. But other cases do happen differently. You may not post and promote your business, product or service.
In regards to links in posts: I know you may think that it's not a big deal and a harmless thing to do, but there are several reasons for the strict guidelines we have set.
One being that it is unfair to our paying advertisers, that business links and details can be placed on our site without having to pay, which is self explanitory. Why should they pay advertising fees when they can come into the forums and post information for free?
Two being unfair to BellyBelly. This site has been developed over years of hard work by one mum of two children and of course requires a great deal of money. Despite popular belief, we're not loaded LOL!!! Nor do we have an office full of employees or an office at that! I rely on advertisers to help with the expense of running BellyBelly as I do the upgraded memberships. If you wish to have a link in your signature, there is an option to pay for that, which I think is fair - I have created a place where you have many customers accessible you in an instant, so I think it's fair to have a small fee so you can make money from what I have paid to do. So we must look after our advertisers. I also pay to get people to come to my website, through my own advertising and promotion, so it is unfair for others to be able to take advantage of that for free.
If you have any recommendations for any useful links to post, email a moderator or myself and let us know, we may approve it for listing. Any links from the BellyBelly website can be posted without permission.
TROLLING
A recent problem on many parenting sites is trolling. Anyone who is caught doing this will be banned immediately, as this is not a place for being fake and playing with others emotions. It will not be tolerated. If moderators supsect a member is trolling, through inconsistencies, suspected fake information etc, this will be addressed.
Buying & Selling on BellyBelly
Please note that Buying & Selling between members on BellyBelly is to be done ONLY THROUGH THE BELLYBELLY
Classifieds section. You must be either a Platinum or Lifetime Member to be able to sell. Regular members are able to buy only. Regular members cannot post items for sale at all, or respond to "Desparately Seeking" items. This is to protect our members from online fraud.
Please do not use the forums to engage in any trading activity at all. (The exceptions to this are that Platinum Members are also allowed to post links to their personal Ebay listings within the
Ebay Listings & Links thread in the Platinum area.
Market Place Members can also utilise their signature link in all their posts.)
DELETION OF MEMBERSHIP
When you post on BellyBelly, the information you post becomes public knowledge and part of the BellyBelly.com.au forums. If members wish to be removed, then we will delete their membership only but their posts will remain, in order to maintain consistency in posts and for other users to retain their reputation points. You need to be aware of this when posting, only post what you don't mind anyone else reading. Your username will be de-registered however posts and your username will remain (without profile info). Any posts made which are derogatory will be removed however other posts will remain. We accept special cases should you wish to be removed, please contact an admin if this is a matter of safety, you must be willing to fully explain your situation and the decision lies with a BellyBelly.com.au administrator.
MASS EDITING OF POSTS
Due to the increase in members mass editing posts when they leave, clearly as a result of not being able to delete their membership as per the guideline above, we have now restricted editing of posts to a maximum of 14 days. After this time you will need to ask a moderator if you need something edited and it is warranted. Again, as we always say, if you don't want it to be read by others, don't post it in the first place. If you are angry, cool down first before replying or block the poster/thread if you may possibly be embarrassed later.
At the end of the day, all we do ask is that in return for this free BellyBelly service is that you respect these guidelines which have been set - I know other sites let you post whatever you want, but those sites might have big advertisers, much more advertising and / or problems with spam. We always have said that we wanted to keep this site as spam-free and and low impact advertising as possible. I personally do not like visiting sites with advertising or images popping up everywhere and it being in my face. I think keeping this under control makes the forum neater, easier to read and what you do read is relevant.
What you can post: We do allow mention of business names, that is fine. But extra detail on how to go about purchasing items, contact numbers, websites etc is not. If you want to recommend a product, you must use the Recommend a Product forum, which you can access once you have 50 posts or more chalked up, which is again a way of combating spammers who want to come in and post straight away. The same rules apply to this forum, only you are able to go into more detail about the product, explaining why you like it etc. but again without the links and dot com etc.
With many moderators currently enjoying their newborns or about to, it places more of a workload on other moderators, so please, if you notice someone advertising or posting inappropriate messages, please alert either myself or another administrator, you can find our email addresses
here.
You are all wonderful ladies and gents, I couldn't ask for a better bunch \
/. However as you know, there are always those who don't play by the rules. If you have any questions or feedback, please post them here.
As mentioned above, I have asked our moderators to be extra vigilant so you can all have a fantastic and enjoyable experience on BellyBelly! We're not here to spoil anyone's fun, however these are the rules which should be followed. Going by our surveys and feedback, this is what our members love about BellyBelly and it helps they enjoy such an environment where they feel safe to share their views on conception to parenthood in an open manner.
Thank-you for reading these guidelines
These guidelines strictly may not be copied or reproduced in any way without permission from Kelly Zantey.
Forum Guidelines - READ BEFORE POSTING
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