Member Managed Message Boards

Welcome to this Member Managed Community, a place to speak your mind, share your views and get to know your fellow members.

Member Managed boards and chats are managed by you and other members, which means you manage your own experience here by abiding by AOL's Terms of Service (TOS) and using the member empowerment tools available to you. Those participating in Member Managed areas should use AOL tools such as Ignore and Notify AOL to keep discussions civil and on topic. Note to AIM users: Notify AOL buttons will show up on your message boards when you sign on as an AIM user.

Member Managed Message Boards are not regularly reviewed by AOL. If there is a post that you feel needs attention by AOL, let us know by using the Notify AOL button.

What You Need to Know: Pay attention to the rules of each of our areas and the tone of the conversations there, noting that some of our Message Boards are AOL Managed and some are Member Managed. Some boards and chats are for support, while others are for chitchat. Keep your fellow members in mind when posting.

Lurking: We encourage you to read other posts on a board before posting one of your own. This will give you an idea of the topic and tone of the community before posting. If you have a question, you may find the answer has already been posted.

The Basics: All communities on AOL have their own tone and purpose. Below are a few things that you should and shouldn’t do in any and all of AOL ’s communities:

· "Spamming”: The publishing the same post or information multiple times in one Message Board or many is not allowed.
· Hyperlinks: We allow appropriate, on-topic hyperlinks in our Message Board posts as long as they are in the context of the given conversation and include an AOL Keyword or full URL to the article or press release they reference. URLs should be in the following format: http://www.hyperlink.com. Posts which include only copied articles and/or press releases may be removed without notification.
· Mild vulgarity: Some expletives of an exclamatory nature are permitted, provided that the vulgarity is not directed at another person. There are some AOL Managed areas that do not allow any vulgarity. In those cases, it will be made clear in the Community Standards.
· Disruption: Message Board posts designed to inflame or disrupt ongoing discussions, veer conversations off-topic or that contain offensive material may be removed, along with other posts in that thread. Bashing of individuals, companies, organizations or entities is also subject to removal. Set your Message Board Filters to customize your experience. For more Message Board tips, see our FAQs section below.
· Debates and Opinions: Everyone has differing opinions, and you are welcome to voice your opinion on a topic. If you disagree with a comment made, you can post your differing opinion about the topic, but not at the expense of another person on that message board.
· Masked obscene, abusive or hateful language: Even if masked by symbols or other characters, obscene language and derogatory verbiage, macros or images are inappropriate and not permitted in our communities, especially when directed at another member. You may not target another member or group to threaten harm, harass or cause distress or embarrassment.
· Advertising and solicitation: Posts that include any kind of advertising, solicitation or promotion are not permitted, except in areas specifically designated for those purposes. We do not allow promotion of content or merchandise infringing upon another's copyright or trademark, or advertisement of commercial goods or auction items. Chain letters, pyramid schemes and business advertisements are not permitted and may be removed without notification. You may not solicit for money, clothing, reward or affiliate programs, either commercial or nonprofit. Adoption solicitations or offers are also subject to immediate removal. We do allow links to your business Web site in your post or signature line, but we don't allow posts that solicit other members to click on those links to view products, services, employment offers or business opportunities.
· Personal ads: Posts that appear to be created for the purpose of dating or intimate encounters are not appropriate, except in those Message Boards that were created for this purpose. All other posts of this kind may be removed.
· Personal or business information: We love getting to know our board visitors, but for safety’s sake, please do not post personal or business information such as address or phone number -- yours or others’ -- on Message Boards. Divulging the content of private communications on Message Boards is also not permitted.
· "Malware” aka Malicious Software or Programs: Sharing or encouraging the use of any software deemed malicious is strictly prohibited, but it is not possible for AOL to protect you from those who do this. Therefore, use of any software shared is at your own risk.

Advice and opinion: Do not assume that member-generated advice is correct or reliable; it is your responsibility to do your own fact checking. AOL does not endorse opinions or advice found in our Communities.

Community Standards and Terms of Use enforcement: AOL has the right to enforce these Community Standards in its sole discretion. We do not prescreen member-generated content, but we reserve the right to remove, without notification, content that does not comply with AOL’s Terms of Use or Community Standards. AOL reserves the right to make changes to these standards or AOL Terms of Use at any time, and we encourage our members to check this document periodically for changes.

You agree that all comments, suggestions, complaints and other feedback that you may disclose or otherwise provide to AOL may be used by AOL and its licensors, suppliers and licensees in any manner whatsoever and without limitation of any kind.

Post removal: Message Board posts and discussions that may be removed without notification include those containing 1) explicit, crude or graphic descriptions or accounts of sexual acts; 2) messages or materials which depict graphic or gratuitous violence; and 3) messages which condone, encourage or call for acts of violence against an individual or group. Messages containing member information may also be removed.

Posting privileges: Express yourself -- and have fun doing it. Just make sure you stay within these guidelines. Inappropriate posts are subject to removal. Continued violation of these guidelines may result in a loss of posting privileges on our Message Boards.

For AOL members: Most of our Message Boards are available to you on both AOL and the Web. Any messages you post are viewable by both AOL members and Web users. You do not need to be on AOL to access these boards and community. To visit us on AOL, go to Keyword: Message Boards and navigate to your favorite Message Board. To visit us while outside AOL on the Web, go to http://peopleconnection.aol.com/messageboards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to my Message Board post?
Enter the board on which you posted, and depending on your Message Board Preferences, you can search for a previously posted message by using the Sort Order function (Oldest, Newest, Alphabetical) or by Display Type (by Owner, Subject or Unthreaded). Note: It may take several minutes for your message to appear if you very recently posted it.

Posts that violate AOL Community Standards or AOL ’s Terms of Use are subject to removal, along with their response posts. We strongly encourage you to read the full Community Standards before posting in the Message Board. If you believe your Message Board post may have been removed and wish to discuss the reason for its removal, please write to TOSGeneral@aol.com. You must write this e-mail using the screen name you used when posting. The e-mail must also include a hyperlink to the Message Board where the post was created.

How do I help stop disruptive Message Board behavior?
1) Do not respond directly to disruptive posts -- this typically encourages unruly discussions.
2) Manage your own experience: Set your Message Board Filters.
3) Report violations of AOL’s Terms of Service using the Notify AOL button found on each post.

What does it mean to be "OT" (off-topic) in a Message Board?
Posts that do not fall within the discussion topic presented at the top of the Message Board can disrupt discussions. (A post about your favorite song may not belong in a discussion about the president for example.) Please read board descriptions and other posts to get an idea of what the board is about, before posting. Off-topic posts and their responses may be removed without notification.

Do Message Boards expire?
There will be times when a Message Board is retired. Generally this will occur because: 1) activity on the board has declined to little or no interest, 2) the board is no longer being used for the purpose it was created, or 3) the topic is no longer relevant to the Community space.