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Rules
All members are reminded that they may be held legally accountable for what they say or do online. This may include any advice however well-intentioned, which could result in harm or injury to another person. In particular, members may be held liable for any defamatory comments, threats and untrue statements or other illegal and fraudulent claims made by them.
We do not believe that freedom of speech gives any member the right to personally attack another member or members.
Personal opinions are welcome, but personal criticism/comments/attacks are not. We believe that everyone should be entitled to voice his or her own opinion, but this does not necessarily mean it is always appropriate to do so, on our forum.
When posting messages, please be aware of the feelings of other members. We appreciate that all members will have varying views on certain subjects, but please note that we will close any thread if the discussion gets out of hand.
Personal feuds or arguments will not be tolerated. They are not of any interest to other members and just spoil the atmosphere on our forums. Offending posts will simply be deleted.
Bullying on the forums will not be tolerated. If you believe that a member is behaving in an inappropriate manner please report it or contact a member of the moderating team.
Swearing at other members is not classed as acceptable behaviour on our forums and members who do so will have their messages deleted and may receive a formal warning from the moderating team.
Members should not discuss any thread which has been edited, deleted or removed by moderators.
Members should not start any threads specifically about another member if it might seem to be commenting on or aiming criticism at that member or could lead to unpleasantness when other members decide to join in the conversation.
Members should not post messages which are an unprovoked attack on any individual regardless of whether they are a member of our site or not.
Messages that are confrontational, rude, threatening, hateful or abusive will be removed or edited and the person responsible may be given an official warning or ultimately be banned from using this forum.
Members should not post messages which generalize about groups of people (e.g. single parents, Stay at home mums/dads etc) as generalizing about people is often inappropriate and can cause upset and bad feeling on our boards.
Members should not post topics that arouse suspicion against any other members, regardless of whether they name that member or post a generalised post, discussing or asking for advice about another member. If you need advice on a situation and another member is involved, you must either post for advice without mentioning that the person you are discussing is a member or you should contact a member of the moderating team.
Members should not post topics that arouse suspicion against new members; e.g. by insinuating that because someone is new, they are a troublemaker.
Members should not talk negatively about another member in a thread where they are not participating. Do not post messages with the purpose of provoking other members.
Members should not post messages referring to or discussing other threads or discussing what another member has supposedly said in that thread. This includes posting new threads which moan about other existing threads or which may criticise another member’s threads.
Members should not say that they are going to report another member.
Members should not threaten to put other members on their ignore list for any reason or suggest that another member should add someone to their ignore list. If any member decides they wish to add another member to their ignore list, they should not inform any other member that they have done so.
Members should not follow another member from one discussion thread to another with the intention of trying to continue a disagreement they had elsewhere.
Members should not post duplicate topics that have already been posted.
Members should not spam the message board by posting the same message repeatedly, or by posting a flood of similar messages.
Members should not post "flame bait" discussion topics.
Any member who is thought to be deliberately argumentative, abusive or generally causing trouble (for other members or any member of DadTalk staff) will find their posts removed from the main forums without explanation and stored indefinitely by the moderating team.
Any messages that are confrontational, rude, threatening, hateful or abusive may be stored indefinitely by DadTalk and referred back to at a later date by DadTalk as proof of that member’s conduct within the forums.
Members should not start threads stating that they (or any other member of our forum) are leaving our forum and why.
Members should not post any messages discussing if (or why) a member has left our forum.
We reserve the right to remove materials we consider to be offensive. Any posts that contain pornographic or generally offensive content (text, images, links, etc.) will be deleted and may result in a further action from the moderating team.
Please do not post swear words or any other offensive words or phrases in any form.
Any member who is suspected of joining our forum intending to criticise, harass or cause trouble for another member may be subject to a formal warning or a temporary/permanent ban.
Any member joining our forum from another website, forum or online community (whether parenting based or otherwise) should not post messages stating that they know another of our members from that website or forum. They should not post messages on our boards about that person. Members are asked to offer their advice and support on the actual facts as the original poster has presented them here on our forum. If any member has concerns about another member who uses another parenting/other forum, please contact the moderating team.
Please do not reveal any personal details on threads that could lead to other people identifying you or your family in the street. If you put specific personal information onto threads, there is always a chance you may receive unwelcome attention from someone. Keep it friendly and anonymous. If someone asks you where you live or what school your kids attend don’t give specifics.
Please do not post personal information about other people/members on our forums. This includes a person/member’s full name and/or other personal details, which could be used to identify them. You may not post anyone’s private information without their consent.
Please be aware when posting messages that just because you are posting something that you personally do not find offensive or inappropriate, other members may not share your opinion. If a message is considered offensive or inappropriate by other members and/or by members of the moderating team, it may be removed from our boards.
DadTalk has a large number of forums on a number of different topics. We encourage you to take time to familiarise yourself with all of the different forums so you have a better idea of where to post various topics.
For legal reasons, members are asked not to post messages which offer advice from a professional point of view or in an official capacity (e.g. Solicitors, midwives etc.).
Please post your message on one section only. When posting a new topic members should use an appropriate, descriptive title which gives other members an accurate idea of the topic content.
Members should post new topics on the most appropriate forum. The moderating team reserves the right to edit, delete or move any topics which are not titled or posted appropriately.
Our forum is here for advice, support and general chat. It is NOT a dating or a debating site. The moderating team will delete posts from any member they believe is posting purely for this purpose.
Please do not start threads (or post messages in threads) which are FAO type messages or which are aimed at a particular member. These sorts of messages are classed as a private and should not be placed on the forum boards. They are of no interest what so ever to anybody else except the intended recipient and may be locked or deleted by the moderating team.
When replying to another member’s topic please try to ensure you keep to the topic being discussed in the original post.
Members are asked not to post messages that say they are giving away free products if you register or refer other people.
Members should not post messages about items that they are selling or giving away. Members should not post messages asking if anyone is selling goods or knows anyone who is.
Members should not post messages which promote, advertise or link to any competitions they are running, nor should they attempt to organise competitions on or via our forum boards.
Members should not post messages (either on their own behalf or on behalf of a third party) which are considered to be pleas for help requesting money, clothes or other items.
Bumping means adding a reply solely for the purpose of moving a thread back to the top of the board and so keeping the topic prominent. You are only allowed to bump threads IF AND ONLY IF you have something constructive to add to the discussion.
Please do not post threads advertising pyramid, chain mail or "get rich quick" type schemes. Threads containing information about (or links to) websites or schemes or which are not considered by us to be entirely legitimate will be deleted by the moderating team. The moderating team will also remove any threads which refer to, promote or recommend any type of affiliate, cash back or survey site.
Do not plagiarize. Please do not post entire copyrighted articles. If you wish to reference an article, provide a brief excerpt and include a link to the original source. Generally, excerpts should not exceed three or four paragraphs
Disclaimer
The rules listed here cover the most common disruptive or inappropriate postings, but this is not a complete list. We reserve the right to remove any post that we consider disruptive or inappropriate, even if that post is not specifically forbidden by our published rules.
DadTalk provides these forums as a free service to its members and reserves the right to change or vary the forums or withdraw any part of the forum service at any time, without prior notice or explanation to members. By using this forum, you agree that the administrators and moderators of this forum have the right to rename, remove, edit, move or close any topic (or posts within that topic) at any time should they see fit, without discussion.
Any members using these forums must agree to abide by these rules and DadTalk terms and conditions. In the event that a member is considered to be deliberately or persistently breaching our forum rules on a specific board or section, we may remove that member’s access to that specific board or section. Any member who persists in breaking the DadTalk forum rules or who does not abide by the terms and conditions may receive an official warning and/or a temporary or permanent ban from our website.
The forum rules are applied by a case by case basis at the discretion of the moderating team. DadTalk may change or vary these rules at any time without prior notice to members.
Free Speech: Think of our website like one of those magazines where you send your photos and letters in and hope they get included. When you send letters or photos in, the editor reserves the right not to publish them. In addition, the editor doesn’t list all the letters or photos that weren’t published; neither do they justify their reasons. Our forum has a moderating team which acts as editors of the content published by our members. All views are welcomed but you must respect our rules, and editorial rights.
Rights of membership: At the end of the day, you have no more an automatic "right" to use this forum than you do any other facility which is aimed at the general public. For example if you upset other members in a local swimming pool or library, the management is within their rights to ask you to leave and ban you from their facility. Please remember that we are within our rights to withdraw your membership of our forum or to request you refrain from posting on a certain board or subject at any time.
Although moderating decisions are usually kept confidential, the forum administrators reserve the right to inform other members of the outcome of moderating decisions in cases where the other member is directly affected by that moderating decision or if the other member was or is directly involved in that specific case.
The moderating team may occasionally add official threads on behalf of the DadTalk website - this may be posted onto the most appropriate section or depending on the content of the thread and how quickly replies are needed, may instead be posted onto a busier or more prominent board.
DadTalk cannot guarantee the prompt editing or removal of any content. We do not endorse opinions expressed by members of DadTalk on its DadTalk forums. DadTalk accepts no liability in respect to the accuracy or truthfulness of any advice, information or data posted online or in private messages, or any responsibility for the consequences of a member acting in reliance on such information.
The Forum is Viewable by the General Public
Please remember that this is a public forum and any information you post can be accessed by anyone from the general public or by internet search engines such as Google. This includes details that you may post in your public profile, including your date of birth and location. Once something has been posted on our boards, it is then searched by various search engines and added to their search database. So if you post your hometown or your children’s name, it is inevitable that someone will come across your posts at some point in the future. Likewise, if you add pictures in your avatar or signature with your family’s details and then add your location on your profile, this is all information which will show up when our forum is searched so be careful when mentioning details which, when linked together could lead to people you know identifying you.
Adding MSN, Yahoo, Facebook, etc.
For security reasons, members are advised not to post MSN, Yahoo or other instant messaging/email addresses onto our forum boards or in their profile.
The moderating team reserves the right to edit, delete or remove IM addresses in any messages or topics which are posted on our boards - or close/remove topics which have been posted specifically for the purpose of sharing IM or email addresses. Please note that DadTalk will not be held responsible for any misuse of any member’s IM address which is posted on our forum, whether it is posted on our forum boards, in that member’s profile or sent to another member by way of a private message.
The Moderating Team
Please treat members of the moderating team with respect.
Do not publicly accuse a member of the moderating team of being biased.
Do not send rude, threatening or offensive messages to the moderators or administrators, by email, by use of the "Alert" function, or by any other means.
Do not post messages attacking the moderators or administrators. Any member acting in an aggressive or abusive manner towards any member of the DadTalk staff will be banned from our forums.
Threads or posts which publicly discuss or question posts or decisions made by (or actions taken by) members of the moderating team are not allowed.
Moderators will not get involved in a public discussion or disagreement over any moderating decisions which have been made - this includes discussing whether a thread should or should not be moved, edited, locked or deleted.
Once a thread has been moved, edited, locked or deleted, members should not post new messages asking why a message has been moved, edited, locked or removed. Members should not post new threads discussing that thread, its contents or the reason it may have been edited, locked or deleted. Any such threads will also be locked or deleted.
Discussion topics relating to our rules and policies etc are sometimes allowed if they are posted in the appropriate forum. Any threads of this type must be respectful and not disruptive to the boards. We reserve the right to lock or delete any such topics for any reason.
While there is no clear line regarding what constitutes flame bait, the moderators have the authority to shut down threads which they consider too rhetorically hot, too divisive, too extreme, or too inflammatory.
Correspondence you receive from moderators and administrators should be classed as confidential and should not be emailed to another person, posted publicly on our boards or shared with other members of this message board.
Please note that any correspondence with any member of DadTalk staff (including moderators and administrators) may be forwarded to or discussed with other DadTalk staff members or may be kept in storage for future reference.
Fundraising and Member Appeals
Please do not post messages asking for donations, sponsorship or any other kind of fundraising request on our general forum boards. Any posts of this kind must be posted on our member requests board and may be placed once only. We regret we are sorry but we no longer allow specific fundraising discussion on any of our forum boards so although members are welcome to post messages discussing ways of fundraising, they may not organise fundraising events on or via our boards nor should they attempt to sell items of any kind in order to raise money for a specific cause, fund or charity.
Advertising on the Forum
Commercial advertising in any shape or form is not allowed on the forum boards. This includes, but is not limited to:
Members posting unsolicited commercial or personal web site advertisements
Any unauthorized posts which advertise or promote anything including personal or commercial websites, products or services will be deleted.
Posts Linking, promoting, advertising or recruiting websites
Members may discuss, mention or post an occasional link to another website, providing the website concerned is relevant to the thread it has been posted in. Please note that the following rules apply to members when posting links:
Links must be directly relevant to the topic they have been posted in
Any kind of link which is purely aimed at advertising or promoting any kind of site at all is NOT allowed. This includes posting messages purely to advertise or promote that website or forum, adding a link to a website as a postscript in every message or placing a link into your signature
Linking to members own websites (or those of known friends/family/colleagues etc) even if it answers the question is NOT allowed except with prior permission from moderators. Unauthorised posts or links will be deleted
Linking to a forum site IS NOT allowed if the forum is a private membership one and requires users to register or sign up to view content on its pages
Linking to a static page on a site which happens to have a forum IS allowed: if it answers the question; if the site or forum is a publicly viewable website and does not require users to register or sign up in order to view the content on its pages
Using the forum to post or send messages to other members which blatantly advertise, promote or attempt to recruit our members to use other websites, forums, MSN or other chat groups IS NOT allowed. Any member who is thought to be doing this may have their service disabled by the moderating team and may be subject to a formal warning and a temporary or permanent ban from our forum.
Complaints
If you think someone is breaking any of the rules listed here, or if you think someone might be a troll, please click the "Alert" link on the offending post so the moderators can deal with it.
The moderating team will take complaints about another member seriously and the identity of the complainant will normally be kept confidential. The moderating team will then deal with that complaint in an appropriate manner.
Members should not discuss complaints about themselves or other members in our forums, nor should they post any messages or start any threads which discuss those members and said complaints. Members should not speculate on the identity of the complainant nor should they publicly accuse any other member of informing on another member.
Any such posts or threads will be edited or deleted by moderators without warning.
Any complaints we receive about our members may be stored by the moderating team and referred back to at a later date.
Banned Members
The moderating team reserves the right to ban any member at any time without prior discussion. This includes any member who is suspected to be using multiple usernames, or who is believed to be using a false identity purely to confuse, deceive or harass other members.
Members should not post threads on any of the forum boards discussing if (or why) a particular member has been banned from the DadTalk forum.
Members should not post notices on behalf of banned members, nor should they post messages demanding that a banned member should be reinstated. Messages of these kinds will be removed.
Any member who has been banned from our forums should not attempt to return using another identity. Any member who is found or suspected to be doing so, will automatically be banned without notice.
Any posts by members who have been banned from our forum may remain on the forum indefinitely at the Moderating Team’s discretion. Any member who has been banned does not have the right to expect their posts to be removed. Certain threads may be kept in storage indefinitely and referred back to at a later date by the Moderating team and/or any party acting on the behalf of DadTalk.
Pruning
We regularly prune our boards to remove the oldest topics in each section. The amount of time between prunings can vary from board to board and could be anything from 28 days to several months, depending on the board.
Generally the advice and support boards tend to be pruned less frequently than the other sections. Once a topic has been pruned, there is no way of restoring a topic so members are advised to print any topic that is of interest to them, as and when they read it.
Members who Leave the Forum
Any member who decides they wish to leave the DadTalk forum is entitled to request that their DadTalk user account is deleted. Please note that deleting a member’s user account does not remove their posts from our boards.
Members should not post threads on any of the forum boards discussing if (or why) a particular member has left or been deleted from the DadTalk forum. Members should not post notices on behalf of members who have left. Messages of these kinds will be removed.
Any member who has left the forum and requested their details to be deleted is welcome to return as a member at a later date, however once a user account is deleted, there is no way of restoring that user account and it is also quite unlikely we would be able to allocate the same user name.
Any member who leaves and returns at a later date will be expected to abide by the forum rules at all times.
Any posts by members who have been deleted from our forum may remain on the forum indefinitely at the Moderating Team’s discretion.
Any member who has their membership deleted does not have the right to expect their posts to be removed.
Any threads which have been placed in storage may be kept there indefinitely and referred back to at a later date by the Moderating team and/or any party acting on the behalf of DadTalk.
An alternative to having your user account deleted would be to request your account to be banned. This would mean that you would still be able to visit our forum and read the threads on our boards but you would not be able to post on our boards. If at a later date, you would like to return to our boards, you can email us to ask that the ban is lifted and you will then have your original user account completely restored.
We can provide Moderation, but not Support or Advice
Obviously we care a great deal about our members; however, the DadTalk forum is not a professional support website and is not staffed around the clock.
If you are distressed and feel that you need to speak to someone on a one to one basis, maybe just for a listening ear then please don’t forget you can call the Samaritans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every single day of the year.
National numbers:
UK: 08457 90 90 90
ROI: 1850 60 90 90
Please remember that moderators are not professional counsellors and should any member find themselves feeling close to harming themselves in any way we would recommend that they first consider contacting an appropriate professional (therapist/counsellor, mental health services, crisis hotline, A&E etc). Any messages which could be construed as a suggestion, threat or statement of attempted suicide will have to be removed for the welfare of all our members but please rest assured that behind the scenes moderators will continue to do everything within their power to help and support the individual involved.
Please note that DadTalk reserves the right to contact the relevant authorities in the event of an emergency situation in order to safeguard the welfare of our members and their families.
When Posting a Message:
Think carefully about your subject line.If your thread subject gives no clue to its contents, it will probably be renamed.
Think about the category.If you put your thread in the right category to begin with, it won’t be moved elsewhere by the moderating team.
Remember to use paragraphs. If you are going to post a long message, put some paragraphs in so it breaks it up and makes it easier to read!
Try not to write in all capital letters or use lots of TXT abbreviations. Some members may find your thread too hard to read and be put off replying.
When Replying To Postings:
Disagree with the post, not the poster. It doesn’t matter if you do not agree with another poster’s point of view. It is fine for you to disagree with the subject matter, but you should never personally attack the poster. And try not to be offended if someone disagrees with your opinion.
Are you posting while angry? If you post a message when you are angry, chances are you might accidentally reveal something personal that you may regret the next day - or you may inadvertently post a message which could cause offence to others (who may not share your views), be in bad taste, off-topic or inappropriate.
Re-read other people’s posts carefully. Before you type a reply to another member’s message, why not read their message through again just to be sure you are reading it in the context it was intended. It can be way too easy to take offence at another person’s message especially if you are unsure exactly how their comment was meant...
Think before you post.Before you hit the submit button, re-read and think about what you are posting. Read it from another’s point of view. It can be easy to take things the wrong way on-line.
Please do not waste time.Ensure that replies are on topic. Only start a new thread if the topic, or something very similar, has not been covered elsewhere. If you look at the old threads you may find that your question or point has already been covered. If you do start a new thread, make sure that the title is descriptive and that the topic will add value to the forum, and not just repeat or slightly deviate from another thread. Do not post purely for the sake of posting.
Do not post off-topic comments or disrupt threads. You do not have to post in every thread. So if you do not like a topic, if it does not interest you or if you have nothing constructive to post, simply leave it and find one to which you wish to contribute constructively.
Member Public Profile Page
Customisation
Registered DadTalk members are automatically allocated a DadTalk Forum user account which is inactive until they start to use the DadTalk forum. Once activated each DadTalk account has a customizable user profile which is displayed on messages posted by that particular member each time they post on our DadTalk forum boards. Members can use their User Control Panel to change or update their user profile and to add personal information, avatar, profile picture, signature and more.
No advertising
Please note members may not use their user profile (including their signature, avatar or location boxes) to advertise anything - this includes using the signature/location boxes to advertise, promote, post links or draw attention to any website, product or services of any kind - as this will be classed as advertising the website, product or service concerned and anybody who is considered to be breaking this rule will have their signature, avatar or location text removed from their profile by the moderating team.
Sneaky links or pictures
Any text, pictures or links which are added to profiles must comply with all of the existing forum rules or risk being edited or deleted by moderators. Member profiles, display names, signatures, avatars or titles the moderators feel to be offensive or inappropriate in anyway will be edited or removed. Display names that appear to be nicknames or web addresses may be edited by a moderator.
Website link
Each member has a website link option in their profile, where they can add a link to a website of their choice. Please do NOT link this to any type of chat group, parenting website, forum website, non-personal blog or business blog.
Moderators can (and will) edit
If the moderators notice or your profile is reported to be offensive or inappropriate in anyway will be edited or removed
Signature Guidelines
Nothing offensive
Signatures may not contain text or images which could be considered as being offensive, they must also be of an acceptable height and width. Any signature that contains offensive content may be removed by the moderating team. Members should also consider the feelings of other members before posting signatures containing pictures or content that could cause upset to another member.
No advertising
Your signature website link should not link to any type of chat group, parenting website, forum website, non-personal blog or business blog.
Moderators can (and will) edit
If the moderators notice or your signature is reported to be offensive or inappropriate in anyway will be edited or removed.
Your Username and E-Mail Address
Friendly and informal
The username you choose is visible to EVERYONE! So pick something interesting, but not too personal (well unless you want the whole world to know who you are...:-)
Safe Choice
We strongly suggest you do NOT pick a username and password your children can find... This is a place you might want to put messages up that, if your child logs in as you, they might start asking questions. Whilst this should be good, you might no have the 30 minutes to explain exactly what you meant at the time...
E-mail address can be visible
If you allow other members to e-mail you directly, they will be able to see the e-mail address you enter as part of your profile. Either ensure this function is turned off, or pick an e-mail address you do not mind sharing with the general public.
Adding Photos or other Images to the Forum
Privacy
Members may post personal photos or images on our forum; however, they should not post any photos of children unless the children in question are their own. This is because our website can be viewed by anyone from the general public. Any member adding photos to our forum should be aware that once photos are uploaded to our forum, they can be saved and printed off by virtually anyone.
Size Matters
Any tickers or pictures which are added should be small ones which do not affect the bandwidth of the forum or which do not take up much room (ideally we prefer them to be the size of a normal signature ticker). Tickers or pictures which are too large or are complained about by other members may be edited or deleted from a member’s profile.
Moderators can (and will) delete
If the moderators notice (or is reported) that a picture to be pornographic, generally offensive or inappropriate in anyway it will be removed and the user warned or banned.
