Be humble 
Post your opinions and your experiences, but remember that other families may have different experiences than yours and may reason their way with impeccable logic to different conclusions. Posts which "lay down the law" may be deleted. 

Be civil 
Don't attack another poster's background, religious convictions, experience, or parenting style. Above all, resist the one-liner subject-header put-down. Nasty cracks will be deleted. 

Think Before You Post 
The posts on this forum are available for all the world to see. If you don't want all the world to see what you have to say, don't post it. We are not likely to remove a thread/post because you later regret writing it. If you are all fired up about something, take a walk or have a cup of tea before posting something you will regret. 

Don't insist on the last word 
Some disagreements will result in a draw. Be willing to let a thread end on someone ELSE'S opinion. "Last words" which have no purpose other than to assert that, after all, you're REALLY right, will be deleted. 

Do not assume that everyone on the boards shares a particular religious conviction 
These boards are inclusive. You are welcome to ask theological questions, but don't post as though everyone who frequents the boards shares your ideology. Offending posts may be deleted. Don't use inquiries as an excuse to proselytize for anything. Answer questions that are posted but don't use these questions as an excuse to springboard into criticism. For example: If someone asks, "What are your kids dressing up as for Halloween?" don't launch into an explanation of how evil Halloween is. If someone asks, "Is Halloween evil?" have a ball. (Conversely: if someone posts, "We don't do Halloween; what can we substitute?" don't take this as an opportunity to prove to them that Halloween is really just fine.) 

If you're joking, say so 
Really. Humor doesn't come across in cyberspace. Honest. Smilies help - try them. :-) 

No advertising 
If you are the publisher or author of home schooling (or other) materials, or have a financial interest in a particular program, you may answer direct questions about those materials but don't use a general query ("What science/language arts/history materials should I use?") as a chance to promote your product. When these questions are posed, we hope that parents will hear from other parents not from those who may have a vested interest in the use of a particular program. 

Will we delete (or close) posts? 
At times, when threads get too intense, we have to delete (or close) them. Even threads that start off civil can quickly devolve into mayhem, and we may choose to preemptively close them. Please don't ask why the thread (or your post) was deleted. It wasn't necessarily something you said. Very likely, somebody before you or after you posted something that had to come down. Sometimes, the only way we can remove the troublesome posts is by removing the whole thread. And a question like "where did my post go?" or "where did the ________ discussion go?" only serves to bring the discussion back to the boards. Posts that ask "where is X post?" will be deleted. We may also delete posts that do not add to the topic at hand. 

A note about posting We want you to carry on all sorts of conversations on this board. Please do remember, though, that we are hosting it (and it does cost money) as a support forum for home educators. Megalong threads with little content cost us bandwidth and extra money. And so far as we can tell, they DO throw the server for a loop more often than shorter threads. So please don't start threads whose topic is post-for-the-sake-of-posting. 
 

Social Groups 
Social groups exist so that you can all have additional fun/support. Posts in social groups which attack or mock other social groups or members will be deleted. We expect that you're all mature enough to understand why, so we won't answer messages asking why deletions were made. 

Will we merge threads? 
Yes. Unlike the old board format, this new format will bring an old thread to the top when a new post is added. Starting a new *update* thread is not helpful for those who did not see the original thread. If admins see a thread that appears to be an update, they will merge it with the original thread. They don't always get it right. Do everyone a favor and add your update to your original thread. 

Don't announce that you're leaving and never coming back 
Posts along the lines of "I'm not appreciated here, so I'm leaving" really aren't necessary. If you post something like that, know that we'll be deleting it. It's not that we don't appreciate you ... we just don't appreciate those posts. 

No Spouse Bashing 
The Internet (and this site in particular) is not the appropriate place to complain about your husband (or wife) or to ask for marital counseling. Call a friend instead. 

Use Your Inside Voice 
Posting a message in all caps is the cyber-equivalent of yelling please don't do it. It's rude. Really. 

Don't use board space to talk about the boards 
You can always email the moderators with suggestions, but we've been doing this a long time and probably have heard it all before. (In other words, don't expect an answer.) Threads about how the boards should be run differently, laments about how much more/less welcoming the board is/was now/in the past, and criticisms of the moderators should be posted on...someone else's board. 

Choose your Username Carefully 
If we respond to username change requests, we do so at a snail's pace. Don't be surprised if it takes more than 6 months, if at all. We strongly suggest you do not include your location or the number of children you have in your username as those things tend to change. 

Be humble 
Post your opinions and your experiences, but remember that other families may have different experiences than yours and may reason their way with impeccable logic to different conclusions. Posts which "lay down the law" may be deleted. 

Be civil 
Don't attack another poster's background, religious convictions, experience, or parenting style. Above all, resist the one-liner subject-header put-down. Nasty cracks will be deleted. 

Think Before You Post 
The posts on this forum are available for all the world to see. If you don't want all the world to see what you have to say, don't post it. We are not likely to remove a thread/post because you later regret writing it. If you are all fired up about something, take a walk or have a cup of tea before posting something you will regret. 

Don't insist on the last word 
Some disagreements will result in a draw. Be willing to let a thread end on someone ELSE'S opinion. "Last words" which have no purpose other than to assert that, after all, you're REALLY right, will be deleted. 

Do not assume that everyone on the boards shares a particular religious conviction 
These boards are inclusive. You are welcome to ask theological questions, but don't post as though everyone who frequents the boards shares your ideology. Offending posts may be deleted. Don't use inquiries as an excuse to proselytize for anything. Answer questions that are posted but don't use these questions as an excuse to springboard into criticism. For example: If someone asks, "What are your kids dressing up as for Halloween?" don't launch into an explanation of how evil Halloween is. If someone asks, "Is Halloween evil?" have a ball. (Conversely: if someone posts, "We don't do Halloween; what can we substitute?" don't take this as an opportunity to prove to them that Halloween is really just fine.) 

If you're joking, say so 
Really. Humor doesn't come across in cyberspace. Honest. Smilies help - try them. :-) 

No advertising 
If you are the publisher or author of home schooling (or other) materials, or have a financial interest in a particular program, you may answer direct questions about those materials but don't use a general query ("What science/language arts/history materials should I use?") as a chance to promote your product. When these questions are posed, we hope that parents will hear from other parents not from those who may have a vested interest in the use of a particular program. 

Will we delete (or close) posts? 
At times, when threads get too intense, we have to delete (or close) them. Even threads that start off civil can quickly devolve into mayhem, and we may choose to preemptively close them. Please don't ask why the thread (or your post) was deleted. It wasn't necessarily something you said. Very likely, somebody before you or after you posted something that had to come down. Sometimes, the only way we can remove the troublesome posts is by removing the whole thread. And a question like "where did my post go?" or "where did the ________ discussion go?" only serves to bring the discussion back to the boards. Posts that ask "where is X post?" will be deleted. We may also delete posts that do not add to the topic at hand. 

A note about posting We want you to carry on all sorts of conversations on this board. Please do remember, though, that we are hosting it (and it does cost money) as a support forum for home educators. Megalong threads with little content cost us bandwidth and extra money. And so far as we can tell, they DO throw the server for a loop more often than shorter threads. So please don't start threads whose topic is post-for-the-sake-of-posting. 
 

Social Groups 
Social groups exist so that you can all have additional fun/support. Posts in social groups which attack or mock other social groups or members will be deleted. We expect that you're all mature enough to understand why, so we won't answer messages asking why deletions were made. 

Will we merge threads? 
Yes. Unlike the old board format, this new format will bring an old thread to the top when a new post is added. Starting a new *update* thread is not helpful for those who did not see the original thread. If admins see a thread that appears to be an update, they will merge it with the original thread. They don't always get it right. Do everyone a favor and add your update to your original thread. 

Don't announce that you're leaving and never coming back 
Posts along the lines of "I'm not appreciated here, so I'm leaving" really aren't necessary. If you post something like that, know that we'll be deleting it. It's not that we don't appreciate you ... we just don't appreciate those posts. 

No Spouse Bashing 
The Internet (and this site in particular) is not the appropriate place to complain about your husband (or wife) or to ask for marital counseling. Call a friend instead. 

Use Your Inside Voice 
Posting a message in all caps is the cyber-equivalent of yelling please don't do it. It's rude. Really. 

Don't use board space to talk about the boards 
You can always email the moderators with suggestions, but we've been doing this a long time and probably have heard it all before. (In other words, don't expect an answer.) Threads about how the boards should be run differently, laments about how much more/less welcoming the board is/was now/in the past, and criticisms of the moderators should be posted on...someone else's board. 

Don't Create Duplicate Accounts 
As stated in the Admin thread, don't create more than 1 account. You will be banned. 

Sale/Swap Board 
In an effort to make your Sale & Swap purchases safer, we have instituted a 50 Post Minimum policy. We want people who post items for sale to have a track record in our community. Although you may have been active on our "old" board, we cannot move posts for the old board to the new board. Please don't ask if you can be an exception to the new rules. Everyone starts fresh here. Registered users with fewer than 50 posts will still be able to respond to a FS thread and will be able to post in the WTB forum. 

No dealer posts. Please don't post more than 10 items per month. We understand that you want to sell all your used curricula, but it makes it hard to tell whether you are a parent with lots of books or a dealer. If you post a single item, it's a good idea to just use the resource name in the Subject Line. You might also consider putting the cost, the condition of the materials, or the grade level in the Subject Line as well. If you have multiple items, please group them by type of resource. Buyers will be able to look into a thread that applies to what they are looking for, and those who aren't looking for that type of resource can scan on. 

All transactions on the sale boards are buyer/seller beware. The forum owners provide this space as a service to parents, but are unable to mediate disputes involving buying and selling. Please take reasonable precautions when dealing with unknown buyers and sellers, and use the buyer/seller feedback tools if you have had an unsatisfactory experience. 

Finally 
The owners of this forum reserve the right to change these rules at any time in order to better serve the community.