Does anyone have posted on their site forum rules or etiquette on the forum? We have tried to avoid some subjects to keep the peace but something came up and now I think we need to post someplace some rules to the forum. Thanks

Hello Ann,

I ran into this same scenario the other day. People were posting jokes, their views on other subjects, (one guy posted a dissertation of about 1000 words on his encounter with extraterrestials....lmao)
So I took all of these postings, copied them and pasted them into the profiles of the authors.
I then added the following posting to the forum.
Hope this helps you.

Hello VMCI.

While we certainly appreciate all of the many interesting posts made to the message forum, we've set aside this section for items pertaining directly to life at VMCI, the reunion, etc.

Postings on many other interesting subjects, not directly involving our school have been moved back into the profiles of their authors.

So remember to surf the student profiles! You'll find a lot of great updates, pics and fascinating stories!

Best regards,

Don and Susan

Hello Again Ann

I had another instance of a posting in the forum, telling another student to stop follwoing her around, that this was her alumni site, etc....
This message that I copied to you below generated an apology, and a promise not to bring any arguments with her to the site. Whatever was going on has stopped. I prefer to address this kind of thing on an individual basis, rather than "staining" the vibe of the site by posting a strict set of rules in response to some postings, etc.

Hello Deb

Someone flagged your post in the message forum to my attention today.
You'll notice that I have deleted it.

If there is an issue between yourself and someone else on this website; if
there is something improper going on within the site, then coming to us is
the proper course of action.

However, please understand that we will not allow the message forum or any
other part of the website to be used in this manner.

Please let us know if there is something improper going on within our site
and we will quickly address it. If it stems from events outside of the
website, then we ask that you leave them there.

We have already deleted one inappropriate card from the site, and have
absolutely zero tolerance towards any source of conflict.

Yours truly

Don Armstrong

I, too am hesitant to put rules on the site. However, it might be good to let the members know that anything deemed inappropriate will be edited, in part or deleted. We have only had one person who wrote some inappropriate "memories" on our meorial page. I had to "adjust" because the content was offensive to the families.We dealt with that one individually. The Profile is a good idea for keeping the content, but moving from an important area.

Lara
P.S. Did I dream this or did we at one time have to go through an administrator to post announcements or mail the entire class?

Hi Lara

You have to be an admin to post or mail the class.
I believe I've read that posts by non-admins come to the admins for approval prior to being posted. We haven't had anyone try to make any as of yet.

Our situation was the posting seemed to me, a slap in the face of the poster and myself. I deleted the posting and explained why I deleted it. Then that person blew up. Started spouting censorship and free speech rights. We have since resolved the problem but I think if I had some guidelines to follow on the forum it might help. I have seen a drop in people posting and I think it is because of this and some other comments like questioning someones spelling. I don't think it was meant in harm but it was taken that way for many. That is why we have avoided certain subjects like politics and religion. Has anyone else had these problems with people posting on the forum? You would think some of them are still in high school but it's been 35 years!!

I posted general terms of use due to other students "retelling stories" and emabarrassing classmates. I also edit the forum by inserting ***'s and now I don't bother to inform the writer unless they ask -- no one has asked yet. Ditto your thoughts - it's been 30 years since graduation and I falsely assumed everyone would act like adults.

I'd be very very firm right off the bat, or you'll have people taking liberties with what they think is ok.
I've already removed someone's card from the site.
No notice, nothing. Just deleted it.
And yeah, after 30 years you'd think...but its not always the case.
If by **** you mean that you've used these asterisks to hide inappropriate words, then I think you're being too generous. Personally, I'd just have deleted the post.
This isn't Myspace, or Facebook...its ourspace/yourspace!

I wish I could GET people to post on the forum. 95% of the posts are from me trying to get other people to post...

I posted a very simple, but to the point, message within my FAQ's:

8. Can I post my own photos or videos on the website?
Yes! You can upload a current photo of yourself, your family, pets, vacations, old photos from days gone by, past reunions, etc. -- anything you want to share -- by clicking on "Edit/Upload Photos" under the Member Functions menu on the left. There is no limit on the number of digital photos that you can store on your "Classmate Profile" page. Each photo is automatically resized to fit on your Profile page. You can also upload your own videos that you've posted to YouTube.com by clicking on the "Classmate Profiles" link, then following the instructions. And yes, you can add, delete, or replace your own photos or videos at any time.

NOTE: Inappropriate pictures, postings or videos, may be deleted by the class website administrator at their discretion.

Since opening the website, I haven't had an issue.