- Respect for forum members is
important. It is acceptable to disagree as long as it is done
politely. For example, “I disagree with the treatment you’re
suggesting because . . .” is okay, but “Your treatment is a
stupid idea” is not okay. Profanity, insults and embarrassing
remarks will not be tolerated.
- Limit remarks that do not involve a
discussion of the subject. Short
replies such as “Thank you”,
“I agree” or “Me, neither” do not contribute to the
discussion and should not be used because they add unnecessary posts
to the group. At the
end of your original message, use the phrase, “Thank you in
advance for your help” and there is no need to send an additional
follow-up “thank you” post.
It is not necessary to respond to someone for sharing
unsolicited information or pictures; they know we were glad they
shared. If you
think it is important that someone understands how you feel, send
your remarks to their email address, not the group.
Their email address appears in the ‘From’ column in your
inbox list of messages.
- When typing, use both upper and
lower case letters. Typing
in ALL UPPERCASE IS THE SAME AS SHOUTING and is considered rude.
When writing measurements, be sure to specify the unit in
addition to the number so we know if you mean °C or °F, lb. or kg,
inch or cm, etc.
- Be specific in the subject line of
your post. A generic
post titled “Help, my tree is dying” will not get as much
attention as “White pine needles have yellow spots” because
people scan titles quickly to see what is of interest or in their
area of expertise. If
you have follow-up remarks days, weeks or even months after a
post, try to use the original post or thread of messages so we
have the initial discussion.
It may take a long time to determine if a suggestion worked
or not, but we want to know the results. If you change a topic,
please change the subject line as well.
- If you post a message that you
have items or plants to sell, trade or give away, ask that members
contact you at your private email address for more information and
include the email address in your message.
- If a forum member is disrupting
the forum, that member’s ability to post to the group and/or
their email address will be removed without notification at the
discretion of the forum moderators. A forum member who has been
expelled may not re-subscribe under a new name or address. If you
need to bring problems to the attention of the moderators, send an
email to our ’Help Line’: conifer_obsession@yahoo.com
with “Important - problem in the …….(name of the
group) in the subject
line and we will investigate.
- Failure to comply with any of these guidelines will result in
expulsion from the forum.
This group is run by volunteers and requires the
cooperation of all members for successful operation.
- It is very risky publishing private emails without permission, for
e-mails are protected by copyright. Emails are like letters...the
copy you receive becomes your property, the copyright remains the
property of the writer. In the USA, the legal liability is found in
Title 17 of the United States Code Chapter 5. Fines per infringement
can be as high as $ 150,000.-
- Please respect our ‘Rules of Conduct’
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