Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who, ...

[Bernard]

"this is supposed to be a happy occasion!"

I love that quote. This forum is not a place to air greivances, attack, insult or upset people. Disagreements should be handled civilly and diplomatically. Thank you.

P.S. Looks like I had pruning set on this forum and the original thread on this topic was lost. Sorry about that Thor! I know that you had replied to it.

I've turned off all pruning so no further threads will get auto-deleted.

[Bernard]

Looks like there have been some problems at some other epilepsy related forums between members and moderators. I just wanted to take this opportunity to quote a passage from another forum that I visit occasionally that really sums up how I feel about running this forum.

The House Style is simple really - we regard this place as an open house where we host an open door party. Anyone can come in and be a welcome guest here. We have hosts (moderators) who try to help you settle in, feel comfortable, etc. We expect all guests to treat other guests with respect. To disagree with each other is a good thing, as it presents different perspectives to a discussion. Just disagree respectfully.

... Go back to that 'open house party' idea, and imagine if you'd inadvertantly spilt an ashtray over. If it is a minor spill, the hosts and hostesses of this party may simply tell you you've done it so you know, and tell you where the cleaning stuff is if you want to clean it up for yourself. If it is a major spill, we may immediately clean it up and there will be no hard feelings (but we will ask you to be more careful of course). But if you continually spill stuff, and don't clean up for yourself, we'd eventually have to ask you to leave, or the house just isn't going to be pleasant for other guests, and the hosts and hostesses want to spend their time meeting and greeting and facilitatiing, not cleaning up after one clumsy person.

In short, we try to keep moderation here friendly, informal, and to treat you all as adults capable of cleaning up your own messes if you should make them. Most people hardly know the moderators do anything but encourage good discussions and a warm atmosphere, and actually, that's mostly all we do.

The good, respectful community here is because we have a good respectful comunity here, and one we are very proud of, and eager to have you join and enjoy too.

[Bernard]

My moderating team has alerted me that part of the moderator guidelines I set up for them state the following (and it's something I thought I had posted publicly, but apparently neglected):

Taboo topics - This is a peer support forum and the Lounge forum is supposed to be a fun place. Threads discussing religion or politics do not belong as they are divisive.

When I say politics, I don't mean discussing laws or EFA lobbying efforts - I mean ideological discussions. If you see threads/posts on taboo subjects, go ahead and soft delete them and send the poster a PM explaining why it was deleted (you can copy the first two sentences above if you like).