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Ground Rules and Guidelines for Preemie-L


There are slightly different rules for the Preemie-L Mailing List and the Preemie-list Discussion Forum. Please refer to the appropriate section. For both the Forum and the list, the Guidelines for Ethics Debate also apply.

We hope that these ground rules will help our community avoid some of the potential problems of this environment. Your opinions are welcome! You can email any comments to us directly.

Best wishes
Anne and Gary
Preemie-L Webmasters

Ground Rules for the Preemie-L mailing list

1. Mail to the group should be of broad interest to the group as a whole, that is, those caring for premature and ex-preemie babies, and other interested people. Messages dealing with preemie-related experiences, feelings and issues, family health issues and updates on babies and siblings are welcomed by the group.

2. Please be considerate of mail volume and bandwidth. This is important both for our host server and the Preemie-L archives.

3. No flaming - any messages which are critical of another Preemie-L listmember should be sent directly to that person or to the listowner.

Mail posted to the list which is harsh, abusive or insulting, directed at either another listmember or at Preemie-L, in the opinion of the Preemie-L committee, will result in a suspension of membership.

4. Controversial discussions relating to prematurity are appropriate for Preemie-L as long as there is no flaming. When ethical issues arise, the Guidelines for Ethics Debate on Preemie-L also apply.

5. Postings that could be construed as defamatory, libellous or offensive to individuals, organisations or institutions are not to be posted to Preemie-L.

6. It may sometimes be necessary to check that stories are genuine. If you are unwilling to provide information for this purpose, should it be requested, please do not subscribe to the list. This ground rule has become necessary to protect the list from hoaxes.

7. All postings to Preemie-L are copyright to the author of that posting and permission of the author must be obtained before republishing.

If you want to post an entire article to Preemie-L, permission of the author must be obtained in order to protect us from breach of copyright complaints. However providing a link only to material previously published on the internet doesn't require any special permission.

8. Mail which has been sent to you privately should never be forwarded to the list. If you are concerned about mail received privately from another Preemie-L subscriber, please contact the listowner.

9. The writings and opinions posted to the Preemie-L mailing list are strictly the opinions of the writer, and do not contain any endorsements, or guarantees of any kind. Further, these opinions and writings are in no way meant to be considered as medical advice, nor are they meant to replace any medical advice. Always discuss concerns and questions with your physician.

10. Preemie-L membership constitutes an undertaking to abide by the list ground rules, and to be considerate of other members when posting mail to the list. Members who are unwilling to abide by the ground rules will be unsubscribed.


Ground Rules for the Preemie Discussion Forum

1. Postings to the forum should be of broad interest to the group as a whole, that is, those caring for premature and ex-preemie babies, and other interested people. Messages dealing with preemie-related experiences, feelings and issues, as well as updates on babies and siblings are welcomed by the group.

Please don't send non-preemie related messages to the Forum.

2. No flaming - if you disagree with another member's postings, please be polite about it. Any complaints about another forum member should be sent directly to that person or to one of the moderators, and not posted to the group.

People who post inflammatory messages will be suspended or unsubbed.

3. Please keep religious statements low-key. We are a large group with diverse beliefs and our common ground is the experience of prematurity. In the interests of harmony and respect for our differences, please focus on our common ground.

This doesn't mean never mention religion, just try to keep it low key and considerate. If you are unsure what this means, please contact one of the moderators.

4. It may sometimes be necessary to check that stories are genuine. If you are unwilling to provide information for this purpose, should it be requested, please do not subscribe to the Forum. This ground rule has become necessary to protect the Forum from hoaxes.

5. Please don't solicit donations or post promotions or advertising for charities or good causes. This includes trust funds and things like rescue packages for other Forum members who may be experiencing financial difficulties.

Events or programs planned by prematurity focussed groups like March of Dimes are exceptions to this general rule. If you are unsure about something you'd like to advertise or organize publicly, please contact one of the Forum moderators for advice.

6. Please don't post medical advice to the Forum. You are welcome to describe your personal experience with your baby, and the medical issues and care you have experienced as long as you aren't libellous. Please take every care to avoid posting general medical advice - we could be sued for this!

7. The writings and opinions posted to the Preemie-list Discussion Forum are strictly the opinions of the writer, and do not contain any endorsements, or guarantees of any kind.  Further, these opinions  and writings are in no way meant to be considered as medical advice, nor are they meant to replace any medical advice.  Always discuss concerns and questions with your physician.

8. All postings to the Preemie-list Discussion Forum are copyright to the author of that posting and permission of the author must be obtained before republishing.

9. Researchers and writers wanting to survey the group must first get approval from the Forum owner.

10. Postings that could be construed as defammatory, libellous or offensive to individuals, organisations or institutions are not to be posted to the Forum.

11. Being part of the Preemie Forum means that you are expected to abide by these ground rules whether or not you agree with them. People who consistently "push the boundaries" or who post abusively about the groundrules or moderators can expect to be unsubscribed.

If you have any concerns about the Preemie Forum, about particular postings, members or trends, or if you have suggestions for the Forum please don't hesitate to contact one of the moderators. Your feedback is always welcome.

Thankyou


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