Greetings! You have asked for a clarification of the rules of the Cyberboard. We hope the following will help you understand our moderating process.

Denials are based on a point system. Three penalty points and your account is disabled. Below is a listing of the violations that we use separated by point value. As you will see most posts are denied with no penalty points attached. We do not deny posts for content or opposing opinions, unless the opinion is stated in a mean spirited or nasty way. We encourage you to post your opinions as long as it's done in a respectful manner. Part of life is recognizing that not everyone shares our views and we need to be respectful of that.

The journey of a post ....

When a message is posted to the Ty talk Cyberboard it is first screened for specified words. If one of the specified words is found in the post, the post is immediately kicked back to the poster. While some of the words when used alone are not offensive they can have double meaning or they can easily be used in an inappropriate manner. After the post has been accepted it goes into a queue for approval. Each and every message (approx. 6000 per day) posted to the Ty Talk Cyberboard is reviewed by a human. Yes, a human. Each message is checked for an appropriate User ID, subject and content. Once the message is approved it is sent to another queue to be posted on the board. The messages are posted every half-hour. In order to get the latest messages you will need to reload or refresh your page occasionally. Postings are approved daily between 9:00 am CDT to approximately 12:00 am CDT. Postings on the weekend sometimes do take a bit longer to appear. Please understand that we do our best to get the messages on the board in a timely manner.

Why am I being denied?

The following is a list of the denial reasons, the Email message that is sent to the poster and a brief explanation of the denial reason or criteria as well as the amount of penalty points given.

Inappropriate Language - Your post contains inappropriate language, please rephrase your post in a more appropriate manner. Thank you.

One (1) Penalty point

Often messages are denied not because of what was said but how it was said. In the heat of the moment hurtful things can be written. We do our best to second guess what the poster means. But that is not always possible. If we feel at all uncomfortable with a post or feel a post may be taken in a wrong way we do deny that post. Our policy is to always error on the side of conservative. The written word is, unfortunately, very black and white. While someone may feel that what they wrote is in jest, the reader may not take it that way due to the lack of facial expressions, vocal tones, etc. that would give clues to what is meant by the words. We also understand that people get very passionate about certain subjects. When we get passionate, we sometimes say things in a way that we would not normally say it if we were in a calmer frame of mind. Perhaps if you reread the post that was rejected from the perspective of someone who does not know you or the manner in which it was written, you would see the post in a completely different light.

E-Mail Address - For your protection, please do not post your E-mail address. Thank you.

Zero (0) Penalty Points

Web Address - We do not allow the posting of any web address. This includes information regarding chat rooms. Please repost without the web address. Thank you.

Zero (0) Penalty Points

E-Mail / Web Site level 2 - It is evident from your post that you are aware of our policy regarding the non- posting of E-Mail / Web Site addresses. You have received one penalty point for this post. A total of three points and your User ID will be disabled.

One (1) Penalty Point

Most posts are denied due to E-mail addresses or web site addresses. We do not allow E-mail addresses for obvious safety reasons. The reason we do not allow web address is for the same. Without our moderators actually checking the web address we cannot be sure of where the address leads. It is very possible for someone to have a perfectly innocent looking web address that leads to a very inappropriate web site. I'm sure none of you would like any child to view or have access to some of the sites that are on the Internet. Please do not try to go around the system in posting a web address or an e-mail address. There is no penalty for posting either, unless you are intentionally trying to go against our policy, in which case you will receive a penalty point.

Level 1 violation - Your posting violates the Ty Talk Cyberboard Rules & Regulations.

One (1) Penalty Point

Level 1 violation is used when a post contains anything that we feel is offensive yet does not necessarily fit into any of the other denial reason. This denial caries one penalty point.

Level 2 violation - Your posting violates the Ty Talk Cyberboard Rules & Regulations. The nature of your posting necessitates that your access to the Ty Talk Cyberboard be immediately revoked.

Three (3) Penalty Points

Level 2 violations are an automatic three points disabling the account. You would be amazed at some of the things we see that fall into this category!

Inappropriate User ID - You have used an offensive word or included your e-mail address in your User ID. Please register using a more appropriate User ID. Thank you.

Three (3) Penalty Points

Inappropriate User ID User ID's that are inappropriate contain E-mail addresses, full names, or other inappropriate words. In addition, User ID's that may confuse the reader that the poster is affiliated with Ty would fall in to this category.

Threatening - Your post has a threatening and or disrespectful tone. The nature of your tone necessitates that your access to the Ty Talk Cyberboard be immediately revoked.

Three (3) Penalty Points

We have received post that we feel are disrespectful or threatening. We will not tolerate any threatening, disrespectful, rude or nasty posts aimed at anyone..

Selling - We do not allow selling, buying or trading of any item on the Ty Talk Cyberboard. Please use the Ty Guest book for any selling, buying or trading. Thank you.

One (1) Penalty Point

This is self-explanatory.

Duplicate entry - We have posted your entry already. This is a duplicate entry.

Zero (0) Penalty Points

This is self-explanatory.

Inappropriate content - Please do not include your last name, address, phone number, e-mail address or any other personal information in your message. Thank You.

Zero (0) Penalty Points

This is self-explanatory.

Language - Please post only in English. Thank you.

Zero (0) Penalty Points

This is self-explanatory.

We hope this has clarified our policies and answered any questions you may have had concerning the message board. If you have not received E-mail regarding your post and it does not appear on the boards it has some how gotten lost in cyberspace. We do everything we can to prevent lost postings; however, Internet technology is not yet perfect. We look forward to your feedback.

CYBERBOARD DO's and DON'T 's

DO:

- remember children are reading.

- express your opinion.

- post only in English.

- respect other people's feelings and opinions.

- read over your post before submitting it.

- post ideas, rumors and/or gossip.

- read other posts before posting a new topic. Chances are your question has already been

answered.

- check your e-mail if you don't see your post. It may have been denied.

- review the rules and regulations you agreed to abide by.

- review the denial clarification.

- have fun!

DON'T:

- use inappropriate language.

- attack anyone personally.

- intentionally try to hurt someone's feelings.

- post your e-mail address or request anyone else's.

- post any web addresses or request any web addresses.

- post your last name, address or phone number.

- threaten or disrespect anyone.

- post your message more than one time.

- offer to buy, sell or trade any item.

- hold down any key unnecessarily (such as !!!!!!!).

- try to get inappropriate words, E-mail address, or web site address

posted by inserting spaces or characters (such as*) between letters.

- solicit charitable donations.

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