Due to the requests of some of the current posters on TC and HOT, We advisors have come up with a few guidelines on what and how to post on the boards. These guidelines are instituted in co-ordination with the Boardhost Terms of Service (TOS). Please take a moment to look over these TOS as you will see it does help us in doing what is best for the boards.
Our main goal is to keep our spots in cyberspace as informative and as friendly as possible. The advisors all agree on these and have expressed that they would like you to email them if you do not understand something or would like to see something added or deleted from this page.
First off, we as advisors read every post on the board and frequently discuss them amongst ourselves . If your post is not answered by an advisor it is because that particular one reading it first may not have an answer to your question, or it may have already been well answered by another poster. If this post happens to be an emergency or of important nature we do contact other advisors and also other posters who may be knowledgeable in that area of expertise.
Tiel Chat and Heads Over Tiels
Let's differentiate between Tiel Chat and Heads Over Tiels. In the beginning there was one board, Tiel Chat. We quickly learned that we needed more space and a board for fun but not necessarily tiel or bird related subjects. Heads Over Tiels was then formed.
Tiel Chat mainly handles all cockatiel and bird related things such as emergencies, questions, stories and pictures of our cockatiels. Most of this is cockatiel related as that is what almost all of our posters
have in
common, but postings about other species are also welcome.
On the other hand, Heads Over Tiels is a place where we can let our hair down a bit and post whatever we'd like to share with our bird friends and family. Even a picture of your new dog or home. This board can be extremely non-bird related and just a place to relax and enjoy a joke you've gotten in an email.
Clarifying Your Posts
On either board discussions could get heated with differing ideas and opinions expressed. The main idea is to respect each other and share experiences, proven facts and ideas with each other. Remembering that we have new readers on the board all the time and different backgrounds, experiences and possible disabilities is what makes us a friendly and non threatening site. Please keep this in mind as you read and post here. Ask yourself, "Can my answer be taken the wrong way?" If you think maybe it could, just go back and add a better description of what you are trying to say before posting it. Boardhost offers the preview button for this reason. Often if we can't see a persons face we can't tell if they are angry, happy, joking or really feeling sad. Use the preview and see if maybe your post could use a smiley face or a frown to express how you are feeling.
Age Restriction
We need to take into consideration the TOS. Boardhost requires that nobody under 13 years old post on their boards. Although it may be difficult to control, keep in mind that we have all ages reading our boards and we need to keep the content family friendly.
Advertisements
There is a boardhost term stating there to be NO "Commercial Banner advertisements or revenue-generating links". We believe this to mean that there is to be no selling of birds on their site because this would generate revenue for the seller. If you would like others to know that you have some babies or adults that need a good home, post your message on HOT only and mention no prices. Just have interested parties email you for more information.
Email Address
Speaking of email, we do not require you to have an email addy when you post on the boards. This is for the sake of privacy. It is a good idea to have an email address so that others can send you more information but it is not a requirement. Remembering this, anyone who does not post their email should be respected for that and if you happen to know their email address please do not give it out to others. You may email them personally and let them know that someone on the board is looking for them.
In Order To Keep The Boards Friendly
May we please remind everyone, friend and foe alike, that the intentions of these boards are not to stroke ego's, deal with personality conflicts, or be a punching bag for gripes with individuals or groups of individuals. In the future, any post that will flame a topic or do harm, will be deleted. This is Tiel Chat and HOT--bird boards, and HOT is to share our mutual joys and sorrows, not our vendetta's. Anyone who feels slighted by anyone, please email your Advisors listed below on the Guidelines page with any such emails received, and we will handle the problem off of the boards. We think you, as friends and posters don't want our boards trashed with them.
Disclaimer
Any opinions, information or links on the board are at the sole discretion of the poster and reader. Tiel Chat and Heads Over Tiels take no responsibility for any bad or harmful advice. These are opinions of board members and in no way substitute for good Avian veterinary
care. There are no vets or doctors associated with the board (that we know of) and all information is coming from experienced owners and breeders. If in doubt about any info, ask your vet. Most don't charge for a phone call to them and it's much better to be safe than sorry.
There is a place for everything
In order to keep our boards separate we need to keep Off Topic (OT) subjects on Heads Over Tiels. To accomplish this we all need to monitor themes and threads. If you see a thread on TC that is off topic or is starting to go that way, please post a Subject line that you have continued the thread on HOT.
Linking
As far as linking to others pages in your message, we remind you that there are copyrights on some of these pages so you are not to copy and paste a part of a page into your message without creating a link to where this info came from.
We currently do not discourage links to other boards but please do not advertise another board in your message. This is in direct conflict to our boards. Instead, just create a link at the bottom of the message and those who would like to visit, can.
Avian Links Page
On our Avian Links Page you will find informative and fun things. If you'd like to have your site reviewed for addition to the Avian Links simply email an advisor and it will be considered. We are looking for as accurate information as possible so that TC and HOT can be one of the most reliable sites on the internet for bird related subjects.
Changes to This Page and Advisors Policy
Information on this page is subject to change as we grow and expand our boards or if there are changes to the Boardhost TOS. There will be a message placed on both TC and HOT if this should occur. It is your responsibility to occasionally read this page to keep informed. Our policy is that if we find a post that does not follow these guidelines, we will email the person who posted after discussing it among the Advisory Board and explain the error and inform them of the steps we will take to either change it or remove the post. We understand sometimes we all make errors so nobody will be mad if you occasionally "slip" but will inform you if you do.
If there are any questions regarding these or other guidelines you'd like to see, feel free to email any one of the Tiel Chat Advisory Board.
Betty
Bobbetty@suddenlink.net
Birdsrule
kayandrocky@gmail.com
Claire
Satibape@hotmail.com
Lillian
Lillianwarren@webtv.net
Seesthru
Seesthru2@peoplepc.com
