GayWeddings.com

We hold two primary truths to be self-evident:

One. When someone sends you an invitation, promptly and courteously reply by the date requested.

and,

Two. When you are participating in a forum, be respectful and engaging.

Just think of these boards as a wedding.

We all know how to behave when the community comes together for a special reason. Sure -- the occasional “unwanted guest” crashes the party, and sometimes a beloved guest makes a really unfortunate choice when selecting an outfit to wear to the event. In these instances, a member of the community will gently, but lovingly work to remedy the situation without the bride or groom even knowing what happened.

The standard of this community is that the same will occur here.

Please save the “lowest common denominator” behavior for after the reception, when only your small circle of friends will be around to witness it and still love you anyway.

To be more specific (with thanks to my web muse, Mac):

Rule #1. Be nice. Even if someone really gets on your nerves, resist the urge to lash out. If you have a problem with someone and you simply cannot deal with this person one second more, let us know and we can get involved in the process if it is warranted. forum@gayweddings.com

Rule #2. Don't engage in unhelpful frivolity -- By " unhelpful frivolity" we refer to the mindless, borderline libelous gossip and spiteful speech that goes on in so many corners of the Web. Don’t do it here since you can go and do it there.

Rule #3. Do your homework -- If you're new and you have a question or a hot topic, read through a few posts or use the search box to see if your question/topic has already popped up.

Rule #4. If you are a vendor or represent a business, please don’t practice blatant, unsolicited sales pitches in these forums. Subtle, creative and thoughtful references are appropriate but spamming and aggressive pitching is not. If you are in the mood for some partnership building, feel free to look us up; we’d love to brainstorm with you about possible marketing ideas. forum@gayweddings.com

Rule #5. Please practice general “netiquette” (read up on it here if you are not already familiar with it). For example, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM WRITING IN ALL CAPS AS THIS IS CONSIDERED A FORM OF SCREAMING.

Rule #6. Respect copyright. Don't steal other people's stuff and post it here. Also, please try to avoid posting full articles, full reviews, etc. This, believe it or not, is copyright infringement. The absolute best course of action is to post a link to an article, picture, video, etc. The person/people who created the original material deserve the notoriety and the Web traffic, so if you've got something cool to show everyone, post the link.

The bottom line (for those who need direct statements rather than clever inuendo):

If you violate any of these rules and/or the general community spirit and standard, you will put your membership priveleges with this community in jeaopardy -- with or without warning.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kathryn,