Site Guidelines and FAQ's

St. Louis MomsLikeMe.com was created as an information resource for local moms. It's a place where moms can connect, ask questions, share advice and discuss the topics that are relevant to their lives as moms and as women.

In the space below, we answer common questions and users get to know MomsLikeMe.com.

The site is moderated by Site Producer Heather Lodge and six discussion leaders. While we regularly monitor the site's content, St. Louis MomsLikeMe.com is a community discussion site that is governed by its users. Community members are expected to show respect for one another and the opinions/views posted. It is up to the community members to ensure that the site discussions are positive, informative, supportive and entertaining.

While the site was created solely with moms in mind, the St. Louis Moms community as a whole accepts that non-moms may find its content useful. Anyone using the site who is not a mom is asked to respect the purpose and intent of the site. As a non-mom, if you choose to participate on this site, you are expected to conduct yourself appropriately and in full consideration of the moms in our community. Any men who choose to post on this site should limit their participation to discussions related directly to the parenting of children. Posts in any non-parenting-related discussions run the risk of being deleted at the discretion of the moderators.

Discussions on St. Louis MomsLikeMe.com can range from child-rearing, religion, sex and other topics that feature a variety of viewpoints. Not every discussion on the site will fall in line with the values/morals/lifestyles of every community member. We suggest you disregard the conversations that are not appropriate for you, and instead focus on the topics you can relate to.

Before you create a discussion, we encourage you to think about the purpose of your post and what you hope to learn or gain from the responses. When you seek input/opinions from other community members, be prepared to get all types of feedback. Debates can be enlightening, but should remain focused on the topic and not become personal. If a comment isn't something you would say face-to-face to women you just met, then it probably shouldn't be typed in our forum.

St. Louis MomsLikeMe.com is intended for grown-ups, with adult subject matter and language. Vulgar, obscene and/or gratuitous comments will be removed immediately and the posters reprimanded or removed. FCC-accepted cusswords, while not encouraged or condoned, are tolerated. We're moms, and we hope our community members will speak to one another with kindness, respect and appropriate language.

The members of St. Louis MomsLikeMe.com determine the tone and environment on the site. We encourage you to invest positive energy on St. Louis MomsLikeMe.com to make it the supportive, informative and entertaining site it is intended to be.

Index

Abbreviations — What is the meaning of DH, DD, etc?

Advertising in the discussion forums — What is allowed:

• Advertising babysitting services offered/wanted
• Advertising your home-based business
• Advertising your garage/yard/community sales
• Advertising your used items for sale

Email:

• How to send email through the site
• What is a Private Message?

Forums:

• Starting and replying to discussions
• Behavior guidelines
• Reporting abuse

Groups:

• How to use groups
• How to create or join one
• How to invite friends into a group

Photos — How to put yours on the site

Privacy and Profiles:

• How to create and edit your profile
• How to control your profile information
• How safe is the environment

Technical questions

• I didn't receive the email confirming my account or sending me a new password.
• I think my MomsLikeMe.com password was sent to an old / invalid e-mail address. What should I do?

User Names

Content Sharing

 

Abbreviations

Q: What is the meaning of the abbreviations I see in the discussions?
A: DH means "dear husband," DD means "dear daughter," etc. These acronyms are common throughout online discussion boards. For additional abbreviations, visit the Our Site forum. You can post a question about an abbreviation you don't understand, or look for previous posts explaining abbreviations.

Advertising

Q: Can I advertise my business in the discussions on your site?
A: Our Marketplace classifieds section is the only place you can advertise your business, and it's strictly limited to home-based businesses. Here are the ways you can mention your home-based businesses:

• You may advertise your in-home child care or babysitting business in the marketplace area one time per month. Multiple posts will be deleted, and may put your account in jeopardy. Those seeking childcare may also post in the Marketplace classifieds announcing what they're looking for. We advise against making your phone number or email address publicly viewable on your profile. Simply ask people to email you through our site if they are interested.
  
• You may also describe your business on your personal profile page, so that anyone clicking on your screen name will see your information.
• You may advertise your direct-sales business in Marketplace classifieds section or your signature lines on your posts. Business signature lines are limited to two lines, and you may NOT put photos in your signature line.
• Any posts made to recruit others into a business must state the name of the business and be clear about how money is made.
• Any advertising-like posts that do not follow these guidelines will be moved to the appropriate forum or deleted. This obviously includes duplicate ad-like messages made in multiple forums or groups, all of which will be deleted. Also, please do not send unsolicited private e-mails to our members in order to promote your business. This may result in your being banned from the site.
  
• We reserve the right to delete posts or block any members whom we feel are abusing our advertising policies.

Thanks for your cooperation with these rules.

Q: Are garage/yard/community sale posts allowed?
A: Yes, but only in the Marketplace area. You are not allowed to post multiple times. If you abuse this option, then your post may be deleted.

Q: How can I buy or sell a used item on MomsLikeMe.com?
A: You may post your used items for sale/wanted in our Marketplace classifieds.

E-mail through the site

Q: How do I send and receive email through the site?
A: The first thing you should do is check your profile to make sure you're set up for this. Log into the site, and then click on "My Stuff" in the pink bar across the top of the home page. Once you're in "My Stuff" click on the "Edit Settings" tab at the far right. Then click on the "Email Preferences" link to the far right of "Edit Settings."

Q: What is a "PM"?
A: On MomsLikeMe.com, a PM is a private message. It provides the opportunity to privately email back and forth on the site with other St. Louis Moms. The conversations are private - between the two people engaging in the conversation - and the expectation is that the content of the conversations remains private. Posting the content of a PM in the site's discussion threads without the PM sender's permission is unacceptable and can result in the poster receiving a warning from the site's moderators and/or having her account deleted. If you receive a PM that is threatening, abusive, appears to be a scam or is in any other way offensive, you should immediately contact us.

Using the Forums

Q: How do I start posting comments?
A: You can access our discussion forums in several ways:

• Click on "Discussions" in the pink bar at the top of the site to see our master list of all forums. Once on this page, you'll see another pink bar, where you can click on "recent posts" to see all posts in the order they were made, as well as "most popular" and "my posts." Choose the forum in which you want to post. Open that forum and click on "start a new discussion" at the upper left. Or, open an existing topic and type your reply in the box labeled "Share your thoughts," then click, "post reply" at the bottom left.
  
• Click on any of the discussions you see on the home page. This will take you directly into that discussion, where you can post a reply following the instructions above.
  
• Click on a forum category in the list located underneath Recent Discussions on the home page.

Q: How do I search the forums to see if my topic has been mentioned before?
A: On any page of our site, enter your search term in the "search" box at the upper right. It's best to enter only one term. The search will look in our groups, member profiles and discussions for any mention of your search term.

Q: How do I find my posts?
A: On the home page, click on "My Posts" to the right above the list of Recent Discussions. You can also click on "My Stuff" in the pink bar at the top of the site, then click on "My Posts." A list of your most recent posts is also on the bottom left side of your profile page.

Q: Can I look up other posts made by a particular user?
A: Yes, click on the person's username anywhere in the forums and look for the list to the bottom left of their profile page.

Q: I want to change something in one of my posts. Can I go back and fix it?
A: Yes. Click on your post to open it. Click "edit" at the bottom left. Make your changes in the text box or the title field and then click "save" at the bottom left.

Q: Can I delete a post?
A: Not on your own. You can edit the post to remove all the text from it, but you cannot delete it entirely. You may email StLouis@MomsLikeMe.com to ask for our help if you feel a post needs to be deleted.

Q: Are the Talk forums moderated?
A: Managing Producer Heather Lodge and six moms who serve as assistant moderators intervene in discussions at times. The moderators' duties include reminding people of forum etiquette, moving some posts and deleting others. But we also count on members themselves to help keep conversations on track. We trust our members and know that everyone wants a community we can be proud of. If you see any posts or other content that you feel violates our guidelines, click on the "report abuse" button under the posts.

Q: What are the guidelines for behavior in the forums?
A: MomsLikeMe.com does not allow:

• Arguments from one thread to spill over into others. You cannot "stalk" someone across the message boards in order to continue a fight. Anyone who does this will get a warning or will have their account deleted, depending on the circumstances.
  
• Hate speech. Comments that are blatantly racist, that condemn an entire group of people, that call for violence against a particular type of person, etc., will be deleted and the poster blocked from the site.
• Personal attacks on other members. Name-calling, mocking, belittling, baiting or cursing may result in removal from the site, either on a temporary or permanent basis.
  
• "Hijacking" of serious discussions when it leads to lengthy chit-chat or side arguments about unrelated subjects.
• Gossip about posters or other individuals who are not part of the conversation and thus cannot defend themselves. Gossip creates an uncomfortable atmosphere on the site. Also, you are responsible for what you say on MomsLikeMe.com. If you're identifying public individuals by name, you should not present damaging "facts" about them unless you're certain the facts are true and you can prove them.
• Long arguments between the same two or three people who keep repeating their opinions, or are attacking each other instead of the issue at hand. Such threads may be locked to further comment, and/or the posters may be temporarily or permanently banned from the site.
  
• Gratuitous use of profanity.

Q: What action should I take if I am verbally attacked or threatened, or spammed?
A: Immediately contact Heather Lodge (mom1604) via a Private Message. Personal attacks - in posts or PMs - will not be tolerated. If you think someone is phishing or spamming on the site, please alert the administrators right away.

Q: What's the best way to handle a discussion that is becoming heated?
A: Walk away. When it becomes obvious that a poster is not willing to be open minded and accepting of others' opinions, it is pointless to continue the discussion. Walking away also gives you time to calm down and get your emotions in check, so that you do not post a comment that you'll later regret.

Q: What can I do about obnoxious users or posts I consider objectionable?
A: Click the "report abuse" button you'll find under each post, or send an email to StLouis@MomsLikeMe.com. This email goes directly to the site moderators.

Groups

Q: What are groups for?
A: Groups are a way for moms with similar passions or circumstances to talk, share photos, maintain a group calendar, easily send each other private email and more. Now moms who are losing weight can form a group instead of trying to post their progress in the forums. Or pregnant women who are due in certain months can form a "due date" group, such as December '08 mommies and the like, to compare notes on pregnancies, plan lunches and so on.

Q: How do I join a group?
A: In the pink bar at the top of the site, click on Groups. You will see a list of all the existing groups. Click on the name of the group you're interested in, then click on "join this group" in the upper right hand corner.

Q: How do I create a group?
A: In the pink bar at the top of the site, click on Groups, then click on "create a group" down the left hand side of the page. You can make your group public or private. Public groups will be open to anyone to join. Private groups will be open only to invited members, and it will not appear in the official list of groups for the site. We recommend public groups for sharing among moms of like interests, and private groups for families or clubs in which members share highly personal information. Private groups can serve as a Web page for your group, as each group is assigned a web address that members can use to go directly to the group page.

Q: How do I invite a friend to join a group?
A: Open the group page and click on "invite a friend to join" in the upper right. It's easy to send an invitation to just one person or many people at once.

Photos

Q: What's an avatar? How do I create one or change the one I have?
A: Avatars are the tiny photos that appear with your username as a representation of you. For your avatar, you can use personal photos on your computer or one of the icons that we provide. To set this up, log in and click on "My Stuff" in the pink bar at the top of the site. Look on the left side of your profile page and click on "edit profile." Under "my photo" click on "upload" to choose your own avatar, or click "choose from our selection of icons" to pick one of ours.

Q: How do I share a photo on MomsLikeMe?
A: To submit photos to MomsLikeMe, click on "Photos" in the pink bar at the top of the site. Click on the gallery you wish to submit your photo to, then click "upload a photo" to add yours. You may also create a new gallery on our site. Go back to the main gallery page and click on "create a gallery." You may also share photos on the pages of groups you belong to. Please look in the Groups section of this FAQ for instructions on this.

Privacy and Profiles

Q: How to I create and update my profile?
A: Log in and click on "My Stuff" or click on your username anywhere in our forums or groups. You'll see your profile, which shows the groups you're in, the people you've given "friend" status to, your avatar (tiny photo representing you), your interests, etc.

Q: How do I keep certain info private on my profile?
A: When you open your profile and click on "edit profile" at the left, you'll see an area at the right that allows you to decide what information will be public and what information you'll keep completely private or share only with friends.

Q: How safe is the environment on MomsLikeMe.com?
A: While we do everything in our power to provide a safe environment, you have no way of truly knowing whom you are communicating with on a Web site. Please use caution in sharing any personal information (we strongly discourage the sharing of personal e-mail addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, etc.) with anyone you do not know and have not met. If you plan a playgroup meeting or other gathering, please meet in a public place where other people will be present. We also encourage you to be guarded in the amount of information you share about your children.

Technical questions

Q: I didn't receive the email confirming my account or sending me a new password.
A: Please check in your junk or spam email folders. Sometimes messages sent from our site end up there. For other technical questions, please email us at StLouis@MomsLikeMe.com.

Q: I think my MomsLikeMe.com password was sent to an old/invalid e-mail address. What should I do?
A: Send an email to StLouis@MomsLikeMe.com with your username. We will change your email address and a new password will be sent to you.

Usernames

Q: How do I change the username I registered with?
A: It's not possible to change your username. However, you can start fresh on the site by simply registering again with a different email address.

Content Sharing

Q: How do I share content I find on MomsLikeMe?
A: You should feel welcome to share content you find on our site with your friends, both on and off the site. Just use the "Share" button located under each content item. Clicking on that button will allow you to:

• "Share with friends" allows you to share content with friends within your MomsLikeMe.com site as well as friends outside of the site. You can enter email addresses, use address books outside of MomsLikeMe.com, select your MomsLikeMe.com friends, as well as send it to the groups you're a member of. Content you share with friends via their email address will get an email from you with a snippet of the content and as well as any message you choose to include. If you share content with friends or groups within the MomsLikeMe.com site, they will get a notification that includes your message as well as a link back to that content.
• "Facebook" allows you to take content you like and either post it to your Facebook profile or send it to your Facebook friends.
• "Post to another group" allows you to take some content and post it into one of the groups you're a member of. So if you see content that you think your group would appreciate, you have the ability to move a copy of it into your group.
• Administrators will also have the ability to "Post to a new category." That capability allows your MomsLikeMe site managers to re-categorize discussions, putting them into places where they might get more activity and visibility.

Q: Where can I find the content that has been shared with me?
A: When someone has shared content with you it will appear in your "Notifications" tab of your "My Stuff" area.

Q: What if someone shares something with me and I am not interested in it?
A: You have two choices: You can either delete it by clicking upon the trashcan icon next to the content item in your notification tab, or you can wait for it to cycle out. MomsLikeMe.com only keeps two weeks of notifications active for you.