As we do every now and then, Pauline and the Moderators would like to take a moment of everyone’s time for a reminder of the Rules of Posting here at SlowTrav.

By entering the Slow Travel Message Board and choosing to participate in our community, you agree to abide by the guidelines below.

Message Board Guidelines

- We will express our opinions, but will always respect the opinions of others.
- We will keep a good sense of humor.
- We will be kind.
- No profanities in postings please.
- No political or religious postings please.
- No commercial postings please.
- If you are unhappy about something that was posted, click the "alert" button on the post to send a message to the moderators; do not post your complaint on the thread.

This is a place for the exchange of information, experiences, and opinions. No one has to agree, (and indeed, this would be a pretty dull place if we all had the same opinions and experiences!) but they must agree to conduct their discussions with respect, good humor, and kindness. To do so otherwise "chills" the atmosphere of the Board, and can distort the tone we aim for.

Posters should feel free to offer other points of view, add their conflicting opinions and their reasoning---but they do have to respect the other's right to a different opinion. Feel free to disagree. Calmly giving the reasons behind your difference of opinion will be more useful to readers than belittling the previous post. And manners do count. I know it can take a supreme act of restraint sometimes to stop from hitting that "Post Now" key.

Just as people have differing reactions to the places they visit, they may express themselves differently or be interpreted in opposite ways. If anyone has a problem with a post, people may appropriately deal with the situation themselves following our rules. If you are bothered by someone's tone or words, we ask that you use that handy "alert" button to notify the Moderators, who will attempt to deal with the situation in private.

Another area of difficulty is that the reader often just doesn't understand the poster's intent or motivations. It is sometimes hard to judge if a poster's tongue is firmly loddged in cheek; if they simply haven't expressed themselves in a way we understand; or if a barb is meant to unsettle or demean. What seems like spirited discussion to one member can read as ugly, pointless posturing to another. People feel unsure about posting if they think they're going to be abused in public. This chills the atmosphere of the Board. Someone may say "well, that's life on the Internet!" And yes, it is on many sites. Not here, please.

People are messy. All of us. We're at times grumpy, egocentric, inconsiderate, selfish, hurtful, conceited, contentious, and just plain nasty. Thankfully, we can also be generous, forgiving, pleasant, humorous, and simply kind.

Yes, it would be great if this could be an unmoderated board. The simple fact is, not everyone who visits this Board uses the standards of behavior and conversation that will make this a respectful, pleasant environment. The tone of posting that we aim for does not have to appeal to everyone--- Hell, it couldn't possibly. And of course a few people will disagree with what the Moderators sometimes feel is necessary to do to maintain the tone of SlowTrav. Sometimes you will see it, sometimes it happens behind the scenes. Many times our involvement happens because of things the general membership is not aware of-- such as posts we've had to delete; e-mails from members; past history of similar threads that became horribly divisive; or a particular member's hot spots we're trying to cool. And some people are going to not be happy, and our e-mail boxes often reflect that. BUT- members do need to respect the Moderator's positions, even if they may not agree.

If you wish to comment on these policies, please do so privately via e-mail or private message.