Residents and friends of Byrnes Mill may use an Internet Forum to discuss topics of interest, share news and strengthen the feeling of community in our city. The Forum was established on March 13, 2008. Visit this Forum.
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Subscribe to Byrnes Mill Forum
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Do I need a Google Account to use Google Groups?
Some Google Groups activities don't require you to have a Google Account, while others do. For a brief description of which activities require an account and which don't, see below:
Activities that don't require a Google Account:
- Reading posts in a group like The Byrnes Mill Forum
- Searching for groups, posts, or authors
- Posting to groups via email if they are unrestricted or you're a member
- Joining a public Google Group via email
Activities that require a Google Account:
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Creating and managing a Google Group
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Posting to groups via our web interface
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Creating pages and uploading files
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Subscribing to a Usenet newsgroup and receiving posts via email
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Joining a Google Group via our web interface
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Changing your subscription type (No Email, Abridged Email... )
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Reading a restricted group's posts online (Byrnes Mill Forum is a restricted group.)
If you are a resident of Byrnes Mill, or non-resident friend of the city, we want you to join our group and participate in whatever way you choose. To join, you must either
- receive an invitation or
- ask the Moderator, a Manager or Member to add you as a Member.
To request an invitation, go to
groups.google.com/group/byrnesmill and make your request.
To ask that you be added by the Moderator, send an email to
grant@grantmaclaren.com.
Forum Guidelines (which may change from time-to-time):
- CONTENT OF FORUM MESSAGES IS NOT OFFICIALLY
FROM THE CITY OF BYRNES MILL.
- Members may choose:
- To receive each Email when it is available.
- To receive no Email from the group
(and read Forum messages on the web.)
- To receive abridged Email
(No more than one Email per day)
- To receive a summary Email of new activity each day
- To receive a Digest of Email messages
(up to 25 full new messages bundled into a single Email)
- Only Members can post messages to the group, and Members must use their names to identify themselves. (This is to create a better sense of online community and encourage Members to police their own postings.)
- Replies are sent to the entire group.
- Members (not only the Moderator or Managers) can invite others to join the group.
- Anyone can request an invitation to become a Member -- but doing so does not guarantee Membership.
- Anyone can view Forum content (and, of course, could forward Forum messages to others, even non-Members.) But we would prefer residents and friends be Members instead of only "lurking."
- There is no moderation of messages on the Byrnes Mill Forum; messages are delivered directly to the Forum as written.
- Only Members can view the list of group Members. (An advantage of being a Member.)
- Members can unsubscribe from the group at any time. (So join as a Member; you can easily quit.)
- The group is free of charge.
- Members need no special equipment or software to participate. All that is needed is a basic email application and an Internet connection.
- Members can create and edit pages.
- Members can upload files and share their work with others in the group.
- Each Member can create a personal profile (including a picture and quote) but this is not required.
- Members have the option of sharing information about themselves -- and can even find other Members, using "search."
- Currently, Grant MacLaren is "Owner" (Google's term; we prefer "Moderator") and a Manager of the Byrnes Mill Forum. Others can be added as Managers (Google's term) with all the abilities of the Moderator. (When BIC is re-established -- in April, 2008 -- that committee might be the Moderator and name individuals to serve as Managers.)
- The Moderator can remove Members from the group and/or ban Members from the group.
- Google works diligently to prevent hackers and spammers from using Google Groups.
Some may be new to the use of well-run Forums on the Internet. The following gives more complete guidelines that must be followed to stay a Member of the Byrnes Mill Forum:
Welcome to the Byrnes Mill Internet Forum.
If you are a Member of the Forum, you can
post unedited messages and see a list of
other Forum Members, including their profiles.
Other Forum Members request that you complete a brief
profile using your real name, not a nick name or screen
name. (This is to create a better sense of online
community and encourage Members to police their
own postings.) We also request, but do not require,
you put a photo of yourself in your profile.
If a Member and does not comply with our "name" request
within a short period of time --
say a week or so -- that Member will be "unsubscribed.
(Meaning that the person will be unable to post, but will
still be able to view the posts of others.)
We hope you participation in the Forum will be of
benefit to you, other Members of the Forum and,
of course, to the City of Byrnes Mill.
Here are some of our rules for posting to the Forum:
- Be respectful of others at all times.
The purpose of the forum is to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas. Occasionally, there will be conflicts that arise when people voice opinions. Be courteous when disagreeing with others. It is possible to disagree without being insulting.
- Ranting is prohibited.
A rant is a post which is long-winded, redundant and filled with angry, non-constructive comments. A free exchange of ideas is essential to building a strong sense of community and helpful in the development of the game, but rants are disruptive and incite flaming and trolling. Please post your thoughts in a concise, clear manner and avoid going off on rambling tangents.
- Personal attacks are prohibited.
Commonly known as flaming, personal attacks are posts which are designed to personally berate or insult another. Text of this nature is not beneficial to the community spirit and will not be tolerated. Corporation, faction members and other players are cautioned to avoid allowing an "in character" dispute become an "out of character" personal attack.
- Trolling is prohibited.
Trolling is the word used to describe a post that is deliberately designed for the purpose of angering and insulting the members of the forum community. Posts of this nature are disruptive and do not convey a friendly attitude.
- No posting of personal information.
Please respect the privacy of other Forum members, taking particular care with information such as phone numbers and addresses you might learn on the Forum.
- Immediate banning from the Forum
can result from any of the following:
The posting of pornography; discriminatory remarks which are sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive; excessive obscene or vulgar language; posts which discuss or illustrate illegal activity; providing links to sites that contain any of the aforementioned.
- Spamming, bumping and pyramid quoting are prohibited.
Spam is considered to be repetitive posting of the same topic or text or nonsensical posts that have no substance and are often designed to annoy other Forum users.
- Redundant threads will be deleted.
As a courtesy to others before beginning a new thread, please look to see if an active thread on that topic has already been established. If so, place your comments there instead. Multiple threads on the same subject clutter up the Forum needlessly and many good ideas may be lost. Please keep discussions about one topic to one thread only.
- You may post advertisements on the Forum, but please do not abuse this privilege.
- Avoid using profanity.
Using partial masking (such as asterisks or punctuation marks) to bypass the profanity filter is prohibited and will result in the same action as if the actual word had been typed.
- Post constructively.
Negative feedback can be very useful, provided that it is presented in a civil, factual manner. Tell us what you don't like and why and how you feel it could be improved. Posts that are insulting and rude may be deleted, no matter how valid the ideas behind them may be. _
- Disputes about Forum administration
which cannot be resolved between Forum Members will be arbitrated by a small group of Forum Members.
To discuss problems or concerns, please send an e-mail to: grant@grantmaclaren.com.
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BYRNESMILL.ORG
