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These guidelines are here to help build a fun, positive and safe place for everyone on OurChart, so commit them to memory, write them on the back of your hand, set them to the tune of your favorite song, or print them out and display them on your wall in an elegant frame. Whatever you do, please keep them in mind when you’re posting here.
You are the OurChart community
OurChart is all about connections, and we want everyone to feel welcome, happy, and - gay! Here are a few tips for playing nice and keeping the OurChart world turning smoothly:
Get involved. These Forums are what you make of them – so speak up! We know it can be a little intimidating at first, diving into conversation with strangers. But would any of us be here if we didn’t love meeting new people and making new friends? Probably not. That being said, you can also feel free to hang out and quietly take it all in until you’re good and ready to join the conversation. We’ll be patient.
Welcome newbies. Remember how you felt the first time you went into a gay bar and no one talked to you? Be friendly and welcome first-time posters or those who seem a little unsure.
Live and let live. Keep in mind that our community has lesbians, dykes, bi's, trannies, genderqueers, fags, homos, straight girls, straight boys and a whole mess of other folks who call themselves different things. Our motto for the day (and every day): Can't we all just get along?
Ignore trolls. A troll is someone who lives for stirring up trouble in forums. They’re easily identifiable by their constant feuding with other members and their compulsive need to type things that will provoke a reaction. They thrive on attention, so when you insult or try to reason with a troll, the troll wins. Ignore them and they’ll go away, it’s that simple.
You are what you write
As we all know, if you put five lesbians together in a room, right away you've got about twelve different points of view. We're a big, opinionated community, it's true. And since strength comes from diversity, we want you to express all those opinions! But remember these standards, to help us all get along.
Give others the benefit of the doubt. We don’t have the advantage of body language and voice inflection when we communicate here, so it’s easy to misinterpret someone’s words. You may read a post that you find hurtful, ignorant, or just plain wrong. Rather than getting mad and assuming malicious intent, take a moment to give that person the benefit of the doubt before responding.
Take a deep breath. When you're online, it's easy to forget that you're dealing with real people and not just a computer. Please stop to consider this before you dash off an angry rant. A good rule of thumb is: don't write anything you wouldn't say to someone's face. And if you do write something in anger, let it sit overnight so you can assess it with a clear head in the morning. After all, we have better things to regret, don't we, sweetie?
Stick to the subject. With so many of us posting here, conversations are bound to take on a life of their own. You’ve got a lot to say, and we love that! But it gets confusing when there’s a whole string of posts that are irrelevant to a Topic’s title. When you feel a conversational shift coming on, use that “Post new topic” link early and often!
Be courteous. Don’t post the same message repeatedly within a Topic or across multiple Topics. Duplicate messages make Forums difficult to read and suck away precious seconds of our lives that could be spent watching Kate & Leisha’s podcast for the thirteenth time. Besides, we heard you the first time, we promise!
Don’t shout. WHEN YOU TYPE IN ALL CAPS, not only is it really hard to read, it’s really likely to make people skip over your post and ignore you. It’s the Internet version of shouting. When was the last time you walked into a crowded room and just started screaming at everyone in the place? You don’t have to answer that - just keep the caps lock off, ok?
Let others express themselves. There are a lot of different viewpoints out there, so you might see something you don't like or don't agree with. If it violates our Terms of Service, just let us know and we'll take care of it. If it doesn't, why not ignore it and spend your energy connecting with the people you actually like instead? Flame wars are so ‘90s.
Draw the line, don't cross it!
We want you to have the freedom to create whatever sort of community you want, but there are certain things we don't tolerate. Our Terms of Service lists all prohibited behavior, but here are a few tips to help you stay out of trouble.
Sharing is caring, except when it’s not. This is a discussion forum, not a download site. Posting a link to a moving TiBette tribute on YouTube is okay, posting links to full episode torrents isn't.
Keep it civil. Personal attacks are strictly off limits here. OurChart is about making connections that are fun, positive and safe. So name-calling and please, no cat fights! Mreeowwwwr!
Don't harass other users. Your safety is really important to us. Hey, we're women, too - we know what it's like! Anyone caught harassing, abusing, stalking or otherwise preying upon other users will be banned from OurChart permanently.
Don't be deliberately offensive. OurChart doesn't tolerate homophobia, racism, sexism, bigotry or anything else that's patently offensive. It's okay to be controversial, but it’s not okay to make purposeless inflammatory posts. We're all here to have a good time, right?
The OurChart warning system
So, what happens when a member violates these guidelines or our Terms of Service? Glad you asked! It’s a simple three-step process.
Step #1: The friendly warning. This is where we give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you didn’t realize that what you were doing was in violation of our policies. Or maybe you did realize, but it’s not too late for us to show you the error of your ways. Regardless, this should be the last time we have to discuss it with you.
Step #2: The strong warning. Perhaps we didn’t make ourselves clear? This is us giving you one more chance to change your violatin’ ways before we take serious action.
Step #3: The permanent ban. Please don’t let it come to this. If, after repeated warnings, the behavior continues, your account will be permanently blocked and you’ll no longer be welcome on the site. Here’s hoping we never get to that point.
Okay, those are the rules, and we're sticking to them. Oh - except for the last one:
Enjoy yourself. Above all, have fun and enjoy yourself! OurChart is about meeting fabulous people, so take a look around, see what the community has to offer and jump right in.
You are the OurChart community
OurChart is all about connections, and we want everyone to feel welcome, happy, and - gay! Here are a few tips for playing nice and keeping the OurChart world turning smoothly:
Get involved. These Forums are what you make of them – so speak up! We know it can be a little intimidating at first, diving into conversation with strangers. But would any of us be here if we didn’t love meeting new people and making new friends? Probably not. That being said, you can also feel free to hang out and quietly take it all in until you’re good and ready to join the conversation. We’ll be patient.
Welcome newbies. Remember how you felt the first time you went into a gay bar and no one talked to you? Be friendly and welcome first-time posters or those who seem a little unsure.
Live and let live. Keep in mind that our community has lesbians, dykes, bi's, trannies, genderqueers, fags, homos, straight girls, straight boys and a whole mess of other folks who call themselves different things. Our motto for the day (and every day): Can't we all just get along?
Ignore trolls. A troll is someone who lives for stirring up trouble in forums. They’re easily identifiable by their constant feuding with other members and their compulsive need to type things that will provoke a reaction. They thrive on attention, so when you insult or try to reason with a troll, the troll wins. Ignore them and they’ll go away, it’s that simple.
You are what you write
As we all know, if you put five lesbians together in a room, right away you've got about twelve different points of view. We're a big, opinionated community, it's true. And since strength comes from diversity, we want you to express all those opinions! But remember these standards, to help us all get along.
Give others the benefit of the doubt. We don’t have the advantage of body language and voice inflection when we communicate here, so it’s easy to misinterpret someone’s words. You may read a post that you find hurtful, ignorant, or just plain wrong. Rather than getting mad and assuming malicious intent, take a moment to give that person the benefit of the doubt before responding.
Take a deep breath. When you're online, it's easy to forget that you're dealing with real people and not just a computer. Please stop to consider this before you dash off an angry rant. A good rule of thumb is: don't write anything you wouldn't say to someone's face. And if you do write something in anger, let it sit overnight so you can assess it with a clear head in the morning. After all, we have better things to regret, don't we, sweetie?
Stick to the subject. With so many of us posting here, conversations are bound to take on a life of their own. You’ve got a lot to say, and we love that! But it gets confusing when there’s a whole string of posts that are irrelevant to a Topic’s title. When you feel a conversational shift coming on, use that “Post new topic” link early and often!
Be courteous. Don’t post the same message repeatedly within a Topic or across multiple Topics. Duplicate messages make Forums difficult to read and suck away precious seconds of our lives that could be spent watching Kate & Leisha’s podcast for the thirteenth time. Besides, we heard you the first time, we promise!
Don’t shout. WHEN YOU TYPE IN ALL CAPS, not only is it really hard to read, it’s really likely to make people skip over your post and ignore you. It’s the Internet version of shouting. When was the last time you walked into a crowded room and just started screaming at everyone in the place? You don’t have to answer that - just keep the caps lock off, ok?
Let others express themselves. There are a lot of different viewpoints out there, so you might see something you don't like or don't agree with. If it violates our Terms of Service, just let us know and we'll take care of it. If it doesn't, why not ignore it and spend your energy connecting with the people you actually like instead? Flame wars are so ‘90s.
Draw the line, don't cross it!
We want you to have the freedom to create whatever sort of community you want, but there are certain things we don't tolerate. Our Terms of Service lists all prohibited behavior, but here are a few tips to help you stay out of trouble.
Sharing is caring, except when it’s not. This is a discussion forum, not a download site. Posting a link to a moving TiBette tribute on YouTube is okay, posting links to full episode torrents isn't.
Keep it civil. Personal attacks are strictly off limits here. OurChart is about making connections that are fun, positive and safe. So name-calling and please, no cat fights! Mreeowwwwr!
Don't harass other users. Your safety is really important to us. Hey, we're women, too - we know what it's like! Anyone caught harassing, abusing, stalking or otherwise preying upon other users will be banned from OurChart permanently.
Don't be deliberately offensive. OurChart doesn't tolerate homophobia, racism, sexism, bigotry or anything else that's patently offensive. It's okay to be controversial, but it’s not okay to make purposeless inflammatory posts. We're all here to have a good time, right?
The OurChart warning system
So, what happens when a member violates these guidelines or our Terms of Service? Glad you asked! It’s a simple three-step process.
Step #1: The friendly warning. This is where we give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you didn’t realize that what you were doing was in violation of our policies. Or maybe you did realize, but it’s not too late for us to show you the error of your ways. Regardless, this should be the last time we have to discuss it with you.
Step #2: The strong warning. Perhaps we didn’t make ourselves clear? This is us giving you one more chance to change your violatin’ ways before we take serious action.
Step #3: The permanent ban. Please don’t let it come to this. If, after repeated warnings, the behavior continues, your account will be permanently blocked and you’ll no longer be welcome on the site. Here’s hoping we never get to that point.
Okay, those are the rules, and we're sticking to them. Oh - except for the last one:
Enjoy yourself. Above all, have fun and enjoy yourself! OurChart is about meeting fabulous people, so take a look around, see what the community has to offer and jump right in.
