BGI Faith Community Rules

ByGodInspired.com exists to promote harmony and goodwill between people of all religions and spiritualities, as well as those who have no religious/spiritual practices. As an online spiritual community, we need an established structure to keep things running smoothly. To that end, we’ve created the following rules and etiquette suggestions. Please read through them, and adhere to them to ensure that our Forum continues to be a spot for thoughtful, mutually respectful conversation.

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The BGI Community is not the place to be rude or insulting to other members
Our Forum is here for you to share thoughts and opinions on spiritual topics. The words you use to represent yourself here are available for any other ByGodinspired user to read and form an opinion about you. It just makes sense to come off as a likeable, respectful person, one that values the leanings of others.

Occasionally, we may need to issue a warning or a temporary ban to a member to protect the good of the entire community and its members, or it may be necessary to edit or remove posts or threads. We don’t do this to censor users, but rather to ensure that ByGodinspired is a place where all members can speak their mind and still honor the beliefs of others.


Everybody has a right to their own opinion
Please remember that even if you disagree with another member’s post, we all must respect each other’s views and refrain from posting inflammatory or negative remarks. Abuse will not be tolerated; abusive posts will be deleted, and either a warning or a temporary ban will be issued for the offending member.

Forum topics will generally request information that relates to your personal spiritual beliefs and experiences. If another member posts something that you disagree with, realize that they are stating their opinion. Whether engaging in serious debate or lighthearted banter, know that you need to be respectful of other members and their right to an opinion at all times.


Be courteous
What you say in a Forum is viewable by any other member, so put your best foot forward and show others that you’re someone worth knowing. If you do happen to notice a typographical error or a dead link, please be friendly and respectful when you make the error known. Speaking in a courteous tone to people - even those you might not agree with - will protect your reputation on ByGodinspired and keep threads pleasant to participate in for all of us. If you have issues with other members (a personal dislike, or argument with another user from another forum or from ‘real life’), please do not bring this into the ByGodInspired forum. If you have a complaint about another user’s post, please click the ‘report issue’ link at the bottom of this site. Do not voice complaints about other users in the public forum; posting about personal history or arguments is prohibited and may result in a warning or permanent ban.


Harassment or threats
We take the safety and comfort of our users very seriously, and will not tolerate behavior that includes:

• Personal attacks, as well as attacks on the race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disablement, national origin, or sexual orientation of others
  
• Threats of any kind
  
• Targeting any member to cause distress, discomfort or embarrassment to them

ByGodInspired will terminate or suspend the account(s) of anyone who is excessively rude, angry, or abusive to other users, and/or who threatens or harasses other members.


Make a contribution
Reading an entire thread before posting will guarantee that you're adding something of value to the conversation, so spend a few moments reading what's already been posted on the Forum thread by other members. Pause briefly and check things out before you dive in with your own remarks; you want your comments to add to the discussion rather than just repeat what's already been said. Offering something new makes you the sort of Forum user that others take the time to follow and read.


Say more than 'yes' or 'no'
Forum questions are posed because we care about your opinion, and want to hear what you have to say. When you respond to the questions posted, tell us what you think and better yet, why you feel that way. Your elaborations help continue (and deepen) the discussion.


Stay on topic
Each line of conversation you'll see is called a "thread", and threads are an ongoing conversation on one particular topic. Members will be opening them to read more on the topic listed in the subject line. If you contribute, make comments there that relate to the conversation at hand. If your comments aren't germane to the thread, then consider posting a new topic.


Proofread what you’ve written before hitting ‘post message'
When you write a comment for the Forum, be sure to preview your post and re-read it for ‘tone’. If you weren’t you, would you understand what’s being said? Spelling and punctuation mistakes can make your clever comment impossible to understand and frustrating to read, so always proofread each message before hitting the ‘send’ button. Previewing your comments before posting them to a thread ensures that your message will be understood.

Also, please don’t SHOUT (also known as typing with the cap lock ‘on’). Typing in all capital letters makes what you have written very difficult to read and understand.


Advertising & self promotion is prohibited in the ByGodInspired Community 

ByGodinspired currently allows the posting of links and donation buttons, and you may add a website link to your homepage profile. Posts that advertise or encourage members to purchase a product or service from another website will be removed.


Do not include your email address or IM address in Forum posts
Only send out personal information (email addresses, full names, and phone numbers) to users that you trust, and that you have corresponded with a few times. Please do your part to protect yourself by not posting your personal information in a public forum. It is also prohibited to post the personal information of other BGI members.


Foul language or images
This is a family community, and offensive language has no place here. Posts containing ‘swear words’ will be edited or removed. If, after a warning the member continues to do so, the user will be removed. Please refrain from posting any images that depict graphic violence or sexual behavior.


Our Moderator's word is Law
We choose our Moderator(s) for their impartiality and ability to converse with people of all types. The Moderator reserves the right to remove any thread or topic at any time, and they have the power to regulate the Forum as they see fit. If they find you're causing problems in our online community, we stand behind them, and they are empowered to take any action necessary to correct the issue.

Changes or amendments to these rules may happen. Please check back periodically.

Disclaimer:
Any messages, opinions, advice and statements made by any member/third party are the responsibility of the author. Messages posted in our forums do not mean that ByGodInspired has endorsed the content posted or verified the accuracy of the post in any way.