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Our Courtesies & Rules Continuing membership is conditioned upon compliance Courtesies -
SUPPORT - A support group is a two way street of both giving and receiving. There is no support without givers! -
ACKNOWLEDGMENT - It feels good when a post of support is acknowledged. -
CRISIS POSTING - Post to the group should you ever feel that your quit is threatened! We take offense to members turning to nicotine before turning to us! Don't head for an ashtray, a pack, a smoker or store. Head for the message board and write a quick and simple post asking for help. Also, once the crisis has passed be sure and post back immediately so that members can devote their precious posting time elsewhere, and so the thread index page reflects the true current state of affairs. Please read the "I'M DYING!" thread for additional insight. -
POSTING TO CRISIS POSTS - In order to allow Freedom's thread index page to reflect an accurate and honest first impression to new arrivals, we ask members to stop posting to crisis posting threads and allow the thread to begin to drop once the crisis has passed and the person acknowledges that he or she is better. -
GIF OR IMAGE SIZE - Many members have very slow computer connection speeds. If the combined size of all the images on a 15 post thread page is too great, opening the page can take minutes and become very discouraging. Please limit the combined size of the images you use within any one thread to about 15,000 bytes. Right click over any image and then click "Properties" to learn its size. Larger gifs can be reduced or resized at free sites like http://gifworks.com . -
PERSONAL MESSAGES - Please use email for personal "one to one" communications and not the message boards. -
MULTIPLE SAME DAY THREADS - The thread index page only holds 50 threads. As long as the topic remains the same (you and your quit), please stay with the same thread and not start a new one until it contains 20 or so posts or until the next day. By doing so you not only allow more members to keep their threads on page one, but you allow us to follow your progress without having to look at multiple threads. Please disregard this courtesy should your quit EVER feel threatened (post away!!). Also feel free to start a new thread if you're sharing a new topic or starting a milestone parade! Rules -
MEDICAL ADVICE, MEDICATIONS, HERBS OR DIETING RECOMMENDATIONS - Members are not permitted to render advice or make recommendations on these topics. If you have specific health concerns, medication or herb questions or need dieting assistance, please seek the assistance of qualified professionals. Freedom is a smoking cessation forum staffed entirely by cessation educators who are not physicians, pharmacists or dietitians. -
RELAPSE PERMANENTLY REVOKES POSTING PRIVILEGES -
HURT FEELINGS - Words on a screen are not always received in the same spirit and tone as they were intended. Most of us are not professional writers or skilled communicators. If you ever feel hurt by a post please give the sender the courtesy of receiving an email and not a public attack. -
OPINION DEBATES - Freedom is a nicotine free "Cold Turkey" support group. We know who we are! The message board is for giving and receiving support. It is not a place to engage in debate over Freedom's approach to cessation, to attack or vilify those within the tobacco or pharmaceutical industry (NRT), or to debate our tough love approach to relapse, the merits of tobacco controls, ETS, or any other topic that does not support nicotine cessation or prevention. -
PROFANITY - Freedom is a family channel with teens and children around the world being encouraged to visit and learn what nicotine dependency is all about. Neither profanity nor implied profanity (missing letters) will be permitted. -
PERSONAL ISSUES - If any member ever feels that their quit is threatened by a factual situation then feel free to share the basic facts in your request for help. Unnecessary posting of detailed personal issues that involve controversial lifestyle choices or that express personal opinions on such issues as religion, gambling, drinking, drug use, premarital or extramarital affairs, sexual orientation, sex, gun control, child rearing problems, caring for the elderly, politics, and a host of other real life issues, do nothing to promote Freedom's mission and are not appropriate. Such real life issues exist for all of Freedom's members and no one should ever feel that their inability to air such issues will in any way impede his or her ability to stay nicotine free. -
GENERAL SOCIALIZATION - Freedom's message boards are reserved for giving and receiving nicotine cessation support and not for general socialization. There are thousands of fun MSN and AOL sites and each has a link that allows you to send invitations to your friends, requesting that they join you! Help us keep Freedom a serious and supportive classroom that helps save and extend human life! -
SOLICITING, SPAMMING OR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROGRAMS, TAPES, BOOKS - Even though often well intended, these practices are prohibited. Freedom is free, with no purchase necessary! -
USING OFFSITE LINKS OR POSTING ANY CONTENT FROM OTHER SITES - Links between threads, to WhyQuit or to Joel's Library are encouraged but all external links or copying of any content from web pages of others, including health information, news stories or studies, must first be cleared through any one of the managers, whose email addresses are provided below. In posting any approved materials, a link to the material's original source and any copyright information must always be included. Thanks! Copyright 1999 -2004 Freedom from Tobacco Last Updated 12/19/04 by John R. Polito |
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