Participation Guidelines
and FAQ for the Discussion Forums
FAQ/Troubleshooting
The discussion forums on this web site
are forums for the interchange of information, ideas, and resources for use
in ministry, education, and personal growth in the church. There are
two public forums available, one for
General Discussion and the other for more focused
Theological Discussion. There are
also restricted educational forums that are only available to students
enrolled in certain classes. This site, including the discussion
forums, is owned by the CRI/Voice, Institute and The Voice web
ministry under the direction of Dennis Bratcher (See
About CRI/Voice). All of the forums are moderated by the director
and other volunteers.
While the general forums are open to the public, we ask that you take the
time to read the Participation Guidelines and FAQ before posting.
Those wanting to participate on the Theology Forum should also read
Information about the Theology Forum.
The rules for this site are few, but important.
No profanity, off color humor, or suggestive comments. It is
entirely at the discretion of the Director of CRI/Voice whether any post
may be so defined.
In the spirit of Christian community that respects others as brothers and
sisters in Christ, personal attacks will not be allowed. Discussion or
debate should focus on ideas not on the persons, and should reflect
courtesy and concern for others.
Because of our status as a non-profit corporation there can be no
commercial posts or links to commercial sites.
Long posts that present purely personal opinions with no intention of
dialog or posts whose primary purpose is to refer people to another web
site are discouraged.
Posts
may be removed at the discretion of the Director of CRI/Voice for any
reason deemed to be in the best interests of the forum and the CRI/Voice
website.
Frequently Asked
Questions/Troubleshooting
Is there a subscription fee for participation?
Are dissenting perspectives or opinions allowed?
What topics are appropriate?
May I post links to other web sites?
Can I post anonymously?
What is the general theological perspective of CRI/Voice?
Can I use html tags in my posts?
Can I attach files or graphics to the post?
Why didn't my post show up?
Can I read or access any of the restricted forums?
Is there a way to edit my posts more easily
than in the little box on the board?
Can I format posts without having manually to type in all the HTML tags?
Can I have posts removed from the board after I have posted them?
Where can I get the scripts for this program?
No, there is no fee for use of any of these discussion forums, or for
use of the other material provided by CRI/Voice. They are provided
as a ministry of the Christian Resource Institute
and its supporters. However, the only means of supporting this site,
the material we make available, and the opportunity for discussion
provided here is through the generosity of those who use it. So we
would encourage anyone who finds the material useful or who regularly
participates in the discussions to help contribute to the financial
support of CRI/Voice. Since this site is a non-profit
organization as a ministry of a local church, all contributions are
totally tax-deductible. For information about how to contribute, see
How You Can Help.
Yes, diverse opinions are allowed and encouraged within the overall
purpose and goal of CRI/Voice as a site for Christian Resourcing. The
purpose of these forums is to provide opportunity to discuss issues that are
of concern to people within the Christian Faith. That allows a
great deal of diversity within the Christian tradition, and discussion about
various perspectives within the Christian faith is welcome.
However, there are other places in which topics of interest to those who do
not make confession within the Christian Faith may be discussed. For
the purposes of CRI/Voice, the traditional faith confession of the Apostles'
Creed shall be the basis for defining the Christian Faith. Posts that
do not reflect a Christian faith confession may be removed.
Almost any topic that is of interest to Christians in relation to their
Faith is acceptable, provided it is conducted in the appropriate forum of
The Voice. Some topics are more sensitive than others and tend to
evoke stronger emotional reactions. There is no intent to
discourage dialog about controversial issues, as long as the discussion
remains within the bounds of Christian love and community, and as long as
courtesy and mutual respect are the rule. Purely political debate
or discussion is considered to be outside the limits of the purposes of this
forum.
Posts that solicit money for any reason will be
removed.
Can I post links to other
web
sites?
Yes, provided the primary purpose of
the link is to supply information that would clarify a position or relate in
some way to the discussion. Links that promote a personal agenda or
that primarily advertise other sites are not allowed and will be removed.
Because of the non-profit nature of this site, no links to purely commercial
sites are allowed.
Yes, at this point CRI/Voice does not require registration or an e-mail
address to participate in the discussions, although registration is an
option. However, because of the nature of these discussions within the
context of Christian community, which includes mutual accountability as well
as the sharing of ideas, anonymous posting is discouraged. There may
be times due to the nature of a question or comment where it might be
counterproductive and inappropriate for a person to be identified.
Still, in most cases, it is helpful to everyone involved for the comments to
be identified. Also, except in certain cases where security issues are
at stake, it is also preferably to leave an e-mail address as well. While
unregistered guests may read and post, they cannot edit or delete their
posts. We reserve the right at any time without notice to require
registration for participation.
CRI/Voice represents an Arminian/Wesleyan theological perspective,
although it is intended to be ecumenical and global. John Wesley
emphasized a "catholic spirit," in which Christians could differ on many
secondary issues and yet be united in love and fellowship around the central
issues of the Christian Faith (see John Wesley's sermon,
Catholic Spirit edited into modern English). The aim of CRI/Voice
is to practice that "catholic spirit."
Yes, you can use HTML tags in the body of the message but not in the
header. We have chosen to allow the use of HTML tags on this board, but we
urge restraint in their use. A lot of different fonts and/or colors can be
difficult to read and detract from content. Since we have the option
of allowing or disallowing the use of HTML tags, CRI/Voice reserves the
right to discontinue allowing the tags. If they are disallowed, the
script will simply ignore everything in <>'s, and it will not affect the
content of the post.
While this program has the capability of allowing the attachment of files
and graphics, at this time we have decided not to allow attachments.
If there is a need for it in the future, we will consider activating this
feature.
Your post most likely did not show up because your browser did not reload
the page, it simply pulled it out of cache. Please reload your browser
(Refresh) and it should then appear.
No, normally, the restricted forums are only accessible to students or
study groups by permission with a password. The purpose of a closed
forum is to allow a "safe" environment in which questions can be raised and
issues discussed without the risks of being misunderstood by those who may
not know the context of the discussion. The General Discussion Forum is not
restricted and can be read by anyone.
Is there a way to edit my
posts more easily than in the little box on the board?
If you are a registered user, you can adjust the size of the composing
box in the registration options. Posts from registered users can be
edited by the author after they are posted by using the "edit" button at the
bottom of the message. Unregistered users ("guests") cannot edit
posts. However, as a matter of courtesy to others who may have already
responded to a post, it is better to use the editing feature only to correct
minor spelling, grammatical, or link errors rather than changing the content
of the post. If the content needs to be changed, we suggest a separate
post to clarify.
No, there is no direct way to format posts within the board without
manually typing in the tags. There are two ways to make it easier,
however. A web editor or word processor that has a "Save as HTML"
feature (e.g. MS Word XP), can be used to write the post directly
with HTML tags, and then it can be pasted into the posting box, although the
"Meta" tags and other features need to be deleted and only the material
between the "body" and "/body" tags included. Also, most newer word
processors have an AutoText or auto insert feature that can easily be set up
to insert, for example, the codes for italics by simply typing an "i" and a
control key (in MS Word, F3).
Yes, any post can be removed by
contacting the site director, or if you are a registered user you
can remove it yourself by using the "delete" button at the bottom of the
post. Unregistered users ("guests") cannot edit or delete posts. The
content of posts that have responses to them will be deleted, but the title
of the post will remain in the index. You cannot delete any other
posts except your own. Also, note that those who have activated
e-mail notification will receive copies of the original posts even though
they are later edited or removed.
The scripts are marketed by Lilikoi
Software.
-Dennis Bratcher, Copyright ©
2007, Dennis
Bratcher, All Rights Reserved
See Copyright and User Information Notice |
