Community Guidelines

The Jehovah's Witness Discussion Forum | JW.Org Community Information is a site designed to allow members to ask questions, exchange information and share comments and experiences with each other. The following Guidelines are here to help you understand what it means to be a member of the site.

Simply adhering to the spirit of these guidelines should be all you need to do but for those who feel they need to have things spelled out we also have more detailed and comprehensive Posting Rules and our Terms of Service.

How to behave

• Be careful

  Never share your email address or personal information in the forum. Please be cautious if you choose to contact others offline or ask others to contact you. We like you, and we want to ensure your safety, security, and privacy.

• Be nice

  We're a global community of people from many different cultures and backgrounds. Not everyone is going to share the same beliefs or opinions but everyone has the right to feel comfortable using and visiting the site.

  So please be polite and respectful in your interactions with other members. This includes the moderators who work hard to keep things on track.

• Share your own thoughts

  Respect the copyright of others and don't pass off other people's words or images as your own. While we appreciate quotes and links to interesting content we'd prefer if people put their own thoughts into their own words and not just copy-and-paste things from elsewhere or post links without any thoughts.

• Moderate your content

  While this site is not intended for children, we want it to be safe for anyone to read and would appreciate if people didn't submit adult or 'smutty' content. Use your judgement - if you would be embarrassed saying something in front of your mother or children then it probably isn't really appropriate to post. If you don't moderate your own content then we may send you a warning or do it for you if we consider it unsuitable.

• Help fight abuse

  We do our best to keep the site welcoming but it's impossible for us to review everything posted so we rely on your help. If you come across something that goes against the spirit of these community guidelines or specifically violates anything in our Posting Rules or our Terms of Service then please use the "flag" option under the post to alert us to it.

• Enjoy the site!

  We want you to learn new things, share other people's opinions, laugh, commiserate, empathise, rejoice and want to visit us again. If someone or something is ruining your experience of the site then we'd love to hear from you so we can try and address things. If you have ideas on how we can improve things then we'd love to hear them.

Things to avoid

Although we like to give people 2nd chances, if you step across the lines listed below we may decide to restrict or delete your account with or without warning.

• Don't steal other people's content

  Don't pass off other people's content as your own or infringe on copyright. If you do post content such as quotes from elsewhere then make sure you have permission and include a link back to the original.

• Think of the children!

  Although this site is not targeted at children, please remember that content posted on the internet can be found by them so don't post anything that is obscene or solely designed to be shocking or offensive. This includes images of nudity and descriptions of sexual activities. If you would be embarrassed saying it in front of your mother then don't say it on here.

• Don't make us call the cops

  If we find you are posting content that is illegal or prohibited or promoting illegal activities then we may do more than just delete your account but also report you to the authorities as well.

• Don't annoy or get annoyed with others

  Sometimes other people's opinions can be frustrating but venting your anger or ranting is not the answer. Take a deep breath and count to 10. This is not the venue for you to harass, abuse or intimidate others however much you may not like what they believe. Please be civil and don't be quick to respond to what may appear aggravating comments. If we thing your conduct is intentionally designed to annoy others then don't be surprised if we don't want you around.

• Don't be quick to take offense

  You'll come across all sorts of things on the site, some of which may offend you. If it just clashes with your personal views then the easiest solution is to simply navigate away and don't read it. If it is genuinely offensive and shouldn't be on the site then please use the alerting system to flag it for us so we can take a look and avoid others having to see it.

• Don't be creepy or lecherous

  You know the guy - don't be that guy. Think of the female members of the site as your sister or mother ... and if they think you're creepy and don't like you visiting then neither will we.

• Don't advertise

  Please don't try and use our site to sell your wares or engage in commercial activity without asking us first. This includes selling products or services or posting links to promote your own websites. We'll be happy to discuss advertising possibilities if you genuinely believe you have something to offer which would be of interest and value for our members.

If you don't feel that you can abide by our Community Guidelines as outlined, then maybe this site just isn't for you. We've designed these guidelines to ensure that everyone within the community has the experience they want and can enjoy.

Above all, we hope you enjoy Jehovah's Witness Discussion Forum | JW.Org Community Information!