The Forum Director posted this to the Coolboard H2O site and thought many here might want to get this new URL (at bottom of post)
(Note: I cross posted this to the JW News section as well)
Kismet
********************
Copied from H20:
"Dear H20 Participants and Lurkers.
I am pleased to announce that the new refurbished H20 is now open for business.
Business? you ask, what business? The same as it has always been; Providing a place for open discussion between Jehovah's Witnesses and other interested ones. The discussion of reform of the Watchtower Society is especially encouraged.
Any such discussion involving JW's or almost any religious groups will have many diametrically opposed viewpoints. All we ask at H20 is that all discussions take place with dignity and mutal respect.
In order to provide a place for all such divergent opinions, we have created several Forums wherein various styles of communication can flourish. We have a proverbial "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" where no swearing, no attacks, no insults will be tolerated. We also have a free for all Forum (H20 Underground) where you can flame to your heart's content if that is your preferred style.
Unlike the Coolboard's site, deletions will be a rare occurence. The only foreseeable deletions would be for pornography, illegal posts, and/or posts that threaten or encourage harm, physical or otherwise to other individuals or identifiable groups.
The new site has a publicly viewable trash bin, where you have the opportunity to wade through the trash to determine if post were actually deserving of "the boot."
If a post crosses the boundary outlined for a fourm, moderators will simply move it to a more appropriate forum where it can grow and flourish. Therefore it would be good to familiarise yourself with the posting guidelines for the various forums and post accordingly. If one of your threads are moved, you will receive an email notifying you of it's new location. (essentially moving books on Geography misfiled in the Biology section back to their proper shelf.
Other complaints have been raised regarding profanity. I agree that profanity is prevelant in all aspects of society. For this reason H20 is 'softening' its policy on profanity and use of various characters to infer or suggest profanity. There are certain terms that are considered socially unacceptable in most English speaking countries. These terms will be 'bounced' by the filter used on the new board. Please do not take this a carte blanche to go overboard in this regard.
If you are offended by a participant's choice of words or if you feel attacked please raise this on that board. You may be surprised to find others agreeing with you. Even if they do not, most participants will remember your objection and most reasonable people will respect your stance in future posts with you. If not, there is always the ignore function that is at your disposal. Most 'trolls' and "flame artists" fizzle out when there is no response.
Other JW/ex-JW sites:
Facts and information are highly valuable. I believe it would be the height of arrogance to insist that H20 should be the only repository for such information. The other 2 popular Discussion boards, Tishie's & Simon's are excellent places for support and information. I do not feel that needs to be or should be competition between these boards. I would love to see even more created so that the information & support necessary is available in many different places. I would therefore like to discourage participants (including mods and admin personnel) from using H20 as a place to compare or put down other sites.
I would like to suggest that we actually 'join forces' providing reciprocal links for each other's discussion Boards and other sites of interest (WTObserver, JwNEWs etc). Food for thought as the evolution of our board continues.
Moderators:
Yes H20 will continue to have moderators. As it stands, Rick is M1, the former Mod101 will be now using M2 and I will be operating as mod using ForumDirector. We also have a new moderator M5 that is on a probationary period. M3, M4, M6-10 are being reserved for former Mods from whom I am awaiting a response.
However the roles of the mods has changed. As mentioned above deletions will be rare. It will be their responsibility to ensure the various forums remain true to their stated purpose and mod instruction given in the Room Description. We are hoping this will reduce the complaints regarding Moderators. I will however remain available to try and sort out any disagreement that may arise from a moderator action. And no, I do not feel Moderators (or Forum Directors) are always right.
As part of the design and development, we have asked former longtime participants to review the new board and most of the comments have been very positive. I also personally asked some of H20's more vocal critics to also review the site before opening. One such opinion is posted in the Forum. I believe it will serve as a great source of ideas for interesting discussions regarding refinements of the new site.
I really believe this new site is a giant leap forward for H20. I also realize that more refinements will be necessary. I would appreciate any productive input, positive or negative. There is an FPP discussion Forum where suggestions can be placed or email me at your leisure: [email protected]
I look forward to your participation at the new site and also to any suggestions you may have.
This Coolboard's site will remain active for a while to allow everyone a chance to see the new URL and to finish off any outstanding threads. Feel free to copy any active threads you are following to the new site (Picking a Forum). Then they can be continued there.
Whether you join us at our new home or not I wish all lurkers and participants (present and past) all good things and only happiness, lord knows we all deserve it.
Sincerely,
H20 ForumDirector
New H20 Home (don't forget to Bookmark!!)
* http://www.aimoo.com/forum/freeboard.cfm?id=311102&NoCaches=Yes