Help & Guidelines

We provide this Discussion forum for folks to make friends, learn new things, share information, and chat about topics of mutual interest in a safe, calm, and friendly environment for our members.  That said, we have to provide guidance and expectations ..

• This is a Discussion forum - not a place for posting jokes and funny photos. 
• No Religion or Politics - These are both very personal topics, so no discussions on them.
• The Direct Message system - Is for you to exchange info with someone you have been talking to in the Discussion area and do not want the public to see (for example your contact info for meeting each other).
  Please use the public Discussion for everything else, as others might have something to contribute..  or to join into a conversation.
• Do not Copy / Paste Copyrighted articles/image into any Discussion - See the FAQ for details.
• The official language of the site is English, and all posts and information are to be in English - Be respectful of persons when English is not their 1st language.  Remember to take software or 2nd language translations as a best effort by the person posting.  
• Do not masquerade or sign in as someone else.
• Do not violate our Terms of Service or Policies.
• You are personally legally responsible for your own actions and anything you post on this site.
• Know who you are talking to - It’s a good idea to read through the information on the site, the members Profile, and the other participant’s comments before getting involved in a discussion.   Also be cautious on who you decide to meet physically - know them well first, and meet in public.
• Read the entire discussion thread first, then reply - You might be tempted to jump in and comment on something, but it could already be answered or said.   If you have something new to add, that's great.
• Stay on Topic - Please stay within the boundaries of the subject matter at hand.  It makes it easier to find information or a discussion.  If you have something to contribute that is not relevant to the current Topic Thread, create a New Topic in the appropriate section.
• Bring something to the table - Every comment is valued for its content.  So quick one-liners like "OK' etc as a reply don't have much value.  If you have something to say, say it well and with information that is helpful to others if possible.
• Be Kind and Courteous - You don’t have to always agree or even understand.  You do have to respect other human beings.  Always respect the views of other participants even if they don’t agree with you.  Gentle disagreement is not grounds for moderation.
• Keep it clean - We are a diverse group, and not everyone appreciates or wants to read swearing, offensive, or innuendo comments.. so don't be obscene and don’t use foul language.  Lots of people from different backgrounds participate here.  We want them to be able to continue to do so from  wherever they may be.  Disguising swear words by deliberately misspelling them doesn’t make them any less offensive (or tolerated).
• Try to avoid using acronyms or text talk - Not everyone knows or understands these (including us), and that causes confusion.  If you need to use one often in a comment DIF (Define It First) in parenthesis.  And yes, swearing via them is also not permitted.
• No Hate Speech, Harassment, Threatening,  Shaming, or Bullying, etc. - Make sure everyone feels safe.  Blatant or Implied of any kind isn't allowed, and degrading comments about things like age, race, ethnicity, religion, politics, culture, education, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated.
• Don’t be a “Troll” -  Do not intentionally incite annoyance or offense.
• No Shouting - Turn off the “CAPS LOCK”.  Writing in ALL CAPS is the equivalent of SHOUTING and can cause offense.   All caps is also difficult to read for many people.
• Abuse, Insults and Disputes - If you feel that someone is abusive or is bullying you, Don’t perpetuate the dispute by replying to the person.
  
• How we Moderate - It is a team effort, and we have Moderators whose interests are aligned with one or more of the sections, and all of the site Administration are moderators.  These folks know what the Social Tenor of the site is supposed to be.  When a post is reported, we are advised of it and will look into the issue as soon as possible. If when we discuss the post, and feel the report is justified, contact the author, and see if it can be resolved.  If not, we may remove the post.  Authors who get reported are kept track of, and multiple offenses may lead to removal from the Discussion forum entirely, and in worse case removed from the site.
  Note: Folks who "cry wolf" often and report posts when there is no infraction are also considered bad actors, and may be removed. We don't tolerate this either.
• No Promotions, Excessive Posting, Unrelated Content or SPAM - Self-promotion, spam, Muti-Level Marketing, asking for followers on other social media, and irrelevant links aren't allowed.  Posts organizing or promoting “group meet ups” are not allowed (other than those vetted by the Staff & Moderators as legitimate - which WE will post).
• Don’t cut and paste comments - A comment belongs to one Topic Thread, not into lots of different discussion topics.  These will be considered duplicates and may be removed.
• Respect Everyone's Information - Being part of these discussions requires mutual trust.  Authentic, expressive discussions make it great, but some may also be sensitive and might be better as a Direct message to each other.
• Never post personal information about another member or our staff.  This Includes identifying any individual by their full real name or providing personal contact information.
• Don’t defame anyone or any organization. In general, a comment is defamatory if it harms, or has the tendency to harm, the reputation of a person or organization. "Think before you speak" is a good thing.
• Direct Messages - These are for things you want to talk about to each other, like how to contact each other if desired, or where to meet for example.   If someone tells you something in a Direct message, do not repeat it in Public.  The same guidelines apply for Direct Messages and Public Discussion.
• Friend Requests - Someone might request to be your friend or vise versa - you do not have to accept.  Repeated "asks" are not accepted by the system.  You will be notified if a person accepts the initial request.  Not everyone likes to participate in being "friended".  If they do not accept, do not take that fact public or ask why.
• We are not a Resource for Financial assistance - Posts mentioning financial need are not allowed.  Any post listing CashApp, Venmo, GoFundMe, Wishlist's, etc. will be removed.  Direct messages requesting financial assistance or "deals" should be reported.
• Respect the moderators -  Their Volunteer efforts are to keep this safe and constructive so that everybody gets to have their fair say.  Do not  complain about the moderation or moderators on the site, you should always direct an email to us if you are unhappy, just Click Here
• "Right" to "Free Speech" - The use of this site and Discussion Forum are provided to you by RV Friends, contingent on your following our Guidelines, Terms of Service, and Policy.  The U.S. constitution only protects you from governmental intervention in the right to express yourself.   It does not give you free rein to use private or public computer resources, or to not play by the rules of our website.
• "Right" to Privacy - Privacy on any website is not to be expected.   We moderate Public discussions, and do spot checks on Direct messages to make our best effort that there are no illegal activities on the website.    We will always read a Direct message thread if either of the parties files a complaint.  We do discuss message threads under moderation with the moderation team, and our staff (if necessary).  Our Staff and Moderators are Not allowed to divulge the contents of direct messages or member information.  Our staff will only do so if there is a validated Warrant from a law enforcement agency - for a specific information request.
• The RV Friends name, likeness, logo or associated images are the sole property of RV Friends.  No one has the authorization to use them without written consent from us.  This includes, but is not limited to, creating alternate websites, groups and/or social media accounts, or anyone presenting themselves as our legal representative.  
• Changes without notice - We may from time to time update this information without notice.  Generally these changes will be minor clarifications, fixing typo's, etc.  It is your responsibility to read this information occasionally to keep it fresh in your mind.. and abide by it.

If you click on the Author’s Name in a Discussion Post, it will take you directly to their Profile.

Once you type the @ and at least 3 characters of their unique ID, it will attempt to show you a list of matches.  You can also directly type it:   @bea-r-guest
You can have several mentions, just leave a space between them.  Use sparingly as members can subscribe themselves to an entire forum section or topics.. and might already be getting notices.

The Profile Direct Message system - Is for you to exchange info with someone you have been talking to in the Discussion area and do not want the public to see (for example your contact info for meeting each other).
Please use the public Discussion for everything else, as others might have something to contribute..  or to join into a conversation.

Main potential reasons to report a post:

• Hate Speech, Harassment, Threatening,  Shaming, or Bullying, etc. - Make sure everyone feels safe.  Blatant or Implied of any kind isn't allowed, and degrading comments about things like age, race, ethnicity, religion, politics, culture, education, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated.
• A person being a “Troll” -  Folks are not to intentionally incite annoyance or offense.
• Any Abuse, Insults and Disputes - If you feel that someone is abusive or is bullying you, Don’t perpetuate the dispute by replying to the person.  
• This is a Discussion forum - not a place for posting jokes and funny photos. 
• No Religion or Politics - These are both very personal topics, so no discussions on them.

The moderators will take a look at the offending comment and decide whether it should be temporarily hidden (or removed) when you report it.  If we don't see a problem with the post it will remain.

Be advised.. we don't allow folks to cry wolf.  Read our guidelines and make sure you think the post really deserves to be reported.