NAVYforMoms (N4M) Community Guidelines

[Navy for Moms Admin]

NAVYForMoms (N4M) accounts are intended for:
• Mothers (and loved ones) of Sailors and Officers
• Mothers (and loved ones) of young men and women who are thinking of joining the U.S. Navy.

The following Community Guidelines are here to help you understand what it means to be a member of N4M. Don't forget that your use of N4M is subject to these Guidelines and our Terms of Service.

What to Do:
• Do keep it civil
N4M’s is a round table of unique support, knowledge, and camaraderie. Our members come from diverse areas and backgrounds, but all are unified by their interest in the Navy and their desire to better it as an organization. To that end, please be kind and respectful when you are interacting with others on the website. We are all on one team, and we ask that you keep the discourse polite at all times. See the N4M Terms of Service for more details.

• Do chat about your Sailor
Share what you are comfortable with. Just know that everyone can read what you post. And when we say everyone, we really mean everyone on the Internet. For that reason, make sure to keep OPSEC (Operations Security) in mind at all times.  "Loose lips sink ships."

• Do search for topics of interest to you
Try searching at the top right of your screen to see if a subject has been addressed already, before you start a new subject. With thousands of members, there is a strong possibility that someone has already answered your question in an existing area of the website.

• Do Make yourself unique!
There are lots of Beths, Julies, and Your-Name-Heres on here.  It can be confusing for the community to figure out which Beth/Julie/Your-Name-Here is talking.  So change your name.  Be creative!  Adding an icon photo can really help as well.

What Not to Do -

While it is acceptable to hypertext link to articles on other websites, please do not publish in full any documents having outside authorship on this site without written permission from the original source.

Please follow the rules posted here. In most circumstances, we like to give second chances, so we’ll send you a warning if you step across any of the lines listed below.
Subsequent violations may result in account termination without warning.

• Don’t sell, solicit or promote products, services, etc.

Our site is intended for members to meet, find and share information.  

Advertising and promotions are allowed ONLY on your profile page. You may not use Private Messages or Chat to advertise unless members specifically request information. No individuals, groups, or businesses may solicit any project or purpose external to the site within the Forums, Groups, or Blogs.
This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
• promoting products or services you are selling
• asking for signatures, money, gifts, or donations, either for yourself or an external cause
• work-at-home businesses or opportunities
• job opportunities or resumés
• charities and charitable causes or fund-raisers – even Navy-related
• promoting your own website/blog, or a website, or online support group which you represent
• promoting an entry in a contest (asking for votes for a photo, for example)

• Don’t Post Inappropriate Comments
We do not tolerate the posting of anything vulgar, hateful, violent, racist, or otherwise obnoxious or illegal. Slurs, stereotyping, hate speech, and other forms of discrimination based on any race, color, religion, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation are not permitted. This is not a venue for you to harass or personally attack others. If a member blocks you, please respect his or her decision.

If you suspect that a member is not legitimate, let us know and we will investigate the matter further.

Should we receive a valid complaint about your conduct, we may send you a warning or terminate your account.

• Don’t post content that Is off-topic
N4M is a place for the exchange of ideas related to service in the Navy. There are many areas of the website where you can post questions, answers, and comments. To keep the discussion focused and flowing, members should post comments that are related to the ongoing discussion in that particular area of the website. If a comment is determined to be off-topic and unrelated to the conversation in which it appears, the post may be subject to deletion.

• Don’t be the one who jeopardizes the safety of our Sailors!  KNOW AND OBSERVE OPSEC (Operations  Security) at all times.

This site and all content posted on it are viewable to everyone on the Internet. This doesn’t mean you can’t share things about your Sailor – but too many details can put Sailors in harm’s way.

The following are examples of red flags and should NOT be shared within this community either by posting or sending via a Group message:
• Sailors’ last names. This includes your username if you share the same last name as your son or daughter.  If you scan in a picture of an article that contains your Sailor’s last name, make sure to black it out first.  If it is an online Navy article or news article that you are reposting, do not publicly identify the mentioned Sailor as your son or daughter.
• No Sailor addresses, emails, or other contact information. The exception to this rule is FPO addresses.
• Specific dates, times, and locations regarding current or future deployments and ship movements. Do not post dates more specific than by month. Do not post specific ports of call, deployment bases, or future destinations.
• Details regarding training, equipment, and current or future operations or missions. (But Boot Camp is okay.)
• Names or numbers of the Recruit Training Command staff.
• Ways to cheat the system. It is a breach of security when you share things like how to bend the rules and the Navy views it as such. Never jeopardize the safety of our Sailors.

INCORRECT:
My Sailor is in XYZ unit and is stationed at ABC camp in XXX city in Iraq.
My daughter is aboard the XYZ ship heading to ABC city/country in X days.
They will be coming back on X date from XXX city.

CORRECT:
My Sailor is deployed in Bahrain.
My son is aboard the Stennis.
They will be coming back sometime in May.

When in doubt, less is better.  See this OPSEC Guidelines.pdf for a checklist of what not to do, and learn more about OPSEC here.

• Don’t forget about your own and other members’ privacy and security
We want to get to know you and hear about your Sailor, but again, this site is publicly viewable. Posting your full name, your contact information (email addresses, phone numbers, links to your pages in other communities), and other sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, can jeopardize your own safety if it falls into the wrong hands. To be safe, share this information privately and only when you feel comfortable as we cannot verify the identities of everyone on the site. Keep in mind that there are privacy tools that are available within this site that can help you control who views the content that you post.  And please, remember that online, not everyone is who they represent themselves to be.  Always err on the side of caution.

Private Messages, Blogs, and Groups are meant to be just that:  private. This includes private information we send to you. If it was posted privately, assume that the posting member wants it to stay that way. Reposting privately shared information in a public manner without permission may be viewed as member harassment.

If someone is posting content that is against our guidelines within a private space, please let us know as communication within these areas of the site still falls under our guidelines.

Group Guidelines
All Groups are run by members and must abide by our Community Guidelines. Group creators reserve the right to delete posts and comments and remove members within their respective groups as they see fit. They may also impose further guidelines relevant to their purpose. Groups that persistently violate our Community Guidelines are subject to deletion. Group creators may contact us if they need help with an issue that they cannot resolve on their own, or if they would like assistance in appointing additional admins to their Group. Groups with creators who are inactive for long periods of time may appoint additional co-admins, if requested, for the benefit of the group.  Inactive groups may be deleted at the Admins' discretion.

Specific photo guidelines
The following rules apply to uploaded photos and photos you embed within pages of the community. We will not notify you if your photo is not approved.
• No photos of current or future SEALs or BUD/s per the NSO/NSW/SEAL community.
• No last names. This includes badges, name tags, uniforms, certificates, articles, photo descriptions, and photo titles.
• No photos from deployments or bases that identify specific locations through signage, monuments or other clearly visible landmarks.
• Nothing inappropriate, including nudity, violence, gang symbols, profanity, obscenity, or anything of a sexual nature.

Specific video guidelines
Videos uploaded in the Video tab must be Navy-, military- or family-oriented. This is to keep our video pool relevant to the community. Non-related videos can be embedded directly onto your own page. All videos follow the same guidelines as photos in regard to permissible content. Unlike photos, we will notify you if your video is not approved.

Etiquette Guidelines
• DON’T SHOUT PLEASE! Writing in capital letters can be interpreted as shouting in the digital world, so we recommend you keep Caps Lock off. Be aware that some of our members request the use of all caps for medical reasons. If you are medically required to use all caps, please note this when you post so that others do not misinterpret your tone. Common sense says, if you think someone is shouting, just ask them.
• Limit music players to your personal or group pages. Posting them in a blog can be disruptive to members who visit the Blogs tab as they automatically start playing when the Blogs tab is accessed.
• Tone is one of the hardest things to “understand” online. It sometimes causes miscommunications and hurt feelings. Make effective use of punctuation, “emoticons”, and graphics.
• Make sure your photos and videos have a title and/or description so that members know exactly what they are looking at.

• Don’t ask the Admins Navy-related questions
Whenever possible, the N4M administrator will try to direct you to answers to Navy-related questions. But please remember that site admin isn’t a member of the U.S. Navy. As a general rule, we ask that you rely on member postings for answers to Navy-related questions. Also, the N4M members will usually respond quicker and better than the admin. And remember, your local Navy recruiters are just a phone call away and are always pleased to answer questions; or use the online chat function here:  Talk with a Navy recruiter.

Reporting Guideline violations
Posts on the site are not prescreened. If you find anything that you feel violates our guidelines, send us a private message. We will review all reports promptly, and decisions are made at our discretion. While we listen to our members, in the end we have final authority on whether something is permissible under the guidelines above and our Terms of Service.

Technical help
If you have a hard time navigating the site or have a quick technical question, please use this site: http://help.ning.com.  Also, you can click here and here.

In conclusion
We have crafted these guidelines to ensure that everyone within the community has the experience they want. It’s important that you understand the importance of moderating your content responsibly. If you don't feel that you can abide by our Community Guidelines as outlined above, maybe N4M’s isn't for you. And remember…if you ever have any questions or comments about the site, we’d love to hear from you.  Please feel free to contact the N4M admin with comments/suggestions.

Thank you! 
Your NAVYforMoms Admins

Updated 11 December 2016