riverbird

No, moderators don't have access to members' private messages. Administrators have access to private messages in the sense that they have access to the entire database of the forum, as every part of what compromises the forum, every line of code, every setting, etc, has to be stored somewhere to function. In our case, we pay a monthly fee to our host to store all of our information and we have unlimited access to it. This is the same for virtually every website owner on the internet. Everyone who owns a forum on the internet has access to every part of his or her forum. Technical things asid

Is it true that mods can read everyone's private messages?

LOL that's awesome!!! I've actually been to a forum that used "nuts" or something like that...and I think also "darn", but the female dog and thingy are new to me and hilarious! I almost want to go rewrite my swear-a-thon rant and add in the replacements just for the comedy of it. Thank you. You've made me laugh out loud for the first time in a while! I agree that sometimes you really just need to say what you think and i'm glad to know I'm not the only one. I was starting to worry that I was the only one that thought that dropping an f-bomb or two (or other such words) isn't a big deal

Thank you for the update. So just to clarify it is ok to use cuss words in posts without censoring them still as long as we include the trigger warning in the title (and not cuss in the title). I want to make sure I'm understanding this right so I don't accidentally upset or offend someone with my sometimes potty mouth. Thanks!

Would it be possible to turn that off...at least for the vent folder? I think it would be nice if there was a place to really say what's on your mind. If it was just in that folder and with warnings people could know not to go there unless they're ok with reading it.

I understand cussing is not allowed in topic titles, but is it now not allowed in posts either? I'm a little frustrated that my venting thread was edited without my consent. I don't cuss often, but sometimes I just feel like it's necessary and it doesn't have the same effect when everything has little * in it. I thought it was ok as long as there is a warning in the title. Am I misunderstanding something?

I'm not sure how to word this but it's just something I'm curious about. On the "group" place under somebody's name...where it says male or moderator or contributing member or whatever. Is there a "priority" to how these are listed? For example, if a male member (m. member) contributes, does their "status" change to contributing member, m. contributing member, or stay as m. member? Same question if someone contributes and is also a mod or something like that. Just wondering...I get confused easy! Thanks!

Hmmm I really doubt that's the case as I went back to the java website and it told me that everything I had was current and installed, and that there were no new editions or updates for me to download. There's no old java either. Again though, it's really not a big deal. I don't have the need to spend time in chat like I used to.

It says "Error connecting to server. Please try again in a few minutes." That's after it sits there for quite a while just saying "Connecting..."

I did all of that. I also got the most recent update of java, and tried turning my computer off and back on just for the heck of it (about the limit of my technical skills ). It's still not working, though I noticed that when I scrolled to the bottom of the screen it says there's 3 of me in chat....so apparently it's working on some level! lol Anyway it's really not a big deal....I just wanted to drop in and say hi as long as I was here. But I can do that just as well from the boards.

I've been away from the forum and chat room for a while now. Today I tried to go in to chat and couldn't. Is something wrong w/the chat room? Or my account?

I know there used to be one out there....don't remember who it was by or what network or anything because it triggered me horribly and I had to change the channel the second it came on! There's a huge awareness push going on in my town right now. While I'm really glad the message is getting out there, it's killing me to see the ads on every billboard, in seemingly every store window, etc. So there are some PSA's out there in some place, but definitely if you're seeing a lack of them I'd say go for it with getting in contact w/ppl and networks and getting the message out there more.

Thanks dodo, Unfortunately I am referring to after I have said hi, how is everyone, that kind of stuff and being unable to get anyone to respond. I will try to get conversation going and no one says anything, no one appears to be typing anything according to the little symbols along the side....it just seems totally dead even though there are multiple people in the room. The people who do respond seem to be preoccupied with other things (and admit to that) so to me it seems more like just lurking. Like I said, I understand not wanting to talk much, but it has left me feeling uncomfortable

Just a couple questions/comments: 1. I have to admit I've been feeling a bit uncomfortable with people coming in to chat and "parking" there but not saying anything. I do tend to overthink things, but when I come into a room with 5 people who all aren't talking, I start to feel like the oddity in the room everyone is staring at. Or like everyone stopped talking because i'm there. Now logically I understand that it probably has nothing to do with me, and that people need the chat so they don't feel alone, but it makes me feel more alone to come to a place where there are people but no one i

Thanks! I'm enlightened now! It's funny, it never occured to me that contributing member would be a monetary contribution. I was just thinkin "well we all contribute, don't we?" lol That's awesome that ppl are able to give money to help this place stay afloat. Thanks again...and thanks to all the ppl who do stuff to keep this site going!

Not sure if this is the right place to post this. Please move it if it's not. I'm just wondering if there's a place somewhere with a list of what the different kinds of members are. For most ppl it just says member or an admin/mod title under their name when they post, but then sometimes I see "inactive member", or "contributing member", or "m. member"...along with some others I can't think of right now. What do these things mean? I'm curious.

Good to know. That's basically what I was suggesting with this post. I didn't realize it was already in place. Just some extra support to new ppl who need it...via a mentor. Sounds like the same thing. Can we delete this thread now please?

Wow...I really just don't even know how to reply to this. This was a genuine attempt to try to be helpful and try to offer solutions. I don't understand why this is being taken so badly. I really don't. I don't think small groups would promote cliques. I've been to many other sites where you get paired with a mentor or a mentor group that sort of helps you along in getting to know the site and getting to know people and it's really helped. I thought maybe it could help here too. I'm not asking others to connect with people for me and i'm not trying to bring up the old stuff again. I wa

Maybe I should just delete this post and we can all pretend i never said anything. I get that it takes time to get to know people and that as you post more you get closer to people. I was merely suggesting another way of getting to know people that I thought might help some who are struggling. It was just an idea. I was not trying to give commentary on my own issues or ask for advice on how to make friends. I spoke in pm with people all day yesterday who were feeling slighted and I was looking in to ways to help them and myself feel more comfortable here. Clearly the "it just happens" me

Actually I think you misunderstood me, but I think I'm going to drop it here because it sounds like this is something that wouldn't work on this site.

I think this naturally happens in a bad way. Meaning that people who have been here for a while naturally notice each other's posts more often and people who are new and don't know anyone tend to skipped over. It's not that people are skipping them on purpose necessarily, but they have to feel like they're fighting to be heard. I guess I'm picturing newcomers being able to be paired with others and have a thread dedicated to them. A thread where they can post anything and know they'll be heard....know that at least a couple of other people will hear what they have to say and it won't just

That's a good point and I was thinking that too even as I was posting this. I definitely don't want this to turn in to a mod bashing session. Of course, bashing posts could be deleted, but if I've learned anything today it's that that stuff still hurts to read even if you delete it right away. I'm not sure if there would be a way around that while keeping it anonymous, unfortunately. I'd like to believe we could all be civil about it but maybe not. Maybe the go-between idea would work better....but it would be nice if we could get a conversation going to discuss some of the issues without

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Just a thought....I think it'd be really helpful if there could be some sort of anonymous suggestion folder, or some way to send a message to the mods here. I attempted to share some thoughts with a couple of mods today and ended up getting myself in a bit of trouble. However in the process I've learned that many others are feeling the same way as I am. We're also feeling frustrated with having no way of expressing our thoughts so that they're heard. I know that running a forum like this is a very hard job, and I don't want anyone being attacked, but there needs to be some way to have an o

How do I stop receiving email notifications on a post i've replied to? Some of the fun posts get a lot of replies that are filling my inbox with alerts. Is there a way to do it without replying again?