By joining this group you agree that you have read, understood & agree to all group policies posted herein. If you have any questions please ask.

Every rule we have is a direct result about an issue in the past. We started with no rules and they have been added as issues have needed to be addressed. If you've been around Cafemom for a bit you probably have noted that there is a lot of drama, deception and just plan meanness going around. This group is meant to be a safe place away from that where moms can avoid that hostility and just be comfortable. These rules are meant to ensure that you can post here without fear of bashing, being put down or being made to feel inadequate, silly or stupid. To achieve that we've found we need to have some pretty clear rules.

Spam policy-  
(the definition of spam is posting or messaging groups or private e-mail or message boxes with indiscriminate, unsolicited messages of a promotional nature)

Simply put the policy is NO SPAM

Promotion Policy-  
If you have a company you want to promote you may do so in the Companies You WANT to Check Out thread as long as the post follows the rest of the group policies and rules of that thread.

You may post about your items/interests in response to another post as long as you follow all other group rules. You may not post a thread for the purpose of promoting or promote heavily in a thread you post. The only exceptions being that you may also post free giveaways & contest promotions; or, if you are posting with permision from an admin or myself. You may not post about groups whose purpose is to promote products, jobs or companies. Please do not post about groups or blogs unless you have cleared permission with an admin or myself.

Teaser posts for blog or vested interest sites are not allowed. You must post the entire post, you cannot post the start or summary of the article/piece and then something like "click here for more" or "click link to read rest". This is promotion instead of posting for the groups discussion within the group. Feel free to link the post before or after, or both, back to the original blog or vested interest site page.

Misrepresenting products in this group is not allowed.

This group does not recognize claims of organic, natural, non-toxic, green, biodegradable or any other similar 'green' termonology for products that do not provide full ingredient disclosure &/or evidence to back said claims (such as third party certification from a reputable source with clear certification outlines).  So reps and companies may not use these terms to describe products that fall into the above described category.

Shaklee, Melaleuca, and Arbonne reps must sign a separate group policy to promote these companies or sign up for info sites in posts, replies, or signatures in this group. Thank you.

Judging, Bashing, Name Calling Policy- 
This policy is pretty straight forward. None of the above is allowed.

This includes no remarks against, or easily misinterpreted as being against, any particular religion-. You can say something like you disagree with mass religion in general & other equally general remarks. Just nothing where you are naming or alluding to a specific religion or faith.

Please do keep in mind that simply not agreeing with someone is not bashing or judging. Nor is stating an opposing viewpoint when conversing with another poster.

If you post in a conversation assume that some will disagree with you. If it is going to upset you to be disagreed with then please do not participate in that conversation. The point of this group is discussion. It is not a fair discussion if only those who agree can participate.

Please also note that the term ma'am is not name calling. It is a term of respect. If another poster says ma'am to you assume they are trying to convey that they still respect you and your opinion, even if they disagree with it.

Drama Policy-
You may not post a thread that is bashing another member of this group. You may vent about other cafemom members/groups- although not by name and not members of this group.

You MAY post about any topic you want to talk about (as long as it's within the other group policy guidelines). This is a SAFE group. All discussions are welcome here.

If you are going to become upset about being disagreed with or about reading or discussing a certain topic then it is your responsibility not to participate in those topics. I will not punish the whole group by making certain topics taboo just because some members dislike them. That does not make since to me.

You may not post about why you are leaving the group- this is obvious drama and will result in immediate banning.

You may not post a thread or reply challenging an admin's call on a moderation decision. If you have a question about a specific decision or a question about how the group is run you may only discuss it with an admin or owner through private messaging, not the group's general forum.

NO GRAPHIC VIDEOS OR PICTURES, OR LINKS TO THEM, ABOUT ABORTION ARE ALLOWED TO BE POSTED IN THIS GROUP. The only graphic video or picture content allowed is birthing or breastfeeding videos or pictures- animal rights, abuse, slaughter, farming, ect... video or picture content- or video content of personal injury or illness being discussed in the group.

Troll posts will be immediately deleted and the poster will be immediately banned, no warnings, no questions.

Be Courteous-
When posting in this group refrain from using such phrases as (but not limited to) "deal with it" and "get over it" in an offensive wording manner. Even if you are just giving your honest opinion, I have full faith that you can do so in a courteous fashion.

One of the great things about this group is that everyone can post questions, ideas and concerns knowing they will not be made to feel silly, foolish, degraded or offended. Please do your part to keep it that way.

Warning Policy-
When I or a group admin warn someone or reprimand someone either through personal message or by posting a neutralizing statement or reprimand to a post or reply in the group that is your one warning for that rule. We do not always have the time to go through pm and it shouldn't really be needed if these rules have been read anyways. However we will always try to be as diplomatic as possible either way.

Every group member gets only one warning per rule. A second infraction results in banning.

Banning Policy-
If I or another admin warns you or asks you to not do something in the group, and your post/reply is in any way 'nasty' or offensive back to us, whether in the forum or in messaging, you will be immediately banned.

If you are reported as breaking the spam policy by messaging one or two members privately or using the invite/friend option to spam you will get one warning. If you are reported again you will be banned from the group. If you are reported as breaking the policy this was by 3 or more members, even without a warning you will be removed from the group.

Banning means that you may no longer post in the group or view the groups posts and you can not rejoin without the permission of the group owner or whichever admin banned you.

If banned you will not necessarily receive a message telling you that you were banned or explaining why, these rules and any prior warnings do that.

!!!NOTICE!!! Attached at the bottom of every thread in our directories is the following disclaimer attached as a signature. If you have signatures disabled you will not be able to see it, so please take note of it here. This site as a whole, part or any individual thereof is not responsible for your not reading it due to having disabled signatures.

Disclaimer: Group members generously submitted the recipes, suggestions, & tips included in this & other threads linked to the Recipe Directory. Recipes, suggestions, tips & their results are not guaranteed nor are they in any way the responsibility of the group as an entity, the group owner, admins, other members, or the original recipe poster. The recipes, suggestions & tips are provided as a kindness. They are meant to be used as a guideline & source of inspiration. You are responsible for all results & doing your own research, especially when using ingredients you are not familiar with.

Please feel free to comment on any of the policies, I welcome input. If you have any questions about the policies, please, don't hesitate to ask.

Guidelines subject to change at group owners discretion.