Site Guidelines and FAQ's

Central Alabama MomsLikeMe.com was created as a destination for local Central Alabama moms to connect with other local moms. It's a place where moms can share advice, ask questions and discuss the topics that are relevant to their lives as moms and as women.

While both the site manager and discussion leaders regularly monitor the site's content, Central Alabama MomsLikeMe.com is a community discussion site that is governed by its users. Community members are expected to show respect for one another and the opinions/views posted. It is up to the community members to ensure that the site discussions are positive, informative, supportive and entertaining.

Discussions on Central Alabama MomsLikeMe.com can range from child-rearing, religion, sex and other topics that feature a variety of viewpoints. Not every discussion on the site will fall in line with the values/morals/lifestyles of every community member. We suggest you disregard the conversations that are not appropriate for you, and instead focus on the topics you can relate to.

Before you create a discussion, we encourage you to think about the purpose of your post and what you hope to learn or gain from the responses. When you seek input/opinions from other community members, be prepared to get all types of feedback. Debates can be enlightening, but should remain focused on the topic and not become personal. If a comment isn't something you would say face-to-face to women you just met, then it probably shouldn't be typed in our forum.

Central Alabama MomsLikeMe.com is intended for grown-ups, with adult subject matter and language. Vulgar, obscene and/or gratuitous comments will be removed immediately and the posters reprimanded or removed. FCC-accepted cusswords, while not encouraged or condoned, are tolerated. We're moms, and we hope our community members will speak to one another with kindness, respect and appropriate language.

Q: How safe is the environment on the Central Alabama MomsLikeMe.com site?
A: While we do everything in our power to provide a safe environment, you have no way of truly knowing whom you are communicating with on a web site. Please use caution in sharing any personal information (we strongly discourage the sharing of personal email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, etc) with anyone you do not know and have not met. If you plan a playgroup or other gathering, please meet in a public place where other people will be present. We also encourage you to be guarded in the amount of information you share about your children.

Q: What action should I take if I am verbally attacked or threatened, or spammed?
A: Immediately contact the Site Manager or a Discussion Leader via Private Message (PM). Personal attacks, in posts or PMs, will not be tolerated. If you think someone is phishing or spamming on the site, please contact the Site Manager right away.

Q: What's the best way to handle a discussion that is becoming heated?
A: Walk away. When it becomes obvious that a poster is not willing to be open minded and accepting of others' opinions, it is pointless to continue the discussion. Walking away also gives you time to calm down and get your emotions in check so that you do not post a comment you'll regret later.

Q: Who are paid staff members of Central Alabama MomsLikeMe.com?
A: The Site Manager is the only full-time staff member. We currently have six moms from the local community who serve as part-time paid discussion leaders who help monitor the forums and lead discussions.

Q: How do I delete my account?
A: You can send an email to centralalabama@MomsLikeMe.com and say that you would like to have your account deleted. We'll take care of it for you.

Q: I thought I registered, but I haven't received my password.
A: Sometimes our automated password emails get blocked. Please contact the site administrator at centralalabama@MomsLikeMe.com Tell them your user name and an email will be sent to you with a new password. You'll be able to change your password in your "My Stuff" section.

Q: What do the abbreviations, such as dh, ds and dd mean?
A: They stand for dear husband, dear son and dear daughter.

Q: How do I add a signature that will show up each time I post?
A: In your welcome box (the lime green box in the upper right of most screens), click on your profile picture. This takes you directly to the Edit Profile screen. The very last option on this screen is to add a signature. When you are done adding your signature (or making any other changes to your profile), click where it says "Update" to save your changes.

Q: I have changed my signature. Why doesn't it show up in my posts?
A: Signatures don't change retroactively, so your old posts will retain your old signature. However, if you choose to edit an old post, you can actually edit the signature directly at the same time. All new posts should have your new signature.

Q: I'd like to add a photo to my signature. How do I do this?
A: To place a photo in your signature, you must have it hosted on a photo-hosting site somewhere. (In other words, you can't add upload photos for your signature directly from your computer.) Photo hosts include PhotoBucket.com, Flickr.com, DropShots.com, etc. Find the photo you want to use, right click on it, and select copy. IMPORTANT: Be sure you are viewing the SIZE of photo you want to add; if you follow these instructions on a thumbnail rather than the full-size image, it won't work correctly. Then come back to your profile and click on the Edit Profile button. Scroll most of the way down to the signature box. Put the cursor in the box and either select the paste icon or right click and select paste or press Ctrl + V.

Note: This should work for most photo hosts, but it may not work for all of them. Also, Mac users will need to use the Mac copy and paste commands.

Q: How do I share content I find on MomsLikeMe?
A: You should feel welcome to share content you find on our site with your friends, both on and off the site. Just use the "Share" button located under each content item. Clicking on that button will allow you to:

• "Share with friends" allows you to share content with friends within your MomsLikeMe.com site as well as friends outside of the site. You can enter email addresses, use address books outside of MomsLikeMe.com, select your MomsLikeMe.com friends, as well as send it to the groups you're a member of. Content you share with friends via their email address will get an email from you with a snippet of the content and as well as any message you choose to include. If you share content with friends or groups within the MomsLikeMe.com site, they will get a notification that includes your message as well as a link back to that content.
• "Facebook" allows you to take content you like and either post it to your Facebook profile or send it to your Facebook friends.
• "Post to another group" allows you to take some content and post it into one of the groups you're a member of. So if you see content that you think your group would appreciate, you have the ability to move a copy of it into your group.
• Administrators will also have the ability to "Post to a new category." That capability allows your MomsLikeMe site managers to re-categorize discussions, putting them into places where they might get more activity and visibility.

Q: Where can I find the content that has been shared with me?
A: When someone has shared content with you it will appear in your "Notifications" tab of your "My Stuff" area.

Q: What if someone shares something with me and I am not interested in it?
A: You have two choices: You can either delete it by clicking upon the trashcan icon next to the content item in your notification tab, or you can wait for it to cycle out. MomsLikeMe.com only keeps two weeks of notifications active for you.