3/7/2019

Intent of these guidelines: 

  1. Clarify the purpose of the Message Board so members know what is and isn’t appropriate to post
  2. Minimize unwanted or unnecessary e-Mails to members
  3. Discourage any postings that members may find offensive, off-topic or irrelevant

Purpose of Message Board:

The timely communication of information to WAB membership related to the following topics:

  1. WAB sponsored events (Regular or Special rides, Meetings, etc.)
  2. Changes to such events as a result of weather or other conditions
  3. Bicycle advocacy related topics if judged to be of general interest to the membership
  4. Requests for volunteers for upcoming bicycling events
  5. Other bicycling related topics as judged to be of general interest to the WAB membership

Good posting practices:

  1. Be concise and clear.  Make sure to include Start location, date, time, expected distance, expected pace if posting information about an upcoming ride
  2. Include links to more information where helpful, such as cue sheets or external website addresses.
  3. Provide your phone number and/or e-Mail address to enable members to contact you if needed.

Replying to a post:

If you have a reply which is of general interest to the membership, login to the website, go to the specific Message Board post and click on "Reply Topic".  Note that a replyi sent in this manner will be seen by all members.  If you have a personal reply or a reply that would not be of general interest, then send an eMail to the poster.  In many cases, the poster may have included their eMail address in the post.  If not, then you can send a personal eMail to any member by logging into the website, locate the member under the Member Directory (in the Members Only menu), click on the member name and then click on "Send Email".

In any case, do not reply to the eMail notification of the message board post, since that is only meant to be a read-only notification. 

Practices to be avoided:

  1. Posting on topics not listed above (Purpose of Message Board).  Examples:
    • Advancing a personal agenda
    •  Non-bicycling related topics
    • Announcing local non-WAB rides such as bike shop rides
    • Marketing or product solicitation
    • Topics related to religion or politics
    • Jokes
  2. Posting a specific question or comment as a reply to a post that is not of general interest. (Exp: “Thanks – see you there”).
  3. Topics that solicit or prompt a discussion. The Message Board is intended to communicate information, not to be a discussion board.
  4. Posts containing profanity or sexual content or are otherwise offensive. Such posts will be removed and offending members subject to loss of website privileges.