Bethany Discussion Forums -

Announcements
Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:15 pm Forums Down The Discussion Forums will be taken down for a scheduled update and routine maintenance. Members will be unable to access the forums for up to two days, beginning Thursday, September 4 - Friday, September 5. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience while we update the forums for your continued use. We are thankful for the abundance of activity on the forums, and our goal is to always improve the forum functionality to better serve the members. Bethany Christian Services manifests the love and compassion of Jesus Christ by protecting and enhancing the lives of children and families through quality social services. Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:22 am* It has been expressed by numerous members the desire to be able to advertise their items. Although we do not allow items to be to promoted on the forums, Bethany is pleased to announce that a private Buy/Sell/Trade group has been set up by Angela (moderator), allowing members to advertise and sell their items outside of the Bethany Forums. Angela is a long-time volunteer for Bethany Christian Services, and we have found it appropriate to promote this private group here on the forum. She would like the group to be used for the following reasons: -families who want to sell some of their household things or crafted items who are specifically in the adoption process and saving up money for this process. -getting rid of the items their kids have grown out of, and offering them to families who are preparing for children. For more information and to access the group, please select the following link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/formygirlz/ This group is not affiliated with Bethany Christian Services and does not represent the agency in any way. Bethany is not liable for any of the materials purchased or sold on this site. Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:09 am TOS Clarification Bethany Christian Services continues to discuss how to best manage the forums so they can be productive and educational. There has been much discussion about the interpretation of the Terms of Service (TOS) that users agree to upon registration (click here to view). Recently, there have been many questions and concerns about edited posts. We would like to provide an update and answer some questions. Why are more posts being edited by moderators, especially those that mention Bethany by name? • We have more moderators. For years, we have had only one, so recently we recruited more due to the size of our forums. • Our goal is to create consistency in addressing the rules we have in place. One complaint we often heard is that we would only edit posts that were negative (about Bethany). • Moderators have been instructed to edit all mentions of specific agencies. Many of you expressed concerns about editing every post that mentions Bethany, and that it is too restrictive. We thank you for your suggestions and comments. Bethany has been working on revising the Term of Service (TOS) to create an environment that will allow you to mention agencies while providing valuable and important information about the adoption process. Our goal is to provide clear guidelines in a new TOS, and we are researching the possible effects those guidelines can have from both a legal and forum standpoint. Until we release the new agreement, we thought we should clarify the following portion of the current TOS, and at the same time attempt to be less restrictive. Slanderous (libelous) posts about adoption professionals or agencies, the posting of self-serving advertising disguised as independent posts, comments and discussions about specific adoption facilitators, social workers, attorneys, country professionals, and other adoption professionals—whether positive or negative—may not be posted on the forums. If individuals desire to provide or ask about this kind of information, it will need to be done privately (private messaging or e-mails). 1. You may mention Bethany or another agency in a neutral statement or a statement of fact. For example, “Bethany offers foster care in some states” is factual statement and neutral. Another example, “Bethany should offer foster care in more states” is an opinion. We recognize that Bethany clients are providing support to each other by keeping each other informed about their adoptions. Keep in mind that opinions about your own adoption process should not identify a specific agency (see #2 for more info). 2. Opinions about Bethany and other adoption agencies, organizations, and your own adoption experience, including comments and discussions about specific adoption facilitators, social workers, attorneys, country professionals, and other adoption professionals—whether positive or negative—may not be posted on the forums. 3. Prayer requests should not provide identifying information and other details that may infringe on a third party’s privacy. When someone asks about a specific agency because they are looking to adopt, all response containing information and opinions about a specific agency should be sent to the requestor via PM or email. 4. Information about the adoption process regarding a specific agency should not include opinions, just facts. Again, if the information is neutral, you may mention a specific agency. We should have a new TOS soon. These new guidelines may be modified, but we hope this clarifies the situation in the interim. Thank you, again, for your time and effort in sharing your concerns with us. We are always striving to serve and support Children and Families around the world as best as we can! Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:12 am Greetings from Bethany admin! The General Discussion forum has become such a popular place that we have selected a moderator to help in managing the site. In May 2005 we had almost 10,000 visitors and nearly 7,000 posts! That being said, there is a lot of posts to view! Thank you to all of you who contribute to the Bethany forums! We want them to continue to be a source of encouragement and support. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the admin at discussion@bethany.org. Fri Apr 16, 2004 8:22 am Notice - Terms of Use Change Hello everyone - I would like to remind all members that the forums are designed for birthfamilies, adoptive families, adoptees, and foster families to discuss and find encouragement through others that are in similar circumstances. Bethany strives to make this a safe place for families and individuals to share their experiences in an honest manner. Please remember that everyone can read these forums, including all Bethany clients and the general public. Due to the occurrence of slanderous posts about adoption professionals or agencies, and the occurrence of self-serving advertising disguised as independent posts, comments and discussions about specific adoption facilitators, social workers, attorneys, country professionals, and other adoption professionals, whether positive or negative, may not be posted on the forums. If individuals desire to provide or ask about this kind of information, it will need to be done privately (private messaging or emails). Anyone that violates this new policy may be permanently banned without notice. If you have a grievance about any agency, social worker, or other adoption professionals, please contact that agency privately. We are making this change because it is difficult to determine the truthfulness of either positive or negative information that is posted. It would be equally unfair to erase, or to allow the uncontrolled posting of either. If you have a grievance about any agency, social worker, or other adoption professionals, please contact that agency privately. We are in no means discouraging anyone from sharing their experience (whether positive or negative), but it needs to be done in a fair and consistent manner. 99.9% of everything posted is wonderful, helpful information, and we hope that this policy change will assist in maintaining the quality of information and encouragement that is helpful to all. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the forums administrator at discussion@bethany.org. Thank you for your time! ;) Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:36 am We Need Your Stories! We are always looking for stories to add to our website from adoptive families, adoptees, birthparents, birthfamilies, foster families, etc. If you would like more information on how to submit your story to Bethany, please email info@bethany.org for more information. Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:12 am New Support Groups Listings on Bethany's website! If you have a support/play group that you would like to add to Bethany's website listing, please email info@bethany.org with information. The information we need: * What the group is (support group, play group, etc.) * Who it is for (domestic and/or international adoptive parents, birthparents, etc.) * When it meets (dates and times, or "call for more information") * Who to contact to inquire further or to RSVP. Please email info@bethany.org for more information.