Version 1.01, updated 25 October 2018
The Braillists Community Forum seeks to be an open, inviting and inclusive place online for people wishing to discuss any aspect of Braille and tactile media. We try to avoid overt moderation. If discussions stray outside the reasonable requests listed below, then posts may be removed. Those who persistently offend will be unsubscribed from the forum.
Please read these guidelines carefully. If you have any safeguarding, security, or moderation concerns, or if you would like to suggest improvements to these guidelines, please contact [email protected] immediately.
As a small group of volunteers with busy lives, we would much rather focus our efforts on supporting projects to advance access to braille and tactile media. Please help us to help you by keeping all posts respectful and on topic.
1. Is your post on topic?
All posts must relate to the use of braille or other tactile media. Messages about unrelated topics are discouraged.
Stick to the original subject that was stated by the person who started the thread. If you have a suggestion or comment that is on a different subject, please start a new thread with a new subject line.
2. Has your question been asked before?
We recommend using the forum’s search facility to check if a similar topic already exists or if the question that you are about to ask has already been asked and answered.
3. Does your subject line describe your message accurately?
Please use clear and descriptive subject lines for your posts. Doing so will significantly increase the likelihood that others will read your post and answer any questions that you may have asked.
4. Have you got more than one question?
Please only post questions about a single topic in any new post to the forum. For example, avoid asking a question about using a braille display and question about how to fix your Perkins in the same post. This will improve your chances of getting appropriate and helpful answers and make discussion easier to follow.
5. Is your reply useful?
Please do not post replies which add no value to the existing discussion. For example, if somebody has asked for information on a specific braille product, replying to say that you have not used that product is of no value and only serves to get in the way of what might be helpful answers.
Additionally, if someone asks a question about how to do a task, replying to the post and saying to do an internet search to find the answer is not at all helpful.
Finally, it’s not necessary to post “me too” messages. Lots of accessible tools exist if you want to create a survey. Feel free to share links to braille surveys or other research with the Braillists Forum.
6. Do you have something to sell?
The Braillists Forum is not intended for trading/swapping or selling/advertising products or services. If you wish to post information about a product or service that you believe would be of interest to the Braillists community, please contact us beforehand for approval or to discuss sponsorship.
Only post press releases to inform or contextualize a new or existing discussion. We are interested in braille news, so by all means please feel free to share new braille news stories here.
7. Is your post respectful and polite?
The Braillists forum is intended to build a positive, thriving community. Please give the same consideration and tolerance to others that you would like to receive from them.
We are a diverse community with a wide range of views, opinions, preferences and beliefs etc. Judgmental or insulting posts will not be tolerated.
Please do not post excessively and dominate the conversation.
No flaming. Flaming is the act of posting messages that are deliberately hostile and insulting. These types of posts are not allowed and will result in the immediate removal of the offending post. Repeated posting of a message (or very similar messages) multiple times is considered spamming and is unwelcome.
8. Is your post family friendly?
Please do not post inappropriate or offensive content. This includes posting messages with insults or profanity; or messages which are religiously, racially, or sexually offensive. These types of posts will result in the post being edited or removed and could also lead to your forum privileges being revoked.
9. Is it legal?
Please do not post illegal content. For example, no posts about the illegal use of licensed software or posting information about beta versions of software which would breach any non-disclosure agreement.
10. Keep yourself and others safe.
To keep your identity and personal information safe and to keep from being added to a spam distribution list, it is recommended that you not include email addresses or other personal information in your posts.
Remember the forum is public, can be seen by anyone, not just subscribers, and your messages may appear in web search results.
Note: Your use of the Braillists Forum is also subject to the Google Groups Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.