The information posted on the board:

The vast majority of information on the discussion board is posted there by the individual board users - NOT the board administrator(s) or the owner of this website. While some information can be easily stated to be a fact (such as a correct address for an equipment supplier), many of the posts are based upon personal opinion - and some opinions are a little more well-conceived than others. Like anywhere else, the experience and intelligence of the users of this board varies widely, as does the usefulness and accuracy of the advice they offer. Even two well-informed people with a great deal of experience can have greatly differing opinions about a particular subject. Keep that in mind while reading the board, and please keep it in mind when you are doing the posting. Even if you think yours is the only answer that is right, that doesn't necessarily make it so.

As board administrator, I don't have time to monitor every post made, nor check them for accuracy, so you are on your own when using any advice posted here. In the interest of the free exchange of ideas and information I try to keep as much of a hands-off approach as possible as to what gets posted. While I will attempt to keep blatantly slanderous posts or outright dangerous advice off the board, this won't always be possible. I cannot control, and take no responsibility for, the individual opinions of the users of the discussion board. The opinions expressed here are those of their respective posters, not necessarily the management...

Unwelcome Posts:

ANY mention of eBay is prohibited and will be removed.

This board is NOT intended to be a marketplace for glass. To limit the abuse potential from it's users, ANY mention of eBay - no matter what the reason - is unwelcome here. And no, I'm sorry, but we can't identify that piece of glass that you just found in your grandmother's attic. That is not what the board is for either. Posts of this type will be removed, as will posts pointing to any other auction sites.

"I want to be a famous glass artist. Tell me how." posts

Beginners are welcome here, especially those willing to do some legwork themselves. There is a lot of information about books, classes, suppliers, etc. on the rest of this website. PLEASE check it out before asking very basic questions. The experienced people who contribute to this discussion board go out of their way to answer questions and help out. Don't waste their time by asking questions to which you could have easily found the answers yourself. If you show a bit of intelligence and initiative, the users of this board will bend over backwards to help you.

Both the discussion board and the website have their own search engines (although the site search one seems to be acting strangely at the moment). It will be appreciated if you make use of them before posting very basic questions. If you can't find what you are looking for and do post a question, it will help tremendously if you provide as much information as possible. Use some common sense. If you want to know about glass studios or classes near where you live, then MENTION where you live (but first check out the Where to Learn Glassworking Page). If you want to learn about glassblowing, then please say what type of glassblowing interests you, because there are several. Furnace work (working out of a furnace full of molten glass) and lampworking (working with glass rods/tubing and a torch) are the primary two.

Don't let the text above intimidate you into not asking a legitimate question, no matter how basic. Just please give it some thought before you do. A tremendous amount of time and energy has been spent building this website so people will have a place where they CAN ask questions about glass.

Blatantly Commercial Posts

This message board is for the exchange of information about handmade glass and glassmaking, NOT for crassly advertising glassware or other items. Posts advertising glassware for sale, or "Come see my ferociously realistic dinosaur beads on eBay" messages, are strictly prohibited. In fact, to limit the abuse potential from it's users, ANY mention of eBay - no matter what the reason - is unwelcome here.

However, there is a gray area in there too. Individuals with glassworking equipment to sell are welcome to post it on the main board and on the announcements board as well. If you are a manufacturer or supplier who has been an active contributor of useful information in the past, then I don't have a problem with you mentioning your products, as long as you don't abuse the privilege, since discussions about new or existing products can be useful information for board users. If you are new to the board and want to post about a product or service you think may be of value to the users here, I would prefer you to contact me for permission in advance. However, if you have never contributed anything useful to the discussion board and are here just to crassly plug your products, don't bother. The Handmade-glass discussion board isn't meant to be a retail marketplace. Regarding the commercial intent of the messages, it's a bit of judgment call and ultimately, I'm the judge. If you aren't sure about a post, feel free to e-mail me and ask. If you don't ask and I think your post is over the line it will be removed.

The announcements board is the correct place for postings about classes, events, items for sale, help wanted, etc. although for most things a mention on the main board is also acceptable (within the guidelines above).

Unwarranted, personal attacks on other board users

There is plenty of room for disagreement and differing opinions among board users, but let's try to keep things reasonably civil. If you think someone is a slime-sucking piece of crap because of something he/she posted, and feel the need to respond, please try to attack the post and not the poster. If you think you should be able to exercise the right of free speech, no matter how slanderous or uncalled for - do it somewhere else. This board IS moderated, however loosely, and I won't put up with people pointlessly attacking other users. Neither will I put up with anyone's personal vendetta against another board user.

Regarding ALL unwanted posts:

If it is decided that you've gone over the line, your post will be removed. You may or may not be e-mailed about it. If you are asked not to post on the same subject again and you ignore the request, your access will be terminated - simple as that. Because of what has happened in the past, I don't have the time or patience to screw around any more. If your access is terminated, depending on the circumstances you may or may not be reinstated at a later date.

Because it is impossible to anticipate all possible circumstances, any activity which is deemed detrimental to the board and it's user community could result in suspension of board access. This includes, but is not limited to: the items mentioned above; harassing other board users; ignoring administrative requests to modify disruptive and/or unwanted behavior; culling poster's e-mail addresses for mailing lists or other unsolicited contacts; and reposting messages from the board elsewhere without permission. Anyone who consistently posts stupid, useless, or just plain wrong information also runs the risk of losing board access. In the event of disagreements about interpretation of these rules, all decisions of the board administration will be final.

User profiles:

The board is set up so people can post user profiles. I recommend you do this if you will be posting on a regular basis. If you are a frequent contributor, it also keeps you from having to keep repeating the same background information about yourself for newer users who may not be familiar with your experience level. If you are a new user, it gives the others here a chance to get to know you. This background info is useful when someone is asking or answering questions. Others can look at the profile and get an idea of a poster's experience and tailor their questions or answers accordingly. Posting a profile also "locks" your user name so messages can't be posted under it without your password. This way you're the only one who can post under that name.

Copyright issues:

Those posting on the board agree that the management of Handmade-glass.com may use the information posted in any way it sees fit, in perpetuity. Otherwise, all messages on the board are the property of their respective posters and may NOT be published or reposted elsewhere without their express, written permission. Any messages reposted under these conditions should also contain a link back to the Handmade-glass.com board. Anyone who thinks he can post a large number of messages and then later demand those posts be removed, in an effort to ruin the continuity of any threads in which his messages are contained, is wrong. (Yes PV, this means you.)

Cookies:

The board uses cookies to keep track of when you last visited. This way any new messages that have been posted since you were last here will have a flag on them to make them easy to spot. The cookies also automatically fill in the name, e-mail, optional link, and password fields for you when you make a new post, based on what you entered in those fields the last time you posted (you can change what the cookies enter if you want). The cookies aren't used to collect any personal info about you or target you for spamming. I'm not a big cookie fan myself, but I think they are useful enough in this instance to use.

Problems using the board:

If you encounter any problems using the board please don't hesitate to contact me at: brad@handmade-glass.com This includes access problems as well as the board not working as it should. If something is wrong, I'd like to know about it so I can try to fix it. Please keep in mind that I won't be able to fix any problems that are caused by something on your end. I can't tell you how to make your own computer work right or make your ISP more reliable.

I know from experience that I can't please everyone. Ultimately, a lot of this is simply a judgment call, and I seldom have the time to explain my decisions. If for some reason you feel that you can not abide by these guidelines, please feel free to go elsewhere.