[Site Map] [Home] [About us] [Newsletter] [Resources]

Mailing List Guidelines

These guidelines apply to all groups with the exception of the children's groups.
Those guidelines are available by contacting the e-mails listed below.

The following guidelines are in place in order to ensure that everyone enjoys a positive experience as members of the BipolarParents email support group. Please read them thoroughly, and keep them as a reference.
These guidelines are revised continually, so if there is something you object to or something you would like to see included in the guidelines, please let us know.
These are always available at http://www.kkorner.net/bipolarparents and are sent to the list monthly. Note: The BipolarParents site has not been updated in a long time. If someone has the inclination and the expertise, they are welcome to work on it. Contact kris@kkorner.net.

The BipolarParents Moderating Team
bipolarparents-owner@yahoogroups.com

Important Addresses:

Post message:
BipolarParents@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe:
BipolarParents-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe:
BipolarParents-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
List owner and moderators:
BipolarParents-owner@yahoogroups.com
URL to main YahooGroups page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BipolarParents
URL to Bipolar Parents:
http://www.kkorner.net/bipolarparents

Lists available:

BipolarParents is the main list for all.
BipolarparentsY is for parents with pre-school and school-aged children with neurobiological disorders.
BipolarParentsT is for parents of pre-teen and teenage children with NBDs.
BipolarParentsA is for parents of college age and adult children with bipolar.
BrighterDay is for significant others (SOs) of people with bipolar.
 

A quick note on the term Neurobiological Disorder (NBD): This is the term that many groups, including NAMI, are pushing for instead of the much stigmatized Mental Illness.

---

Bipolar Parents Email Support Group

Attitude
A positive attitude is the most important requirement of this group. We are here to find positive approaches to meeting the challenges our children and we face. Sure, everyone has bad days now and again, and we want you to share the good along with the bad; however, this is not the place for constant complaining and venting. Please refrain from use of profanity.

Privacy
The BipolarParents list is private, and we do all that we can to foster an environment of safety and mutual confidence. Archives of this list are only available to members for this reason. Please respect the trust placed in you and NEVER pass on email from the list without explicit permission from the author. If this trust is abused, through abuse of the archives, or passing on e-mail, violators will be removed from all lists and banned and the archives will be turned off.

Off Topic Posts
Chain letters, jokes, stories, poems, virus warnings (real or not), and "fluff" are NOT welcome on the BipolarParents list. There is a realization that we all need some levity in our lives, but there are other lists for that. Repeat offenders will be removed after the third warning. Exception is stories, poems, jokes, etc DIRECTLY related to the topic.

Forwarding Information
You are welcome to pass along relevant information to the list, but please cut and paste the text, rather than forwarding the entire email. This reduces bandwidth and makes for cleaner copy, especially for those folks receiving the digest version of the list. Also, remember to cite your sources! Attachments are stripped from the posts to prevent viruses; so all information must be cut and pasted into the e-mail. A post forwarded as an attachment (such as AOL does automatically) will not come through. There is space in the files section of the YahooGroups site to post documents that may help members: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BipolarParents/files/.

Website Recommendations
Website recommendations are welcome! Please include a line or two describing the site and why you like it, along with the URL. Please send it to bipolarparents-owner@yahoogroups.com if you feel it is something that should be a resource on the web site. Also available is a links page at Yahoo groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BipolarParents/links.

Signature Lines
Signature lines are not required here, but you may include any information you like down there. We do request that you sign all posts with a name though.

Religion and Politics
As Bipolar Parents, it is often the case that faith is the only thing that gets us through and political activism is the only way to get things done. Therefore, I do not really think it is possible to separate religion and politics from the bipolar parenting experience. To date, we have never had any problems resulting from mention of religion and politics. As people who celebrate diversity in our daily lives, I doubt we ever will. However, please keep in mind that we are a diverse group consisting of many different faiths, political views, and even sexual orientations.

Problems
If you have any problems with the list or with another member, please do not hesitate to write us! That is why the moderators are here. If the problem is of a technical nature, we can usually help; if the problem is with another list member, allowing us to mediate avoids hard feelings all around. We are always available at BipolarParents-owner@yahoogroups.com. If there is a conflict with one of the volunteer moderators, the list owner can always be reached at kris@kkorner.net.

Feedback
Feedback is always welcome, whether positive or negative. We are always looking for new ways to improve the list, and your input is a valuable resource. Please send your feedback privately BipolarParents-owner@yahoogroups.com or kris@kkorner.net, rather than sending it to the entire list.

New Members
New Members will be announced and welcomed to the group.

Visitors
From time to time, temporary visitors will be welcomed for evaluating our list. Most often, these visitors are members of the online bipolar community who are considering recommending our group to others. Visitors are always announced. To foster a level of comfort on the list, professionals who do not meet the base requirements for joining a specific list are not allowed on the lists. The feeling is that you will be able to share at a more personal level if you do not feel someone is monitoring your every word.

Subscriber List
The various groups have grown too fast to keep the subscriber list going. Instead of the mandatory list the YahooGroups member profiles are now open for viewing by members at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BipolarParents/members. Please remember anything listed in your profile is available for viewing by members of any other groups you may be a member of. In addition, there will be a voluntary subscriber list kept for all groups. This is still in the process of being setup. It will be announced to the group when ready, as well as instructions for being listed. This list will be protected behind a password that will only be available in the welcome letter when you join or from a moderator.

Off-list Membership Updates
Periodically, a list of the various groups available, the ways to subscribe, unsubscribe and modify your subscription and any list news will be sent to individual members, whether they are on no-mail or not. This will not be frequent, and is a requirement of belonging. This helps keep track of who is still active and gives people a way to unsubscribe easily.

Thank you for reading the Guidelines!

All graphics the exclusive property of Bipolar Parents and not to be used without express written permission.
All contents copyright 1999, 2000 by Bridgett Garrahy unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
Web site design and maintenance donated by Krista Long
This web site has been created entirely by parents for parents, and is in not intended to take the place of advice from a medical or other professional.