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Forum Policies


Internet Campus Rules, Policies, and Enforcement

Last updated March 24, 2011

OVERVIEW

The goal of the Internet Campus forums, which include The Lobby Chat Room and the Internet Campus Prayer Wall, is to provide a way for people from around the world to interact as a church body. These forums are designed to foster Biblical community in a virtual environment. We also encourage interaction with those who are new to our church or exploring a relationship with Jesus Christ. As such, all communication in these forums should be edifying and honoring to the Lord.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen,” (Ephesians 4:29).

OUR POLICIES

These policies are designed to make the forums safe for everyone who participates:

1. You must be at least 18 years old to participate in the discussion.
2. You may not impersonate anyone in the chat room.
3. You may not use profanity or language that might be offensive to others in the chat room.
4. You should not be overly negative or harass other people. If you have an issue with another user please contact a staff person at internetcampus@mcleanbible.org. Do not take it upon yourself to put another person “in their place.”
5. Posting links to pages outside of the MBC website is not allowed.
6. We ask that you not belittle or negatively discuss other churches or ministries. This can be antagonistic and lead to a discussion that is neither edifying nor Christ-like.
7. We ask that you do not do repetitive posting.
8. The forum will be open fifteen minutes prior to and following the service for general discussion. During the service, please contribute only content that is pertinent to the worship service. The exception to this is if you need immediate technical support.
9. The moderators reserve the right to remove any post and block any user that they feel is in violation of the spirit of edifying Christian conduct or an any way contributes to the decline in quality or civility of the discussion.

FORUM TIPS

  • Please remember that the discussion is often being moderated by a single staff person or volunteer. Consequently, it may become difficult for the moderator to read every line of chat that is posted. If you feel that the moderator has missed a post that violates the policies, please politely let them know.
  • You do not have to respond to a post you disagree with.
  • If you don’t like what is being discussed, feel free to introduce a new topic of conversation.
  • Please do not post using ALL CAPS. It is Internet code for YELLING and is seldom appropriate.
  • Please do not correct another poster’s spelling or grammar.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why are people talking during the worship/message?

The live chat forum is referred to as The Lobby Chat Room because we treat it like a virtual church lobby. In a lobby, it is the prerogative of the congregants to talk amongst themselves so that they are not being disruptive to the service going on inside. We’ve placed the chat feature as the second tab in our “Dynamic Tabs” section on the Internet Campus player in order that people must choose to view the discussion. If a person finds this feature to be disruptive to the worship experience, they can simply select a different tab and the discussion will no longer appear.

What is the purpose of the chat room?

Our live chat forum serves several purposes, including sermon discussion, community-building, live tech support, prayer and information about McLean Bible Church and, perhaps most importantly, how to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.

How do I contact the moderators?

You may contact the Internet Campus staff by sending an email to internetcampus@mcleanbible.org. A staff person will use their discretion about whether to put you in direct contact with a specific moderator.

Why was my post deleted?

Internet Campus staff and moderators reserve the right to remove content from our forums at their discretion. If your post was deleted, it may have broken one of the specific stated policies or was not in the spirit of edifying Christian conduct.

Why are you restricting my speech?

Yes, this is a free country, but by being on our site you are agreeing to adhere to our Terms of Use. More importantly, we want to honor Jesus Christ through all we do and we want to encourage those who do not know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior towards that end. Our efforts are dedicated to this purpose and these policies and restriction grow out of that desire. We pray that you would understand and honor this purpose.