[Note: The majority of this information has been taken from the original H2O forum's information, with minor adjustments made to accommodate the current site.]

Here is a brief explanation of some questions you may have, on the conditions of your participation in the forum listed at top of this page and other frequently asked questions.

• Synopsis
• What is this forum about?
• What is this forum not about?
• H2O Volunteer Moderator Program.
• Volunteer Moderator Notice.
• Participant Agreement
• Do you have any disclaimer?
• Is there a charge to use this service?
• What are the rules about posting and board participation?
• What are the rules about posting and board participation specific to this focused forum?
• Who can post?
• What are the restrictions on proper use of God's name?
• Can or should I use my real name in my posts?
• What limitations are there on screen names?
• What is the maximum number of posts permitted?
• What is the maximum permitted post file size?
• What is the restriction on leaving quotes from previous post?
• What are the guidelines on use of "NIM" ("No Included Message") postings?
• What are the guidelines on attempts to bypass the CDA filter?
• What are the guidelines on image content?
• Will H2O block I.P.'s transmitting abusive material at the site posting level or root level of Cyberpass?
• What is H2O's stance regarding participation by minors?
• Should postings be written with consideration to minors who may read them?
• What are the basic rules about participation in international chat zones?
• Can I use html tags anywhere in my posts?
• Why are there colons in the message section when I try post a followup?
• Why didn't my post show up?
• Where can I get the scripts for these programs?
• Credits and Accolades
• H2O Main Entrance

Do you have any disclaimer?

Yes. Use of this board is at your own risk. Hourglass2 Outpost and those affiliated with its administration cannot accept liability for any misuse at all, including problems you may encounter through posting (such as giving out your identity and any problems resulting from information you post).

Hourglass2 Outpost will also not accept liability for any postings about you. Any liability in posting will be at the poster's own risk. Since posters could use the Anonymizer to post something against you, by using this board you agree to hold harmless Hourglass2 Outpost, the Anonymizer, or any other third parties for anything you consider libelous or offensive posted about you or someone else. Your sole recourse is to immediately notify the System Administrator at "h2oadmin@hourglass2outpost.com" requesting removal of post, or for faster assistance post a public notice to moderators requesting a post's removal and explaining specifically why.

If you feel the posting is about you and libelous, include the word "URGENT" in the subject line to get the System Administrator's attention.

However, as this is a non-profit effort and the System Administrator(s) involved donate time, they may not always be accessible and it may take time to respond. Hourglass2 Outpost accepts no responsibility for lost email. Out of these concerns it is highly advised you are careful in posting. Do not give out information which would allow others to identify you individually. This way any posting flaming you (which some mistakenly construe as "libel") is really a moot issue. If you don't like them flaming you using one alias, change your screen name to another alias. The main thing to remember is there is a fine line between free speech, flaming (an internet tradition, although frowned upon), and real abuse of freedom of speech. Sometimes the System Administrator may not remove a post you think should be removed, and your sole recourse in any situation you find objectionable is to cease participation in the board.

Is there a charge to use this service?

There is no charge.

What are the rules about posting and board participation?

Any conduct outside of widely accepted "netiquette" (as applied to newsgroup postings and large online services) will result in the removal of posting(s), at the sole discretion of Hourglass2 Outpost System Administrator. Please don't abuse your freedom of speech. If you believe a posting violates generally accepted netiquette, please report violations to System Administrator with a description of why you feel the post(s) should be removed, the exact name/alias of poster, and exact date/time (very important) of posting. Also include the subject title, or title of subthread.

Rules for this specific forum:

H2O will delete postings not adhering to these rules at its sole discretion, and reserves the right to revise these rules without notice.

• Only Jehovah's Witnesses or others genuinely interested in positive discussions in the framework of this site's purpose should post.

• Participants agree to read and adhere to the Participant Agreement.

• Posting content shows consideration for others, and is non-confrontational and non-bashing in content.

• H2O prohibits the use of God' name abusively, in a derogatory manner, or otherwise in vain (see Exodus 20:7), and posts violating this scriptural guideline will be removed at H2O's discretion upon becoming aware of this abuse.

• H2O strongly discourages the use of real names for security reasons.

• Screen names.

The purpose of these screen name rules is to avoid offending brothers and sisters, and visitors, from around the world whose customs and sensibilities may widely vary from our own. The golden rules in screen name usage is courtesy, consideration for others, and adaptability if a screen name was in use.

• To be tasteful and non-disruptive.

• To attempt to use a variant of a name when another uses it regularly (for example, if "Phantom" has been used by someone regularly, please be courteous and use "Phantom2", "Phantom3", etc.). Those disputing another's use of a screen name should be ready to show with URL links to past postings that they have established that name on more than a one-time basis in the past. Moderators will be the final "referees" on disputes that escalate. Failure to use a screen name for 6 months or more leaves that name up for grabs by anyone. Repeat offenders who use another's screen name after they have received three courteous warnings by the one whose name was established, will have subsequent posts deleted upon request by the one who is offended (unless H2O considers the screen name generic enough to be common, or the name is part of someone's email address), and should repost under another name.

Exemptions to this rule:

• Use of generic first or lastnames is not covered here, as there are many named "John", "Mary", "Mrs. Smith" and other real names; and it is not permitted for someone using a generic first or lastname to prevent others from using the same name.

• The screen name appears in the email address; i.e., in the above example of "Phantom", anyone whose email address contains "Phantom" as the login suffix of the email address (such as "phantom@company.com") cannot be denied use of the name as it has been established on the internet. Those who see someone else using their screen name should first check to see if their email address matches the screen name.

• To avoid using multiple screen names to deceive others. A maximum of two separate screen names per visitor to H2O is considered acceptable use, provided that the second screen name is used to express views one would fear to express using the first screen name. Upon disovery of a participant using more than two screen names, moderators shall delete posts under the additional screen name(s) at their sole discretion based on trying to enforce the spirit of this site's policies. Upon receiving a warning to cease using more than two screen names, H2O reserves the right to ban participants who persist.

• Profane or sexually suggestive names will automatically be deleted at H2O's sole discretion, regardless of post content. Participant may repost relevant material under an acceptable screen name. When in doubt, save your posting for the possibility of reposting it under new screen name.

In summary a person is entitled to use their real legal name (first, last, or first and last) when exercising free speech and adhering to the rules in their posting content. Participants agree to hold H2O and its ISP legally harmless for any adverse consequences that results from use of real identity. (H2O advises participants to use a screen name and not give any identifying information in their posts.) A person is not entitled to misrepresent themselves as someone other than themselves. However, in order to express views they may fear to express under their primary screen name, they may create a second identity. This second identity should be non-existent, that is, not representing those living or deceased. Under no circumstances is any identity used on H2O to parody someone who is living, which could lead others to falsely believe that identity is another person. Of course, moderators can only act if they have proof beyond reasonable doubt, and agree with H2O's Forum Director(s) that such abuse is occurring or multiple screen names are the same individual. The only remedy one has who insists on claiming they are speaking on behalf of another is to post on an off-site board or newsgroup.

• No excessive quoting of Society literature. Only quote enough material necessary to comment on according to "fair use" copyright laws. Linking to copyright material in accordance with "fair use" is permitted when the material linked is in legal existence. Material linked that illegally exists (such as links to pirated software or literature existing without authorization by the legal copyright holder) will be cause for immediate removal by H2O moderators upon discovery. H2O asks the public to alert our site to any infringement we have overlooked, preferably by public posting in a new topic so moderators available can immediately pull down the material.

• Number of new topics and postings.
  • New topics per day:
    You may post a reasonable number of new topics per day. Moderators will delete additional new topics at their discretion without deleting the first two topics posted that day (based on date and time stamps starting at 12:00 AM or 00:00:00 hours). The purpose of this policy is to encourage those creating new topics to plan them carefully, choose the most important topics and stick to those topics in order to fully discuss the issues This limit should curtail the "hit and run" topic or "soapbox lecture" to two per day per participant. The day officially begins at midnight according to Cyberpass Server Time (as shown by date and time stamp of topic), and ends at midnight. For example, someone could post two topics before midnight on 11/15/99, and two more topics after midnight on 11/16/99, all within an hour of each other. However, they would have to wait almost 24 hours until 11/17/99 to post additional topics. H2O recommends participants spread out their new topics to avoid this dilemma.

  • New posts per day:
    To prevent posting limits, participants are requested to voluntarily limit their posts to only relevant, on-topic replies. Moderators will delete excessive postings if the general consensus between moderators and H2O's Forum Director(s) is that a participant is reaching "spamming levels" (in which case posts are deleted from the latest post, working their way backwards). Abuses involving an extreme number of posts could result in individual sanctions (such as a limit of 20 postings per day), and lead to possible banning. Participants are prohibited on harassing those who have a high number of daily posts. Moderators should delete harassments and issue warnings. Complaints about over-posting should be addressed privately to moderators or the Forum Director(s).

• Posts exceeding 30K in length (as determined by the file size) will be removed at H2O's discretion, so it is advisable to delete or trim excessive "quoting" unless it gets your point across. To-Be-Continued type postings by one person where a single topic exceeds 90K in combined file size will remain at H2O's discretion, if we decide the posts are relevant.

• Each post contains a reply form field, so that others can reply. In this field is the original reply preceded by a colon, so that relevant text of the previous post to which you are replying can be displayed in your reply post. Please remove any quoted text that is not relevant to your reply, or if none of the quoted text is necessary to get your point across, deleted all of the quoted text. Not removing excessive amounts of text from the previous post wastes disk space and is also wasteful to the thousands of visitors who must wade through the previously quoted text to see your reply.

• Use of "NIM" postings ("No Included Message") must have their quoted material deleted (leaving one space as the software requires) and the letters "NIM" included. Moderators are authorized to delete posts not in accordance with this guideline at their discretion to unburden those with slow connections. In order for the software to accept a blank post with a "NIM" in the name field, you must replace all the quoted text with a single space (since the software will reject a blank form field). Leaving the quoted text without replacing it with a space is wasteful of disk space and lacks consideration to the thousands of visitors who are new and load the post. If the "NIM" refers to a small portion of the previous post to which it is replying, a single sentence not to exceed 240 characters or approximately 3 lines of text can be quoted in the "NIM" posting.

• Moderators determining a post has attempted to bypass the CDA filter (by attempting to spell-out an obscene word that CDA normally catches, using special characters or spaces) are authorised to remove these posts at their sole discretion. Participants may repost with offending facsimile of offending word(s) completely removed or blotted out (using stars or other special characters to blot entire words out).

• Posts of a personal nature unrelated to this forum, spam or solicitations of a commercial nature will be removed at the sole discretion of moderators.

• Participants will not to post images or links that are unsuitable for minors, and H2O will remove these posts at its sole discretion. Posts containing content that is pornographic in images, links, text are in violation of this site's policy, and the source of these postings will be determined from Cyberpass, Infonex and Anonymizer logs. H2O will attempt to contact the ISP's responsible for hosting individuals who abuse this site, and at our discretion, we will also contact law enforcement agencies in the country of origin. Participant agrees to allow H2O to expose their full identity publicly if we discovery through investigation they have violated this policy and posted pornographic content on this site; and shall save H2O, its volunteers, ISP and affiliates legally harmless from any liability resulting from this disclosure. Conditions of participation must be strictly enforced in this area to protect all age groups who visit, so if you cannot accept this policy then you must cease participation on H2O (participation is defined as posting material to this site). We take accusations against others seriously and take into account the possibility of unauthorised access to your account. Rest assured we have no intention of allowing anyone to wrongfully "frame" innocent ones, and we're fully aware of this possibility and will not recklessly accuse anyone unless the evidence is indisputable. As everyone else, we must answer to God and will, to the best of our ability, not allow malicious "crackers" to cause someone to be wrongfully accused.

• At our discretion, I.P.'s that are the source of abusive material will be blocked access to H2O at either the posting or server level, depending upon severity of attacks.

• We ask participants not to post content that is unsuitable for minors, and H2O will remove these posts at its sole discretion.

• Be advised objectionable posts might take up to 10 days or longer, depending on the time of year and availability of H2O administrative volunteers, to be removed. Under ordinary circumstances posts will be removed as soon as possible. H2O requests as many volunteers from all time zones as possible to assure immediate removal of offending posts. (See our Moderator Program for details on volunteering.)

• Parents who participate agree to supervise their minor children who participate when in this forum or any area of H2O.

• We cannot tell minors what to do, only their parents can. We can only ask minors who participate without their parents knowledge, to prayerfully consider asking their parents permission to be here, and if in doubt to speak with a mature brother or sister, or overseer in their congregation.

What are the basic rules about participation in international chat zones?

Rules for posting and board participation apply at all times when in international chat zones, with one major exception. Chat threads remain for approximately 12 hours, then automatically delete. If you run across an offensive thread you believe is inappropriate for minors, it may not be possible for the board administrator to delete the thread immediately. It will auto-destruct in approximately 12 hours. In the interim, if you feel strongly enough about it, here is a suggestion. It's best to "flood the thread" with 30-40 posts. This will push the offensive posts outside the viewable boundary. To flood the thread, simply type a brief comment with the words "flooding thread due to offensive comments" or similar (repeated SEND message, 30-40 times or more), so others will know why you did this. Under ordinary circumstances, it is a courtesy to leave the previous conversation intact, so others can catch-up if they were away (notwithstanding normal conversation pushing previous conversation out of viewable boundary). Under circumstances where the thread contains offensive material unsuitable for minors, flooding the thread in this manner will prevent those minors from reading the offensive comments. For us to retain our freedom of speech online, we must be willing to take the initiative to lookout for others' safety, especially when it comes to the online safety of children.

Can I put html tags anywhere in my posts?

Yes, with some minor limitations. You can not use HTML tags in any field except body of the message. The maintainer of the script has the option of allowing or disallowing any HTML in the Message part of your posting. If they disallow it (which H2O has not), the script will just throw out everything in <>'s. If they allow it (and H2O has allowed it), your html markup will appear in the posting. It can't hurt to try, and this is a good excuse to learn HTML commands in the process.

Why are there colons in the message when I try to post a followup?

Colons appear in the message dialog box when you try to followup up on a message to indicate that those lines are quoting the previous document. The owner of the WWWBoard can decide whether they wish to enable or disable the quoting of previous messages. H2O has decided to enable the quoting of previous messages, but has disabled the ability to alter a thread in midstream. Alteration of thread replies tends to cause confusion, IMHO (in our humble opinion, in case you're wondering what IMHO stands for, and it is used widely in postings on the Internet).

Please show courtesy to ones with slow connections, and delete unnecessary text in quote from prior post (the text with the colons in front of it), only leaving necessary quoted text (with colons) based on your comment. When commenting on one small part of post, for example, please delete all text except that which you're commenting.

When typing new text in the posting field, please do not start the text with a colon (as some do, thinking the colon is necessary and misunderstanding its purpose).

Why didn't my post show up?

Your post most likely did not show up, because your browser did not reload the page, it simply pulled it out of cache. Please reload your browser and it should then appear. Press the ``Reload'' button on your browser.

Where can I get the scripts for these programs?

WWWBoard. The scripts are written in Perl and created by Matt Wright. They are free to anyone who wishes to use them and you can get them as well as other scripts at:  http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/. Enjoy!

ChatPro The scripts are written in Perl and created by Mike Wheeler. They are free to anyone who wishes to use them and you can get them as well as other scripts at:  http://www.cabinessence.com/cgi/. Enjoy!

ATTENTION: The authors of these programs, Matt Wright and Mike Wheeler, are not connected in any way to Hourglass2 Outpost. Through God's blessing we were able to find these fine programs on the world wide web, located at the above link, using the Alta Vista search engine. We wish to publicly thank both Matt and Mike for their fine programs, in effect making it possible to bring you this service devoted to freedom of speech for Jehovah's Witnesses and others on a non-profit basis.

Many thanks are extended to the founders of the original H2O website for allowing this site to be set up.

One of the few bastions of free speech available to Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide on the internet, we hope that Hourglass2.5 Outpost will continue to be a refuge and a success.

With Everlasting Love,
the friends at
Hourglass2 Outpost.