How to post here (Requests and Prayers ONLY, no advice)

[Catherine Grant]

Forum moderator:

Klara Collins

If you experience difficulty in the Prayer Intentions Forum, please use the private message system to contact the forum moderator, Klara Collins.

[Catherine Grant]

Prayer Intentions Guidelines

1) Do not post the personal information of other people. This includes their full names, their locations or parishes, or any other personally identifiable information.

2) When asking for prayers, use the person's first name and last initial (at the most) unless the need for prayer is publicly known and does not cause scandal.

Appropriate:

-For my Aunt M. who has cancer

-For my sister Wanda who is searching for a job

-For Governor Smith of the state of Imaginary, USA, who is facing a difficult legal decision

-For my priest, Fr. K, who has asked our parish for prayers for his upcoming travels

Inappropriate:

-For Katie Greene, who is considering abortion

-For my neighbor Mr. Poole and his wife Karen whose son Peter passed away yesterday

-For the priest of St. John's in Billitumpkus, ND who privately shared with me some bad news about the parish finances

3) Keep to the topic of the forum (prayers for specific intentions, and only prayers for specific intentions) and redirect people to the appropriate forums if they are seeking anything else (family advice, apologetics questions, questions about prayer, etc)

4) Use the Bad Post Report triangle found in the top right of every post to alert me to any deviation from the above that requires moderator intervention.

If these rules are adhered to, this forum will flourish and be a great source of blessings and grace to all involved. I thank you for your cooperation.

May God Bless You Abundantly,
Catherine Grant
Moderator

[Catherine Grant]

Banned Topics List

Catholic Answers has an obligation to protect our members and assure that the Forums remain a respected discussion environment in which members feel secure in participating.

To achieve this, it is necessary to ban certain topics, content, and posting techniques. If you are unsure whether or not something falls within the scope of this list, inquire of a moderator privately, before posting

1. Advocating violence or threatening a person or institution
2. Inappropriate language or graphics (crude, obscene, rude, vulgar, or blasphemous)
3. Pornography and links to pornographic sites or sites which host links to or advertise pornographic sites
4. Sexually explicit or graphically violent material or content that is inappropriate for non-adult members or might offend adult members
5. Hate material and links to sites that promote bigotry, hatred, or prejudice toward those of any race, religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality
6. Derogatory terms characterizing a class of people by religion (Papists, Prods, Fundies), political affiliation, or national/ethnic origin
7. Blatantly disrespectful characterization of any faith, ("Rome is the Whore of Babylon", “Nazarenes are Holy-Rollers”, “Jews are Christ-killers”, "Muslims are terrorists") its tenets, practices, or adherents
8. Proselytizing Catholics or encouraging them to leave the Church
9. Debating moderator action, including discussing, disputing, or speculating as to why a member’s posting privileges were restricted, why posted messages were edited or deleted, or why threads were closed or removed from public fora
10. Posts in circumvention of a restriction, suspension, or ban imposed by staff
11. Solicitation of personal information (e.g., age, income, or location), beyond that freely offered by members through inclusion in their public profiles
12. Identifiable information pertaining to individuals, including the names of non-public personages who have not consented to being identified, their mailing or e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, or details of their private life (or such information - not already in the public domain - which relates to a public personage who has not consented to it being revealed)
13. E-mail or private correspondence from a third party
14. Rumored "conversions in process" that involve third parties, particularly public figures
15. Encouraging “swarming” of other forums to engage in debate of anti-Catholic postings there
16. Links to blatantly anti-Catholic sites, except as a valid reference point for discussion
17. Addresses or telephone numbers of individuals, institutions, or commercial enterprises to promote activity that might negatively affect another’s life or business operations
18. Identifying individual parishes, clergy, or hierarchs as “unfaithful to the Magisterium”, guilty of “liturgical abuse”, or otherwise engaged in unacceptable or unpopular practices, based on personal “knowledge” or opinion
19. Soliciting or proffering financial, legal, medical, or mental health advice
20. Asserting credentials as a clergyman, religious, theologian, or legal or medical professional, on which members might rely to their detriment, when the credentials cannot be verified to the satisfaction of CA staff
21. Lengthy excerpts of articles or publications that exceed standards for “reasonable use” (generally no more than three paragraphs) or might otherwise be construed to infringe copyright
22. Unlinked news stories or those not linked to a publicly accessible website (one that does not require registration or payment)
23. Intentionally deceptive material, including plagiarism (presenting another's work as one's own) or text attributable to or quoting others that has been altered
24. False statements maliciously made to defame another’s reputation
25. Promoting unapproved apparitions and revelations (those not approved by the Church for private or public devotion) or alleged private locutions
26. Soliciting business for any commercial enterprise without prior approval by CA staff
27. Soliciting donations for any individual or institution without prior approval by CA staff
28. Spamming (multiple or repetitious messages consisting of identical or nearly identical text or links without substantive commentary)
29. Using “sock puppet” identities to deceive others, promote an agenda, bolster one's own credibility, filibuster, or engage in debate with oneself in furtherance of a point of view

From time to time, it may be necessary to adopt content rules applicable to individual forums because of their particular nature. Members should periodically review the Posting Guidelines of forums in which they regularly participate

[Catherine Grant]

Please review the forum descriptions before deciding in which to begin your thread.

Ask an Apologist - get expert answers to questions on Catholicism - read this first

Karl Keating's E-Letter - react to it here, pro or con

Radio - offer feedback or discuss Catholic Answers Live

This Rock - talk about articles in CA's magazine

New Projects - be informed about upcoming CA endeavors

Apologetics - learn to respond to questions about and challenges to your Faith, including effective presentation techniques, examine historical controversies

Sacred Scripture - discuss the Bible, including translational issues and exegisis

Moral Theology - explore moral implications and ramifications of Church doctrine and dilemmas affecting you and find the answer to the question, "Is this a sin?"

Social Justice - dialogue about Church teaching with societal implications, pro-life/pro-choice issues, just war doctrine, human rights

Traditional Catholicism - talk about the Traditional Latin Mass, the Indult, SSPX, sedevacantism

Eastern Christianity - learn the history, spirituality, and practices of Eastern & Oriental Churches, Catholic and Orthodox

Non-Catholic Religions - explore the history and beliefs of non-Catholic and non-Christian faiths, dialogue with their adherents

Liturgy & Sacraments - discuss Mass and Sacraments, roles of ordinary and extraordinary ministers, liturgical music, church etiquette, the "other" Western Rites (Ambrosian, Bragan, and Mozarabic), Anglican Usage

Family Life - talk with peers about marriage, educational concerns, interpersonal relationships, family planning, other aspects of daily family life

Parenting - chat with others about coping with the joys, sorrows, practicalities, and challenges of raising children

Evangelization - meet with others involved in religious education, catechesis, RCIA, CCD, and missionary outreach, compare experiences, learn from one another

Spirituality - learn about Catholic apostolates, Secular and Third Orders, prayer, fasting, sacramentals, devotionals, Saints, your own spirituality

Prayer Intentions - post prayer requests, respond to those of others, participate in perpetual prayers

Vocations - discuss discernment of your own vocation to the religious, married, or single life; share your experiences with others; get information on diocesan and secular priestly formation and on religious orders

Popular Media - dialogue about our culture, including art, magazines, books, computers, television, radio, music, theatre, and the performing arts

Catholic News - talk about news events involving the Church, its leaders, and the laity

Secular News - share perspectives and analyses of current events in our country and the world

War on Terror - discuss emotional, social, and spiritual concerns involved in reacting to terrorism

If your topic doesn't fit criteria for any forum, try the Back Fence - a mix of the ridiculous and sublime, or The Clubhouse - chat there is light, but can be educational

Finally, the Concierge Desk - a collection of subforums designed to meet your needs, visit it to: get or offer Tech Support; better understand forum use through Mini-Tutorials; familiarize yourself with the Rules of the Road; and, even test forum features in the Sandbox

With these choices, everyone should find a forum to meet their needs. Enjoy yourself, and use the Suggestion Box to let us know what we can do to make your experience better.

[Catherine Grant]

Any poster may post as often as he or she wishes in the Prayer Intentions threads as long as the posts adhere to the Forum Rules and Prayer Intentions Guidelines. The more posters praying, and the more each person posts, the less any one person's posts will dominate a thread, making this a true community effort.

For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Mt 18:20

I encourage every poster to become a Prayer Warrior to help in that aim.

Always rejoice.
Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all. 1 Thess 5:16-18

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to write me directly.

May God Bless You Abundantly,

Catherine

[Catherine Grant]

Helpful Hints for Posting

1) Thread title: Please do not use non-related thread titles such as Help Me – Prayers Please – etc.

Use a thread title which conveys the subject/content of what you wish to address. This is helpful to other readers in the forum and if someone needs to search for the thread, they will remember the subject, not a non related title.

2) Be well acquainted with the Forum Rules and “Sticky” posts towards the top of each Forum which offers a general description of the various forum sections. Post accordingly.

3) When creating a post, use white space and paragraphing for easier reading. One large “lump” of text does not encourage heavy readership among other posters.

4) Keep personalized chit-chat for your PM’s with your “special friends” – use the forum boards for posts of general interest.

5) When you have a problem with learning to back quote or other questions on how things “work” remember the Concierge Desk – don’t drop them into the general Forum – you’re much more apt to get a speedy and helpful reply from someone in the Tech Support Forum.

6) Do not post large or oversize photos – use a link instead. Those wishing to view will do so, those not, or who are on older computer systems, will not then be adversely affected in their viewing.

7) Don’t jump threads. If you get involved in an argument in one thread, it’s considered poor manners to restart the previous argument in the middle of an unrelated thread. Also, if the moderator closes a thread, consider the subject closed and do not begin it anew in another thread.

8) Check out thread:
http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=52484
Where many posters have contributed ideas and thoughts on posting etiquette.

Guidelines on posting articles to Catholic Answer Forums

9) Stay on the topic of the forum you are posting in. If you are going to post advice for a situation, make sure you are placing it in the correct forum.

10) Please check current postings to avoid duplicate threads. If you have started a Prayer Request thread on a particular topic, please continue to post updates to the same thread. If you are responding to a particular prayer request, please respond on the thread and do not start a new thread for a response.

11) Do not paste lengthy quotations from books and articles into a post. Brief excerpts, no more than two or three paragraphs or pull quotes, may be posted to highlight a particular point that you wish to discuss.

Full or extended excerpts posted will be trimmed to just the first sentence. Alternatively, the entire thread may be pulled.

12) Do not write post that make personal attacks or are in other ways inappropriate for the CA forums. This includes posts that, with good intentions, ask for prayers for others by describing them with personal attacks.

[Catherine Grant]

Messages posted to this board must be polite and free of personal attacks, threats, and crude or sexually-explicit language, rude comments and innuendo.
That means don't smear your Cousin Bob or your brother's ex-wife in the process of asking for prayers for them.

Do not post others’ e-mail addresses, private messages, or private e-mail sent by them unless they give you permission to do so.
That means you can't copy and paste Sewing Circle Susie's email about her grandson's cancer treatments without her express permission. You may ask for prayers on his behalf without divulging their personal details or the contents of her email.

Do not post material from unapproved private revelations.
This is strictly enforced and applies to all revelations which do not have the church's YES. 'Maybe' doesn't count. 'They haven't said no' doesn't count. 'It is still being investigated' doesn't count. Either the church has approved it or you don't post material or a promotion of it (including your own or others' experiences).

Do not post personal phone numbers and addresses.
This includes your own or others' personal info. Email addresses are also included in this ban. Our system allows you to send and receive emails in a private manner and anyone wanting to receive emails may choose to do so through their profile options.

Do not post anything that you do not want to be publicly read for an extended period.
The moderation does not have sufficient resources to remove threads at your request once a situation has resolved. Please be concientious of what you post.

Messages posted to threads should be on-topic. If you wish to discuss another topic, start a new thread.
In particular, if you wish to offer advice to a person who has posted a prayer request, send that person a Private Message or start a new thread on the appropriate board. Prayer Intentions is only for prayers.

Do not pad your post count with chatty or off-topic messages.
It has come to my attention that some people view the Perpetual Prayer threads as a fast and easy way to pad their post counts. I do not understand the incentive in having a post count higher than someone else, but do recognize this odd phenomenon among some. Don't mock God or the needs of others in this way. If you are going to pray, then pray. If you want a high post count, then go post. Please don't force me to limit the prayers you may offer by abusing the Prayer Intentions forum in this way.

Material that violates the rules may be edited or deleted without prior notice.
This includes, most specifically, the guideline for descriptive titles and for on-topic (prayer related) posts. If your title or post do not comply with these guidelines, they may be edited or deleted without prior notice.