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Notice and Assumption of Risk
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| Canoeing or kayaking (paddling) can be physically demanding and/or
dangerous. Canoeists and kayakers (paddlers) take personal responsibility
for their personal safety. By participating in trips or other activities
sponsored or scheduled by the Monocacy Canoe Club, you acknowledge
an assumption of the risk involved in paddling, which could involve
risk of serious injury or death. |
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| What is Paddle Prattle? |
| Paddle Prattle is a message board provided by the Monocacy Canoe
Club (MCC) as a service to the paddling community. It is offered as
an open communications forum for paddling related topics. Opinions
posted are those of the POSTER and NOT of the MCC. Many posts offer
useful information and others are best ignored. Most posts are personal
opinions -- don't rely on them as "fact". Paddle Prattle should not
be used as a sole resource for making any decisions related to paddling.
You will find much good information in the posts, but please take
it all with a grain of salt. Judge for yourself the validity and truth
of each message. |
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| I've heard some users were banned
from posting. What's up? |
| We have had a rash of inappropriate posts recently, in an effort
to stem this tide we have instituted a system of IP tracking and blocking.
Frequent and/or severe violations of our published posting policy
can result in a user being blocked from posting to Paddle Prattle.
To prevent being blocked a user need only pay attention to the Paddle
Prattle policy (as stated in this FAQ) and obey general rules of internet
etiquette. |
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| How can I be sure I won't be blocked
from posting? |
| One hard and fast rule that has been violated lately is NEVER use
another persons name, handle or email address in an attempt to imply
that you are that person. Though not required, yet, it really helps
if you use your real email address. You may use a device to stop "email
address harvesting" such as using (dot) instead of (.) in your
address. Please use your real name or, at least, a "handle"
or "alias" that is known to Paddle Prattle's regular visitors.
Stick with one alias and don't post several messages under different
names. Don't be a "troll" or try to act as the "troll
police." A troll WANTS us to respond, all of their fun is gone
if we just ignore them. It boils down to what Jay posted recently
"play nice, like your mother taught you." |
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| Help, I've been blocked from posting! |
| Well, it could be a mistake. Human analysis and input is required
to generate the blocking list. If you have lost access to the Paddle
Prattle posting script, and want to be allowed back, just ask. Learn
your IP (available here) and send
it in an email to Jay.
You can be reinstated and notified within a day or so. If the blocking
was our mistake, we apologize. If it was your mistake, we will assume
it won't happen again. |
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Who runs Paddle Prattle?
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| This message board is running on software licensed to Mel Neef for
his use on behalf of the Monocacy Canoe Club. The board is now being
administered by Jay Herbig. The Monocacy Canoe Club "Operating Committee"
oversees operation and retains full right to alter or cease operation
at anytime. Day to day operating decisions are made by Jay. Please
email your complaints to Jay, there is an email button on the main
Paddle Prattle page for that purpose. |
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What can I post on Paddle Prattle?
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Most anything that is paddling related that would be of interest
to local paddlers. Boats or gear wanted to buy or sell; river level
questions or suggestions; new boat reviews; trips being planned
or taken; campground information; if it is about paddling its probably
ok.
You can add links to your posts with the boxes on the posting form.
In the "Optional Link URL:" box, put the entire URL you wish to
link to and be sure to include "http://". The "Link Title;" box
is obvious, what is typed here is the link that will appear in your
message.
You can add a small image to your post by putting the URL for the
image in the "Optional Image URL" box. Use the entire URL of an
image that exists on the web. http://www.xxx.yyy/canoe.jpg
would cause the canoe.jpg image to appear in your message. PLEASE
limit the use of this feature to an occasional, small image. It
can be annoying to readers with slow connections.
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Can I post commercial messages?
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| Unless the policy becomes abused we are allowing limited commercial
posts. Posts should be relatively short and contain text only. Please
limit your commercial posts to 1 or 2 per week. MCC & Paddle Prattle
are based in Frederick, MD and posts should be relevant to our users.
We may be interested in a festival in New Jersey but would not be
likely to travel there for roll sessions. Commercial posts that meet
these simple guidelines will be accepted without regard to MCC membership
or other factor. The presence of a post does not represent any endorsement
or judgment by the MCC. |
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What about 'pick-up trips'?
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| Only paddling trips or other activities that appear on the MCC Cruise
Schedule (see "Cruise Schedule" link from main page) are sponsored
or scheduled by the MCC. In particular, unscheduled "pick-up" trips
that may appear on this message board are the responsibility of the
individual making the post and shall not be the responsibility of
the MCC and/or the operators of the message board. The MCC and/or
the operators of the message board do not verify the veracity of any
poster, their paddling ability, or their knowledge of river safety.
It is the individual paddler's responsibility to know who you are
planning to boat with .. don't blindly go with anyone who posts on
the message board. |
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Must posts be civil and friendly? After all, it
is the internet.
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| Please respect the fact that this message board is visited by a
wide range of users. MCC is a family oriented club and the language
and tone of posts should reflect that. If you wouldn't say something
to a fellow paddler face to face on the river bank, you probably shouldn't
say it here. Think twice before you hit the "post" button. Messages
will be removed if it is thought that a majority of the users of the
board would find them offensive. |
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Do MCC members have a special responsibility here?
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| They do! Members should take notice that this message board is a
very public face of the MCC. Many paddlers or would-be-paddlers first
learn of the MCC here and a few may have taken away bad first impressions
from what they read. Most people who have been around for a while
know that the MCC is an open and friendly group that just wants to
spread the fun of paddling around. Anyone who visits Paddle Prattle
long enough will see that. We need to prevent the cases where a prospective
member stops in, reads one series of posts that amount to a pointless
& impolite argument and decides to look for another group of paddlers. |
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Operating Committee members
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| should take special care when posting. Correctly or not, what you
say may be taken as an "official" statement. |
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How long will my post be visible?
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| It varies. Average life span is about 2 weeks. If the Paddle Prattle
main (or index) page becomes too long it gets slow to load and will
begin to cause problems. Most messages, after removal from the main
page, will remain available through the search feature of the archive.
Commercial posts tend to have a shorter life span and may not be available
through search. Inappropriate posts may be removed as soon as they
are noticed and, unfortunately, an entire thread may have to be removed
because of one bad post. |
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I find a post to be improper or offensive, what
can I do about it?
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| Please don't respond on the message board! Email Jay at jay.herbig@earthlink.net
and tell him about the problem. He tries to keep a close eye on the
message board but doesn't see everything. One post made by a "troll"
or other annoying person does not have to lead to a string of like
messages. Publicly ignore the problem poster and ask Jay to take a
look at it. |
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