Some suggested that if I really wanted to help that I'd address the problem of getting on the Private forum faster. So I contacted Tempest and asked her if there was a backlog, or if there were other things that contributed to delay in getting approved for the board.

She was gracious enough to give me some suggestions for y'all and I'm going to pass them onto you.

*There is no backlog...only a couple of folks that have written and not yet been answered. However, because she gets hundreds of emails a day, as well as her regular administration duties and real life...its extremely important that you put a specific title like "MB Forum, Request for Private board permission" on the emails so that they don't get redirected to the trashbin like spam. She tries to go through the trash too...but it's easy to miss if she doesn't recognize the sender and nothing is mentioned about the forum.

*Make sure you meet the minimum standards for the forum before applying. You must have a 45 minimum post number and have reached "member" status on the the forum. You also must demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts. The best way to demonstrate that is by helping other posters understand those concepts.

*Include enough information about your situation. Evidently this is the place where most approvals get stalled. "Enough" information might include the date you registered, your post number, a short description of your involvement at MB, a short summary of your situation, a timeline, as well as a statement or example of your conceptual knowledge. When Tempest doesn't recieve enough information, she usually sends a request for more. Evidently, few requests for more information come back...so keep an eye on your email too and make sure you don't miss such a request.

*If you've requested entry and not recieved an answer within a week...make a new request just in case the old one has been overlooked.

*If you've been turned down because you haven't met minimum requirement, reapply when you do.


Hope this helps <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" />

<small>[ October 28, 2004, 06:54 AM: Message edited by: star*fish ]</small>

Oh and I forgot to mention....Tempest said that if we get the Welcome thread for this board accomplished, to let her know and she'll make sure it's programmed to stay at the top of the board. So please contribute to that effort...it would be a great place to centralize information like...how to get on the private board, how to protect yourself legally, what things to consider in your decision to have or not have contact with the OC, how to stay focussed on your marriage, how to anticipate common problems, as well as general information about posting, abbreviations, reading resources,etc.

Participation in that effort is also a great way to show conceptual knowledge and the kind of effort that will make it easy to get on the Private board.

*Blessings to All*

Thanks Starfish.

I will try to join there. I don't really feel like being here anymore. Its changed to ow taking every post and not letting us have our say without their interruptions and challenging EVERY post.