Group Rules – Order Amongst the Chaos

What is Hey Girlfriend all about anyways?
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We are a bunch of people who talk about whatever comes to mind. There are a lot of very cool people in HG. We are female, male, and probably a few other options too. We are modern, Victorian, medieval, escorts, teachers, club owners, strippers, builders, designers, newbies, shoppers, consumers, gays, straight, furry, tiny, alien and much more.

We love to talk about sales and fun places we’ve discovered.

We’re not Fashcon or Fabfree or anything like that. Don’t treat the group that way, please.

We know that being in Hey Girlfriend is like being invited into someone else’s living room, and so you’re a guest. It’s a privilege, not a right. Like freebies!

We have manners, and we respect others, their sims, their shops, their opinions, their space, etc.

We are respectful of our fellow groupies and we have manners.

We appreciate that HG! membership is a privilege, as well as our participation in this wonderful virtual world. It is not a right…it is all not here for our personal benefit, but if we grow from it, we have indeed gained.

We have a Flickr group – http://www.flickr.com/groups/heygirlfriend/

We have a blog – http://heygirlfriend.wordpress.com/

We have a hangout – The GSpot at Fatimas Far Horizon is closed (I no longer have the sim) ….we have an option of Honeydripper’s land for package opening (thanks Honey! I’ll get the LM for this later….sorry) or the Pub at Fatimas Love is also a posibility if a place is needed for a more social gathering. We will again have a permanent home, eventually, but in the meantime, these offer a couple of options.

And we take our group related issues that we just cannot solve on our own to Catty or an available officer, who may, or may not assist, or perhaps she/he may point you in the right direction.

And we know that rules are subject to change at the whims of Catty, Reghan and Yvette and our wonderful Officers and Gossips.

1. Talks about politics, sex, and religion.
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Yes, we all have an opinion. Yes, we aren’t going to agree with everyone about it. And it’s OKAY to talk about it. BUT… if things start to get hurtful, it’s time to stop. Respect each other’s beliefs, and don’t try to push yours. If the conversation goes out of your comfort zone, GENTLY (that means without announcing that you are closing it) close the group chat (or detach it and slide it offscreen), and open it up a little later. Things will have likely died down.

I’d like to add a note here that sorta goes with #2 also….we assume of course, that everyone here is 18 and over….as this is SL’s main grid. Please remember this if you are a child av and participating in group chat….also…please note…mature and over 18 does NOT mean Adult , XXX…so do not go there either.

2. Ageism/Sexism/Racism/Avatarism/Etc.
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It’s ugly. We’re all ages, from late teens to seventies. Maybe even older. We are female, male, and everything in between. We are white, black, hairless and Furry, Tiny and robot. We are a global group, in a growing and global world. Any intolerance will not be tolerated, and the offender likely find themselves on the end of Reghan’s pointy boot and looking for another group.

3. Slaves/doms/Gor/Etc.
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We have members in HG who partake in those activities. To each their own, remember that. Express an opinion if you want to, but again, if it starts to get hurtful, the discussion stops. And again, if you don’t want to hear it, please close the group chat tab and come back a little later.

4. Store Owners/Employees.
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Please do NOT spam your dollarbies, sales, hunts, freebies, contests etc on the channel. One mention of it is acceptable, as long as its simple, and reasonable and not typically spammy, it lets us know whats happening, but a 2nd time will result in all sorts of ills and flogs. It really is best to let one of our gossipers know, that way everyone is happy. Currently active ones are Rhiannon Lewinter, Jenica Landar, Sileny Noel, Death Seetan, Nytefyre Gravois, Envy Exonar and Whisper Dallagio. They will take your information and put it into a notecard IF they choose to. Do not include advertisements, new releases etc. We are not an advertising group. Our gossips are not obligated to do notecards, they do them because they have info they are excited about and they love to share their addictions for SL things. They do them as a benefit to group members, not shop owners, event planners etc. Make a NEW free of ad notecard, date it, put your name on it and “GOSSIP”, put your ad-free info on it and send it to a gossip.

If you’re having a spontaneous sale, advertise it in YOUR own group, please. Maybe someone in it will see that and let us know on channel, but we do NOT want to hear it from you. We are not a storeowners/designers group, please do NOT treat it as such, you can make your own group, or even get your own free Subscribomatic or Hippogroup for that.

5. Hunts.
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Please please please do not give out hunt item locations or SLurls, or cheat sheets. Doing so will get you a warning or two, and then it’s the /punt boot.

On a side note that sorta fits in here, PLEASE remember to not leave your boxes at hunt/freebie locations and do thank the store owners when you get the chance!!

6. Gossipers.
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Please don’t include hunt cheatsheets, or advertisements. While we appreciate what you’re doing, we are not running HG for other people to reach our huge member list with ads that benefit only them. Notecards given to Gossips MUST be checked for advertisements, and if any are found, they must be removed before sending out the final notecard. Gossips are limited to two notices per day, each.

Please do not ask Girlfriends with notice sending abilities to send out a notice for a single event. Future events can be added , at the discretion of the Gossiper/Officers, but we do not do notices just for events. Things like that need to go to one of the owners or officers, please, and we will decide if it’s notice-worthy or not.

7. Clubs/Contests/Classes/Events.
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If a club is holding a contest, just say such and such a club is having a contest, mention the prize, and the slurl. Keep it simple, and do not repeat or it becomes spam and gets ignored and/or boot/flog listed. It’s also a good idea to type in the notice in a chatty manner, rather then copy and paste…we just like it and respond to it much better that way. If you can’t take the time to do this, we probably can’t take the time to read it.
However, if this contest is a pay to vote thing….please find another group to post it in.

8. Lucky Chairs/MM Boards etc
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Do NOT call list- we do not call the Silent Sparrow or Katat0nik chairs in this group. This is at the request of these shop owners, and not up for discussion.

It is however, ok to call letters for chairs (other then the two mentioned above) you are watching and waiting for your letter at. It’s been a bit crazy lately as Lucky Chairs seem to be the new black, and MM boards even more so, so please do be considerate as we go about our daily Lucky Chairing. To help aid in this, please do not call any chair you own or that you in any way are affiliated with. Let’s try to keep it to chairs we are trying to WIN on, and see if this helps a bit. Don’t forget to let us know what’s in the chair and where it is too that you are calling.
Also, remember, a lucky chair is just that, if someone gets there before you….better luck next time.

All the above goes for MM boards too. Constant updates on MM boards are also not necessary. All it does is tell everyone to tune out that board/url and ignore it. Of course there are new, even interesting boards from time to time, but most, are well known and either going to get full, or ..are not, and continual calling will do nothing but antagonize the part time board hopper.
Also remember to Keep It Simple when calling an MM board. All we need, or want to know is what it is, the numbers and the URL. If it’s a board only item, that might be good info to know. We do not need to know that it needs to be locked down (DOH!!! would you be calling it if it didn’t?) or if it is amazing or beautiful – we’ll decide that for ourselves thank you very much. We also don’t need to know the regular price of the item in it, we can figure that out if we feel the need for confirmation of the amazing freebie we are getting.

9. Rumours/Urban Legends/Scams/Content Thieves/Slander/Etc
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It is this group’s official policy to not perpetuate these types of things. Do not post urls to shops that may or may not have stolen merchandise. Do not post websites for info on the latest scam/ripoff. Verify the info with the group’s officers, and they will decide if it is something that needs to be shared. There are much more effective ways of dealing with these types of issues, and feeding the frenzy is not one of them.

Anyone posting the location on stolen content will be removed from the group. Anyone distributing stolen content will be removed from the group and their information will be given to the original content creator for investigation and possible DMCA action. Anyone supporting content theft, or stolen content distribution will be removed from the group and their information given to Linden Labs for investigation.

We take content theft seriously.

10. Manners – If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.

-If you dont want to listen to chat and have decided to utilize the x…do so quietly (this means there is no need to let us know you are leaving, you are not hurting our feelings that you are leaving, so don’t bother telling us). We also don’t care who is going on your mute list.
-If you see someone “spamming”, we all do not need to start the Spam Chant. The phrase “the pots calling a kettle black” comes to mind on that one!! If an Officer is on, they’ll take care of it, if not, a notecard of the offense to an Officer or Catty will be sufficient.
-If an Officer has asked you to refrain from posting or discussing something in group and they receive any attitude or noncompliance, this is also grounds for removal from the group. The Officers work hard keeping this group what it is, without them, there would be no group. They earn and deserve our respect and appreciation.
-If you do not like a store, a product, or how someone does something, that’s fine, that’s why there are so many places and so many people. You do not need to share this dislike by dissing them/it in the group, we may (or may not) care who you like, but we certainly don’t care who you do not. Expressing an opinion does not require, nor entitle one to disprespect.
-Remember, people do make mistakes, mischats and typos. Mocking and publicly pointing the finger at these is just not funny and it only creates negativity. If it is a serious issue, we do have Officers to take care of the situation…see above. The Officer may choose to gently speak in group about it, but chances are they are dealing with it privately.
-It takes a lot of time and effort, and even skill and expensive software, for someone to create content for SL. Please remember this when you recieve a gift. a dollarbie, hunt item, MM board item, LC item, etc. If you do not like it, fine, keep that to yourself. We only care to hear about what you like. Any complaints about gifts for any reason, including nondelivery, are grounds for removal from the group. If you do like the item, be sure to thank the creator.