For your newsgroups file: alt.support.anxiety-panic.moderated Mutual assistance and help.. (Moderated) Group submission address: asapm@stump.algebra.com Moderator contact address: asapm-board@stump.algebra.com Newsgroup alt.support.anxiety-panic.moderated has been successfully discussed in alt.config. We expect it to have large amount of traffic soon. Please create this moderated newsgroup. CHARTER: alt.support.anxiety-panic.moderated (ASAPM) is a moderated newsgroup for the discussion of all subjects concerning anxiety and panic disorders, including related disorders such as depression and self-injury. It is intended for the support of sufferers of these disorders and their families and friends. Almost anything is on topic if it pertains to dealing with anxiety and related disorders, medication, therapy, coping techniques, etc., including proven alternative approaches and leading edge research. Off topic posts are a valuable contributor to community building and posts of this type are welcome. Humorous posts are doubly welcome. To assist those who may not wish to read them, such posts should be clearly marked with "OT" at the beginning of the Subject line. The following types of posts are not allowed. a. All attacks, abuse, flames and provocation against any person or group. This would include posts severely critical of mainstream treatments such as medication and therapy. Flaming is defined as abuse, insults, harassment, suggestive slurs, and ad hominem attacks. Provocation is defined as content primarily intended to incite aggravation, indignation, or outrage. Comments pertaining to discussions in other newsgroups, web groups or email lists, or of members of these groups may also be seen as provocation. b. Posts skeptical of the general validity of anxiety disorders and proven treatments. Posts whose purpose or desired effect is to frighten people from continuing their prescribed treatment. Common sense advice based on proven or substantial anecdotal evidence as provided on general anxiety forums that is given with the purpose of supporting posters is permissible. c. Excessive discussion of moderation policy or performance. Reasonable discussion of moderation policy and performance will be allowed, so long as the discussion does not disrupt the normal operation of the group and all messages comply with the other posting rules. Any decision regarding changes to the charter or moderation guidelines will always be subject to a vote of the moderators. It is preferred that questions, comments or complaints regarding moderation policies or performance be mailed directly to asapm-board@stump.algebra.com. Questions, comments and complaints will be dealt with as promptly as schedules permit, usually within a few days. d. Abuse of moderators, either in posts submitted to this newsgroup, or in email, is strictly prohibited. See above for the current overview of what is considered abuse. Since it is not possible for the moderators to assess compliance with copyright law of every post, liability for posting of copyrighted material lies with the poster. The moderators reserve the right to cancel posts that are auto-approved if at least two moderators agree that the post violated the posting criteria. Posts which appear on the newsgroup that have not been approved by the moderators will also be cancelled. Other posting rules and criteria, as set out in the document entitled "Moderators Guidelines for ASAPM" also apply. Interpretation of the posting rules, criteria and Moderator Guidelines are subject to the judgment of the moderators. The moderators have the right to modify rules stated in the "Moderators Guidelines for ASAPM", by a vote of the moderators where two thirds of the moderators vote yes. The current moderation guidelines and posting rules will always be available in this document. This charter, and the "Moderators Guidelines for ASAPM" will be posted to ASAPM every two weeks. They can also be requested from the moderators by emailing asapm-board@stump.algebra.com. All new moderators will be subject to a period of probation of at least four weeks, but not more than eight weeks. A probationary moderator will be allowed to manually approve or reject a post and vote on auto-approve and auto-reject status, but may not participate in any other vote. If a probationary moderator is uncertain as to the application of any posting rule, they are expected to consult with a non-probationary moderator. A new probationary moderator will be elected by a majority vote of the existing non-probationary moderators. A probationary moderator can be removed by a majority vote of the non-probationary moderators at any time. A probationary moderator will no longer be probationary, and will become a moderator with full rights, by a unanimous vote of non-probationary moderators. If unanimous consent of the non-probationary moderators cannot be obtained within a period of eight weeks, then the probationary moderator will be removed. An existing moderator may be removed by a unanimous vote of the other moderators. For the purposes of a vote, the words "majority", "unanimous", and "two thirds" are defined in relation to the number of moderators who are present. All votes must be taken via email. A moderator is "present" if they are available to respond via email. If a moderator will not be available via email for a period of time they should notify the remaining moderators when they leave and when they return. A moderator will be considered not present from the time they leave to the time they return. If a vote is called, and a moderator does not respond for a period of 72 hours, they will be considered not present for the vote. Comments: Moderation Relay Approved by moderators-request@isc.org February 25, 2003 Justification: A search of Google Groups () over a ninety day period from 01/01/2003 to 03/31/2003 for posts from posters who have publicly indicated they will post at ASAPM produced 2,420 results for an average of approximatly 27 posts per day. Proponents/Moderators: Daniel R. Rhodes Vashti Thompson David Chamberlain Anna S.