We hope that the MusicaSacra Forum becomes a valued destination for civil, reasoned and constructive discourse about sacred music; to assist us towards that end, we ask all participants to follow these etiquette guidelines.

1. Be Polite
   This is the most important guideline. We will not tolerate any abusive, insulting, hostile, or threatening posts about anything or anyone. We will quite swiftly delete any such post and ban the offending user. Using only all capital letters in your posts is considered extremely rude by every "netiquette" standard we've ever seen. It is akin to shouting at people.
2. Write with future readers in mind.
   Be helpful and friendly. Write informatively and clearly for the good of the questioner and for the good of later readers. Stay on topic. Avoid inside jokes.
3. Keep It Clean
   Self-explanatory. (Update: Apparently not self-explanatory enough: do not post about situations involving violence or sexual behavior.)
4. Job Postings
   Special rules apply to job postings. Additional commentary following the posting must deal with verifiable facts only (e.g., position filled, bilingual a must, etc.) and not attempt to bias the applicant selection process. Any additional commentary will be deleted.
   
   If you hear about an open position through word of mouth or other unofficial sources, please confirm the information with the parish before posting it here.
   
   The aim of these limitations is to offer a safe, welcoming environment for people who make job postings on the CMAA forum. If you've ever advertised a job, you no doubt are familiar with "classified ad" notices. They are not set up to give equal time to graffiti by anonymous critics. So if you especially need to comment, start a separate thread for that purpose. And when you do . . .
5. Avoid Flames
   Every now and then, you may be tempted to add fuel to a heated topic by escalating the anger. Think twice and check yourself. In the event your post is not pulled, it will remain available for everyone to see, for a long time. Criticize arguments, not people.
6. Do Not Defame
   Members may not level insinuations of heresy, bad faith, or criminality against members; members should also avoid such inflammatory language against non-members.
7. Stay On Topic
   The topic is music and liturgy. Discussions within a forum should pertain to the forum in which they occur.
8. No Spam
   Commercial posts will be deleted; however, it is okay to provide information in your profile and your signature, provided it is done unobtrusively
9. Not an IP Board
   Speculations, claims, and counterclaims over copyright have no place here. If you have concerns, use a private "conversation" message to convey them.
10. Say Who You Are
    Real identities are preferred to anonymous posting, else readers are left to speculate, and this can cause confusion and rancor. Users must register with valid e-mail addresses that they monitor regularly. "Disposable" temporary e-mail addresses are not acceptable, because forum notices sent to your e-mail address are not spam.
11. Use One Account
    Do not create multiple accounts for yourself (no "sockpuppets"). If you want or need to change your username, contact the administrator; he can do that for you. A bug in the forum software prevents you from doing this yourself.
12. Be patient about legitimate differences in personal taste.
    We do not want to be known as people engaged in pointless arguments.
13. Be patient about differences in terminology.
    We do not want to be known as people engaged in pointless arguments.
14. Remember Who We Are
    The "About" page spells it out: "The Church Music Association of America is an association of Catholic musicians, and those who have a special interest in music and liturgy, active in advancing Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony, and other forms of sacred music, including new composition, for liturgical use.The CMAA’s purpose is the advancement of musica sacra in keeping with the norms established by competent ecclesiastical authority."
15. We're not all native English speakers
    There are cross-cultural aspects to being a Forum user. 30% of visits to the web site are from outside the U.S., and even some of our U.S. users weren't born speaking English. So if someone's use of English is a little odd, try to be understanding about any strange-sounding questions.
16. Tell the moderator about inappropriate posts
    If you think some posting on the forum is inappropriate, you're welcome to send a note to the forum admin through his profile page. When you do, he will be notified and will check out the situation the same day. Posting your own complaint doesn't cause the admin to be notified, so it's not as helpful.
    
17. Some topics do not belong here.
    Everybody has opinions about debated religious questions or socio-political matters, but we don't want newcomers to think that CMAA or the Forum endorses particular views, apart from the Church's heritage of doctrine, culture, history, and theology. In particular, this forum is not a place to post about alleged mystical messages that are not approved by the Church. Catholics are not even strictly obliged to believe in the approved ones.
    

Any suggestions to improve these guidelines should be sent to cmaa.forum.admin@gmail.com.