moderators from going bald. They have been pulling their hair out trying to keep ZPI clean. Most of the forum topics have been moved to their proper locations, our administrator is plugging away at improvements on the page, and you could help too. Here's how:

1. Posting in the right place (Topics about zombies in "Define Zombie," not "Food and Health.") Also, you could help out by looking back at the topics you have made in the past and edit where they are posted if you notice that they are in the wrong spot. If you see someone else posting in the wrong place, you may contact them (nicely) and point out where it should go.
2. Not quoting bots, just copy their user name and location of their spam and post it as a simple two line message to the mods or admin. When you see a bot post something, do not even make a comment, it will not talk back, just keep posting as if it never happened.
3. The search tool is functioning, it is highly visible, please, please, use it. Duplicate posting has plagued ZPI for a while now, and the only way it can end is with you. Be smart, search. Failure to do so will earn you a warning, (for those of you who are unsure of what happens click here when warning(s) are issued. )
4. Flaming, Hazing, Browbeating, or any other form of belittling a new member for making a poor quality post, or a duplicate post has got to end. It has gotten out of hand lately, and some of you have actually run people off of the page all together. If you see someone making a duplicate post, or a poor topic, how about stepping up as the more seasoned member, and simply saying, "We have already covered this here (insert link) why don't we continue this conversation over there." Or something to that effect.
5. Cursing has dropped a bit since the filter has been added, and some of you have actually been putting forth the effort to watch what you say, however there are still some of the disruptive users who would like to find ways to be disruptive. Thus, we need you to report to us if you see other users doing this. Simply flag their comment as offensive, and we will take it from there. For the most part we are being lenient on this rule to allow for users to express themselves, however we do not take kindly to the words on the filter.

I would like to take the time to thank all of you who have been helping us out thus far, you have been doing a fantastic job, our records show that profanity is on a decline, and since the forums have been moved to their proper homes, so far, nobody has been posting out of place. I have been seeing a lot of older topics come up that have not seen light in quite a while now, excellent job using the search tool.

Those of you who have been here for awhile now, we're looking to you to help us out on all this; I love my hair and I really don't want to go bald. We look to our seasoned members to be an example for the rest of the page, so before you post, always take a look at it. If it isn't constructive, there is no reason to post it. There's too much wasted space on this site from repeat topics and such already, no need to add more.

We as moderators are here to help everyone, not to police the page. There are a few articles I'd love to see submitted, as well as a few submissions of my own I'd like to make. But, we can't work on these things if we're busy strolling through every topic making sure things aren't out of hand. This has become a job to make sure everything runs smoothly around here, and we do have our own lives that we need to attend to.

I do enjoy seeing that things aren't quite as volatile as they were, but there are still some issues to be worked out, so please, save our hair, don't shave our hair.

In my personal opinion - What could help the moderators and members of this site is member participation. When I speak of member participation, I am speaking about actively enrolling yourself in actively taking on tasks for the website as a whole. If you (the user) find that something is lacking, by all means bring it to the table. Make a new Article and stay long enough to work with us to edit the contents and publish it on the site. Take the initiative to look for a topic that has not been discussed and post as much information on the subject as possible.

ZPI is about initiative. Initiative to do the research on a topic not well known of. Initiative to tell the other users information that most do not know. Initiative to teach people while at the same time being capable of learning. This is, by all means, the same principals of being a part of a community. I would like to see this site transform back to its original roots and move forward as a group leaving no man, woman, or child behind. Only as a community shall we strive for success, where as individuals we are bound to fail. I am not stating this as if you (the user) are going to fail for being an individual or working alone, but rather we will fail at achieving our goal to become prepared.

All educated individuals know that the first step to becoming prepared is to have knowledge of what you are preparing for and how to prepare for it. This follows on to more detailed tiers of different events that could mingle while the event in question may be in effect. Right now I am not going to venture into that realm of that complicated architecture, but I do feel it is wise to touch base on what it takes to prepare efficiently.

To start off, since we are an information driven community, we are in need of producing intelligent communication. Intelligent communication is defined as the use of spelling, grammar, and punctuation defined by a singular language. Since this website was founded and is currently hosted in the United States of America, the website’s standard language is English. Though most countries teach English in their schools, they obviously do not hold the language to the same standards - the same is true for foreign languages taught in America. This causes a problem since we wish to produce intelligent communication.

“How can we conquer this inconvenience?” you may ask. The first step is to take the time to attempt to properly think out what you wish to broadcast. Whether your communication is something simple or complex, take the time to think about the content and how you want it to be perceived. Buddhist often teach that it is a matter of how a person communicates their thoughts that truly defines the person to both themselves and to others. It is by this simple task that we can efficiently battle the treachery of faulty communication.

Another step to assist in communicating your thoughts well is to use a spell checker, dictionary and/or thesaurus. These items can all be found online or installed on most computers. If you can not download or use a browser that has a spell checker enabled, it is perfectly acceptable (and easy) to use a Word Processor that are commonly standard for all computers to have pre-installed by the manufacture. If you do not have a Word Processor installed, here is a free Word Processor: This works for almost all Operating Systems. If you can not download a Word Processor onto the computer you are currently using, there is always ThinkFree which is a free Online Word Processor. Either way, there is no real excuse (other than using your phone to post on the website) for not being able to spell check your post before broadcasting it.

The last major step is to break your post into sections. It is difficult to keep track of where exactly you are, while being undesirable to read at the same time, in a large broadcast if there are no “landmarks” to keep track of. These “landmarks” are best used by a paragraph break. Make a space here and there to assist in ease of reading. It is like talking without pausing - nobody understands because they are not given time to let the information process.

As for the other issues I would like to address, I will attempt to keep this part brief. After all, I know some of you are cursing my name for posting this titan.

To begin this section I would like to state that while stated at the beginning of this topic, I can not stress how much it is needed for you to not bypass the word filter. The words on the list are not to be used on this website. I am not trying to halt everyone from communicating their emotions or their personality, but I am trying to keep this website clear of filthy language. The Moderators have agreed to relax on the swearing censorship as long as nobody violates the general rule of thumb. This general rule of thumb is 4 swear words per paragraph (roughly 5 sentences) while not attempting to bypass the filter’s functionality. If you can keep within these boundaries, I am sure you will not have an issue.

If perchance you find an offensive post, click the “Flag As Offensive” link. When a topic is flagged as offensive the Moderators can quickly see the content and remove it if necessary. If you do not flag it as offensive, then there is a likely chance that the following will occur: We will find it down the road when we are bumping old topics, rage on the user, then give them a warning or ban after cursing out their entire heritage.

For further assistance - I would strongly suggest that you PM the Moderators if you have issues with anyone or anything on the website. If you PM the Moderators the situation will be resolved with more haste than there would be if you post up a forum topic. Granted, Forum topics are handy, however it would require one of the Moderators to find the topic amongst the millions of other conversations going on at any given time. So - use the PM function. (P.S. - DO NOT USE THE CONTACT TAB!)

Thank you for your time and patience.

I believe the We, the moderators, are here to help You, the site members, to actively navigate the site and enrich your experience here to the best of our ability. This said, we cannot do this without your cooperation. We are not out to get anyone, but rather we would like to see all members succeed in what they do here. If there is a problem you have with anything site related, we are open to speaking about them and will listen as best we can and try to alleviate your worries with whatever help we can muster. Mind you, this does not mean that we are blind to bad things going on and we will notice when someone tries to abuse the privileges associated with being a member. We want everyone to be happy when they come here but we know that we simply cannot please everyone. Sometimes, we are forced to play site police and take little pleasure in reprimanding when we could be helping and/or teaching.

Hopefully, when you log in, you learn something new, consider new ideas, and even make some new friends. Most of all, I pray you feel welcomed and want to share in discussions. We tell people Happy Birthday and celebrate in our own way when something great happens to our members and we WANT to hear about those good things because often in the world there can seem to be very little good.

The secrets to making great posts are no secret, it just takes a little extra work and that work is greatly appreciated by anyone who reads it and can comprehend what you went through to gather the information, thoughts, and words to post it. I for one love to read a well thought out, supported, and researched topic or article submission.

At current, there are a few articles submissions and I assure you that we are working to get them published, but we cannot do this without the help of the original posters of the submitted material. We work as closely as we can with any site member who submits an article to get it to the published status as quickly as possible while still maintaining a standard of quality. This translates to articles sometimes taking a longer time than we all would like to be published. Once published, an article should be maintained by the original poster by keeping the information current. This means that from time to time, new information may need to be added or subtracted to keep the content relevant and as true to fact as possible. This means that articles are a lot of work, but I assure you that the reward is great in the knowledge that you gain. There is also a benefit to your reputation and status as a member in the respect you gain. This should not be your main goal as the things you teach may help someone else in a way you never considered before.

If there is something you like to do, then I encourage you to write about it. For example: Do you like to play Extreme Frisbee? It is a possibility that other members share a love of or have a curious interest in the previously mentioned activity. If you never ask, you never know. If you never tell, you never find out. Information sharing is a process of give and take and there is a balance in the giving and the taking. One cannot just give, give, give, and refuse to take because sooner or later they will have little, if anything to give. If one just takes, takes, takes, and refuses to give, then they will soon be bogged down by their possessions and will find little relief without giving something back. Seriously ask yourself these questions, "What have I given to others? What have I taken from them? How has it affected the relationships in my life? What can I do to create a better balance in my life and the lives of those affected by me?"

If we all stop to take a minute and consider others when posting and we translate some of the lessons learned in life and on the website to each other, we may see less problems and more effort toward our goals, our initiative both on and off the web.

I apologize to anyone who may have been offended by me waxing philosophical as I am sometimes apt to do, but know that my intentions are to better the site, the members, and maybe, just maybe, the lives of those whom my words, carefully chosen as they are, may impress upon. This seemed like the proper place to deliver this message and I hope it hits home for many.

One more thing, remember that this is a website and will probably be here for a long time to come, know when to give it a rest or a break and spend time, as much as you can, with those of your respective families and friends. I assure you, a hug or healthy handshake from one of them will be warmer than a computer screen any day of the week. The internet can be an addiction like anything else so know when to put down the mouse. The forum will still be here along with all the members and maybe some new people you have yet to meet. We are all human and we all need some time away from things we like or love so to keep life in perspective of the big picture. Are you looking at the big picture or are you too bogged down with "small potatoes" that seem like big problems? Please, consider these ideas and the advice given by the other moderators and think about our site's "Big Picture." I hope this helps.

Thank you.

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