Rules of Home

Rules of Home

The Cottage and the Facebook group, The Porch, share the same house rules.

The Cottage website is not currently a place for ongoing conversation between visitors

– though that may change someday.

For now, these guidelines simply tell you what kind of place I am building.

If conversation grows here in the future, these rules will come with it.

Be Kind. Be Respectful.
We can disagree.

We can have different opinions, beliefs,

experiences, and perspectives.

We do not have to agree to be kind.

Personal attacks, insults,

name-calling, bullying,

belittling, or deliberately hurtful comments are not acceptable.

This is a place for conversation—not combat.
Debate is fine.

Attacking people is not.

If a conversation stops being a conversation

and becomes an argument, I may step in.    

NO preaching at people.
Faith, doubt, questions, and personal beliefs are welcome.

Telling someone what they should believe,

how they should grieve,

or what God must be doing in their life is not.

NO unsolicited advice.
Sometimes people need advice.

Sometimes they simply need to be heard.

Read the room.

If someone says, “I don't need advice; I just need to talk,” respect that.

The Cottage is NOT a dating site.
Friendships are welcome.

Conversation is welcome.

Flirting, romantic solicitation, matchmaking, “fishing,”

or using someone's loneliness as an opportunity to pursue them is not.

Respect personal boundaries.
Do not send another member a private message

unless they have invited you to do so.

If someone tells you to stop contacting them, STOP.

NO spam, scams, or self-promotion.
The Cottage is not a place to sell products,

recruit members, promote businesses,

collect money, solicit donations,

or repeatedly promote outside groups/pages without Momma’s approval.

Protect one another's privacy.
What someone shares here may be personal.

Do not copy, screenshot, share, or repost

another member's words, photos, or stories

outside The Cottage or The Porch without their permission.

The exception is when sharing is necessary to report a concern to Momma,

or when required for someone’s safety or by law.

NO harassment or hateful content.
Threats, sexual harassment,

discrimination, hateful comments,

intimidation, or targeted harassment will not be tolerated.

Momma (Margaret) gets the final word. 😉
On The Porch, Moderators may remove posts or comments,

restrict participation,

or remove members when necessary

to protect the purpose and atmosphere of The Cottage.

I will try to handle problems privately first whenever possible.

But repeated or serious violations may result in immediate removal.

And yes . . . Momma gets the final word, 😊