(c) 1997 Wide Smiles
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Rules for our Special Cleft-Talk Question & Answer Chats

Hi,

The Cleft-talk Special Q & A chat is a different sort of chat than our usual IRC chats. In this chat, we have invited Dr. Canady, a plastic surgeon, to answer some of our questions concerning cleft care and reconstruction. We have a few rules that we think will make this special kind of chat move more smoothly and be more productive.

1. Please restrict the "chatter" in the room to only the questions asked and the responses made by Dr. Canady. If you want to visit with other friends in the room, for this chat only, please use the private message (/msg nickname) function for that.

2. We will try to recognize the people in the order that they come into the room. Please wait to be called upon before asking your question. That way Dr. Canady can concentrate on answering one question at a time and can give full attention to your question when you ask it.

3. If you don't understand an answer, please let Joanne know right away so that we can ask Dr. Canady to clarify his answer.

4. Joanne is going to filter and/or check the feedback, not to censure, but rather to help the session to run more smoothly and more orderly. We only have this opportunity once per month and so want to make the most of our time available.

5. It is not the intent for Dr. Canady to practice medicine over this chat. Therefore, he will answer questions of a general nature, and he will impart information. However, he will not render a diagnosis nor prescribe treatment in this forum.

6. Try to watch the questions that were asked before you ask yours. Somebody else may have posed the same question you have. In that case, your question will already be answered, and you now have a golden opportunity to ask another question.

7. In the HIGHLY unlikely case that somebody comes to the room to be disruptive or argumentative, you will receive a private message asking you to put that person on ignore. This is the only way we have of controlling any disruptive-type problems. To put a person on ignore, type in: /ignore

8. Please stick to the topic at hand (ie, cleft care and reconstruction). If you are unsure whether or not your question is on-topic, or if you want to know whether your question has been asked already, you can send a private message to Joanne to find out first.

Any questions regarding Cleft-talk or Wide Smiles should be directed to Joanne in a private message.

9. Please do not answer anybody's questions yourself, even if you DO know the answer. Dr. Canady will answer all the questions that are posed.

10. Please also do not argue with nor add to the answers Dr. Canady gives. It will help our session to run more smoothly that way. Please do not send Dr. Canady a private message during this chat.

Private messages are VERY distracting and he will be concentrating on the conversation going on in the room.

We are glad that you are here. We hope you learn while you are here and that you have fun while you learn. These rules are only to assure that this special Q & A chat runs smoothly and that we can make the most of the limited amount of time we have to take advantage of this opportunity.

If you are interested in more "chatty" chats in which you can visit with all the people in the room, please stop by any night. [For exact times: Go to http://www.widesmiles.org/Chat ]

Thank you, and enjoy this special chat.