Welcome to the Motherwise discussion board! We look forward to reading your questions and contributions.

Your first step is to REGISTER.

This means filling in the form below to request a user name and password - this helps us cut down on spam and look after the security of the mums and dads who post on our forum.

You can include a question or reply to a post by including it in the message box on the form. We will post it for you as soon as your registration is complete. We'll also notify you via email that your post is online.

You can have an anonymous account by requesting one in the message box below but please share with the Moderator who you are in your application. We will respect your privacy and desire for public anonymity.

There are benefits to registering - for example, you can sign up to receive email notification of posts, and we can control spam. At the moment, all names and email addresses remain private.

You do not have to register in order to read the posts on the forum - the most recent messages always appear at the top of the page. But we hope you will be moved to contribute your views - just remember to come back here to register before you post. We will normally complete registration within a few hours. Just fill in the form below...

Your email address and full name will not be made public.

Please be aware that some people who are posting questions and views on the forum may be feeling particularly vulnerable, so I request that you 'take it gently'.

This rest of this document gives you further information that you need to use this board effectively. If you experience any difficulties with the board, contact the moderators listed under the Contact link on the Main Menu.

• Reading Discussions
• Contributing to Discussions
• Searching the Board
• Getting an Account
• Where to get further information
• Rules and "Netiquette"

Reading Discussions

Anyone with WWW access can read discussions on this board. To read discussions, navigate to the discussion of interest by single clicking on the links from the list of topics and subtopics. You can navigate backwards using the navigation bars at the top of each page.

Contributing to Discussions

To post a message to an existing discussion, fill in the "Add a Message" box at the bottom of the page. You may use formatting codes or basic HTML tags to improve the appearance of your post. At the discretion of the moderators, the discussion may allow public posting or may require a user account (username and password). Follow the instructions on the form to supply the necessary credentials for posting.

Where available, you may click on a "Create New Conversation" button to start a new discussion. This will add a subtopic with the subject you specify and start a conversation with the initial message that you specify. After filling in the subject line, post a message as described above.

Searching the Board

This discussion board can be searched by time of post (New Messages search) or by matching text (Keyword Search). Each of these searching mechanisms provide convenient methods to locate discussions of interest.

Please note that several of the initial posts on this Board were transferred from earlier email correspondence with Motherwise readers. The posting dates are therefore misleading but the content is as per the original.

To search for new messages, click the New Messages link from the Main Menu. If you have an account with a valid username and password, fill in your username and password in the appropriate boxes to search for messages since your last check. If you do not have an account, you can still search for new messages posted since a given date. The Last Day and Last Week options on the Main Menu are equivalent to searching for messages posted within the last day and messages posted within the last seven days, respectively.

To search the board by keywords, click the Keyword Search link from the Main Menu. You can then specify the words that will be used in the search. Additional instructions for using the Keyword Search option are displayed on the search screen itself.

When you have performed the search, click on any of the links to the pages to view the page, or click on a link in the result to go to the post where that text occurs.

Getting an Account

Having a user account on this discussion board gives the following benefits:

• Ability to specify your full name and e-mail address to be included on your post
• Ability to enable e-mail notification of all posts to topics you select
• Ability to change your own password
• In some versions, the ability to specify miscellaneous preferences for operation of the board, and to give more information about yourself that others can view

Please complete the form above to apply for an account

Where to get further information

For additional information on using this system, read the Formatting document and the Troubleshooting document, available from the Main Menu. If you have additional questions or concerns, post them to an appropriate area on the discussion forum, or contact one of the moderators or the board administrator from the Contact page.

Rules and "Netiquette"

When writing your messages, please use the same courtesy that you would show when speaking face-to-face with someone. Flames, insults, and personal attacks will not be tolerated. It's fine to disagree strongly with opinions, ideas, and facts, but always with respect for the other person. Great minds do not always think alike, so all thoughts, feelings and beliefs are respected! Please note that messages express the thoughts of the writers, not the board or its moderators unless posted by Motherwise (Sue).