Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is it true that there is no word limit? Could I submit a 300-page novel if I wanted to? Obviously there needs to be some limit. A 300-page novel might be a bit much. But I'd be willing to try it, if it was a good novel written by a local. Text takes up very little space on the Web; we can afford to spend space on it. Go ahead--submit your novel!
2. Is this site for just Hornby Islanders, or can other Islanders participate too? Denman Islanders, Lasqueti Islanders and others are welcome to participate! This site is intended for all Islanders, both full and part-time, wanna-be Islanders and friends of the Islands.
3. What about off-islanders? My kids live off-island, and I have friends who visit. Can they participate? Sure! Feel free to send the website link and updates on to your friends and family. Friends of islanders are friends of the island, and if you're here, your kids belong here too. If they are or would be interested, then they are invited to participate.
4. What sort of things are not allowed on Word of Mouth? There are limits. No personal threats or attacks will be posted. No gratuitous hate content will be posted. I ask that claims or statements about another person's behavior come from personal experience or documentation, not hearsay or speculation. I prefer to err on the side of letting voices be heard rather than censoring, however, so these limits are fuzzy.
5. What if somebody uses abusive language or says nasty or offensive things about another islander? Extreme content will go into the Challenging Words section. If I post something onto another section that you think should be in 'Challenging Words', let me know and I will move it over. I will be moderating the site and working with submitters to try to ensure that the language used does not cross a line into overt abuse. However, opinions vary as to what constitutes abuse. In my opinion, accusations are not abuse if they can be substantiated or if the writer sincerely believes them to be true based on their own experiences (though I have just discovered that Canadian Libel Law disagrees with me about this!). Sometimes things need to be said that rock the boat--for example, someone who feels she has experienced abuse or injustice may need to tell her story, or somebody will need to blow off steam about a situation that has been bothering him. The 'Challenging Words' section is meant to be an outlet for those who otherwise would not be heard.
6. What I am accused of something I didn't do? What recourse do I have? Perceptions of events can vary widely from person to person; at the scene of an accident, different eyewitnesses might tell completely different stories of what happened. One person's tale of injustice suffered at the hands of another might be completely inaccurate from the point of view of the person alleged to be the abuser. It is the intent of this site to facilitate communication and bring differing points of view closer together whenever possible. For this to happen, all sides of the story need to be heard, including yours. Please--give your feedback. Nothing is written in stone here; all content is subject to removal at my discretion. If it becomes apparent that certain content is more harmful than helpful, I will regretfully remove it.
7. You have posted content to this site that I don't feel to be positive or helpful. In fact, I'm offended. What will you do about that? This is a website, which means that in order to read anything, you have to click on the link. If there is content by a particular submitter that you already know you don't want to read, I suggest you avoid clicking on links to their submissions. There is no way to please everyone. Because there are such a wide variety of points of view on the island, and because it is the intent of this website to make room for them all, someone is practically bound to be offended by something at any given time. If you prefer not to be exposed to content which you find negative or unhelpful (in other words, points of view very different from your own), then you may wish to consider unsubscribing to the Word of Mouth updates mailings, if you are receiving them. You also have the option--and I invite this--to submit your opinion about content you disapprove of and have your point of view published on the web. Especially if the offensive content has been written by myself--I want to hear how you feel! There is also bound to be, over time, plenty of content submitted here that you may not want to miss. It's your call. I suggest the following: expand your horizons & open your mind to other points of view. Ask yourself, "Why am I offended?" You may have something to learn from that person. take care of yourself. Read only what you feel drawn to read. submit your opinion. What you have to say might help someone else re-examine their own opinions. if all else fails, unsubscribe. I hope this would be a last resort--and I would like to hear from you before you take that step. There may be something we can work out.
8. I don't feel like identifying myself. Can I post anonymously? Sometimes anonymity can be fun. Examples are the Diogenes column, Sista Flash and others in the First Edition. It can be fun to guess who is saying what. So, if you have a regular column and prefer to be anonymous, and your column doesn’t impact negatively on another person, that’s fine. And if you have creative words of any kind to post-- poems, fiction etc., anonymous is great too. Or personal reminiscences that don't name others. Or... well, there are lots of kinds of anonymous submissions that would be fine. I don't like anonymous letters that talk about other people in a blaming way. They leave a bad taste in my mouth. I strongly prefer that you sign such letters with your real name. This is a community website, and that sort of anonymity does not contribute to a sense of communication between individuals. Rather, it contributes to a sort of covertness that, in my opinion, is the antithesis of community. In general, to facilitate open communication, I discourage anonymity, with the exceptions named above (regular columns, creative and personal submissions). Please consider signing your name to a letter or opinion. However, there may be very good reasons why you would prefer to remain anonymous, and I don't wish to exclude anyone's voice just because they don't wish to be identified. If you really really want to be anonymous in a way that violates this guideline, email me with your reasons and I will decide on a case by case basis. I may put your post over in the "challenging" room. I may ask you to reconsider your wording. Or (extremely unlikely) I may choose not to post your words.

1. Is it true that there is no word limit? Could I submit a 300-page novel if I wanted to?

Obviously there needs to be some limit. A 300-page novel might be a bit much. But I'd be willing to try it, if it was a good novel written by a local. Text takes up very little space on the Web; we can afford to spend space on it. Go ahead--submit your novel!

2. Is this site for just Hornby Islanders, or can other Islanders participate too?

Denman Islanders, Lasqueti Islanders and others are welcome to participate! This site is intended for all Islanders, both full and part-time, wanna-be Islanders and friends of the Islands.

3. What about off-islanders? My kids live off-island, and I have friends who visit. Can they participate?

Sure! Feel free to send the website link and updates on to your friends and family. Friends of islanders are friends of the island, and if you're here, your kids belong here too. If they are or would be interested, then they are invited to participate.

4. What sort of things are not allowed on Word of Mouth?

There are limits. No personal threats or attacks will be posted. No gratuitous hate content will be posted. I ask that claims or statements about another person's behavior come from personal experience or documentation, not hearsay or speculation.

I prefer to err on the side of letting voices be heard rather than censoring, however, so these limits are fuzzy.

5. What if somebody uses abusive language or says nasty or offensive things about another islander?

Extreme content will go into the Challenging Words section. If I post something onto another section that you think should be in 'Challenging Words', let me know and I will move it over. I will be moderating the site and working with submitters to try to ensure that the language used does not cross a line into overt abuse. However, opinions vary as to what constitutes abuse. In my opinion, accusations are not abuse if they can be substantiated or if the writer sincerely believes them to be true based on their own experiences (though I have just discovered that Canadian Libel Law disagrees with me about this!).

Sometimes things need to be said that rock the boat--for example, someone who feels she has experienced abuse or injustice may need to tell her story, or somebody will need to blow off steam about a situation that has been bothering him. The 'Challenging Words' section is meant to be an outlet for those who otherwise would not be heard.

6. What I am accused of something I didn't do? What recourse do I have?

Perceptions of events can vary widely from person to person; at the scene of an accident, different eyewitnesses might tell completely different stories of what happened. One person's tale of injustice suffered at the hands of another might be completely inaccurate from the point of view of the person alleged to be the abuser.

It is the intent of this site to facilitate communication and bring differing points of view closer together whenever possible. For this to happen, all sides of the story need to be heard, including yours. Please--give your feedback. Nothing is written in stone here; all content is subject to removal at my discretion. If it becomes apparent that certain content is more harmful than helpful, I will regretfully remove it.

7. You have posted content to this site that I don't feel to be positive or helpful. In fact, I'm offended. What will you do about that?

This is a website, which means that in order to read anything, you have to click on the link. If there is content by a particular submitter that you already know you don't want to read, I suggest you avoid clicking on links to their submissions.

There is no way to please everyone. Because there are such a wide variety of points of view on the island, and because it is the intent of this website to make room for them all, someone is practically bound to be offended by something at any given time. If you prefer not to be exposed to content which you find negative or unhelpful (in other words, points of view very different from your own), then you may wish to consider unsubscribing to the Word of Mouth updates mailings, if you are receiving them.

You also have the option--and I invite this--to submit your opinion about content you disapprove of and have your point of view published on the web. Especially if the offensive content has been written by myself--I want to hear how you feel!

There is also bound to be, over time, plenty of content submitted here that you may not want to miss. It's your call. I suggest the following:

expand your horizons & open your mind to other points of view. Ask yourself, "Why am I offended?" You may have something to learn from that person.
take care of yourself. Read only what you feel drawn to read.
submit your opinion. What you have to say might help someone else re-examine their own opinions.
if all else fails, unsubscribe. I hope this would be a last resort--and I would like to hear from you before you take that step. There may be something we can work out.

8. I don't feel like identifying myself. Can I post anonymously?

Sometimes anonymity can be fun. Examples are the Diogenes column, Sista Flash and others in the First Edition. It can be fun to guess who is saying what. So, if you have a regular column and prefer to be anonymous, and your column doesn’t impact negatively on another person, that’s fine.

And if you have creative words of any kind to post-- poems, fiction etc., anonymous is great too. Or personal reminiscences that don't name others. Or... well, there are lots of kinds of anonymous submissions that would be fine.

I don't like anonymous letters that talk about other people in a blaming way. They leave a bad taste in my mouth. I strongly prefer that you sign such letters with your real name. This is a community website, and that sort of anonymity does not contribute to a sense of communication between individuals. Rather, it contributes to a sort of covertness that, in my opinion, is the antithesis of community.

In general, to facilitate open communication, I discourage anonymity, with the exceptions named above (regular columns, creative and personal submissions). Please consider signing your name to a letter or opinion. However, there may be very good reasons why you would prefer to remain anonymous, and I don't wish to exclude anyone's voice just because they don't wish to be identified.

If you really really want to be anonymous in a way that violates this guideline, email me with your reasons and I will decide on a case by case basis. I may put your post over in the "challenging" room. I may ask you to reconsider your wording. Or (extremely unlikely) I may choose not to post your words.

1.	Is it true that there is no word limit? Could I submit a 300-page novel?
2.	Is this site just for Hornby Islanders, or can other Islanders participate too?
3.	What about off-islanders? My kids live off-island, and I have friends who visit. Can they participate?
4.	What sort of things are not allowed?
5.	What if somebody uses abusive language or says nasty or accusing things about another islander?
6.	What if somebody accuses me of something I didn't do? What recourse do I have?
7.	You have posted content to this site that I don't feel to be positive or helpful. In fact, I'm offended. What will you do about that?
8.	I don't feel like identifying myself. Can I post anonymously?