Hi there and welcome to Fertilicare,

When you join you will probably feel a bit lost with all the terms and acronyms you don't know and senior members talking about stuff you're not familiar with. Not to worry you'll feel at home in no time and will be stringing those abbreviations like a pro.

This forum is home to many different types of people from all walks of life and sometimes it's challenging not to step on people's toes. So how do you get street smart? Firstly, we recommend that you read the article Infertility Etiquette by Vita Alligood, this article is endorsed by Resolve, probably the largest Infertility Association in the world, we take it they know what they're talking about. Secondly, if you'd like to get to know the general community of people living through the realities of Infertility, we recommend that you visit The Blogroll, created and maintained by Melissa Ford (she also knows her stuff) and read what the wider world has to say about infertility. Those are just tools to guide you.

As a new user you will have a few questions and we're going to answer them for you here:
1. How do I set up my signature?

You will notice a menu bar with the words "User CP", if you click on that you will find lots of controls and interesting tools. With time you will learn to play with all the toys, be patient with yourself, watch and learn. On the vertilcal menu in the User CP you will find an item "Edit my signature", here you can set up a signature.

Adding an image:

Click on the little icon that looks like this and enter the url of any image. You can enter the url of your facebook badge or look up the url of your profile picture on this forum. Be creative!

Noting the Code of Conduct:

The code of conduct has specifications you should take note of, especially with pictures relating to babies, children, fetal development, fetal scans etc. Please be sensitive to these guidelines.

2. Where do I begin to participate?

If you are new to infertility the best place to start is usually the TTC Tea Room this is the most active room of all the rooms on the forum. From there you can explore what forum serves your needs best.

3. Are there any rules I should know about?

Familiarise yourself with the Code of Conduct keeping within these guidelines will greatly improve your experience of this forum. These rules were drawn up to protect our members from a variety of online and offline threats and nuisances. These rules are carefully considered and adjusted with time as new threats and problems become apparent. Collectively our moderators have more than 30 years of experience in infertiity and online forums. Our considerations are always for user safety and longterm sustainability.

4. What is a pm?

A pm is a private message. You can use this facility from your User CP. It acts as an internal message system and helps members communicate personal information.

5. What is an infraction?

An infraction is a fancy word for a warning. When you breach the Code of Conduct you receive an infraction which will contribute to a negative reputation score that will result in a permanent ban when the score accumulates to 10 points. When you receive an infraction and realise you are at fault, don't worry as minor mistakes expire after a period of time. Don't take an infraction as a personal insult, it's like the speed ticket you get in the mail. Take responsibility and learn from your mistakes. We use the infraction system to protect you, to be consistent and to continue to ensure Fertilicare remains a safe haven for all its members. (link to be inserted to infraction list)

6. What is reputation?

Although not so often used, the forum also allows for positive reputation, so if you like a user and want to contribute to their positive reputation score you can use this little icon to compliment them. It's a cool way to say thank you mam!

7. What is post reporting?

You can help draw moderator attention to a post by using this icon. This is the appropriate way to help moderate as a member.

8. Who and what are the Moderators?

A moderator is member that has been approved by the founding members to have the competency and experience to deal with infringements of the Code of Conduct. They volunteer their time freely to help keep Fertilicare a safe place to hang out. Moderators often consult each other as well as the founding members before making decisions, but are free to act independently. As with all of us, they also sometimes make mistakes and we urge members not to over-react if they feel they have been wrongly moderated, to but to resolve possible issues amicably, privately and without drama.

You can find a Moderator list here. (link to be inserted)
The subculture that is infertility is a complex and vibrant community and there are many places for you to participate. This forum is only one of them. We hope that with our efforts we can create a safehaven where you can find friendship and support and lots of useful information.

So go out there and tell us about yourself! We're dying to know.

- The Fertilicare Team -