Click to print

Welcome

We at GriefNet are so sorry you have had a loss that has brought you here, but we welcome you to this community of people who understand grief and bereavement.

  • HOW TO GET HELP: GriefNet has carefully thought-out guidelines, developed by the staff since we began in 1994. Our guidelines protect members who are raw and vulnerable with the grief that has brought them here. All GriefNet groups are monitored by one of our staff and gentle reminders are sent members who overlook these guidelines. If you have any concerns about interpersonal interactions, issues being discussed, or individual members, write to your group monitor or Cendra, cendra@griefnet.org.

Guidelines

  • NO FLAMING
    Our primary guideline is that we be polite and respectful in responses to other subscribers. Rudeness or attacks on other people here are not acceptable.

  • KEEP THIS PRIVATE
    Messages to this group must be kept private and confidential. Do not share messages with someone outside of this list without the author's permission. This helps make this group safer for people to find comfort and to heal.

  • STAY ON TOPIC
    Please restrict topics to those for which the list has been created, which is your grief. Discussions of unrelated issues often confuse new members just joining. Spam, chain letters, forwarded email, and letters requesting replies to off-list addresses are not allowed on any GriefNet lists. They cause our mail system to clog up and do not usually serve the purpose that we are here for: to share our grief and tell our own stories.

  • NO RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL DISCUSSIONS
    Please do not discuss religion or spiritual beliefs. Our membership is composed of people from all over the world who embrace a variety of faiths and religious beliefs. What comforts one person may greatly offend another. We do have two groups for discussion of religious or spiritual beliefs, which you may join by sending a request to Subscribe@griefnet.org.

  • JOKES
    Humor in the form of jokes can be helpful but also possibly destructive, especially when the joke centers on controversial topics, uses overt sexual language, makes fun of someone because of their ethnic background, their sexual orientation, their religious or political affiliation, and probably numerous other antisocial themes. Use extreme discretion and post sparingly, please.

  • LIMIT CONTACT WITH OTHER MEMBERS TO GROUP MAIL
    Do not contact another member outside of the group mail. GriefNet’s safety lies in the anonymity of its members. The internet is not a safe place and our groups are targets for predators of all sorts. We do our best screen new members, but we are not able to see nefarious intent nor whether someone would be tempted by opportunity. Prior to the technological ability to strip email addresses and names from the email headers, there were occasional dreadful things that happened between members who contacted each other outside of the group. We still regret deeply our inability to have prevented them. Violation of this guideline is grounds for removal.

  • NO IDENTIFYING INFORMATION
    Remember also that the Internet is not a totally secure environment. There are many people on the Internet using it for monetary gain or self-glorification and sometimes they will, despite our best efforts, invade our space. We cannot keep all of the offenders out, but we will deal with them appropriately when they are detected. Meanwhile, never give out your personal information to a group. Do not share your phone number, your address, or anything else you would not wish anyone and everyone to know. Never hesitate to contact any of the GriefNet staff if you have concerns about someone in the group.

  • NO MENTIONING PRODUCTS, PRACTITIONERS, OTHER SITES
    Products or services of any sort may not be discussed or recommended, either by supplying web addresses or by describing in detail the commercial venture. This includes recommending individual practitioners or products of any sort, or directing people to other internet sites.

  • MAKING SURE YOUR MAIL GOES THROUGH
    Please do not use multiple addresses when sending messages to the groups, even if you plan to send the same message to other groups of which you are a member. Send each message separately. If you send messages to a number of people or groups at once, they may get stuck in our server or lost. Do not Cc: or Bcc: anyone when writing to the group.

  • NO ATTACHMENTS OR HTML
    Attachments are not permitted, as they can easily contain a computer virus, which can totally disable your computer. The same goes for any form of graphics, including messages in html. Use plain text only.

  • EMAIL AND UNSUBSCRIBING HELP
    If you have any problem with sending or receiving mail, or difficulty unsubscribing, click here. If you continue to have difficulties, please write to our Subscriptions Manager.


Thank you for your attention to these guidelines, and thank you for being an important part of GriefNet.