Posting Guidelines for the Discussion Board

You will need to register first. Click HERE to do that. Then, go to the Introduction Thread. There you can talk all about yourself and why you're here. Do not start a new thread to do that. Also don't start a new thread to find out where the Board name comes from. Read the Chalupa Name Explained page.

You may think you have the most insightful comments on the planet or the most burning question. Perhaps you do. However, there probably is a thread where that comment or question will fit. Don't worry if the thread is way down the list. As soon as you post to it, it moves to the very top.

You need to read a bit and see where you fit in here. We have well over three thousand people on this board. Find an existing thread and jump in. After you've posted a few times, you'll get the hang of it (and reduce the number of times we delete your posts or close your threads).

Dupes, duplicate posting: When you accidentally, inadvertently post the same post twice or more. To eliminate the extra, click on the delete icon on the dupe (second icon from the right at the top of your post,

). You will have to submit your name and password in the appropriate places if they have not loaded automatically. Hit submit and your duplicate post will be eliminated.

Double Posting: Also known as responding to yourself. It's considered bad form, unless you are me, to respond to yourself in a thread. Rather than double post use the edit key (

, third icon from the right above your post ) and add your additional thoughts. Many realize after we've posted something that there is something more we would like to add. Add them to your original post rather than double post. If someone has already responded to your post, then it is acceptable to post again on the same topic. I hope that's clear.

I'll give you my quick little spiel on negativity. I don't like it. I know we have all seen lots of homophobic stuff posted in other forums. Leave it there. Don't bring it over here to discuss. I don't want that stuff spread around, especially here. I also don't want to read negative things about the other boards.

I love hearing how happy you are to be here; I don't want to read a bunch of specific stuff about why some other board or forum sucks. We are all about the love here.

Exception: Once a week I put up a vent thread. In that thread you may let it rip. And I'm not kidding, you can take on anything. I'll leave it up for 12 hours and then it is deleted as if it never existed. DO NOT TRASH OTHER BOARD MEMBERS IN THE VENT THREAD!

Other than the vent thread, I ask that you not trash anybody. I don't want to see a bunch of Mark Greene sucks comments or I hate a.t.e. or Goran can't act his way out of a paper bag, whatever. I'm not kidding, no trashing fictional or real and definitely not your fellow posters. In addition refrain from spewing about the intent of bodily and otherwise harm or ill intent, even in jest. It's not nice, and offends many people.

Now, that isn't to say we don't do critical analysis here. You should know the difference. We aren't always happy with how the show is written, directed, edited or even lit. That's fair game. That isn't what I mean by trashing.

Once a week I will also post a Gratitude Thread. In that thread we share all the things that are going well in our lives. That thread is not eliminated.

OK, you already know that's not really a rule. I prefer you post links rather than pictures. Keeping the pictures to a minimum minimizes our break downs. Sometimes pictures are appropriate. After you've been here a while, you'll get the hang of when that time is.

If you are looking for electronic pictures and movies from the show, find the Pictures and Movies thread. It may be on page two but it's there. You may find your needs met in that thread. If not, make your request in that thread. Do not start a new one.

Basically, we have five types of threads -- our morning posts, discussion threads, spoiler threads, introduction threads and miscellaneous threads.

Each day, not before 7 AM EST, someone will start the morning thread. Acceptable titles are Psych Consult and Waiting in Chairs preceded by the day of the week.

This thread is the place to talk all about your off topic kinds of stuff. Talk about your girlfriend, make requests for copies of tapes, complain about your car not starting, whatever. Most likely if your thoughts don't fit into one of the other threads, this is the place to put it. We have them every day. If you find yourself wondering if what you are about to post is off-topic, put it in the morning thread. If you start a new thread, most likely I will either delete or close it if I feel it is better placed in the morning thread.

The exception to morning titles is Friday which is called Bad Movie Friday. That title is leftover from days gone by. You still talk about the same sort of things as on the other days but we often also discuss the films people are seeing on the weekend. That's a good place to put movie reviews but warn people if you are going to give away plot points.

Request for tapes should go into this thread or in the episode discussion thread or the pictures and movies thread. Do not start a new thread for a request.

These go up each Thursday. Do not post in this thread until you have seen the episode being discussed. In addition, do not post spoilers to future episodes, including what was shown in the preview for the following week. Only discuss what was on screen this week. Believe me there's plenty to discuss. We keep all posts in one thread for the first 24 hours after the episode airs. Everyone is so excited that we often repeat ourselves. It's just easier to keep it all in one thread until things settle down. Friday night, people can start new unique discussion threads but the truth is, we usually stay together.

If the episode is particularly Kim and Kerry intensive, we normally start an additional thread for Pictures and Movies. Put your requests for pictures and movies in a picture and movie thread. That's where the visual people hang out; that's where you will get their attention. New threads posted just for requests will be deleted.

This thread is usually the largest on the Board. This is the place to speculate about what might be happening. The theories run from the sublime to the ridiculous and is where the bulk of our discussions occur. If you have some great theory or insight, this is normally the place where you might think about posting first.

This is the place to find out about who is here and to tell people that you have arrived. I also encourage you to register. If you register, you can edit and delete your posts. Deleting is a very useful skill when your modem or server decides to send your post 10 times. You cut down on everyone's irritation if you clean up the messes you make.

Sometimes someone will some amazing piece of insight, theory, information, etc., that deserves its own thread. Trust me, these are few and far between. Exceptions are short fanfic pieces. Those always deserve their own thread. Most of the fanfic writers on the Board post a link to their stuff and that can be done in the morning post if you have something new that day. However, short pieces are also always welcome.

For fun during reruns, we often do caption threads. There is also a thread for the TNT reruns and a few other miscellaneous threads. If you start a thread, be sure and let people know if spoilers are included in that thread. In addition, be careful to not spoil other television shows or films without warning. DO NOT POST SPOILERS IN THE HEADING.

OK, that's it for me for now. We are happy to have everyone here. Follow a few rules and we should get along just fine. Now, go Introduce yourself.