****READ THIS FIRST**** Board Organization

srscott3

I stole this from previous BMBs.  Full of great info! We can update down the road if we want!

Some links that you may find helpful: 
What do all of those abbreviations mean? 
How to add a signature 
How to GIF 

How-To Guides: 
-How to quote: Hit the "quote" at the bottom of the post you want to quote. You will be taken to the reply box with the quote set up already. 
-How to tag: Add an "@" in front of the username of the person you are talking to. 
-How to change your username: log in to TheKnot, hover over My Knot, and click Account Settings. Be sure to log out and log back in after changing your username. If you are having issues doing it that way, you can email community@thebump.com and ask them to change your username. Give them a few suggestions just in case your top choice is taken. It may take up to 24 hours for the name to update. 
-How to insert a spoiler box: click the drop down list arrow next to the paragraph symbol (sixth from the left, next to the emoji button) and choose spoiler. It will insert a grey box, and everything that you type in there will go into the spoiler. 

For the sake of board organization, here are some simple guidelines for posting threads: 
 DO: 
         -Introduce yourself in the "Introductions" thread 
        -Feel free to start one of the weekly posts listed below if you don't see it started yet
        -Check to see if a thread has already been started on your topic or question so we can avoid too many threads of the same topic
        -Post a thread that would apply to the entire community and doesn't fall into one of the categories for daily threads listed below (Ex: what to pack in your hospital bag, baby gear, etc) 
        -Comment, share advice and show support for your fellow bumpies; this is a two-way street, to get support, you must show it as well 

 DON'T: 
        -Ask the community if you are pregnant, it is against TOU 
        -Post pictures of your pregnancy test, this is also against TOU (there is a thread on the open 1st tri page for this)
        -Post a thread that asks a question only applying to yourself unless you suspect you may be going through a MC 
        -Get bent out of shape if someone calls you out for not following these guidelines; if you expect to be part of a supportive board (which we are), you need to be able to take the time to learn the ins and outs of the board.


Here are some weekly/monthly ideas that may be good to start with. We can always add to best suit our boards needs, so please let me know if you have any other ideas! Per this BMB's decision, anyone can start any thread on the day. 

** MONDAY 
Weekly Randoms 
Meal Plan Monday

**TUESDAY 
Ten Things Tuesday 
TW Tuesday 
Plus Size Mom Check-In

**WEDNESDAY 
HDBD (Hump Day, Bump Day) 
PGAL Check-In  

**THURSDAY 
TTGP Grad Check-In 
Thankful Thursday
Unpopular Opinion

**FRIDAY 
Flame Free Friday Confession (FFFC)   
Fit Friday

**SATURDAY 
Weekend Randoms  

**SUNDAY 
Weekly Questions 
Due Date Week Groups:
- Group 1: June 1st-8th
- Group 2: June 9th-15th
- Group 3: June 16th-22nd
- Group 4: June 23rd-30th

**MONTHLY
Symptoms Thread 
Appointments Thread
FTM Check-In
STM+ Check-In

**OTHER THREADS
High Risk Check-In
GTKY Threads
Product Spotlights

*We can also look into getting a spreadsheet going down the road when everyone gets more comfortable. 

Once we all get farther along, we will also have pinned threads for things like ultrasounds, sex announcements and birth announcements. I've copy/pasted this from previous boards, and it seems to be the way that they are all organized, but of course we should feel free to tweak for our needs! For example, some boards do weekly ticker changes while others do weekly due date check-ins (ex, DD 1st week of Nov.). If anyone has a suggestion for other threads, please feel free to comment a suggestion. PLEASE keep in mind that there will eventually be a lot of us on this board, and an organized board will be much easier for everyone to use. If we can all keep the one-off posts to a minimum the board won't be too cluttered to navigate, and hopefully we won't end up answering the same question 2,000 times.

srscott3

Also, just a quick reminder that anyone can start any of these weekly threads! 

luckystar28

Can we get a high risk check in going too? I’ll be high risk from the start. 

jhems776

Hope we can walk that line of being organized but fun!

srscott3

Of course @luckystar28 !
I’ll edit the post and add that. I’m going to list it under “other threads”. If you want to be in charge of it each week, feel free to start it on any day you choose!

spacepiraterunner

@BumpAdmin please pin!

srscott3

Please sticky! @BumpAdmin

jmvander

I just know that I am going to start 597 projects during this pregnancy, of which I hope to complete at least a few. Anyone else do any crocheting or sewing or anything else crafty like that who would want a thread for it eventually?

srscott3

That’s a good one @jmvander!

nmbrcrnchr1

Question...above it says symptoms is a monthly thread, and I’m ok with that long term, but for now is anyone against it being a weekly post? My thought behind this is it might discourage random posts as new people are joining and we are getting established? So they don’t have to read 3+ pages of symptoms to find someone going thru something similar? Idk? Thoughts?
or if we want to keep it monthly for now I’ll edit the title of the current post to be October

prpl11butterfly

@nmbrcrnchr1 I think that's a good plan.

Edited for autocorrect drama 

meatballs37

+1 for weekly symptoms 

srscott3

@nmbrcrnchr1 agreed! Maybe weekly until we’re out of first tri at least?

JOcello

What the what? Why so many rules? 
Cant everyone just scroll past any threads that dont interest them? 

nmbrcrnchr1

No @JOcello, that’s not how we do things around here. We are a community here.

ETA because @meatballs37 has my back making sure I’m following the rules and not getting warned 😁

meatballs37

I personally wouldn’t care for a board that had 20 separate posts asking for people’s opinions on names. 

emeraldcity603

JOcello said: n-o

What the what? Why so many rules? 
Cant everyone just scroll past any threads that dont interest them? 

No one wants a cluttered board. Important threads could get lost in that kind of mess which is why we don't do it that way. 

JOcello

Wow. So you guys speak for everyone. Good to know. This is my third birth group on here and I've never seen anything like this. Maybe the bump can create a separate June birth group for those of us who are more easy going. 

prpl11butterfly

@JOcello this has been the method of TB for at least the last year (as long as I've been back) and probably longer. All BMBs operate this way now. If you disagree, you can start your own private group but the BGs won't make a separate J19 BMB. You also maintain the ability to not participate. There are several other forums that have a more free for all style if that's what you prefer.

catmommac

@JOcello the bump has has this sort of organization for several years. It has gotten more refined and tweaked with each BMB. I second not wanting a cluttered board. 

Dcwtada

This isn’t Yahoo questions, it’s a community. We care for each other here and take the time to make connections and organize the board to allow people to post as much as they want but in a way that makes sense to us all collectively. I know it sounds petty but too many drive-by posters or special snowflakes can ruin an entire group. 

dntstpbelieveing

And considering most of us have been here for weeks and you are the first to complain. 

meatballs37

JOcello said:

Wow. So you guys speak for everyone. Good to know. This is my third birth group on here and I've never seen anything like this. Maybe the bump can create a separate June birth group for those of us who are more easy going. 

QFP 

Well...the board has been open for almost a month now and you are the first to say you don’t care for it and suggest it be changed specifically for your preference. So who exactly are you speaking for?  As others have stated, TB BMBs have been run like this for years, not sure how you could missed that the first two go arounds unless you are mistaking it for another place.

Why knock something before you have actually stuck around to give it a try? You might like it. Sounds like you just want to stir the pot a bit. 

meatballs37

dntstpbelieveing said:

And considering most of us have been here for weeks and you are the first to complain. 

Jinx 😆

nmbrcrnchr1

JOcello said:

Wow. So you guys speak for everyone. Good to know. This is my third birth group on here and I've never seen anything like this. Maybe the bump can create a separate June birth group for those of us who are more easy going. 

Did you change your screen name bc your history shows 1 post before today, back in 2014? And I wasn’t around back then but I believe that was before the mass exodus. So maybe things were different then but as the other ladies have said, this is how it’s been done for the last few years. If you look at any of the BMBs over the last year they all have a similar set of guidelines and members are expected to follow them. And I’ll second that this board has been open for almost 4 weeks now and it’s actually working quite well. So I think since the majority of us like it we’ll keep it that way.

meatballs37

@nmbrcrnchr1

On the intro thread she said she has a one and two year old. So she was “here” after the mass exodus. And I mean she did read the rules and intro in the right thread...So it can’t be that horrible around here. 

emeraldcity603

Me thinks we have a troll. 😂

junebabyh

@JOcello As a somewhat newbie...at least to TB BMBs as a participant... I can say you get used to the rules pretty quickly. They only seem daunting because they are all listed here in one place. Once you start communicating with us regularly you will feel supported by and invested in these women and their stories and families. 

KissMeImScottish

(Sorry, had to! 😂)

But seriously. I’ve been a member of an unstructured board (September 2015) and of a structured one (July 2017). ‘17 worked better. It just did. These aren’t really rules - it’s more like a code of conduct and some guidelines to help prevent chaos. It also goes a LONG way towards helping enforce that community mentality, which in turn builds lasting relationships. It really is worthwhile to have this setup on a large forum like this.

JOcello

I'm going to ignore the troll accusations because those are neither fair nor constructive. I could have asked if you guys all wear pink on Wednesdays too, but I didnt.

My issue is this. None of us had to agree to these rules to join and yet you say I have no right to "Get bent out of shape if someone calls you out for not following these guidelines". Unless these rules have been made official by the site (and if they have please correct me) then that is unfair. If you present these as "some of us think this would be a helpful way to structure the group, please try to follow" then great. But you make a threat for not following arbitrary rules that no one had to agree to to be here. 

Great that everyone who has responded to my posts is happy and loves the setup. Just because I'm the first to speak up doesn't mean I'm the only one who has an issue with it. And discounting my opinion merely because I first joined the group today when the rest of you are already lifelong friends is really awesome since I was trying to wait to join (and get my hopes up) until I heard the heartbeat for the first time but I was too excited and couldn't wait for my appt. 

KissMeImScottish

(Just to clarify, I promise, I wasn’t calling you troll - I see word troll and that’s the first thing that pops into my head. I’ve been listening to Harry Potter on Audible pretty much on a loop and feel like I haven’t slept in four days. I promise the GIF wasn’t meant as an insult!)

srscott3

edited: thanks for looking out @meatballs37

jist of my original post: things aren’t going to change here. 

SunflowerMama428

I don’t think she could have handled the bump before the mass exodus. The snark was real and ruthless (oh those were the days) and she’s getting bent out of shape because we don’t want a cluttered board. 

nmbrcrnchr1

Well said @srscott3!
@JOcello I’m really trying to figure out who threatened you? I feel like we all, those who have commented here - not the entire board, explained that we like the way the board is structured so we are going to continue to operate this way. Maybe you’re right, maybe others here feel that way and just haven’t spoken up bc us “mean girls” scared them. but I don’t see anyone else taking this chance to say “me too, I hate the rules” 
and as srscott mentioned, if you don’t want to follow the rules then don’t, simple as that. 

meatballs37

Just wanted to warn the regs to remove parts of your posts where you encourage OP that other boards may suit her better. You will get warned for that. 

@JOcello If you would lurk a little bit more and read/participate in the threads, you would find many of the women have the exact same fears as you about first tri and we try hard to support one another. You would also realize our board is probably one of the more laid back ones. So we like it a little organized? That’s really not that big of a deal. You are kind of blowing it up in here for no reason when we have a wonderful community forming. 

You haven’t even tried. You literally introduced yourself, and then turned your nose up and said “I don’t like it here” without getting to know anyone.

mackorori

I agree with liking the setup here, being more organized helps foster the community. I participated in Mar 17 and Feb 18 BMB briefly before my MC, I thought they were set up pretty similarly? No matter...I’ve seen many other sites that are “more flexible” for those preferring that style, I personally just find them all over the place and hard to follow/engage in.

kelk5

@JOcello this really is the way BMB are set up. I hope you will get over this and join in. The organization really helps. I found my first BMB to be so helpful and supportive. I've become so close to the women and especially postpartum needed the support.  It took no time at all to learn the code of conduct and it really helped keep everything together. As someone who uses the mobile app, having lots of threads is very difficult. It's hard enough to stay on top of all the regular threads.

carleym93

@JOcello I hope you stick around and realize this set up is for the good of everyone in the group. Before this set up, I actually saw on another BMB (not the one I was on with DD) where SO many threads were started generally asking the same questions that a thread someone started looking for support because her anatomy scan showed a fatal abnormality got lost in the clutter and only one person saw it. That’s why its set up this way, so those important threads don’t get missed. 

emeraldcity603

I jokingly called you a troll because, let's be honest, you rolled up in here starting drama and complaining. You haven't even bothered to join in on the threads that are active and pertain to most of the topics that would be discussed at this stage of pregnancy. 

The board is going to stay organized this way because it works so well for us. It has worked this well for every other BMB too. It's as simple as that. Honestly, most of us have been here since before this page was even available to join (we originally gathered in first tri) and we set the tone for the board. So it is what it is. 

We are a great group of ladies. You couldn't ask for a better BMB. There has literally been no snark and everyone is super supportive. You haven't even given it a chance though because you're so bent out of shape that we don't want random people posting 10 threads on the same topics. Who wants to sift through that crap? I honestly don't think you do. You would have to scroll through 3 or more pages to find a thread that actually had any meaningful conversation. 

bakerstreetboys

I'm going to skip over the weekend drama, and make sure everyone is cool with Man Crush Monday.  I may not start it every week, but on those Monday mornings when I need something to help keep my eyes open, I'll be posting (if that's good with everyone)!

meatballs37

@bakerstreetboys I am now looking forward to mondays more 😉