Why was my post deleted/moved/edited?
Why do I need to register to post?
Why is Hashkafah.com open on Shabbos and other Jewish Holidays?
Do we care if you get fired for wasting time at work?
Do we care if the advice you take here is wrong?
What are the ranking levels for posters on Hashkafah.com?
What is Hashkafah.com?
Who owns Hashkafah.com and why?
Does Hashkafah.com cost money?
Can Private Messages be read by anyone other than myself and the intended party?
What can I do about a member who is harassing me via PM?
How is Hashkafah.com different than chat?
What is the difference between an Administrator and a Moderator?
How can I be a Moderator?
Who are the Moderators?
Who are the Administrators?
Why are members who have objectionable views allowed to post?
Why are members who not-frum/not-Jewish allowed to join/post?
Do I have to be frum to post?
What are the server specs?
What do I do if I see content which is clearly objectionable?
What are the Board Guidelines?
What are the Private Elitist Forums?
I have so many posts. What do I do now? I'm BORED.
Which forums count toward my total post?
I'm seeing lots of acronyms that I've never seen on other boards. What do they mean?
What are the official signature guidelines?
How do I quote another members post?
Hi! I joined, now what?
My view has switch from standard mode to outline mode. What do I do?
What is expected of me in terms of posting as a new member?
Am I allowed to post copyrighted material?

Why do I need to register to post?

Although this forum allows for anyone to ask questions, moderators are closely watching the forum to protect it against abuse and violations of our guidelines. In order to keep track of posts and offer this protection, visitors must be part of a 'member base'. This 'member base' has defined boundaries and allows moderators to keep track of posting behavior.

Why is Hashkafah.com open on Shabbos and other Jewish Holidays?

Hashkafah.com is open on Shabbos and Jewish Holidays for a few reasons:

1) The time zone difference between where H.com is hosted vs. anywhere in world makes it not possible to close it for Shabbos. There is no software or script which can close down the site for a potential visitor if they were to theoretically access the site in a time zone which would be Shabbos for them. If it were to be closed in the U.S.A, then it will have already been open for 6-7 hours in Israel. And when Shabbos is over (in the U.S.A), Israeli members will have lost out on 6-7 hours of posting time. So we keep it open...

2) Not all our members are Jewish. We welcome non-Jews to the site to explore and inquire about Jewish topics - and they are not obligated to keep Shabbos/Yom Tov.

3) It's not prohibited in Halachah.



Keep in mind that unless a member has openly declared that they are not-Jewish, we do not want our members posting on Shabbos/Jewish Holidays.

Do we care if you get fired for wasting time at work?

Yes, we care. Because then we'll know you'll be spending even more time on Hashkafah.com if you're not commuting or doing anything else with your life.


However, we do not take responsibility when you get fired for spending your working hours here.

Do we care if the advice you take here is wrong?

No.

Being that this is a public discussion board, you have to be careful with the information and advice you accept here. Most questions here are posed for theoretical, educational, or entertainment value. But if you have a serious question or need professional advice, seek a professional or contact your local Rabbi (if the question is of halachic nature).

What are the ranking levels for posters on Hashkafah.com?

These are the rankings:


0 - 99 posts = Newbie
100 - 199 posts = Hocker
200 - 299 posts = Masmid
300 - 399 posts = Shtark
400 - 999 posts = Gabbai
1000 - 2499 posts = Rebbe
2500+ posts = Godol Hador

Anything above 3000 stays at Godol Hador, but at this point, you also have the option of making your own custom title.

**Note - Not all posts count toward your cumulative total.

What is Hashkafah.com?

Hashkafah.com is a forum for Jews from around the world to discuss Jewish topics, exchange ideas and viewpoints, or simply have a nice chat.

Who owns Hashkafah.com and why?


Hashkafah.com is privately owned by Silent J (that's me).

There was a need for Jews around the world to communicate and collaborate on Jewish issues and the concept of a moderated discussion board seemed the best way to facilitate this need. It's not something that any organization or group of people could have mutually agreed on, so I took the initiative and put my plan into action.

Being that there is no 'board of directors' or organization behind this site is one of the reasons for its great success. Decisions are made quickly (without the need for red tape) and members have more freedom to post their views and opinions.

Does Hashkafah.com cost money?


Hashkafah.com is free to join.

The cost of running our site and its server comes in from four sources:

1) Member donations via PayPal. A PayPal donate button is located at the bottom of every page on this site.
2) Advertisements from Google's AdSense program. These ads are currently located at the bottom of every page of this site.
3) Selling merchandise from our CafePress store located here: http://www.cafepress.com/hashkafah
4) My pocket.

Can Private Messages be read by anyone other than myself and the intended party?

No.

What can I do about a member who is harassing me via PM?

You can choose to either block the member from your Personal Messenger


OR


add them to your ignore list from your Control Panel. **Note - When you add a member to your ignore list, you will not be able to see their posts in a forum. However, if a member quotes the ignored member in a reply to that post, you will be able to view the ignored members content.




In the case of abuse, please forward the PM to a moderator immediately.

How is Hashkafah.com different than chat?

Hashkafah.com uses 'forum' software which allows all discussions to be recorded and continued at any given point. This lets individuals browse the organized topics and participate when they are moved to do so. This also provides the moderators with a means to monitor activity in a topic.

Hashkafah.com does not offer the 'fluid' chat common with Instant Messaging (IM) and Internet chat rooms.

What is the difference between an Administrator and a Moderator?


The main duty of a moderator is to make sure that members and posts remain consistent with the Board Guidelines. Moderators also deal with member issues and, at their discretion, help facilitate the flow of topics.

Administrators carry the reponsibilities of a moderator and more. They also deal with account issues, registration approval, board settings, and escalated member problems.

How can I be a Moderator?

From time to time, we announce an opening for a position among the staff here at Hashkafah.com. This position may open as a result of the expansion of our member base or the resignation of a staff member.

If you are seriously interested in becoming a moderator and think you may qualify, keep an eye open for our announcements.

How Does Ethanpil have so many posts and where are they?

Ethanpil is the computer guys computer guy. So he gave himself a lot of posts (some are earned) by his member title. If you search for those posts you won't find most. They're in PHP/MySQL limbo.

Who are the Moderators?

The moderators are (in alphabetical order):

Clippy
General Patton
Moderainu
Spot
White Wizard