We have had many new posters lately, and I would like to welcome you to GirlChat. We're glad you're here.

Please take a look at the FAQ (linked above) and especially the sections on personal security and the Posting Rules.

Personal security is no joke. I recently deleted an unsecure email address from a couple posts by alistaircato, which is why his nick is in the subject line. We try to do this as a courtesy for new posters who may not understand why some email providers are not secure. The reason is, most email providers send out your personal IP address with every email you send. If you are not using a proxy, anyone you send email to may be able to identify you. If you do not understand all the ins and outs of how this works, and whether you may be at risk, we strongly advise that you switch to an email provider that does not give out your IP address - such as Fastmail or Hushmail, both of which are free and popular among posters here. Please also note that you are not required to list an email address with your posts. You may do so if you like, but most of us skip it most of the time.

Likewise on the security front, be careful of what personal information you give out. If you say, "the local age of consent is 14 years and 9 months for boys, and 16 years and 3 months for girls", that is unusual enough that a hostile party could find out what state or country you live in. Combined with other little hints, a profile could be developed pretty quickly. It is perfectly acceptable at this board to tell little lies to throw such profilers off your track, but please be aware of what you are doing. We may edit such things out of posts for new posters, once again as a courtesy, but ultimately you are responsible for your own security. We can't do it for you.

Finally, please note Rule 6 of the Posting Rules. Posting about activities you have engaged in that might be illegal anywhere in the United States or Canada is forbidden, even if they are legal where you live. Please note: possession or viewing of written child erotica or lolicon is illegal in Canada. Please do not discuss such things on the board. We aren't here to make moral judgements about how you live your life (excepting clear cases of harming others, of course, in which case we will condemn you), but we are dedicated to remaining online.

One exception to the above: if you have engaged in a criminal act, but it has been fully resolved in a court of law or you are otherwise immune to legal actions against you, you may discuss it - but please be clear about that in your posts - at the very least your first posts on the subject, and preferably later ones (because us mods can't always keep track of who said what).

Once again, Welcome to Girl Chat - we're glad to have you here.