To increase the general awareness of the issues of rape and incest conception to the general public, encouraging information and exchange to defeat stereotypes and increase knowledge about such issues.
For more information, see www.stigmatized.org/mission.htm.
Who can join?
Our site is specifically for individuals
conceived in rape and incest, and women who have conceived a child out of rape
and incest. We offer public forums as
well. These forums focus on general issues
related to rape/incest conception, offering support and comfort to loved ones
in this situation, and general communication between individuals who, for
whatever reason, might want more information about the issues involved in
being rape/incest conceived or conceiving a child in this manner.
The
locked member's area is and will remain private to those who are personally
impacted by rape/incest conception (individual or biological mother/adoptive
parent),
Due to the nature of the discussions on our website, it is expected that you be over the age of
13 to request to join the
member's area unless your parent(s) specifically give permission. Stigma does not endorse or knowingly allow admittance to the
site to minors under 13 years of age. It is expected that minors between the
age of 13-17 have parental permission to access the website. For
more information, please refer to the page on the Children's
Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) at http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/coppa1.htm
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Do I have to go online to use your services? I hardly ever
use computers.
There is a wealth of information and support to be had
online, so we hope you will be able to access these services!
However, other services are available, including a yearly
conference, mailing list, and other resources to pursue offline. If
interested, just contact us.
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I'm a student doing a research
project, or I just want some general information! Can I still join?
We regret that we cannot allow access into the members'
sections of the site. We do have a general discussion group for individuals interested in the topic of rape and incest sonception. Please click on the "Visitor" link under the main menu to access this group. (You will need to sign up for access to the group through "Yahoo!", but membership to this group is completely open.)
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How is Stigma financed?
Right now, it's WYSIWYG--directly out of pocket from those on the site who donate to keep the website running Please
contact us if you would like to donate.
STIGMA, Inc. is registered as a Kansas not-for-profit organization. All costs donated will go directly back into running the site, and a report of how donated funds are used is available upon request.
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How can I help promote STIGMA?
If you own a website, you can always download one of our banners and upload it to your site. To Download: Position your mouse over the banner. Right-click and a box will pop up with the option to "Save picture as...". A dialog box will allow you to find the desired location on your computer to save the banner. When you save it, the hyperlink created as part of the banner should remain intact.
These banners can also be used in emails, Powerpoint presentations, etc., if desired. You can print our brochure in Microsoft Word or .PDF format to distribute.
You can contact us for a brochure, or download one to print and save us the shipping and printing costs, and hand them out in your
area.
Contact us for information and ideas on more ways you can
tell others about our organization!
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What exactly does it mean to be a
"member" ?
The member's area of the site remains a locked,
password-protected area. To gain access, you should fill out a form.
Once access is granted, you will be issued a username and password to access
our member forums. This will need to be entered every time you enter the
forums, because otherwise, you will not be allowed inside. Think of the
forums as our online support group.
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How do I leave the group if I no longer want to
be part of it?
Please send an email to stigma@kc.rr.com.
stating that you no longer wish to use your username and password to access
the site, and/or that you wish your email/street address to be removed from
our records.
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Where do I sign up for a username and password?
We now have a group username/password login, but the process to join is the same. Go to the signup form. The process is fairly
quick and easy. Barring any technical problems on your part or mine, you
should hear back within the week with the access information to the site.
That is step one of the process. Step two is signing up for a Yahoo username and password (if you do not already have one) and access to the group, at http://groups.yahoo.com/list/stigma_book
--also a one-time process. This will allow you access to most of the features
of the group. You may also have to sign up for an individual username/password for various other areas of the site, such as the forums, photo albums, chat room, email support list, etc. We apologize for this inconvenience. We recommend using the same username/password for all of these areas, so that your log-in for any specific area will not be forgotten.
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What should I know about user names and passwords?
Usernames can be any characters, alphanumeric or either/or. You can
also use symbols. However, I would suggest that you keep it something
EASY for you to remember because it will be what you use to sign in to the
site every time. "Miss Dreamer" is a lot easier to remember
than "mIsS_dReAmEr". (And yes, if that is what you specify,
that is what your password will be...it IS case sensitive, meaning, you must
type in the capitals and lower cases exactly as you entered them!) Also...I
would steer clear of putting various numbers after your name unless they are
of particular importance to you. If your desired username is taken already, you will be contacted with a request
to provide an alternate name. Passwords, on the other hand, are not
exclusive, as long as you choose something you can remember.
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What does the user name and password do?
Anyone is allowed initial access to the home page.
There are also various section off the main page that the outside public can
navigate; see the "links for site visitors" section. However, there is a
separate area referred to as the "member's area". Obtaining a
username and password will allow you entrance to this area, which contain the
content specific to those who are incest/rape conceived. When you click
on the link, a box pops up prompting you to type in the username and
password. Only if they both match will you be allowed access to this
section of the site.
As stated above, you will be prompted to sign
up at the forums for a user name (identity) on the site. Using your
username to access the chat room, though suggested, is
strictly optional.
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Please allow at least 3 business days before attempting to
contact us about your password. If, at least 3 days after requesting
one, you have not received a response, please contact us.
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The questions in the sign-up form are not meant to be
intimidating. We merely ask for a bit of your story so that we know you
are indeed eligible for the member's area of our
forums.
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When I log into the member's area, it lets me enter
with
no request for a password! Is the site really secure?
When you have logged in a few times, sometimes the system will start
automatically allowing you access to the member's area without a password
prompt. Please be assured that this is only because you have visited in
the past. "Cookies" are information that certain websites, this one included,
saves in your computer for later retrieval. Whether to use cookies or
not is your personal choice and can be specified through your browser.
(We recommend enabling them for use on this site. We never use your
personal information for any purpose other than access to the site or our
services, as outlined in our Privacy Policy, and your information is never
sold or given to anyone else.) You can test this yourself by clearing out your browser and
then attempting to go in to the member's area again. The prompt for the
password should come up. You may also find it helpful to clear your
browser's history or temporary internet files.
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No matter how many times I try, I can't log in to the
site!
Have you received notification that your username and password
are, in fact, valid?
Make sure the
"CAPS LOCK" button is not on when it shouldn't be, or is on
when it should be, when typing in your password.
If it still doesn't work, sometimes exiting out of the site, out of your
browser, or restarting your computer, and then logging back in, might do the trick.
If you still can't log in, please contact stigma@kc.rr.com
for assistance.
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I forgot my user name and password!
All usernames/passwords are currently administered through Yahoo!. You should contact them regarding the loss of your sername or password.
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How do I contribute a picture for the photo
album, link for the reading room, etc?
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How can I post a picture to the message board?
When you post to the message board, there is an option to insert a URL for
a picture. Thus, you can either:
1. Choose a picture off an already existing web page, and link to it
2. Grab an image you want (being aware that some images on the internet are
copyrighted, so please use caution in your selection), and save it to your computer, then upload it to
your own website or storage for web items and link to it from there.
Many servers don't like for you to pull bandwidth off of them,
so it's suggested that you do the latter. There is also a developing image-file
for you to choose certain images from to use in your
posts, etc.
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How safe is the personal information I might provide
on the website?
Extremely. Your email address is never given out or
sold to anyone. If you choose to utilize the contact
list and divulge further contact information, it stays within the member's
area (only others on the forum can access it) and will never be sold, or
otherwise used for any purpose other than to be contacted regarding Stigma.
Others who use this site to fraudulently obtain
others' personal information will be immediately removed from the group and
further legal action may be taken against that person.
Due to the nature of the group, extreme measures
are taken to ensure that your privacy is upheld. For more information, you may
want to review our privacy policy.
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Mailing Address:
STIGMA
P.O. Box 109
Bonner Springs, KS 66012
Email:
stigma@kc.rr.com
Frequently Asked Questions.
Copyright © 2005 [STIGMA]. All rights reserved.
This Page Last Revised: October 30, 2005
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© Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. Contact: WEBMASTER
