I try to sign in and am told my password and username don't match.
First, make sure you are entering either your username or your email address in the first login field, not both. Then enter your password in the second field. Passwords are case sensitive, so don't type any capitals unless you created a password with capitals in it.
If you cannot remember your password, go here and follow the steps. A new one, randomly generated by us, will be emailed to you. When you use it to sign in, make sure you copy and paste it exactly as it appears in the email we sent you. Once you have signed in, you can go to your profile page to change your password to something you can remember. (You can access your profile by clicking on "Welcome (your username)" in the upper righthand corner of our home page, or clicking "My profile" on the upper righthand side of any page within our Talk forums.

I try to sign in and nothing happens; the screen does not change.
Members occasionally experience this problem, which is likely related to a cookies problem with your individual computer. You can usually resolve this by switching Internet browsers. So, if you use Internet Explorer, go online, download Firefox and use that as your browser instead, or vice versa.

I am unable to sign out of cincyMOMS.
Some members occasionally experience this problem. We apologize for the inconvenience. To resolve this and sign out, you will first need to delete your cookies, then close the site. When you reopen cincyMOMS, you will see that you are signed out. Here are some instructions for deleting cookies

Why do you need my email and mailing addresses when I register?
First, know this: We do not sell these addresses, nor do we use them to bombard you with unsolicited material. But it is important that you register with correct information.

We occasionally award prizes to our users, and we use both email and the mailing address for this. For example, gmom was our 1,000th registered user. With her registration information, we were able to send her a $50 Kroger gift card.

In addition, the mailing address helps us track where people are hearing about the site and where they aren't, so we can adjust our promotion efforts accordingly.

The email address is critical. At times, we may need to send you important information about one of your posts - for instance, that it's been moved to another section, or that someone has finally responded to you after a number of weeks. (Both scenarios happen once in a while.) Also, requiring a valid email address is one way that we prevent unscrupulous people from entering our forums with nonsense posts.

You needn't worry that providing your email address will lead to unsolicited email from other users. You can always set your profile so that no one can send you email through the site.

Now I want to correct the mailing address I supplied at registration. How do I do that?
On any page of the site, click on "Welcome (your name)" in the upper righthand corner. Clicking on this takes you to your profile, where you can change your address.

How do I change the username I registered with?
We are not able to change anyone's username, so we strongly suggest that you choose your name carefully, and we recommend not using your real name unless you will be posting in some sort of official capacity. To start fresh on the site, you may register again with a new username and a different email address. (You can easily create a free address through yahoo.com or similar services.) Once you have done this, you can log in, go to the personal profiles associated with both usernames and change the email addresses listed there to those of your choosing.

Help - my username is showing as my email address! Here's what's happening: At some point in the past, you registered for the Enquirer's Get Published system, and at that time, your email address was assigned as your username. We share a member database with Get Published, so your username on Get Published is also your username on cincyMOMS. In order to have a different username on cincyMOMS, you need to register for cincyMOMS with the username of your choice and a different email address than the one you used for Get Published. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Please do not email members privately in order to criticize opinions they have expressed in the forums. If you find yourself getting so involved in discussions that you want to carry it into email, you need to step back and take a break. Private email is a courtesy we provide to members who need to followup with each other on subjects that may involve divulging private information. (Example: Two people whose children have special needs want to email each other about their experiences with a particular therapist.)

Assuming you are logged in, click on the "forum preferences" tab, "view my forum profile." You will see that you can check "yes" or "no" on receiving private email from other members.

I'm sending private email through the site, but people don't seem to be getting it. What's up?

Some users occasionally experience this difficulty. Send email to cincymoms@cincymoms.com and we'll check it out. Be as specific as possible in describing the problem, including copying and pasting any error messages that appear. Also, tell us which Internet browser you're using. (Commong ones are Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.)

Also, check your spam folder for emails from cincyMOMS.com. If your email to another user could not be delivered, the notice from us will sometimes end up in your spam folder. The main reason for undeliverable emails is that other users submitted incorrect email addresses months ago, before we started authenticating emails as part of the registration process.

Finally, people may be receiving your emails, but the emails are landing in their spam folders instead of their regular inbox. You may want to post on the site suggesting that they check their spam folders if they can't find the email from you.

Can I advertise my business in the discussion forums?
On a limited basis, and only if you are buying or selling used items, providing child care from your home or running a home-based business. You must be a genuine participant in other discussions on cincyMOMS in order to post any ads. This means your non-business related posts must outnumber your ads. (Child care ads are the only exception.)
Please go here for information on paid advertising and marketing partnerships with cincyMOMS.

Here are your options in the Talk forums:

For buying and selling used items:
- Go to our Buy and Sell section and post your items for sale in the appropriate forum based on the type of item it is, such as Clothing or Baby Gear and Toys. You may make one "for sale" post per category per day. You may not make more than two posts per month advertising the same item for sale.
- If you are seeking to buy an item, you may post in the Items Wanted to Buy forum and/or in the appropriate forum by type of item.

For child care:
- Go to the Child Care section of our Talk forums. Find the geographic folder that best represents where your in-home day care is located. Open that folder and make a post (click "start a new discussion") about your business.
Eventually, your post will drop to the second page of listings. If you still have openings for kids, you may bump it up again to the front page by posting a reply to your own post. But if you're already on the front page, don't bump just to get above other people's posts.

For other types of home-based businesses:

• You can explain what you have to offer by making a post (clicking on "start a new discussion") in our Home-based Businesses talk forum, within the Buy and Sell section.
• You must explain exactly what you do and how your business works, or refer people to a Web site that does so.
• You may make two posts a month in the Home-Based Businesses category. You may not post a reply to your own post just to bump it higher in the forum.
• Finally, you must be a genuine participant in other discussions on cincyMOMS in order to post ads in Home-based Businesses.

Your advertisement must state the name of the business and be clear about how money is made.

Any advertising-like posts that do not follow these guidelines will be moved to the appropriate forum or deleted. This obviously includes duplicate ad-like messages made in multiple forums, all of which will be deleted. Also, please do not send private e-mails to our members in order to promote your business. This may result in your being banned from the site.

Can I announce fund-raisers or volunteer opportunities in the forums? Yes, in our Giving Back section. You must follow the guidelines posted there. The section is not for posting fundraisers in which a portion of your sales go to a particular cause.

How do I find my old posts? On the home page, click on "Welcome (your username)" in the upper righthand corner. Or, if you're in our Talk forums, click on "My Profile" in the upper righthand corner. Scroll to the bottom of your profile and you'll see a list of all your old posts. The topics are ranked in order by most recent reply. So, this is a quick way for you to see which topics are "freshest," meaning still attracting comment from other members.

Can I look up other posts made by a particular user?
Yes, click on the person's username anywhere in the forums, or go to our members page and look up their profile.

I want to change something in one of my posts. Can I go back and fix it?
Yes. Click on your post to open it. Make your changes in the text box and click "edit post" at bottom to complete the changes.
Can I delete a post?
Not on your own. You can edit the post to remove all the text from it, but you cannot delete it entirely. If it's an emergency, you may email cincymoms@cincymoms.com and we will take a look and decide whether to delete it.

Are the Talk forums moderated?
Lightly. The managing editor sometimes intervenes in discussions when she receives complaints. We also have five part-time staffers who remind people of forum etiquette, move some posts and delete others. But we also count on members themselves to help keep conversations on track. We trust our members and know that the majority want a community they can be proud of.

What are the guidelines for behavior in the forums?
cincyMOMS does not allow:

• Arguments from one thread to spill over into others. You cannot “stalk” someone across the message boards in order to continue a fight. Anyone who does this will get a warning or will have their account deleted, depending on the circumstances.
• Hate speech. Comments that are blatantly racist, that condemn an entire group of people, that call for violence against a particular type of person, etc., will be deleted and the poster blocked from the site.
• Excessive personal attacks on other members. We understand that during heated discussion, unkind words may be spoken. We can live with a certain amount of rudeness in the name of provocative conversation. What we can't tolerate is a pattern of viciousness towards others. Continued name-calling, mocking, belittling, baiting or cursing may result in removal from the site, either on a temporary or permanent basis.

• “Hijacking” of serious threads when it leads to lengthy chit-chat about unrelated subjects. Although this is fun for the moms in the chit-chat, it’s confusing to people who visit the thread eager to see answers to the original post. Chit-chatters will be encouraged (in a friendly way) to start a spin-off discussion.
• Gossip about posters or other individuals who are not part of the conversation and thus cannot defend themselves. Gossip creates an uncomfortable atmosphere on the site. Also, you are responsible for what you say on cincyMOMS. If you're identifying public individuals by name, you should not present damaging "facts" about them unless you're certain the facts are true and you can prove them.
• Long arguments between the same two or three people who keep repeating their opinions, or are attacking each other instead of the issue at hand. Such threads may be locked to further comment, and/or the posters may be temporarily or permanently banned from the site.
• A pattern of excessive cursing. Sometimes a well-placed curse word - modified to beat the censors, of course - is just what's needed to lighten up a conversation. We understand that. But we frown on tons of cursing for cursing's sake, so please be careful.
• Identical posts in multiple forums, when they stack up under "Recent Discussions" on our home page. Multiple advertisements for businesses are not allowed and will be deleted. We do allow you to post your items for sale in more than one category, but we ask that you do so at different times of the day, so they don't dominate the Recent Discussions section. It's also fine to seek advice on a problem in more than one category, as long as you space out the posts a bit.

What can I do about obnoxious users or posts I consider objectionable?
You can use the feedback form on our Contact Us page, or you may send an email to cincymoms@cincymoms.com, or you may email Managing Editor Karen Gutierrez through the site by clicking on her username, cincymom. All of these emails go directly to Karen, and she distributes them to the rest of the moderators for action. Karen checks her email via handheld when not at her computer, so that emergencies can be handled promptly.
Keep in mind that this is an open forum. We rarely delete posts, although we will take action if guidelines are violated.

Who's on the paid staff of cincyMOMS?
Managing Editor Karen Gutierrez is the only full-time staff member, but the online, marketing and advertising departments of the Cincinnati Enquirer also are involved with the site.

We also employ five moms on a part-time basis to delete improper ads from the forums, move posts to the correct categories when necessary, delete or lock discussions when necessary and send emails or make posts to remind people of forum guidelines. The usernames of the five moms are Organized Chaos, MizGreenJeans, MommyontheGo, OHmom and Zoesmomma. They participate in the forums just like anyone else. When they pop in on an official basis, they sign their posts with their first names followed by "Moderator, cincyMOMS." You may email them by clicking on their usernames, but the most efficient way to reach all the moderators is to email Karen in the manner described above.

We love our advertisers! Please contact our advertising director, Jamie Asquith, at 513-768-8432 or jasquith@enquirer.com, for information on display ads or sponsorship of forum pages.

To discuss a marketing and advertising partnership with cincyMOMS, please contact Reagan Zugelter at 513-768-8015 or rzugelter@enquirer.com.

You may also be interested in purchasing one of the small, text-only ads that appears in various places on our site. These are self-service. Go here to find out about text ads that run continuously on our site and others in the Enquirer network. Go here for information on text ads that appear on cincyMOMS during particular time periods of your choosing.

How can I get my mom's club or playgroup listed on the site?

To be included in our official list, send an email to cincymoms@cincymoms.com with the following information: Name of group, neighborhoods it serves, special interests served (SAHMs, children with autism, etc.), Web site if you have one, contact email or phone numbers, rhythm of meetings (every third Thursday, for example), time and location of meetings, dues if you have any and examples of activities. (You can put "varies" or "TBA" if you don't have set meeting times or locations.) To see what our official list looks like for other groups, click here.

Click here to submit items to the cincyMOMS community calendar.

I'm having trouble submitting items to the calendar, or my listing has not yet appeared. Help? It takes about a week for calendar submissions to appear. E-mail your questions to our calendar staff at calendar@cincinnati.com, or call 513-768-8218

How do I see events suitable for children of a certain age? Click into any date on the calendar. Then use the "Filter by age" box at the upper left.