You can get a copy of these guidelines any time by emailing guidelines@forums.alnap.org.
What is the Purpose of the ALNAP Forums?
The ALNAP forums aim to provide ALNAP Full and Observer members with an online space to share ideas and debate on issues related to learning, accountability and performance in humanitarian action. As a diverse network of members from key humanitarian organisations and experts from across the global humanitarian sector, we believe ALNAP Full and Observer members are uniquely placed to make contributions to the emerging exchange of ideas and learning.
How are the forums and blogs facilitated and moderated?
The ALNAP forums and blog are facilitated tools, and all messages are lightly moderated.
The ALNAP Secretariat may contact ALNAP members from time to time, encouraging them to contribute or respond to postings as a means of promoting dialogue, or synthesising key discussions for purpose of future learning.
What kinds of messages are not permitted on the Forums / Blogs?
From time to time the facilitator may reject postings if they are deemed to be excessively off-topic or inappropriate.
The following postings are not considered appropriate for the ALNAP forums and blog:
- Postings of a purely commercial nature
- Funding requests
- Service adverts – trainings and conferences should be posted to ALNAP events; vacancies should be posted to ALNAP jobs and consultancies
- Postings containing overtly political messages
- Postings that do not materially engage with the topic under discussion
- Spam or repeat postings
- Requests for work
- Postings that are disrespectful or personally insulting
In cases where a posting has been rejected, the facilitator will try to contact the contributor explaining why the posting falls outside of these guidelines. Contributors are welcome to re-submit postings which comply with the ALNAP forums and blog guidelines, or re-submitting to more relevant areas of the ALNAP site.
How do I post to the forums via email?
Just like posting via the website, before you can post to the forum via email you need to have an account. If you don't have an account, you can create one now.
When posting via email, be sure to use the same email address that you used when you created your account, otherwise we won't know who you are!
How do I start a new topic?
To start a new topic, you need to send your email to a specific forum area. Just go to the forum area that you want to post to, and you'll see the link at the top of the page.
Here's a handy list of all the forum area emails. Note that you might not have permission to post to all of them.
The subject that you enter will be used as the title of the topic.
It helps us if you don't include your signature in your email. Our system will try to remove it if you do include it, but it can't always recognise signatures.
How do I reply to an existing topic?
If you have chosen to receive posts via email, you can just reply to the email and your post will be submitted as a reply.
It helps us if you do not include the original message in your reply, and the same goes for your signature. Our system will try to remove it if you do include it, but it can't always recognise the original email so it might get included in your response.
How can I receive updates from the forums?
To subscribe to an entire forum area and receive any new posts, just visit that forum on our website and click the link that says Get email updates from this forum.
If you just want to subscribe to a particular topic that's been started, go to that topic on the website and click the link that says Get email updates on this post.
How can I unsubscribe?
Just repeat the process above, but this time click the Unsubscribe link. Alternatively, you can manage all your subscriptions from your account.
Why am I not getting my forum updates?
If you are not receiving forum updates that you have subscribed to, please add the forums.alnap.org domain to your spam filter's whitelist.
Where has my post gone?
There may be a short delay between your message being sent and it appearing on the forum as it passes through our moderation system.
