EMTbravo

Members- We've decided to develop and try a "Photo Of The Month" contest. Here's how it's going to work for now: -Scene/Incident Shots Only (for now) NO staged shots -Photo MUST be yours -Photo taken during June 2006 Email your photos to EMTBravo@EMTBravo.com. Please state your EMTBravo ID, and request to submit it for the contest. Include information about the photo, like date/time and incident info. All photos must be from a digital camera. Deadline for Photo Of The Month:June 2006 will be June 30th, 2006 We are currently developing an independent judging panel and process. Winning photo will be posted on the EMTBravo front page, and a new "Photo Of The Month" page, and will possibly be included in the EMTBravo.com 2007 Calendar. Thanks to X2321 and Truck4 for the idea. -EMTBravo

When you visit these forums, what do you (ideally) want to see, and what do you want to read about?

Since there seems to be an interest, both voiced and expressed (80% of members voting voted yes) as well as those members expressing their comments and feedback both on this thread and via PM, I will strongly consider adding this forum soon. My only question is, what should it be called?

I'm thinking of creating a new forum next to "The Lounge" for the discussion of all NON-emergency service related trucks, trains, boats, cars, and planes. What are your thoughts on this, and if we did create this forum, what would we even call it? (Votes without comments won't have any weight)

Member, "What’s the fun of a photo if you can’t share it?" (View Our Photo Submission Guide For HOW to submit your photos) At EMTBravo.com, we are always looking for the latest original photos to show our members. The photos on EMTBravo.com sent in by our members is one of the most important features that drives our site. We are always on the lookout for the best photos of the area's latest incidents,apparatus deliveries (Fire EMS AND PD), apparatus spy shots, unique happenings, etc. We're currently specifically interested in serious incidents, new deliveries, and spy shot photos from Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Southern Dutchess, Southern Orange, New York City, Bergen County NJ, Fairfield County CT, especially the Stamford metro area, and Los Angeles CA. We're also on the lookout for photos of any agency taking delivery of a Dodge Charger, Pierce Arrow Xt, or Mack Granite. Our site is visited by a large amount of your peers from the area...what do you want to show them? You don't have to be a professional photographer or even a great one to submit, we just ask for a reasonable amount of quality shots to choose from that others would be interested in seeing. We ask that the photos submitted are at least 750x550 in size, in decent lighting and properly framed. When we decide and sort what photos we are going to post, we are thinking about what the general membership of EMTBravo would like to see. One of the biggest complaints we hear is "Why weren't my photos posted?". We realize that some people get upset or are insulted that they don't see their photos posted. Their are several reasons for this. Often time, it's simply because we run out of time to post every single photo received. Many photos are queued or warehoused for future use. Mostly everyone who submits to EMTBravo has had their photos not posted at one time or the other. When you submit photos, they are all considered for posting and chosen from a large pool of submissions, and just by submitting does not automatically entitle you to the photos being posted on EMTBravo.com Here are some reasons why photo's aren't posted: -Poor quality photos (poor lighting, shot is cut off, random people in the shot, shot is blurry, shot is obstructed, etc) -Apparatus inside a garage -Nothing interesting going on in the incident photos (What do you want to see when looking at photos?) -Incident photos don't show personnel working, or anything to learn from -Photos don't reflect the emergency services as positive -Emails don't include EMTBravo username for photo credit or permission to post -Not enough photos to make an interesting layout (We are hoping to reintroduce in the near future our "Photo Feed" feature, which will allow us to show the single shots that we receive. We know there are a ton of you with cameras that take great photos, but don't share with us....yet. So, if you have a set of photos that you want to share for us to consider posting, feel free to email them to EMTBravo@EMTBravo.com. Remember to include your EMTBravo username. All photos must be YOURS. Check out our Photo Submission Guide for further details: http://emtbravo.com/PSG.html. For tips on Fire & EMS photography, feel free to visit the Fire/EMS Photography interactive forum on EMTBravo.net. Special thanks to ALL the EMTBravo.com submitting photographers for continuing to share their photos with all of us. It is much appreciated. We're looking foward to seeing your photos! -EMTBravo www.emtbravo.com www.emtbravo.net P.S. Look for buddy shots to return! Details coming soon........... Are you an EMTBravo Network Verified Member yet? Visit EMTBravo Network for details............

Members, As you may know, EMTBravo Network recently launched our Verified Member program. To date, over 150 members have applied to this unique and optional program and become verified. When browsing the forum, and you see the "Verified Member" icon in a members post or profile, it means that member openly displays their rank and affiliation type in their profile for all members to see, and optionally, their name and agency. It also means that member has sent an application to the EMTBravo Network Administrator, and have placed their name, agency, rank, email, and phone number or address on secure file with the administrator of the forum. This information was also used to verify the member is a real person, is who they say they are, and that they are using only one screen name to post. So, how does this apply to you? Verified Members aren't just another screen name. When browsing the forum now, we ask that you recognize there are two types of members. Regular Members, and Verified Members, who are noted by the Verified Member icon and appear in bold black in the Online list. Since anybody can sign up for a username and post, our Verified Members have taken steps to ensure their credibility. These members choose not to hide behind a screen name, are clear on who they are and what they do, and stand behind each and every post they make. EMTBravo Network encourages all actively posting members to become verified and help us maintain the forum as a positive, constructive, and respectful place for the exchange of information and ideas. For more information on this program, please visit the Network Headquarters section of the EMTBravo Network forum. Thanks to all members who have shown their support by becoming verified. For Information On How To Become A Verified Member, Click Here EMTBravo Network www.emtbravo.com www.emtbravo.net

The "Close Topic" feature IS NOT there for members to close a topic when they are tired of it, or don't want it discussed anymore. It's to shut down a topic when it gets out of hand, until a moderator can get to it.

OK, want to get verified and join our Verified Members Program? Here's the simple way: 1. Complete the Name (Optional), Location, Affilitation Type, Rank, Agency(Optional) fields in your online forum profile. All the other fields are optional. To access and edit your online forum profile, click here: http://emtbravo.net/index.php?act=UserCP&CODE=01 2. EMAIL the following application to EMTBravo@EMTBravo.com Remember, you don't neccasarily need 25 posts! For Complete Details On The Verified Members Program And Getting Verified, Click Here

In addition to what Shantz mentioned, intially, I had the settings at 31 days, so all topics with no replies in 31 days are locked. From now on, it will be no replies in 50 days.

Members- "Why are all the old topics locked?" We have added a feature that automatically locks all topics that haven't been replied to in 50 days or more. This will prevent "dredging", or members from posting in dead/dormant topics that are months, or even years old and bringing them to the top. If you have a fresh perspective on the old topic, or the answer to the question, then please feel free to start a new topic. Or, to request a topic be reopened, please contact me via email, at EMTBravo@EMTBravo.com -EMTBravo

Thanks Mstang and Porsha911gt3 and to all the member who come here to share constructive information and ideas who are the reason why we got to that number! When this forum started from scratch on November 15th, 2003, it had 0 posts and 0 members. Now, we have over 50,000 posts, in over 9,500 topics, with over 4,100 registrations and over 10,000 private messages sent. We hope to keep the trend going, and hope to continue to make this site better and better. Did you know you can view EMTBravo Network Statistics anytime on our statistics page? http://emtbravo.net/index.php?act=statistics

Verified members show up in bold black font on the active users list. Regular member show up in plain font. I think the difference is quite distinguishable, but I will consider a color. As far as the "perks" of the program....this unique program was put in place after many suggestions by members. It's a way for the members to know that the person behind the screenname is credible, and a way for other members to know their role in the field. It's not just someone who registered for screename to hide behind and cause trouble or incite conflict, pretend to be someone their not, post with multiple usernames, come on here to push an agenda, etc etc. All Verified Members have or contriubute to the goal of this forum being a positive, respectful, and constructive place to exchange information and ideas. The members who enrolled in this program really stand behind what they say. So far, the response to this program has been awesome. We have over 70 members verified, and are processing several more. We hope that one day all members who post are verified. In addition, other forum Since this is a new trial program, we are still developing it. Any feedback is welcomed, either here or by email, EMTBravo@EMTBravo.com If you're submitting an application, don't forget to complete your online forum profile BEFORE sending me the application. Also, we will waive the 25+ post requirment on a case by case basis, so if you were intially turned off by that, please contact me.

Please use this thread for any questions or feedback you may have on the new Verified Member program.

Members- Just a brief update. We have decided to go foward with this project. We are still developing the concept, and hope to release the beta program soon. Please continue with the input and ideas......everybody who posted, PM'd, and emailed with their thoughts helped formulate and further refine the idea. We hope this unique new program will be a step towards keeping this board a positive, constructive, and respectful place to exchange ideas and information.

I am not asking nor am I soliciting personal information. As for the information that I stated would be asked for in my orignal post, that was just for example.....this program is still being developed. I don't want your "personal" information". There are some simple things I am going to ask for, that would make a member validated by the terms of the program. I'm not going to be doing a background check on people, again, it would be some simple measures I'm considering like the member has a real name, affiliation, rank, valid email, is using only one username, has proven good repuation on this forum, has a minimum post count, etc. I have ways based on that information requested to correlate it and verify the member to the terms of the program. Unfortunetly, there may be a person or two who try to pose when it comes to the affilitation, but I'm working on trying to figure out how to prevent that. And again, the participation in this potential program is completly optional, and is completly voluntary. Don't want to give the info, don't. We're continuing to develop this, and likely will run a beta/trial program soon. The reason I'm doing this is because a lot of members have requested something like this.

Let me clear up a few things here. The information will be visible to me, and me only. NO ONE BUT ME WILL SEE OR HAVE ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. The information will be used for verification purposes only, and then discarded. The point of this is to add credibilty to the name, and diminish credibilty on those who create screen names to hide behind, while still trying to maintain the anonoymous nature of the member name which I feel encourages more open discussion and makes many more comfortable posting. Additionally, some have come to be known by their screen names. Voluntary participation in this program will be OPTIONAL. At this point, I'm thinking I will do a "verification application" type thing, which I'm still working on what to include on it. You'll email me some information, I will confirm it, and then change the members status. I'd like to know what kinds of things you'd like to see in a "Verified Members" profile. One of the things I think would be appropriate is age. As for the term "Verified Member", thats the most accurate depiction I could come up with. Can anyone think of another term? Thanks for the input , please keep it coming.

This board is currently set to default Eastern Standard Time, with daylights savings time observed. I'm showing the time to be correct. This is adjustable by each member, which is the reason why your times may be off. To adjust your time, click on "My Controls" on the top menu bar, click on "Board Settings" on the left sidebar in the "Options" category, and verify your time settings are correct to where you are living.

Members- After many suggestions by several members of this site, I am considering developing a "Verified Member Program". A member would submit (for example purposes at this time only) their real name, address, email, phone number, agency affiliation and rank to me, and the information would only be available and visible to me and the member who it belongs to. Then, once confirmed, their rank on this board in their profile would be changed to "Verified Member". The reason I am considering developing this is so that members would have a way to add credibilty to their screen names when posting, and to try and reduce the trouble caused by those who hide behind a screen name. Some incentives to encourage participation in the "Verified Member" program would possibly include access to more features then regular members, and access to a forum where more "open" discussion would be permitted. Any thoughts? Good idea or useless? Would anyone participate?

Members- Over the next few days, we will be relocating the EMTBravo Headquarters including the relocation and resetup of EMTBravo computer systems and equipment. During this time, expect delays in communication with me, as well as significant delays in updates (posting photos) to EMTBravo.com. These delays are predicted at this time to last until 3-22-06. Please note that all communication recieved during this period will be responded to as soon as possible, just with a longer-then-usual delay. Note this board will continue to be monitored during this time. The Truck4 Operations Center will continue to be up and running during this transisiton and is not affected by this move. After the move is completed, and we are settled in, we have many new things and ideas planned for EMTBravo.com. Thank you for your cooperation. -EMTBravo

Recently, I've hear some complaining from few members that their post has been deleted or locked. Well actually, some members like to just whine amongst themselves and not talk to me so I can explain or resolve the issue. Often, these select members are ignorant and continously disregard the purpose and rules of this forum, and enjoy making nonsense comments hiding behind the anonymity of a screen name. And some members just like to cause trouble. So, I just wanted to provide a few random tips on how not to get your post deleted or locked. These facts are related to the top reason why posts get deleted. 1. Don't bash an agency or a person. 2. Don't take this down to a personal level, and attack another member. Keep the discussion limited to the topic at hand. 3. Post something factual. Don't post something that's a rumor, or something that will lead to unfounded speculation. 4. Post something constructive, not destructive. 5. Sometimes, your post didn't get deleted. It may have been moved to another forum. 6. Beating a dead horse. Sometimes, we're all just sick of a thread that just won't die, and it's time for a fresh discussion. 7. This forums an information exhange. It will be maintained as a positive, constructive, and respectful place to exchange information. This forum won't be a baseless rantfest. 8. Read the rules. 9. I didn't lock or delete the thread. The member starting it did. There are other factors that go into moderating this board that most members don't see, such as numerous emails, PM, and Post Reports that get sent to me on a daily basis that I use in making my decisions, as well as posts that they may not see. We are working on a new member validation system, as well as some new policies in order to better handle some "hot" discussions. Please, cut me some slack, and if you have an issue with the way this forum is run, I'm always willing to discuss it with you. It's unfair to bash me and the way this forum is run without even giving me a chance. I'm open to all questions, comments, concerns, and ideas anytimes......just email me at EMTBravo@EMTBravo.com. This goes for positive stuff too, if you like this forum let me know as well! To all the AWESOME members of this forum posting the great topics and posts, keep it up. There are people learning from them and talking about them... Thanks!

Members- When someone passes away in the emergency services line, the news often spreads quite fast. Since what's posted on this forum is seen quickly by a wide audience, we ask that members refrain from posting a death that has just occured, or inquiring about a death that has just occured. Sometimes, families aren't notified yet, the proper and respectful channels have not been followed, and accurate information may not be available yet or the family may wish to keep the details private. We realize that members are anxious to express their condolences. However, we ask that members withhold posting information about a death until it becomes general and open information to all, unless it is posted by an official source, such as a departmental source such as a chief or family member. At the right time where it becomes general information, then a proper condolence and information thread may be started by any member wishing to do so. Additionally, we also ask any member who sees a premature post to PM the member making the thread to make them aware of this post and ask them to delete/hold off their thread until the proper time. Thanks.

This quote is from when you registered for this forum.

Members- Please be advised that we cannot "babysit" this forum 24/7. We make every effort to remove objectionable and offensive comments as soon as possible. Due to the volume of posts, we also cannot review each post in every thread all the time. Therefore, We ask that members help notify us of offensive and objectionable posts by using the "Report" button, visible at the bottom of each post. This will send a notice to myself, and the moderator of the forum. Please use this only when neccesary, and include why you are reporting the post. This report will NOT be seen by any other member, only the adminstrators of this forum, and you will remain anonymous. We will then look into the issue and determine if any action is warranted. Additionally, we ask thread creators to close or delete their threads, or notify us if they feel it's getting or gotten out of hand. Also, if members have an issue with the way this forum is moderated, or an action taken to one of their posts, please feel free to contact me with your concerns. Please note though that sometimes posts are moved to a more appropriate forum, or members will delete or close a thread they started with no action from us. Please make sure you are aware of the rules and purpose of this forum before contacting me about a post deletion. We will never allow bashing/inappropriate criticism/negative comments towards any agency or person on this site. Thank you for helping us keep this forum a positive, constructive, and respectful information exchange. -EMTBravo * I will not be held accountable for a post deletion or rules violation. You violate the rules, it's your fault...not mine. The rules and purpose are clearly stated, and by registering for this site you agreed to follow them. This is a private, moderated, and limited information exchange driven by members of this site. Actions taken against members of the site for violation of the rules, attempts to skate by or ignore the rules, or harrasment or disregard of the administrator can include having posting privledges removed and/or banning from the site. Comments, questions, and concerns are always welcome, EMTBravo@EMTBravo.com

Can you please be a little more specific about what needs to be centered? If your talking about the "Information Exchange" line, then that is supposed to be right-aligned. But it's not the look that I care about, nor the reason why I posted this thread or made the header. It's the message in the header that I want to get across.

Notice the new header on top of the forum? It says: "EMTBravo Network Information Exchange" I put that up there to remind those that think otherwise that that is the vision I started the forums with, and why I continue to run the forums. As a place to exchange information between all in the emergency services community. Please note this new header slogan has nothing to do with the EMTBravo.com slogan thing, which I am continuing to work on.