Out of order... originally posted on 28 Jun 2017, 08:30
A work in progress. Lots of links to be fixed now. One of these days...
KTC can be confusing. Not just how to post roll -
they have a video for that, by the way - but everything else around it. For the first couple of months, it seems like there's a bunch of unwritten rules that you run into every time you turn around.
So, rebel that I am, I decided to write them down.
This is a work in progress, as I have time. If you have suggestions or corrections (or - even better - a link to a post where a mod or admin said, "This is kosher" or "That is unacceptable") please PM me or start a new topic below - I'll edit this to amend things as needed.
Now... here is Everything You Wanted To Know About KTC But Were Afraid To Ask.
TODO list...
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How KTC Works[/size]
I can't do much better than this link on the main website -
Here's How You Quit... Ball Is In Your Court Now. That covers the who, what, where, when, why and how of quitting.
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Slang[/size]
IQWYT? ODAAT? WTF? Decipher these and other Acronymnics Obscura using the
KTC Quitionary!
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What's Expected Of You[/size]
So you signed up. You've got an account. You've even foudn your group and posted roll for the first time because someone sent you a link to
that video. Yay! What's next?
Here's what you've signed up for:
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Brotherhood and Accountability[/size]
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- By "brotherhood" we mean "get to know people".
- By "accountability" we mean "tell people how to get in contact with you".
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You'll hear people talk about WUPP EDD.
Wake
Up,
Piss,
Post -
Every
Damn
Day. That means you've committed to getting on here and making your promise to stay clean from nicotine first thing, every day.
We don't take days off here. No, not ever when you're really, really busy. You never took a day off of dipping, right? You don't take a day off of quitting either. We are addicted - when we were chewing, dipping, smoking, or whatever, we would
make time for our habit. You are going to be expected to
make time for quitting. If you don't, the other quitters will get on your case about it.
That's accountability. That's what you asked for when you posted roll. Complaining about it is pointless.
Understand this, your fellow quitters
can only hold you accountable if they can get in touch with you. That means that you need to "share digits" (exchange phone numbers). Start texting people. Maybe give someone a call.
[size=50]Yes, I am encouraging you to text and call strange men that you met on an internet site. I realize that your Mama probably told you not to do stuff like that. She probably also told you to not stuff cat shit in your mouth, though, so frankly, you've already got a track record of ignoring her advice, so let's just let it go and get to texting and calling, OK?[/size]
"Brotherhood" means we're looking out for each other. When your brother did something dumb, you called him out on it, smacked him upside the head and told him not to do it anymore. Here, when
you do something dumb, expect someone to call you out on it, (virtually) smack you upside the head and tell you to stop doing that.
Strangers don't care if you're stuffing cancer into your lip. We do, because we're your quit brothers and sisters.
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KTC Is A Nicotine Free-Site[/size]
You knew that, right? The site is called "Kill The Can", but really, it's for
nicotine addicts. So in order to be a member here, in order to post here, in order to get support here... you need to not just give up chewing, you need to give up nicotine entirely. That means...
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- No snuff.
- No dip.
- No chew.
- No snus.
- No cigarettes.
- No cigars.
- No pipes.
- No vaping.
- No nicotine gum.
- No nicotine patches.
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In short:
If it has nicotine in it - do not pick, pack, ingest, inject, snort, sniff, inhale, or otherwise introduce it to your body.[size=75]
Wait - I'm Not An Addict![/size]
Why, yes. Yes you are. Have you tried quitting before? Have you failed?
It's because you're addicted. If you have used nicotine for any period of time, it has caused measurable physiological changes in your body and brain. If you stop using nicotine, you will experience withdrawal symptoms. Those withdrawal symptoms suck badly enough that most people, absent a support framework, will go back to using nicotine in order to relieve the symptoms of withdrawal. That's pretty much the
definition of an addict.
Some people react really negatively to the idea that they're an addict.
Don't. You have to admit that in order to truly quit. You cannot use nicotine, period. You can't be quit for a year and have just one to celebrate, any more than an alcoholic can be dry for a year and have just one night out on the town... doing so leads to a relapse and a reinforcement of the addiction.
This is my own personal opinion, but I think that successful quitters really embrace the concept of themselves as an addict. It is liberating - all those times you have tried and failed before? It's not because you were
weak, it's because your brain was fighting you every step of the way
and you didn't realize it. Now that you admit you are an addict and understand the implications of that, you can develop a support network - something
outside of your nicotine-addled brain - to help you cope with withdrawal and get on with quitting.
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What You Can Expect[/size]
Oh, man. There's quite a bit of advice you can find. There is also some additional info on the main site:
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As you head into your first weekend of quit, I highly recommend going over Harvest Girl's
Quit Compilation. It's like the K-TEL record of quits, only the top hits... and if you got that reference, you can expect to see a AARP brochure in your mailbox any day now.
You might also want to check out this very useful
plan for handling craves from Swilson:
People it's pretty fucking simple use the tools at your disposal. If you feel a crave do all of the following first before choosing to bitch out and put crap in you lip:
1. Call a brother
2. Text a brother
3. Make a post
4. Go back and read some of the shit you went through
5. Workout for 5 minutes
6. Eat something
7. Use a substitute like seeds or fake stuff
8. Don't be a little bitch
9. Say I choose to put cancer in my face out loud before hand
10. Repeat just don't cave
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Rules, Tradition & Etiquette[/size]
There's a difference between rules, tradition and etiquette. Rules are what the guys who run the site determine. If you break one of them, you may be a warning, you may get put on probation (where every post has to be approved by a moderator) or you may get banned.
Tradition is the way things happen. Breaking up groups by month, AFAICT, isn't a rule - it is a very strong tradition, though. You probably can't change tradition, so the best you can do is understand what's happening so you're not completely confused.
Etiquette is... everything else. Suggestions on how to interact with everyone else on the site. STRONG suggestions, for the most part - though some are stronger than others. If you continually violate etiquette, you can expect people to call you out, call you names, and - eventually - start ignoring you completely.
The thing you really need to keep in mind is that while a bunch of the traditions and etiquette around the site might seem arbitrary... it really isn't. They are ways of doing business here at KTC that have developed over the years, and they get followed because they work. Take the time to read
these words of wisdom from pyk1520 - he does an excellent job of laying out what's what, why things work the way they do, and why you should think twice before deciding to ignore the way business gets done here.
The Law (Rules)
[TODO: include pointers to rules, like no IP masking, etc.]
[Multiple accounts:
http://forum.killthecan.org/topic/30249720/]
They're very lenient on the boards, but there are certain things that will get you shut down. Sexual harassment. Derogatory comments about someone else's family members. Overtly racists comments. [Verify... examples?]
See
Gentgeen's comments on moderation...
It also takes A LOT to get banned here at KTC. If you review the guidelines -- http://forum.killthecan.org/topic/1004627/ -- the moderators don't want to ban anyone, and then try not moderate. (You can also review http://forum.killthecan.org/topic/1006018/ which gives some insight to the moderators ).
Posting Personal Information (Rule)
Keep your digits off the boards. Send them in a PM if you need to. If you post your digits on the boards, expect a mod to come along and turn (404) 867-5309 into (XXX) XXX-XXXX for you.
Probably a good idea to keep other personal information off the boards, too (email addresses, postal addresses, etc.) There are spammers out there who would love to have that info - don't give it to them. PM, or get digits and share 'em via text.
If you post someone ELSE'S personal information on the boards, expect it to be similarly obfuscated or just deleted outright, AND to get a warning about doing so. You don't own that information, so it's not yours to share.
PMs (Private Messages) (Rules/Etiquette)
Private Messages are... supposed to be private. There's nothing to keep you from copying/pasting something from a PM elsewhere, but it's both a breach of etiquette and a violation of the rules.
Per the moderators,
"Sharing Pm's on the public forum is not tolerated."Quit Groups (Tradition)
TBD
Conductors (Tradition)
TBD
HOF (Hall Of Fame) (Tradition)
TBD
HOF Speeches (Tradition)
TBD
Wiping Your Feet (Etiquette)
It's considered polite to post support in a group before jumping in to make a comment.
If you jump in to make a joke, or tell a story about your quit or something like that, then you will most likely get a polite reminder to wipe your feet if you haven't already done so.
If you're being polite about it, it's usually OK to post a message first, then immediately post support.
If you come in, fists swinging in order to pick a fight over something or tell someone they're an idiot, then you had BETTER post support first.
Posting Roll - The What (Rule/Tradition)
Already covered WUPP EDD. What do you put and where?
Every group starts out with a list roll - new quitters up top, supporters down below. You post roll by putting your name, your number of days quit, and your promise not to use nicotine that day. For example:
JoeSchmoe - day 17. I promise to not use nicotine today.
Once you get some quit under your belt, it's acceptable to put your name and your day count, ex:
JoeSchmoe - 117
TBD:
Dealing with a promise that doesn't make it to roll?Posting Roll - The How (Etiquette)
Did I mention that
they have a video for that? I think I may have. You really should go watch it! As with anything else, though, once you master the basics, you are ready to move on to advanced studies. Which is why I really appreciate CavMan83's instructions on
How To Post Roll Like A Pro.
As he said
elsewhere:
You've heard it said that the only way to really screw up roll is to not be on it.....while that is true, it also is true that if folks spent just a bit of time to go back and review their posts, a whole bunch of the bump fixes could be remedied....maybe not all, but a goodly number of them! Quit on!!
Frazzled talks about
why posting your day count is so important.
Posting Support (Tradition/Etiquette)
Some people post above the line all the time (Clampy). That's OK. It's actually a cool thing. You may have a couple of vets who regularly post "above the line" with your group. That's a great thing! They're there to help you out, help you move through your first few months, answer questions, be mentors... whatever. They're Qui-Gon to your Obi-Wan and yes I am a geek just shut up OK?
You don't have to be invited to post support somewhere! If you feel a connection, go for it. Post in the supporters section, though. Unless you're 1k days quit like Clampy and just do give a flying rat's patootie.
In short, long-time vets can get away with some things you probably can't.
Rank Has Its Privilege.If there's a supporter that you as a group really like, you can explicitly invite them to post above the line with you. That's kinda like adopting them as a member of the group. It's more or less traditional to invite your conductors to continue to post with you as part of the group.
Changing Roll (Rules/Tradition/Etiquette)
DO NOT DO THIS. Roll is sacred. You can post your promise, you can amend your promise, you can fix a bump (see below) or a jacked up roll, but other than that, leave it alone.
In a new group, you can get away with moving someone's roll post from below the line (supporters) to above the line (group members) if they're a new, foggy quitter who doesn't get the hang of roll. Other than that... nope. Stay away from it.
Adding text to the end of someone's roll line? Probably not kosher. May be a rules violation. Almost certainly a breach of etiquette.
Flashman commented on this.Deliberately changing or deleting someone's roll line? Definitely a rules violation.
Don't fuck with someone else's roll under any circumstances.Bump Fixes (Etiquette)
TBD