ADVICE

Great Life Stories Advice

Here are some common sense suggestions for publishing your Great Life Story. Please remember that while the Great Life Stories community makes it easy to relay your personal experiences to friends and family in the same way that you could to any friend or acquaintance sitting next to you, we cannot instantly erase any record of what you submit to "Public" status on the internet. Please be cautious about posting anything that could embarrass you or expose you to danger. A useful rule of thumb is if you would be proud to see your Story published on the front page of your local newspaper, it is probably safe to share with the vast audience on the internet.

Your Great Life Story is private until you share the access.
You control the access to your Story. Access or visibility status can be set to Private, Friends & Family, or Public. You can maintain your Story with Private access. This means that only you can see your Story. This is a reasonable stage while you are drafting your Story. You can choose to open your Story to Friends & Family members. This is a list of users that you personally add to the access group for your story. This is a reasonable status if you are normally a private person and you do not want to share your story outside of your direct acquaintances. You may also choose to make some of your Story chapters public but leave a particularly private or sensitive chapter in the Private or Friends & Family status. The Friends & Family list is provided for your security. We advise you to not add anyone to your Friends & Family list unless you have met them personally in the physical world or you have a real acquaintance that personally vouches for them. Please treat your Friends & Family list as you would in person and be cautious about disclosing any personal information that might hurt you or someone you know. Please also be aware that you may choose to add many new acquaintances to your Friends and Family list. It may grow to 10's or 100's of contacts. What you might tell to 1 you might not say to 10's or 100's.

Your Public Great Life Story
Once you open the security on your story to "Public", it is possible that it will be exposed to millions of contacts. A Public Great Life Story is in a public space. Do not post anything here that you would not be comfortable in your local or national newspaper as a personal memoir of your life.

Do not include personal contact information in your Public Great Life Story (i.e. your phone number, home address, physical location, etc.). Avoid posting anything that would make it easy for a stranger to stalk you such as where you go for coffee everyday

People Are Not Always Who They Say They Are. Be Careful About Treating Online Strangers As If They Were Close Friends.
This is especially true on the internet. It is fun to reminisce with old or new friends from around the world about your personal history or shared experience. Be cautious of any acquaintance you meet only through this online medium. If you do build a relationship with someone online and you choose to meet that person face to face, be sure to do it in a public place and be sure to bring a friend or trusted protector who can take care of you.

Racial or Hateful Words, Harassment, or Inappropriate Content Should Be Reported.
If you receive or observe someone's communications or posted stories as including inappropriate or offensive content, please contact Great Life Stories immediately at webmaster@greatlifestories.com.

Be Aware That Your Story Is A Personal Legacy.
We are publishing your personal Great Life Story. Think about the kind of legacy you want to leave your children and future generations. Sometimes the truth is necessary but be certain that you would be comfortable if your story was the headline in the newspaper.

Don't Mislead People With A Wonderful Life That Didn't Happen.
If you knowingly misrepresent yourself or attempt to mislead other people with false or fabricated stories, customer service will delete your account and stories from the Great Life Stories community. Do not portray yourself as something or someone that you are not. You had a great life; be honest.

Be Cautious Of "Phishing Scams".
"Phishing" is a deceptive way that con artists will use to defraud you by attempting to get you to tell them your personal information so that they can assume your identity. You will never receive an email from Great Life Stories asking you to log into the community to reconfirm user information or passwords. Do not give your user name, password, or personal contact information to any requestor where you are uncertain of the validity of the source.

These sites also have very good advice about online safety tips:

FTC Safety Tips
Netsmartz.org
BlogSafety.com
Common Sense Media
SafeFamilies.org

Start now! Create your Great Life Story.