1. No one likes to be bombarded with ads, so we limit member advertisements to the Member-Owned Business Forum. Advertising is not permitted on the General Discussion Forum.
2. We need to be able to reach all advertising members in one go, so you’ll need to join the Business Owner Subgroup as your first step. Continue reading the instructions below for more information on how to do this. Note that you won’t be posting your business announcements to the Business Owner Subgroup; this is only where the Doha Mums administrators communicate with members who advertise. (If you promote your business on the Business Owner Subgroup it will be deleted.)
3. After you join the Business Owner Subgroup (BOS) then you may post to the Member-Owned Business (MOB) Forum. Note that the MOB is in a separate location from the BOS and you need to know specific information before you start promoting your business. Detailed instructions are provided, so continue reading!
4. The MOB Forum is fully moderated, so your initial topic and subsequent updates will not appear on the forum until they’ve been reviewed and approved by the moderators.

1. First and foremost you’ll need to read all the information on this page and/or in the PDF that is available upon request. There are specific instructions that you must follow, so don’t assume you can simply figure it out as you go.
2. You may promote your business or your spouse’s business, provided it is owned by one of you. If you offer real estate, financial advisory or other similar “independent agent” services then you may also advertise your own services or listings, but not for the company in general.
3. Members may create a single thread on the Member-Owned Business Forum and update it as frequently as desired with comments on the same thread. If you happen to offer two distinctly different products or services then you may create an additional thread. For example, a member who offers photography services and also sews custom clothing would be allowed to have one thread on the MOB forum for photography and one for the custom clothing. If a member teaches both ballet and tap, though, then these would go into a single listing since they are closely related.
4. If someone posts a question that relates to your type of business then you are welcome to respond with information about your business. For example, if you make cakes and someone asks “where can I find a nice birthday cake for my son’s party” then you may respond with information about your services. However, the question or its latest comment must be no more than 30 days old.
5. When information about a community faire or event is posted to the forum then you can add a comment similar to “I’ll be there selling my hand-made jewelery”.
6. Members may post a single classified ad with photos on a monthly basis.
7. You may review your own business in the Reviews section of BigTent, provided that you disclose you are the owner of the business.
8. Feel free to change your screen name and avatar so they represent your business name/product. Visit the BigTent “help” feature for more information on how to do this.
9. You may offer discounts to members by posting the information as a comment in your dedicated MOB thread.
10. Business-related events may be announced in your MOB thread (but not the calendar).
11. Advertise “jobs available” in your MOB thread, provided they pertain to your own business (not that of your employer).

1. No advertising or discount offerings are allowed on the General Discussion forum; this is allowed only in your MOB thread.
2. Don’t recruit friends to post bogus “questions” to the forum about your business or line of business; these will be deleted.
3. Do not announce “events” for your business on the calendar or the General Discussion Forum, including free classes or workshops. (You can do this on your MOB thread, though.)
4. Do not resurrect questions on the forum that are more than 30 days old for purposes of adding your business information on them; these will be deleted.

1. In both your original topic and any subsequent comments you must always include a sentence at the bottom of your post that states as follows: it is not possible to post questions to this forum. Therefore, please contact me at (your email address) and (your mobile number) if you have any questions. Sometimes you’ll hear us refer to this as “the blurb at the end”. Remember this because your message and your comments will not be passed to the MOB Forum if you don’t include the blurb.
2. We won’t delete a thread or a comment on your behalf unless it is truly necessary (e.g. you are going out of business). Price changes and general product availability don’t fall into the “necessary” category so keep this in mind when posting.
3. The first post about your business should be very general in nature. Give a basic description of your business without mentioning a specific event, promotion, price or product - simply describe your business and wait for that post to be approved. Once it is passed to the MOB Forum you are welcome to additional, more specific comments.
4. Remember that the Member-Owned Business forum is fully moderated, so you won't see your message on the forum until it has been reviewed and approved.

The purpose of the Business Owner Subgroup (BOS) is to allow members and administrators to communicate regarding business advertising policies and procedures. It is not for advertising.

To register for the Business Owner Subgroup (BOS), click on the “subgroups” link in BigTent and then click on “learn more & join”. Follow the prompts from there and wait for your BOS registration to be approved.