The Cascades community forums that were temporarily taken off the Cascades Homeowners Association Web site are back up and running, with a few restrictions.
Anyone can view the Web site and forums at www.cascadesva.com, but only homeowners are allowed to post on the Web site. In order to register, the Web site requires a first and last name, address and a homeowners association account number.
When a homeowner registers to post on the community forums about yard sales, technology, sports and hobbies, they must first agree to a set of terms and conditions.
Any user who feels a post violates the user agreement may bring the post to the attention of the moderators of the category by pressing the 'Report Post' icon and an e-mail will be sent to the moderators. If two moderators agree that the post violates the user agreement the post will be removed. If a homeowner violates the user agreement once, he will receive a warning from the moderators. The second time, he or she will be suspended from posting for 30 days, a third violations results in a 90-day suspension and a fourth violation results in a permanent ban from posting to the forum.
The community forums have been up for a week and have received 11 visitors as of Monday, June 4.
DUE TO THE Web site’s restrictions, Ed Levine, a homeowner in Cascades, said few people participate in the community forum.
When the homeowners association temporarily yanked the community forums off its Web site, Levine was outraged. He set up a community forum on his Web site www.cascadesva.us, in an effort to give the residents of "their voice back," he said in April.
Since Levine’s Web site launched in March, he has received approximately 160 visitors. The purpose of his site, he said, is to generate discussion between neighbors about what is going on it the Cascades community and you don’t have to be a homeowner to do so.
"If you decide to rent in Cascades, you can’t post on the [homeowners association] community forum," he said. "Here, you can."
Levine said he thinks the HOA's message boards are too restrictive.
"I’m not limiting anyone who wants to join, but it’s made for a Cascades resident," he said.
<1b>— Kim Centazzo