My kids and I were sniffling as we prepared to move. The dust hesitated in the air, and like a swarming mob crowded into the crevices of our sinuses. That made the task of prepping to move more and more miserable by the moment. Then at the height of my misery, I came across a picture that rescued forgotten memories long missing in action tucked irretrievably just outside my consciousness.

I chuckled at rogue roommates, silly siblings and funny friends. The grunge of basement grit covering me was overpowered by the satisfaction of revisiting beautiful people, wonderful places and wondrous things. I had the proof to tell the stories. So, how to share in a post Kodak mindset? I could post these pics to the Kodak gallery, load them on flicker, create a PowerPoint presentation or . . .?

Or, I could use them as the beginning salvos in the greatest Facebook picture war known to mankind. Of course my flair for the dramatic may overstate my aims just a tad, but hey, it doesn’t hurt to shoot for the stars. The more I pondered, the more I realized we needed a Geneva Convention of sorts on how to war fairly. I do believe in fair war, so what follows is a delineation of the rules of combat for a well executed honorable Facebook war that will leave friends and family just that, friends and family.

Rules of Engagement

1 – Know your subject well enough before posting:

Do not post pictures of someone as the main subject if you do not know them well. This is in poor taste. As a rule of thumb, if your response to randomly spotting them in the mall is a lukewarm hand gesture, chances are, you two are NOT not on it like that. No pictures for you.

If, on the other hand, you knock an elderly person to the ground while making a bee line to greet them, you’re good. Post away. If there are others in the picture who are not the main focus of the pic and you a.) don’t know their name, or b.) don’t care what their name is, fa-get-about-it. We call these folks fb pic war collateral damage. It’s expected that a certain number of these folks will get trapped on your Facebook page.

2- No pictures of children whom you are not related to:

On a serious note, protecting others should always be in the forefront of our minds when posting online. To this end, be mindful of posting pics of children whom you are not related to because some parents are extremely protective of their children’s privacy. Many of them have good reason to be.

3- Be mindful of relationship status prior to posting:

You know when your significant other asks the question, “did you have a xxxxxx with so and such?” By not posting previous relationship pics, you uphold their answer, regardless of their answer. Other folks simply have a tremendous amount of pride, and if they see who their significant other has dated in the past, they may be extremely insulted and terminate the relationship on the spot!!

4- No compromising photos:

It’s important to recognize that people grow. We all are hopefully smarter and wiser than we were during earlier periods of our lives. It’s mean spirited and calamitous to knowingly post photos of others in situations or scenes that would jeopardize their relationship, their job or their security. I know posting a compromising pic of your ex seems like an equitable way to repay them for that wonderful gift they left you with, but, you will appear as the villain and you can’t undue what you’ve done. This also applies to posting ugly pics of models and could even extend to posting pics of people you know who are now “famous.” When in doubt, refer to rule #1.

5- Move when asked to remove:

Be responsible for the pics you post. If the person whom you have added or tagged requests that you remove their picture, do it promptly. Now be mindful some folks are a little bashful and some are hard of hearing, so depending on which side you fall you may need to request harder or BS better.

6- Post with a sincere heart:

The cardinal rule of thumb is to post in love and appreciation. Be mindful, your FB Pic War has the potential to touch, move and inspire!! How great is it to share with others the beautiful people whom your life has been blessed with? Isn’t it also motivating to reflect on where your life has taken you? At the end of the day, your FB Pic War should be about bringing family and friends closer. Keep this in your heart and win lose or draw, your war will have been worth it.