OK everyone, I'm going to ask that we all demonstrate just what makes THIS forum the best place on the internet to discuss emergency preparedness:

- Evidence-based discussions are the rule, not the exception
- Factual information is always offered, with credible sources cited
- No Politics! Really, we mean it.
- Opinions and subjective matter is welcome, as long as it's not presented as fact.

The Ebola situation is starting to spin out a huge amount of media that is surrounding actual information. Some of the information is good, some is irrelevant and some is just plain wrong.

Let us all rely on one another to find, assess, filter, and prioritize factual information in a logical and emotionless way.

For example, if you hear or see someone say, "The CDC says..." - you need to find and cite the link with the information from CDC.gov - not a news report that says "the CDC says" - the CDC itself. Same goes for ANY "official sources" - find and cite the originator, not the media's version of the information.

This is the year 2014. We rarely need others to get information from sources we can't access. We can typically go to the sources and verify things ourselves.

Opinions - especially informed opinions - matter greatly here.

But if you are posting your opinion, say so. Say, "I think..." or "I feel that..." and have at it. It's right to express your opinion, and it's right to listen to the opinions of others. If you disagree, say so - without a personal attack. This is one of the last places on the Internet where civilized discourse reigns supreme. I am proud to post here under my real name because of that fact. We all have abandoned other places online where the noise and anger levels rose too high.

But most of all, please do continue to equip your mind with clear thinking on this frightening topic. Pandemics are scary things to think about, because you can feel so helpless to do anything practical about an invisible threat.

Never forget that the media LOVES stuff like this - it keeps you glued to the TV and tuned in to the radio. They probably already have theme music for "EBOLA IN AMERICA - NEXT ON CABLE NEWS!" - it's all about ratings, not information.

But most of all, by all means, keep the Ebola discussion going, Equipped.org style.