Forum Policy
In framing some rules we are attempting a difficult balance between freedom of speech and the Organisation’s aims. Members are permitted to post messages on the forum using only one user account.
These guidelines are intended to give everyone an indication of the rules which the Administrators and Moderators will try to apply when judging whether posts should be deleted or edited.
If you come across a post which you feel falls into one of these categories and you want to alert the moderators then all you need do is to click the report button which can be found on the right-hand side of every post.
These are the categories of post which we will consider deleting…
Anything which involves commercial advertising including links to commercial websites, including the advertisement of the private practices of forum members.
Hard to define but most people know it when they see it. This includes posters who arrive and make one irrelevant post which serves only to introduce a link to a website.
While arguing perspectives is healthy, personal insults, attacks and innuendo aimed at other members of the forum are not acceptable. This includes private messages. We may also edit sexist, racist, or otherwise offensive terms.
Very offensive or harmful material. Obviously this is a judgment call but please re-read what has been said above. A part of SharingBipolar.com’s existence is to allow people to share their own stories which will in many, indeed possibly all, cases be upsetting. We would NOT want to discourage this. But there are instances where we have to make a judgement call. For example, explicit descriptions of self-harm methods, pro-anorexia posts and mention of specific suicide methods will be edited or deleted in line with commonly accepted guidelines. We may also edit posts which convey the impression that the poster’s views are a fact rather than an opinion. For example, we may preface the post by a statement such as “In my view, …”.
Naming of individuals. We have to protect the Support Forum against accusations of libel. While it is perfectly acceptable to say that you had a terrible experience with a GP/psychiatrist/CPN etc. (as all too many of us have) we cannot allow the individuals to be named on this forum. We will also try to remove names and email addresses that can identify you for your protection, unless you specifically ask us not to do so prior to posting. When writing about other people (friends, relatives, etc.), please don’t use real names.