[admin]

Please read these. They will be updated from time so please keep in touch with any changes. If you continue to be involved with the Consumer Health Forums then you are taken to have agreed to these rules





POSTING RULES FOR THE CONSUMER HEALTH FORUMS – TO BE REFERRED TO AS THE CHF.


This forum is provided as a community resource to allow people to share opinions and experience and to provide support for each other.
The Consumer Health Forums do not provide any type of professional support. You should always try to obtain professional diagnosis and any subsequent treatment from your GP or other qualified practitioner of your choice.


Contributors' opinions and level of information shared on the forums must be respected. It is not appropriate for those WITHOUT the illness or problem in question to display anger, prejudice or disrespect towards those WITH the illness or problem that is being described on these forums. If you don’t feel comfortable with a topic in an individual forum, please move on to one of the others.




Edit/Deleting/Posts & Closing Threads


If a topic/post is moved, edited, locked or deleted... it will not be a personal attack on you. It will only be as a result of the guidelines below. The interests of the Site and its community will always be put first. If you attempt to re-post information that has been unapproved then you will be in breach of the rules yourself and subject to further action as deemed appropriate.




Moderators have a discretion to moderate any post on the forum. Examples of situations where moderator action will be taken include:-

• A topic/post will be edited or deleted if it contains:
  
  
  * Xenophobia, racism or personal abuse.
  
  
  * Pornography, links to Pornography or links to other inappropriate sites
  
  
  * Sexually explicit content. Whilst we recognise that some use of descriptions and sexual activities may be relative in the sexual health, pregnancy and relationships forums, unless it is relevant and necessary to the discussion/problem it will be removed.
  
  
  * Touting for business in any way
  
  
  * Any form of unauthorised advertising or Spam
  
  
  * Advertising or sale of illegal bootleg material
  
  
  * Any type of pyramid selling or referral schemes
  
  
  * Anything invasive in to a person’s privacy
  
  
  * Any copyright-infringing content
  
  
  * Obvious disregard for the interests of The CHF
  
  
  * Illegal/defamatory statements
  
  
  * Swearing. Whilst censored, mild versions of swearing (e.g. s**t) can sometimes be considered OK, offensive or over use of will be moderated. Any deliberate circumvention of the swear word filter is prohibited. If you are unsure what constitutes swearing, don't type it
  
  
  * Incitement to a "flame war"
  
  
  * Any attempts to avoid moderation
  
  
  Topic/post editing will often be visible... if a message is edited the date/time/moderator will normally be shown in the topic/post.
  
  
  A topic/post will be locked if:
  
  
  * There is persistent abuse of the points noted above
  
  
  * It contains unacceptable behaviour or anti community spirit
  
  
  * It contains totally off-topic discussion
  
  
  * It contains content that is not salvageable by editing the topic/post.
  
  
  A topic/post will be moved if:
  
  
  * The topic clearly belongs in another forum
  
  
  * The posts in a topic move on to a subject more appropriate to another forum

What is 'potentially libellous'?


'Potentially libellous' is the term used to describe anything that cannot be proven by hard fact and something that may be considered damaging to the reputation of any individual


Due to legal complications CHF could be considered liable for comments posted by Users - CHF must therefore practice continued and consistent due-diligence to protect against potential legal action.


This may mean deleting or editing topics/posts containing this kind of content and taking the best action to stop anything 'potentially libellous' being posted in the first place. For this reason any 'potentially libellous' content may be deleted immediately without warning or explanation.


The CHF will not enter into discussion about its choices in these matters and the decision of the Moderator or Administrator will be considered final.
Be aware that the poster of a defamatory statement could also become liable for legal action.


Racist topics, posts or comments:


* The CHF will not tolerate racist comments - no matter how innocent the comment may be.


Repeated posting of racist topics, posts or comments will result in the User being banned from the forum, and/or potentially more serious action being taken.


All rules will be enforced as appropriate. Upon registering, you agree to abide by and be subjected to all Rules, Terms, Policies, and Disclaimers contained in the site. Your acceptance of these terms includes all additional administrator and moderator decisions and instructions that may be implemented/introduced from time to time.

Breaking site rules can result in either a temporary or permanent ban. Appeals may be considered by the administrators, but the final decision will be made jointly, and further appeals will not be considered by an individual administrator.

One account on the CHF is allowed per person. Only the registered account holder may use this account to post on CHF. The registered member is responsible for any misuse of his/her membership.

No one under the age of 13 may register on CHF.

Your username must be appropriate for this website Do not register a business, product, website or any name that could be linked with your profession. CHF is for peer support and advice only.

Do not register words that appear to be obscene, sexual, or otherwise offensive.



If a post seems inappropriate click "Report Post". Please do not react defensively, aggressively or inappropriately to a ‘bad post’. This could have the unfortunate effect of your account being moderated, and also creates more work for the administrators/moderators. In fact - please don't get involved.

The CHF Administrators can be contacted, by e-mail, by clicking the contact us. Please do not send e-mails requesting personal advice or opinions on any condition you may be experiencing, we are not qualified to give individual advice and any such requests will be discarded.



Reach Out Before You Feel Alone (or If You Are Suicidal)

Becoming an active user of CHF means that you will always be able to reach out in our community to give and receive understanding and peer support


If you have thoughts of suicide, DO NOT POST THEM ON CHF.


Immediately call 999, or call a hospital, or call local police for emergency help.

Samaritans are also available to assist and advise. Home-->



Please feel free to talk about your depression. Go here and let CHF community encourage you or help you with solutions to problems. But, this forum is NOT an appropriate place for posting that you want to die or threats to commit suicide or to harm yourself or others. Any posts containing this material will be removed immediately, they are inappropriate here.


Use Good Personal Judgment

Our registered users, Moderators and administrators are not health and social care professionals.

CHF is a place where you can share opinions, experiences and support, gain empowerment or be entertained. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, and members should always seek an individual professional diagnosis and subsequent treatment from their GP or other relevant professional.


Never rely on anonymous information given over the Internet, to self-diagnose any condition you may be experiencing. Similarly always seek advice suitable to your own circumstances before embarking on any course of treatment, be it prescribed or available over the counter. Pharmacists are able to give advice on suitable non-prescription medication for some minor ailments, and will be able to advise if you need further consultation with a professional or emergency services.

Also be aware that remedies that have worked or been right for one person, may not be the correct solution to your personal situation. A health professional should always be consulted and the benefits and risks of your treatment options, should be discussed in full, in order for you to make an informed confident choice. Do not rely upon the opinions which you receive in the forum.





Don't Be Afraid To Post

If you're new to forums, finding the courage to post for the first time can sometimes be difficult. Don’t be afraid, we a re a supportive group, that loves a good discussion, and has loads of enthusiasm and encouragement to share.



Respect Privacy and Keep Personal Information Private

Please be responsible about your personal security. Keep personal information private and remind your children to do so, too. If you are under age 16, you may post that you are a teen, but do not post your age. Posting the ages and names of children is not safe, so please do not do it. If you are less than 13yrs then you should not be using the forum.


If you receive any approaches from by private message or by other means by anyone who wants to contact you offsite or even to meet you, you should exercise extreme caution and in principle you should refuse. We would strongly recommend that you report any such contacts to the forum administrators. It may be that the person who has contacted you has a pattern of such behaviour.


If a website sells books, products, or services, then it is deemed to be a commercial website.
Do not copy and paste anything from other websites other than small extracts and please cite your sources.





Copyright

Although we have the copyright in our collection of material, you retain the copyright in your individual contributions. However, by posting material on our website you are giving us an unlimited irrevocable licence to publish your material and to permit others to quote it either in part or in full elsewhere on the website.

We will not publish your contributions off-site without your approval.







Banning


The administrators have the power at their discretion to ban any person from using or visiting the forum without any explanation if necessary. Any attempt by any banned person to continue to visit the forum or to register under some alternative identity will amount to a dishonest access to the site and may be reported to the police as an offence under the Computer Misuse Act.



By continuing to post on our website you are taken to have agreed to these conditions.