To help keep the forum a welcoming, supportive, respectful, empowering, friendly and a caring place to be, we have put together a small list of dos and don’ts for you to think about when posting on the forum. For further information please terms & conditions.
Remember, our vasculitis Chat is for you to share experiences with others and does not contain specialist medical advice from Calgary Vasculitis Association. We encourage you to seek advice from medical professionals.
Be nice – help build your community
- Be kind to each other – many people using the forum are going through a difficult time. Please approach all discussions with kindness, warmth and always assume the best intentions. Welcome new members, share your tips or show them how to use the website. If you are a new member, make sure to introduce yourself – our community is waiting for you.
- Be respectful – respect where members are on their journey, and listen without judgment. Appreciate that others may have an opinion different from yours. You might not always agree, but you can agree to disagree in a peaceful manner.
- Be supportive – We encourage our members to give and receive support, sharing their stories and experiences in times of distress and wellness.
- Don’t feed the trolls – some people enjoy getting a reaction, and post nasty comments just to provoke a response. The best way to deal with this is to report it, then ignore it.
- Don’t use bad language – if a user is found to be swearing during their conversations, the moderators reserve the right to edit the thread, without warning. At no point is swearing or inappropriate word usage is allowed on the forum.
- Don’t use all capital letters in your posts – it’s considered ‘shouting’ online and it makes posts difficult to read.
- If you feel that someone has insulted you, report their comment to the moderator – don’t perpetuate the dispute. The moderator will take a look at the offending comment and decide whether it should be removed.
- Give each other the benefit of the doubt – please remember that it is all too easy for the tone and meaning of posts to be misinterpreted. Think carefully before replying to a discussion. Likewise, it is important to remember that things written rather than said can feel much stronger, so please bear this in mind when reading other people’s messages.
- One account per person. Running multiple identities on our forums is not permitted. If you are unable to access your account, please get in touch with us rather than creating a new one.
- Safety. We support our members to talk openly about difficult subjects in a safe manner. Remember that the forums are public. Don’t post personal information that you would not be comfortable sharing with a stranger. We recommend you use only your first name or a pseudonym in your username and that you don’t post any information that may identify you or anyone else, such as your address, email address or phone number.
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Please respect the moderators – their job is to keep the forum safe and constructive so that everybody gets to share in a safe space.
We maintain the right to remove any post and thread
We need to make sure that material posted in the discussion forums is not potentially harmful. For this reason, we may edit or choose not to publish any post, avatar or display name that
- contains disrespectful or derogatory remarks about any other member
- contains advice or content that we believe is damaging, unhelpful or distressing to others
- contains links
- contains swearing or offensive language is nonsensical and/or irrelevant
- infringes the privacy of individuals or service providers
- is racist, sexist, homophobic, sexually explicit or suggestive, abusive or otherwise discriminatory or objectionable
- advertises products
- seeks medical advice
- includes personal information such as images clearly displaying your face, full names, phone numbers, locations, postal or email addresses; or encourages the sharing of such details
- puts overt pressure on other members to respond
- describes or encourages violence, suicide or other activity which could endanger the safety or wellbeing of others
- contains methods or detail of suicide, self-harm or sexual abuse
- is a copy of another post or contains the same, or similar, message posted multiple times elsewhere
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Be effective – use your community in the right way
Choose most appropriate topic area for your discussion – you can select topic areas from the menu.
- Stay on topic – try to focus on the original topic. In particular, don’t change subject in the middle of an existing thread – just start a new thread.
- Don’t start a new topic if your post relates to an existing one – reply to the existing thread instead. Make sure you reply to the appropriate post, not just the last post in the thread.
- Make your thread’s subject line clear and informative – it makes the post easier to find.
- Please try not to use abbreviations or ‘text speak’ – it can be difficult to read and some people might not understand you. This may cause a member to take unintentional offence, or feel excluded from the forum. Please try to use correct punctuation in your posts – long sentences with no commas or full stops can be confusing and difficult to read.
- Please post in English – while we welcome people of all nationalities, we are based in Calgary, Canada and so we would ask you to please post comments in English.
- Provide as much information as possible when asking a question – for example; what you’ve already considered and where you’ve already read.
- Read what’s already on the forum before posting – you may be repeating what others have already said or asked.
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Other Relevant Information
- We want our vasculitis Chat to be a secure and helpful environment for all of the community. So, please remember that by using Vasculitis Chat you are agreeing to follow our terms and conditions
- The moderators will intervene when these Community Rules have been breached. However, due to the dynamic nature and the sheer volume of posts, we can’t immediately read everything written – therefore much of the responsibility for maintaining our friendly environment lies with you. We rely on all members to help keep these discussion forums a safe place for people to share and view information.