The use of this facility on the whole is a great way to keep in touch with members within the community to sharing information or discussing issues that you may not necessarily be either appropriate for the main board and/or against AFMCG & HU guidelines.
However there are a few points we'd like to raise for your information and awareness, these are as follows;
Scams
I am sure see adverts on the television about scams and are aware that certain emails you receive should be deleted, however you may not have considered that HU Platforms can also be subject to scammers. Be Alert and if you receive a message that you are concerned about 'Report ' (as per link below) and please message an Admin so we can take necessary action.
support.healthunlocked.com/...
Spammers
As above, sometime people join HU Platforms specifically to spam members, as they see it as a great opportunity due the amount of members our communities have and how many people they can reach .They often take advantage of larger communities to send messages about products, therapies, treatments and advertising etc. If you receive any message like this please 'Report' (as per link below) and please alert and Admin.
support.healthunlocked.com/...
Abusive messages
Occasionally on the community heated discussions occur and even once dealt with by Admin, these can spill over into private messages between the members concerned. As above, if you are sent an abusive message please 'Report' and most importantly do not be tempted to reply as this could lead in both parties being restricted from the community, as we have a Zero tolerance approach to Cyberbullying and online abuse.
Please see guidelines for more information, link below;
healthunlocked.com/afmcguk/...
Members can also join to troll communities, and a definition of a troll is 'is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion, often for the troll's amusement'
Our advice would be do not engage with any newbie who presents in this manner and always report to Admin if you are concerned.
How do I report Private Messages?
support.healthunlocked.com/...
HU and Cyberbullying/Trolls
support.healthunlocked.com/...
How do HU deal with Trolls?
support.healthunlocked.com/...
Inappropriate private messages
If anyone receives what they would consider an inappropriate message containing any wording which could be seen as harassment in any way shape or form including sexual remarks, abusive comments, discrimination etc. Please do not delete these messages and follow the advice to ignore and report the message as per the link below;
How to report a Private Message
support.healthunlocked.com/...
Newbies
We often have many newbies joining our wonderfully supportive community and whilst the majority are genuine members looking for support some can be classed as Spammers, Scammers and Trolls due to their behaviour since joining the community. As you know we often experience Trolls on the community and whilst we do our best to control the situation the issue is continuing to be a problem. You can help by reporting any behaviour, so we can help reduce the amount of trolls who try to disrupt the community by reporting posts and comments.
How do I report a post or comment?
support.healthunlocked.com/...
Vulnerable members
We all feel for members within the community going through hard times, struggles in life, recent traumas etc and often members will speak private via private message. Whilst this is not a problem, we would like to ask members to remember that if you feel the discussion is concerning you in anyway to report to an Admin.
Our concerns regarding this is that none of us our trained counsellors and even if you have experience in this area, members should always be signposted to seek professional help. Ideally, we hope members do take this on board and not take others stresses on board causing your symptoms to flare and potentially causing emotional fatigue.
Sharing of personal information & Internet Safety
Sharing of personal information is done so at your own risk, we and HU provide you with the following advice about controlling your privacy, link below
healthunlocked.com/fibromya...
We also would like to mention that you are careful when communicating in a private message with any member you speak to and of course what you share on the open community too. Remember, most members generally prefer to lock their posts to this community only otherwise posts can be found be search engines, for more information see link below;
healthunlocked.com/afmcguk/...
If you need any further assistance, please using the private message facility to contact an Admin within the AFMCG community. Please see links below on how to do this;
Who are the Community Admin in the AFMCG Community?
healthunlocked.com/afmcguk/...
How do I use the private message facility to contact Admin?
support.healthunlocked.com/...
Remember stay Alert and always 'Report' - Remember we cannot take action if we are not alerted to the situation.
Many Thanks
AFMCG 
Posted: 17th January 2018
