Reminder to all users of the code of conduct for this community platform.

[Clare-NRAS]

Welcome to the NRAS Community for support of Rheumatoid Arthritis

We’re very glad you have chosen to be a part of our community. The NRAS community - offered by the NRAS and HealthUnlocked - supports individuals affected by Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

Whether you are an individual who has been diagnosed, a care-partner, family member, or friend, we hope this community is a safe and supportive place for you to share your experiences and find information and support. This is an independent, patient led, forum and the aim of these guidelines is not to control conversations but to moderate inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour. 

1) Be kind - Your participation in the NRAS HU Forum should be conducted with respect, honesty, and in the spirit of supporting and learning from your fellow users. You are all experts in your own experience. Free and open discussion is encouraged as long as it is carried out respectfully. 

2) The NRAS HU forum is a patient forum, people here are not experts or your health professionals.  The information posted on the forum can support and inform you of others personal experiences but  will  not replace the relationship between you and your doctor or any other healthcare professionals.  Be aware that medications and treatment regimens will vary often considerably between people. You and others are posting only of personal experience, not making treatment suggestions or offering medical advice.

3) The use of this HealthUnlocked forum prohibits the sale or promotion of any product or service or research without the explicit permission of NRAS. 

4) This is a forum about living with RA - whilst  RA impacts on all aspects of your life, and many things can be used as a distraction, remember first and foremost that this is about living with RA.- Please add the prefix “off topic” to your  posts that are not directly related to living with RA, this is so that those who wish to, can avoid those posts. We also respectfully ask that “off topic” posts do not make up the majority of your posts. 

5) Obscenities, bullying behaviour or language, and/or insult will not be tolerated. By being here you agree not to post any material considered abusive, vulgar, obscene, hateful, slanderous, threatening,  politically motivated, discriminatory in anyway i.e race, faith, or sexual orientation, or any other material that violates any laws. If it is deemed that a post contains any of the above it will lead removal of the post and potentially to the person posting such content being permanently restricted from this community and all other HealthUnlocked communities.

6) It is recommended that you reread your posts before submitting them to the forum, considering the above points - writing on HealthUnlocked is different to the spoken word and a simple written comment may be unintentionally offensive to others. 

7) Anything published on NRAS HU forum should be understood as being the views of that individual and does not necessarily represent the views of any  patient  group, or of HealthUnlocked or any of its forums.  Opinions expressed in the forums are users' own, not those of NRAS. 

8) It is the role of moderators and administrators to monitor content and assess suitability of posts as well as action reports of abuse. If they feel for any reason that posts do not embrace the spirit of the forum they will intervene. It is critical that all users respect the views of the moderators and administrators , understanding their role is to keep the forum safe for all users.  Any post which has been reported and deemed as ‘abuse’ shall be removed. You may request an explanation from the administrators if they have not offered one, but if you  re-post the post in question then access to HU will be suspended. 

9) If you have concerns about a post or comment, please use the report feature. See the guidelines as to what should and should not be reported. Please do not message your concerns directly to the person who has posted the post nor message individual moderators or administrators as they may not be available to respond in an appropriate timeframe. Moderators and administrators work in collaboration to support the forum, it is not their role to intervene and remove access over differences of opinion. It should also be kept in mind that reports of abuse are dealt with in the strictest confidence therefore the person reporting the ‘abuse’ will not necessarily be aware of any actions which have been taken.

10) The team at NRAS is here to support you, however membership of this forum is not membership of NRAS. Please contact our website nras.org.uk for more information or to join the only patient led charity in the UK with a specific focus on RA and JIA at nras.org.uk/join. Feel free to contact the helpline team on our freephone helpline 0800 298 7650 or by email to [e-mail]