Guidelines for using our community

[IBSNetwork]

Thank you for being part of THE IBS NETWORK Community for support for people diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Before using our community please familiarise yourself with our guidelines below. We are a supportive community. However, members are not medically trained so please do not share photographs of your faeces. Members of the community doing so will have their post deleted and will receive a warning from administrators. If you are concerned about your faeces, it is important to consult with your GP or healthcare professional.

Welcome to THE IBS NETWORK Community for support for people diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

We’re very glad you have chosen to be a part of our community. The community - offered by The IBS Network and HealthUnlocked (HU) - supports individuals affected by IBS. 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 community is moderated by The IBS Network and HealthUnlocked.

The community is part of HealthUnlocked, a network of over 200 conditions and wellness communities from organisations you know and trust. By using HealthUnlocked (HU) you are accepting these posting guidelines and agree to HealthUnlocked’s site Guidelines and Terms of Use. Members of The IBS Network community should read HU’s Guidelines in conjunction with The IBS Network Community Guidelines outlined below.

HU Community Guidelines:

HU Terms of Use:

Below are The IBS Network Community Guidelines, which are aimed at creating and maintaining a safe and supportive community for all of our members. Many of HU’s guidelines are repeated here.

Professional Health Information:

The IBS Network provides useful, accurate, up-to-date information you can trust on matters of concern to those living with IBS. The information posted on this HealthUnlocked site should not be used as a means of diagnosis, determining treatment, nor replace the relationship between you, your doctors and other healthcare professionals. For diagnosis and treatment options, you are urged to consult your physician.

Community Atmosphere:

The IBS Network Community is a safe, supportive, informative, and friendly community for people affected by IBS. Your participation in this community should be with respect, honesty and in the spirit of supporting and learning from fellow users.

Please note that while The IBS Network is a charity based in the United Kingdom, members may be located worldwide. As such, details on approved medications, treatment protocols, healthcare, insurance, and other related topics may differ and should always be verified depending on your specific location.

Posting Content (Posts/Questions/Replies/Private Messages):

Content posted by individual members of the community does not represent the views of The IBS Network, the charity, or HealthUnlocked.

Posting content on this community is taken as your agreement to post information that is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge, and is primarily drawn from personal experience. You are encouraged to post content about your own experience with IBS (or that of a loved one), ask questions, and offer support and advice.

Content should never be abusive, derogatory, sexually explicit or suggestive or deliberately misleading. If you believe someone else’s content violates this rule, please report it via the ‘Report’ option. Content that is felt to violate this policy will either be edited or removed. All reports are read by administrators and moderators and it is their judgement on what action, if any, is taken.

Members of The IBS Network community are not medically trained and cannot diagnose. Therefore, content should never include photographs of faeces. Members of the community doing so will have their post deleted and will receive a warning from administrators. If you are concerned about your faeces, it is important to consult with your GP or healthcare professional.

Neither The IBS Network nor HealthUnlocked is responsible for any offence or injury that a member may draw from another member’s content.

Any content posted on this community can be read, used, reproduced, and cited by other users of the site. You have the option to delete content you posted.

When you post third-party information, such as information about new treatments, you are asked to provide references and links to sources wherever possible. Please ensure links are to a reputable site.

Moderating Content:

Content posted on this community is moderated by the charity, The IBS Network and by HealthUnlocked. Moderation occurs only after content is posted.

Moderation helps maintain a safe, positive environment for all members of the community. Content may be edited or removed to ensure that the community remains supportive and responsive for all members.

The community is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, moderation occurs after posting and primarily between the hours of 9am and 4pm Monday to Thursday and does not cover Bank Holidays or weekends.

Solicitations:

Please note that The IBS Network does not endorse or recommend any specific products, services, therapies, or activities mentioned by any third party (individual or company).

Online Safety:

In this community, there may be discussions of health-related issues and sharing of personal information.

Please note that The IBS Network Community is an open site. This means that any posts are searchable by internet search engines and can be shared via social media platforms. The default setting of posts allows them to be visible to individuals who are not members of the community. If you would rather your content was not searchable, you can change the visibility of your post by selecting ‘Only followers in my community’ before clicking ‘Submit’. This will result in only the post title and first line of text being visible to those who are not members of the community. However, doing this will limit the number of people who will find and benefit from the information you have shared. If members of the community are comfortable doing so, we suggest members leave posts open for everyone to find to ensure more people find communities and benefit from the wealth of information on HealthUnlocked.

For your own safety, you should not disclose personal information such as your full name, email address, home address, telephone number, or any other information which could directly or indirectly identify you.

More information on general online safety guidelines is available here. ico.org.uk/your-data-matter...

[Maureen1958]

I agree with the comment about not locking posts and leaving them open. This is how I found HeathUnlocked, even though I had been a member of The IBS Network for about 20 years.

[xjrs]

I know we've already had discussions about people putting up photos and you keep putting posts about what people should be doing, but it's not working. I've just seen yet another one today (prior to breakfast and it has put me off my food). There needs to be a message when people upload them or the ability to put pictures up removed altogether. I'm tired of trying to avoid them. Unfortunately not everyone will read your post reminding people and not everyone will see your pinned post. If there was a message right there when anything is uploaded, it has to be seen.

[IBSNetwork Partner IBS Network in reply to xjrs]

We don't own the forum and are only part of it, it is Healthunlocked that built it and control the settings and what it can and can not do. It takes a lot of our time as well, whilst we are trying to run a national charity, so i understand your frustration.

We don't have the time to monitor it all the time. I will speak to Healthunlocked and ask if the picture function can be removed.

[xjrs in reply to IBSNetwork]

Thanks for your understanding IBSNetwork and explaining how it works. I hope there is something that can be worked out between yourselves and Healthunlocked so that it reduces work for you too.

[Younger2711]

hi, first time on here, have just been diagnosed with Ibs through stool test, don’t have diarrhoea, just constipation , y symptons are constant and I feel I’ll all the time, is any one else like this