Hi all,
The aim of this community is to provide a supportive, informative and friendly community for people affected by cancer. Our community guidelines are listed below and we ask you to respect them in the spirit of Wessex Cancer Trust's values: welcoming, respectful, personal and confidential.
Community Guidelines
The Wessex Cancer Trust online community is part of HealthUnlocked, a network of over 200 condition and wellness communities from organisations you know and trust. You will already have signed up to HealthUnlocked’s terms of use when you registered.
These are the Wessex Cancer Trust’s guidelines aiming to create a safe and supportive community. Some of the Health Unlocked conditions of use are repeated here too. The site is moderated by the Wessex Cancer Trust and by Health Unlocked.
Health information
Information posted on the site can support, but not replace, the relationship between you and your health care professionals. You can use Information from the site to inform your discussions and exploration of treatment options with health care professionals. You should always consult a health care professional if you’re experiencing changes in symptoms, side effects or thinking about changing treatment or medication.
Community atmosphere
This community provides a supportive, informative and friendly community for people affected by a cancer and for those who might be worried about cancer. Members should be respectful and honest, and take part in the spirit of Wessex Cancer Trust mission to support all people affected by cancer.
The site is not a place to post negative feedback on individuals or groups. There will be a zero tolerance approach to such posts. The posts will be deleted. Repeat breaches will result in the having suspended accounts or being banned entirely. If you don’t like the way a member responds to you, ignore and report the post. If you respond to a negative post, you could leave yourself open to having your account suspended.
Posting content
Content posted by individual members does not represent the views of the Wessex Cancer Trust or of HealthUnlocked. When you post content on this community, you agree to post information that is true and correct to the best of your knowledge. You agree to post information that is primarily drawn from your personal experience.
Any content posted on this community can be read, used, reproduced and cited by other members of the site. You have the option to delete content you have posted. If you post third party information, such as information on new treatments, you are asked to provide references and links. Posts with no such supporting evidence will be deleted.
Content of posts
All posts should be kept on topic. Don’t start side discussions about other issues and general chit chat. A new post should be started to discuss any other issues.
Any posts or discussions about issues not directly linked to cancer should take place in the chat section. All posts in categories other than the chat and jokes/humour categories should have a direct relevance to living with cancer. If members have other conditions they wish to discuss, they should find out if HealthUnlocked have a community covering that condition.
Moderators may delete any post or questions on issues not directly linked to living with cancer. Moderators may regularly tidy each category section within the community pages and remove old posts.
User names
User names, like other content, should be respectful of the views of others and phrased in a friendly, constructive manner. Moderators will delete user names that are, or may be construed as, racist, homophobic, sexist or generally discriminatory or disrespectful. User names should not consist of purely numbers and should be made up of letters or letters and numbers. User names should not imply medical qualifications or experience. User profiles should indicate the user’s country of residence to ensure that any advice provided is relevant.
Humour/jokes
Any humour or jokes must be regarded as acceptable by the moderators. Moderators will delete any that are not. They will always delete jokes that are, or may be construed as, racist, homophobic, sexist or generally discriminatory or disrespectful.
Moderating content and user names
Content that members post on this community and user names are moderated by Wessex Cancer Trust and by HealthUnlocked. Moderation takes place after content is posted.
Moderation helps maintain positive and open discussion. Content may be edited or removed to ensure the community is supportive and responsive to the majority. Content may be edited or deleted even where it is not negative, abusive, malicious or deliberately misleading of itself.
Content should never be abusive, malicious or deliberately misleading. If you consider someone else's content is, please report it via the report abuse option or via the feedback button. Content like this is likely to be edited or removed. All feedback reports are read by moderators and it is their judgement on what action, if any, is taken.
Individual members will not be informed when content is edited or deleted. Moderation is subject to capacity and often relies on individual judgment. Where content is edited or deleted neither Wessex Cancer Trust nor HealthUnlocked need to provide a reason for this. Moderators will not enter into discussion either by email or private message with members about any action taken or not taken. Neither the Wessex Cancer Trust nor HealthUnlocked is responsible for any injury or offence that a member may draw from another member's content.
Private messaging
The messages module is often called private messages or messaging. HealthUnlocked can access all messages sent on the platform and may do so if it considers it important to the safe running of the site for all members. Content of private messages between members should not be shared or reproduced on the forum. If you have concerns about the content of a private message that you have received, you should contact a moderator.
Online safety
Members should not post personal contact information on the site, but may choose to do so in the messages module. Members should have general regard to their online safety. Information on online security is widely available, for example from getsafeonline.org
Members should refer also to HealthUnlocked's terms of use.