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Inspire

Community Guidelines

We created Inspire so that everyone would have a safe place to discuss health and wellness. These guidelines are the things we expect all Inspire members and visitors to do, and not to do.

Do

Be nice, be supportive

Inspire works because we support and care for one another. Be nice, and be supportive. Do your best to respect differing points of view and avoid personal attacks on other members.

Take your time and be safe

Please take your time getting started with Inspire. After signing up, check your privacy settings and make sure that you are comfortable with how your personal information is being shared. If anything is confusing to you, drop us a line. We're here to help.

We strongly recommend you not use your real name or e-mail address as your Profile name. Your Profile name is public, which means anyone on the Internet can see it, and find it. If you want to change your Profile name, you can do so by visiting your settings page here. Click the "Go to profile" button, then the "About" link, and then the "Edit" link to the right of your existing Profile name. If you make a change, be sure to click the "Save" button.

We also recommend you not post personally identifiable information like your full name, e-mail address, or phone number on Inspire. If you want to exchange this information with someone you feel comfortable with, do so in a private message.

Let us know if something is wrong

If you see a member doing something that is contrary to these guidelines or simply feels wrong to you, let us know. If your instinct says something is wrong, it may very well be. Responding in an inflammatory manner to a post that you think should be reported is against our guidelines and could result in the removal of your post, so please use the "Report Post" or "Report Reply" links (click the three dots above and to the right of the post or reply) to report the item to us. In order to protect privacy, we never reveal who reported a problem to us. Every post/reply and member profile has a link to report the item for review, and you can submit your report anonymously.

Take a deep breath

The Internet makes it easy to forget that we're talking to other human beings and to misunderstand one another. If a member says something that bothers you, take a deep breath and pause before replying. You're replying to another human. They may be having a bad day or could be upset. You may have misunderstood them, or they may not have expressed themselves clearly. You may simply not see eye-to-eye. Inspire works because we respect one another. It's rare that we need to close a discussion, but when we think that a discussion is generating "more heat than light," we will.

Respect the privacy of others

Please respect the privacy of members and their right to remain anonymous.

Do not post personal information about others on Inspire unless you are a family member or have been directed to do so by the member, or their family. This often happens when a member is hospitalized or otherwise away from Inspire for some time. We understand that others may want to know how your/their friend is doing and ask for information, but the member's privacy must be respected.

In some cases, you may know an Inspire member in the real world. Perhaps you were in treatment together, or attend events together. When conversing in public settings -- such as discussions and journal entries -- please avoid posting information that could be used to identify the person. For example, don't post the member's real name, or names of their children, if they haven't made that information public themselves. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and leave those details out.

In addition, do not demand or ask other members for personal information, credentials, or medical information that they may not wish to discuss or disclose.

Finally, please do not re-post information about a member from another site, like Facebook, on Inspire. The information may not have been intended for a wider audience.

Do not

These are the things we ask you not to do for the safety of members and to keep Inspire running smoothly.

Do not use Inspire as a substitute for, or to give, medical advice

Inspire is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Always consult your physician and do not rely on the information on this site when making decisions about your health. The content on Inspire is for information only and is not reviewed by medical professionals. Similarly, do not use Inspire to give medical advice. You may share information about your experiences, but do not play the role of a health professional (even if you are one).

No commercial use, promotion or solicitation

You may not use Inspire for any commercial purpose, marketing, promotion, or solicitation. This includes promoting a company, product, service, person, treatment, therapy, Web site, support group, non-profit, charity, or fundraiser; recruiting members to participate in market research, clinical studies, or surveys; soliciting donations for charitable causes or for yourself; presenting your resume or using Inspire to seek employment; and soliciting clients. Commercial entities are not permitted to sign up or create profiles on Inspire.

Inspire does work with select non-profits and commercial entities. For more information about our business model, please read our statement of principles. If your organization or company is interested in partnering with Inspire, please contact us.

Do not repost deleted/removed posts or replies

If a moderator has removed it, it violates our guidelines. Do not repost it.

Do not post inappropriate content

We work hard to keep Inspire a safe and comfortable place for members. Content that is obscene or violent, that refers to material that is obscene or violent, or that contains hate speech or remarks that are disrespectful to any race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or individual is not permitted. This includes derogatory remarks, attacks, or threats against Inspire or Inspire partners. Content that is potentially libelous, that violates an individual's privacy, or that violates the legal rights of any individual or entity is not permitted. Links to other sites that contain such material are also not permitted. You may not post information that is false or misleading or otherwise misrepresent yourself. A "reasonable person" standard applies and we reserve the right to remove any content or profile that we think violates this guideline.

Moderators and the site administrator have the final say on any issues that may arise. If you have a complaint, please contact us directly by sending an email to team@inspire.com or message us, but do not create a post in your community. Creating posts that question or reference administrative decisions, such as post removals and discussion or journal closures, is not permitted. We are not perfect, and if you think we have made a mistake, please contact TeamInspire and we will review the situation, however, any posts will be removed without notice.

If you ever need clarification on any part of our community guidelines or have a question, please feel free to contact us via the "Help" link at the bottom of every page.

Do not interfere with the operation of the site

We reserve the right to remove posts and block access by individuals who interfere with the normal operation and use of the site, at our discretion. Examples include off-topic posting, bumping posts, posts that excessively advance a personal agenda or make it difficult for other members to be heard, creating multiple accounts or aliases, and abusing the friend or private message features.

Freedom of speech rights do not extend to privately-owned Web sites like Inspire. These community guidelines detail the types of behavior and activities that are allowed on this site. If you violate our guidelines and/or show disregard for them, our staff, and our community, you run the risk of losing your account. Removing a member's account is always a last resort, but remember, being a member of Inspire is a privilege, not a right. If you are found in violation of our guidelines, or if we reasonably suspect that you have violated our guidelines, we may send you a warning, temporarily suspend your account or permanently remove your account. If we suspend or remove your account, you agree not to attempt to circumvent our action (such as by creating or using a different account).

No copyright infringement

If you find an article or other information online that you think will interest members, post a short description, explain why you think it is important, and include a link to the original document if possible. This will allow other members to visit the source directly. Do not post the entire item or significant portions of it. If we think a post violates someone's copyright, we will remove it.

No scraping or data harvesting

You may not scrape, harvest, or otherwise collect information in bulk from Inspire. You may not copy content from Inspire for another site, or for any other purpose.

Don't use Inspire to offer or exchange medication

No part of Inspire may be used to facilitate the donation, exchange, or receipt of medication, as it is against the law to do so. If you are interested in donating unused medication to help those in need, you'll need to determine how the laws of your country and locality govern such donations. In the US, a good starting point for learning about such programs is your state's Web site, as well as your physician and your pharmacist. You may also want to contact your local police department, many of which now have donation/disposal bins for unused prescriptions. The NCSL (National Conference of State Legislators) has a page with information about which states have prescription donation and recycling laws. The U.S. FDA also has a page outlining how to properly dispose of medications.

You are welcome to share information about donation and disposal programs on Inspire, but you may not use this site to engage in or facilitate the exchange of medication with others.

Misinformation Policy

At Inspire, we are taking active measures to reduce the spread of misinformation related to critical events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. If you come across a post that you believe contains false information related to these topics, please report it to Inspire using the “report” link.

Inspire will use a combination of technology and member reports to identify and remove content, as appropriate, that violates our misinformation policy.

Our Community Guidelines are designed to earn and retain our members’ trust by ensuring that content on Inspire is authentic and useful. Medical misinformation can lead to damaging discourse online and, when left unchecked, can pose a serious threat to public health and be detrimental to communities. As a commitment to safety, we prohibit the below categories:

Anti-Vaccine Advice

Inspire prohibits misinformation about vaccines that has the potential to cause harm or threatens public safety. We rely on trusted public health resources to evaluate neighbor content that may be misinformation, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Inspire prohibits false or misleading statements and conspiracy theories about vaccines that could prevent or discourage people from receiving vaccines including, but not limited to, claims that:

  • Vaccines cause autism;
  • Vaccines contain microchips;
  • Vaccines cause the diseases for which they’re intended to prevent;
  • Vaccines contain unsafe toxins that are poisonous or harmful;
  • Vaccines are used to track you.

COVID-19 Coronavirus misinformation

Members come to Inspire to share their stories and get support when they need it. To ensure that our members receive trustworthy and helpful information, Inspire prohibits content that perpetuates false or misleading claims and conspiracy theories about COVID-19, including its causes, cures, and prevention methods that might be harmful to our neighbors and communities. The COVID-19 pandemic is an on-going situation, and we will work to align any action we take with the guidelines of trusted public health officials, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Inspire’s COVID-19 misinformation policy prohibits the following:

  • False or misleading claims and conspiracy theories about COVID-19, including its causes, cures, and prevention methods;
  • False or misleading information that could prevent or discourage people from receiving COVID-19 testing, treatment or COVID-19 vaccines;
  • Messages that call for or could interfere with the legitimate distribution of COVID-19 testing or COVID-19 vaccines, including fraudulent information around the distribution, safety or efficacy of vaccinations.

Rules for specific communities

In the Stop Sarcoidosis Support Community, posts and profiles that refer to the "Marshall Protocol" will not be accepted. This includes posts about Dr. Marshall, his findings, Web sites, and publications. Any and all such postings will be removed without notification. A detailed explanation is available here.

In the Psoriasis community and on Inspire the sale or exchange of UVA/UVB equipment and/or ultraviolet light therapy equipment is prohibited. Please see this post for more information.