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's

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.

Take your time and be safe

Please take your time getting started with Inspire. After joining, 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 screen name. Your screen name is public, which means anyone on the Internet can see it, and find it. If you want to change your screen name, you can do so here. We also recommend you not post personally identifiable information like your full name, e-mail address or phone number in 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. We never reveal who reported a problem to us. Every post 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 may 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 shut down a discussion, but when we feel that a discussion is generating "more heat than light," we do.

Respect the privacy of others

Please refrain from posting personal information about others in Inspire, unless you are a family member or have specifically been asked to do so. This comes up most often in cases where a member is hospitalized or is otherwise away from Inspire for a time. We understand the desire to know how our friends are doing and to share that information, but respect for member privacy is crucial. Also please do not copy information posted by or about someone in another site, like Facebook, and post it in Inspire. The information may not have been intended for a wider audience.

Do not's

These are the things we must 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 in this site when making decisions about your health. The content in 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 health professional.

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 asking for work; and soliciting malpractice clients. Commercial entities are not permitted to join or create profiles in Inspire. Inspire does work with select non-profits and commercial entities. If your organization or company is interested in working with Inspire, contact us at team@inspire.com.

Do not post inappropriate content

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

Do not interfere with the operation of the site

We reserve the right to remove posts and block access by individuals which 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.

No copyright infringement

If you find an article or other information which you think will be helpful to members, feel free to post a short snippet or synopsis, with an explanation as to why you think it is important and a link to the original. Do not post the entire item or significant portions thereof. Posts that are felt to violate copyright protections will be removed at our discretion. Also do not post links to other sites which violate copyright protections.

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, many states have programs through which unused medication can be donated for distribution to those in need. Good starting points for learning about these programs are your state's Web site, your physician, and your pharmacist. You're welcome to share information about such programs here, but you may not use this site to engage in or facilitate the exchange of medication.

Rules for specific groups

In the Stop Sarcoidosis Support Community, posts and profiles which 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.