Online Community Code of Conduct
1. Bipolar UK is not a crisis support service. If you or someone you support needs urgent help, please call 999 or visit our get help in a crisis page.
2. The Bipolar UK Online Community operates on an anonymous basis. Please do not post any personal details that identify you. These posts will be removed for your safety and peace of mind.
3. Because the Online Community operates anonymously, please do not post any photos or links to photos or images that show anyone in an identifiable way. This includes your avatar.
4. If you do post a photo or image, please so not share anything related to drugs, alcohol in excessive quantities, or self-harm. Please also be aware that it is not always legal to share images you find online. Share only photos and images you own, or include a credit and reference link where necessary.
5. To ensure the Online Community is inclusive and safely moderated, all posts must be in English.
6. The Online Community is open to people who are 18 and older. If you are 16 or 17, you can use the Online Community if you have the support and expressed consent of a parent or guardian. We will contact you about this when you apply to join.
7. To ensure the Online Community is an inclusive and safe space, it is expected that you will:
- always show respect and allow others to have their say
- keep your language respectful and kind, avoiding anything offensive, including swearing, and comments that are sexually suggestive, sexist, homophobic, transphobic or racist
- never attack, provoke nor incite others
8. The Online Community is open to anyone affected by bipolar, but it is not a marketing or communication platform for authors, companies, researchers or products.
9. As a common symptom of bipolar is impulsive spending, moderators will remove posts that may encourage spending money. This includes (but is not limited to), photos of branded products, links to retail items sold on- or off-line and any mentions of commercial websites and manufacturers.
10. To ensure the Online Community is a safe space, please do not recommend individual doctors, psychiatrists or other medical professionals, clinics or hospitals. You are, however, allowed to share information produced by respected broadcasters, academic institutions and published in peer-reviewed journals.
11. Sometimes community members talk about extremely difficult and personal feelings and experiences. Thoughts of suicide are, unfortunately, a challenge many of us face. Each discussion is different, but it is not Bipolar UK’s intention to remove posts that refer to suicide. However, we will always remove posts if they refer to or promote methods of suicide or self-harm. As a consideration to more sensitive Online Community members, we ask that you post any thoughts of suicide or self-harm – or any subject that may trigger others – only in the ‘Contested’ category in the eCommunity Conversations area.
12. To ensure the Online Community is a safe space, we do not allow images of alcohol or drugs, or any discussions about the use of excessive quantities of alcohol or drugs.
13. Please remember that the Support Groups area of the Online Community is a space for sharing information relating directly to individual support groups. If necessary, staff and moderators may ask you to move a conversation to the eCommunity Conversations area, and disable comments.
14. Bipolar UK is non-partisan in matters of religion. The topic of religion can be triggering for some people and for this reason we do not allow discussion of religion on the forum. You are welcome to mention that you belong to a particular religion or hold a particular belief, but only as information and not to promote that religion or belief.
15. Bipolar UK is non-partisan in matters of politics. The topic of politics can be triggering for some people and for this reason we do not allow discussion of politics on the forum. You are welcome to mention that you support a particular political party or viewpoint, but only as information and not to promote your ideas or beliefs.
16. To ensure the Online Community is a safe space, if Bipolar UK has a concern that your health and safety is at risk – or if we believe criminal action has either been committed or there is an intention to undertake a criminal action – we will remove the post. We will also take appropriate action. For example, if you consent and provide enough information so that emergency services can find you, we will make a referral to or seek advice from the police, paramedics or social services. This is in line with our Privacy Notice.
17. The views of individual members expressed on Bipolar UK’s Online Community do not represent the views of Bipolar UK.
18. Sometimes posts don’t explicitly break the house rules but might be extreme in nature, and may be deleted. If we delete any posts, we always send the member an explanation and offer support through private messages if that’s helpful. In rare cases where members are unable to take on this feedback, we may suspend access to the account.
19. If an exchange between members breaches house rules, this may result in the temporary suspension of a member’s account or, in rare cases, permanent exclusion from the Online Community. This would apply to members who, for example, share personal identifiable information with the purpose of initiating contact outside of the Online Community, or who regularly use overtly offensive language. Members will be contacted individually regarding these suspensions. Bipolar UK requests that members do not discuss their suspension or the suspensions of others on the forum to allow for fair investigation and the privacy of anyone involved. If you have any concerns, queries or support needs, please email community@bipolaruk.org
20. Bipolar UK does not advocate for or recommend other online forums, and any promotion is not representative of Bipolar UK views or practice. Bipolar UK recommends using internet safety practices across all internet use, including other forums.
