The success of these forums will be based on the user’s enthusiasm and eagerness to share ideas, information, and their willingness to listen and accept differences of opinion. Like any support group there are basic guidelines that keep groups healthy and functioning well.

Registration

Registration to the forum is free! We do insist that you abide by the rules and policies detailed during the registration process. If you agree to the terms, please check the “I agree” checkbox and press the “Register”.

You agree, through your use of the forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, adult material, threatening, invasive of a person’s privacy or statements that harm an individual, business, product, group, government, religion, or nation or otherwise in violation of any International or Canadian Federal law. You also agree not to post any copyrighted material unless you own the copyright or you have written consent from the owner of the copyrighted material. Spam, flooding, advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are also forbidden on this forum.

You have the ability, as you register, to choose your username. We advise that you not use your real name, and ensure it is appropriate. Furthermore, you agree to NEVER give your password out to another person except an administrator, for your protection and for validity reasons. You agree also to NEVER use another person’s account for any reason. We also HIGHLY recommend you use a complex and unique password for your account, to prevent account theft.

After you register and login to this forum, you will be able to fill out a detailed profile and create an avatar. It is your responsibility to present clean and accurate information. Any information MDSC or its representatives determine to be inaccurate or vulgar in nature will be removed, with or without prior notice. Appropriate sanctions may be applicable.

Maintaining a positive atmosphere

Post messages that are respectful of other individuals, no matter how strong the disagreement may be about ideas. Unpleasant personal remarks are hurtful. Highly critical comments can make other members wary of expressing their opinions. So, please feel free to disagree, but couch all comments in respectful language. Racist, sexist, abusive or disrespectful comments will result in your privileges being denied.

Share your experience not your advice

It is far more helpful to share what you did to solve a problem than to tell someone what to do. So, if you find yourself responding to a post with “you should”, quick – hit the delete button and start again.

Seek professional help when in crisis

The discussion forum is not intended to provide crisis support. If you are in crisis and/ or are feeling actively suicidal this is not the place to seek help! We encourage you to get professional assistance so that you can get the care you need (See our Finding Help section for details).

Feeling hopeless is often an unfortunate part of having a mood disorder and sharing those thoughts and feelings is O.K. But not that you are actively planning to act on those thoughts! This makes others feel frightened and helpless. People will want to help but they may not know how. It can be very scary to worry about the health and safety of someone in crisis. Help others by getting help when you need it! For this reason we encourage you to seek out professional help. When in crisis, you need to build your resources and focus on yourself. You may need to take a break from the forum until you are feeling stronger and more in control. Then come back and let us know how things are going. I know that others will want to learn what you did to find your balance when it was lost!

Use caution and common sense

Virtual discussion groups are a great way to connect with other people. However, keep in mind that people may not always be what they seem. We recommend that you do not share personal identifying information online. This discussion group is moderated by MDSC volunteers. As such, the MDSC and/or its representatives are not responsible for the content contained within, and do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented. The posted messages express the views of the author, and not necessarily the views of this forum, the MDSC, its representatives, nor vBulletin Solutions Inc (a division of Internet Brands.) Anyone who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to notify forum@mooddisorderscanada.ca immediately.

The MDSC and its representatives reserve the right to remove objectionable content, within a reasonable time frame, if determined that removal is necessary. This is a manual process. Please realize that removal or editing of particular messages may not happen immediately. This policy applies to member profile information as well. That being said, the owners and representatives of the MDSC Forum reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason.

Keep the chat within the discussion forum

Please check with the MDSC before announcing any commodity or service that is sold for profit. Non-profit agencies are welcome to announce upcoming trainings, conferences, new materials, etc. Feel free to let others know about other great websites. If you do post for commercial reasons however, you will be blocked from accessing this site.

RULE:

The MDSC reserves the right to restrict access to any individual who misuses the discussion forum or fails to respect the guidelines provided.

If you have any ideas or suggestions on how this forum can be improved let us know. It is your forum we want to make it work for you!