Community Guidelines / Forum Rules

Effective Date: September 07, 2025

1. Introduction and Purpose

Welcome to the SFRD community! This space is designed to be a safe, supportive, and informative environment for patients, caregivers, and individuals affected by rare diseases. Our goal is to foster connections, share experiences, and provide mutual support. To ensure a positive experience for everyone, we ask all members to adhere to these Community Guidelines.

By participating in our forums, comment sections, chat features, or any other interactive part of the SFRD Portal, you agree to abide by these Guidelines, as well as our ‘Terms of Service’ and ‘Privacy Policy’. Failure to follow these rules may result in content removal, temporary suspension, or permanent banning from the community.

2. Core Principles: Respect, Support, and Safety

  • Be Respectful and Kind: Treat all members with empathy, compassion, and respect. Disagreements are natural, but personal attacks, harassment, bullying, hate speech (based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc.), or discriminatory language will not be tolerated.
  • Offer Support, Not Medical Advice: This community is for sharing personal experiences and offering emotional support. You are strictly prohibited from giving or soliciting specific medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment recommendations to other users. Always remember the information on this Portal is not a substitute for professional medical care.
  • Protect Privacy: Do not share sensitive personal information about yourself or others (e.g., full names, addresses, phone numbers, detailed medical records that could identify someone) in public areas of the Portal. Be mindful of what you post and consider the privacy of others.
  • Fact-Check and Be Responsible with Information: While sharing personal experiences is valuable, please be cautious when sharing unverified medical claims, "miracle cures," or potentially harmful health information. If you share information, try to cite reputable sources where possible.

3. Prohibited Content and Behavior

The following types of content and behaviour are strictly prohibited:

  • Hate Speech & Discrimination: Any language or content that promotes hatred, discrimination, or violence against individuals or groups based on their attributes.
  • Harassment & Bullying: Targeting individuals with repeated unwanted messages, threats, intimidation, or malicious comments.
  • Medical Advice (Giving or Soliciting): As stated above, do not offer or ask for specific medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment plans. Direct users to consult with healthcare professionals.
  • Misinformation & Disinformation: Spreading demonstrably false or misleading information, especially regarding health, treatments, or scientific facts, that could be harmful.
  • Personal Attacks: Directed insults, name-calling, or inflammatory comments towards other users.
  • Illegal Activities: Promoting, discussing, or engaging in any illegal activities.
  • Commercial Promotion & Spam: Posting unsolicited advertisements, promotions, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of commercial solicitation without explicit permission from SFRD. This includes excessive self-promotion.
  • Sharing Private Information: Posting personal contact details (phone numbers, emails, addresses) of yourself or others in public spaces.
  • Graphic or Explicit Content: Posting sexually explicit, violent, or otherwise disturbing imagery or text.
  • Impersonation: Pretending to be someone else, including SFRD staff, medical professionals, or other community members.
  • Copyright Infringement: Posting content that you do not own or have the right to share.
  • Off-Topic Discussions: While some flexibility is allowed, please try to keep discussions relevant to the rare disease community and the purpose of the specific forum/thread.

4. Moderation and Enforcement

  • Moderator Authority: SFRD moderators are here to ensure these Guidelines are followed. They have the final say on content interpretation and enforcement.
  • Content Removal: Moderators reserve the right to remove any content that violates these Guidelines without prior notice.
  • Account Action: Violations of these Guidelines may result in:
    • A warning.
    • Temporary suspension of your account.
    • Permanent banning from the community and Portal.
  • No Appeal for Minor Actions: Decisions made by moderators regarding content removal or minor account actions are generally final.
  • Reporting Violations: If you encounter content or behaviour that violates these Guidelines, please use the "Report" function (if available) or contact us directly at admin@sfrd.in. Do not attempt to moderate content yourself.

5. Responsibility for Content

You are solely responsible for the content you post in the SFRD community. By posting, you affirm that you have the right to share the content and that it complies with these Guidelines and all applicable laws.

6. Changes to Guidelines

SFRD reserves the right to update these Community Guidelines at any time. We will post the revised Guidelines on this page, and your continued participation in the community will indicate your acceptance of the new terms.

7. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Community Guidelines or wish to report a violation, please contact us at: admin@sfrd.in