Forum Policy
1.Purpose
1.1. The purpose of a Parkinson’s Society Of Southern Alberta chat forum is to provide a safe,
respectful, positive space for the discussion and information sharing. PSSA will ensure that users of the forums are
provided with a supportive and considerate environment in which users can obtain information, share experience and
exchange expertise.
1.2. The forum is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult the relevant professional when
making decisions that affect you or others.
2. Conduct of Users
2.1. All views publicly posted on the forum are individual and not the views, policy or advice of the
PSSA. User posts to be found in the online forums belong solely to their respective authors.
2.2. Any reference to 3rd party organisations, their product or service does not imply
endorsement by the PSSA. Such references could be removed or edited.
2.3. The use of the online forum to gather information for research, surveys or similar is not
permitted.
2.4. This is a public, family-friendly forum. Users of the system must be over the age of 18. If a
user is under the age of 18 they must get parent or guardian permissions before taking part in any forum discussion.
Please get a parent’s or guardian’s permission before taking part in any PSSA website forum discussion.
Never reveal any personal information about yourself or anyone else (for example, telephone number, home
address or email address).
2.5. You must agree not to participate in manipulative or malicious behaviour with intent to cause damage
to PSSA, the PSSA website or any of the computer systems linking to the PSSA.
2.6. No use of multiple usernames. Please register and use only one username for
the forums. Posting under multiple user accounts will result in administrative action
(i.e. banning).
2.7. By using this site you agree to the PSSA website terms and conditions.
3. Postings and messages
Content that is posted to the PSSA forum, including your choice of username, must follow the following
conditions:
3.1. Messages must not contain the use of explicit, obscene or vulgar language or images
and/or messages, including racist, sexist or homophobic remarks. Swearing in any form will not be
tolerated and will be removed by the moderator. Please note that the web software will automatically block
certain words deemed to cause offence and are thought of as swear words.
3.2. Messages must not contain discussion of any illegal activity or threats of
violence. (i.e. illicit drug use, including marijuana use). Discussions of suicide or
self-harm that are deemed negative and therefore potentially injurious to others are also not
permitted.
3.3. No posts that attack, insult, or abuse forum members. Respect
other members of the community and don’t belittle, make fun off, or insult another member.
Decisions about health and well-being are highly personal, individual choices. Insults, however, will not be
tolerated. Agree to disagree. If you think another user has breached the rules please contact the PSSA by
email or phone.
3.4. No advertising or links to advertising or "Spam" is permitted
including signatures). Advertising or Spam is defined as posting a link for the purpose
of selling, soliciting or promoting by someone that has ownership or other "vested interest" to the web site
involved, including efforts to promote other online forums or web sites by web site owners.
Links to helpful web sites which provide a not-for-profit or a voluntary service i.e. charity are permitted to
posted by a moderator only
3.5. No posts of copyrighted material. Information copyrighted or owned by any
individual or entity other than the person posting should not be posted on the message boards without the consent
of the owner.
3.6. No lengthy posts. There is a limit to how much text you can submit in one
post. You will not be able to type further once the limit to your text has been reached in your post.
Moderators will edit and/or remove signatures that are too long.
3.7. No posts of an overly political or religious nature OR posts promoting advocacy of
particular personal, medical, legal, regligious, political, or non-profit causes.
The forums are intended for offering mutual personal support. Limited religious references are
allowed (i.e. "my prayers are with you" or a brief quote as part of a larger post), but the forums should not be
used to convert others.
3.8. Personal information. Do not post personal contact information (i.e. your
address, telephone/fax numbers, email address etc.) and do not ask for personal information from
others. Use of full names (your first and last name) is allowed but strongly discouraged.
This is to protect your security and identity.
3.9. Under 18 posts. This is a public, family-friendly forum. Users of the
system must be over the age of 18. If an user is under the age of 18 they must get parent or guardian
permissions before taking part in any forum discussion. Never reveal any personal information about yourself or
anyone else (for example, telephone number, home address or email address) If you feel you want to release
personal information with a member in the forum, PSSA highly recommends you use the Private Message Function.
3.10. Do not disrespect moderators. Violations of this rule will not be
tolerated. All communications to moderators via the posts on the forum directly should be removed and an email
sent to the user. Users will be reminded on the website that if they would like to contact a moderator the email
address is
forum@parkinsons-society.org or phone (403) 243 9901.
3.11. No direct medical advice. The forum is a mechanism for users to share
their experiences and opinions about their own health and well-being with others. However, the forum is not a
substitute for professional advice. Users will be reminded, where appropriate, to consult their doctor, or other
relevant professionals before making any decisions that could affect them or others in the forum.
3.12. No duplicate posts. If a post has been entered twice please contact the
moderators by email or phone. The moderator will delete the duplicate post within 1 working day of being notified.
3.13. No irrelevant or off-topic posts. Posts, which are not relevant
to the forum or are diverting off the topic may be locked at the moderator's discretion, and a
request will be made to begin a new discussion.
4. Moderation
4.1. The PSSA has the right to remove, edit, move or close any posts when in breach of the forum terms and
conditions
4.2. The PSSA has the right to modify or delete any or all information relating to a user,
including deletion of users account without prior notice or reason.
4.3. Any removal or banning of an individual using the forum is binding and the decision final.
4.4. In case of dispute the decision of the CEO of PSSA is final.
5. Privacy and Data Protection
5.1. We do not collect personal information about you unless it with your consent.
The information you provide will not be shared with a third party. If you wish to view the PSSA Website privacy
policy please click here: PSSA Privacy Policy.
6.
Liability
6.1. The PSSA excludes all and any losses, liabilities, claims, damages, expenses and costs arising in
connection with:
6.1.1. your inability to use the site
6.1.2. your use of any third party websites
6.1.3. any arrangements entered into with any third party in connection with
any information provided by or in connection
7.
Disclaimer
7.1. All communications made available as part of this forum and any opinions, advice, statements, views
or other information expressed in this forum are solely provided by, and the responsibility of, the person posting
such communication and not of the PSSA.
7.2. The PSSA does not certify, endorse, and verify the contents of any communication posted to these
forums. The PSSA makes no warranty of any kind, express or implied, with regard to the posted communications or
information contained in any posted message
7.3. The PSSA is not responsible for defamatory, offensive or illegal conduct of any author posting to
this forum, and every effort will be made to ensure post of this nature is removed and the user banned.
7.4. The PSSA reserves the right to remove any postings from this forum at its discretion; this
reservation creates no affirmative duty in the PSSA, and failure to exercise this power shall not subject the PSSA
to any liability of any sort.
7.5. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by
email or phone. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a
reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please
realise that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately.
If you participate in a discussion, you are responsible for ensuring that any material you post to the Forum
does not violate or infringe upon the copyright, patent, trademark or any other personal or proprietary rights of
any third party.