Rules for use of the Asthma UK forums

Welcome to Asthma UK's discussion forums. We have established these house rules to help protect users and allow you to get the most out of the forums.

By registering with our forums you agree to:

• keep your messages civil, tasteful and relevant
• maintain respect for other people
• post your message under the relevant thread
• use only one account to access these message boards - users creating multiple accounts will be suspended
• be sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others - something that you may consider acceptable may be offensive to others
• be aware that protocols for managing asthma and dealing with acute exacerbations may vary vastly, particularly at the severe end of the spectrum- if your protocol is unusual, please exercise caution and judgment in posting about it to avoid giving others the impression that it is safe for them to behave in a similar way
• read your posts before submitting them to the forum, considering the above point - writing on message boards is different to the spoken word, and a simple written comment may be unintentionally offensive to others
• be patient and considerate of message board users who may be less able than you
  
• avoid using “text speak” in your posts, as this can prove extremely difficult for users with dyslexia to understand
• remember that boards are read by many different people of different ages and backgrounds; there may be children, the press, MPs and potential charity supporters accessing and reading - please ensure that your message is appropriate for anyone to read.
  

and not to:

• use obscenity or insults
• 'flame' or attack people individually
• post your message twice under different subtopics
• publish email addresses or phone numbers in posts
• allow other people to post to the forum using your account
• post messages advertising commercial products or services: these will be deleted
• use the private messaging service to send multiple copies of the same message
• post messages merely to tell everyone how ill you are: this is disrespectful to other message board users and goes against the nature of using the message board as a discussion forum
• post messages to ask for participants for ANY research, be it asthma-related or not: Asthma UK insists on vetting all such requests, and so you should contact them via telephone or e-mail in the first instance

Unlawful, harassing, defamatory, explicit, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive, or otherwise objectionable material is not acceptable and will be removed. To ensure the safety and well-being of forum users, Asthma UK moderators have access to private messages at all times.

Asthma UK's forums are for debate and discussion. Especially, they are not a suitable place to obtain medical advice in an emergency. If you feel unwell or need advice in an emergency situation, help should be obtained from one of the following sources:

• Your local GP service - either your surgery, or, if closed, the local out-of-hours centre; some regions also have NHS Walk-In Centres
• NHS Direct - a nurse-led advice line which can provide medical advice, or call an ambulance if needed - telephone 0845 46 47
• Dialling 999 for an emergency ambulance, or by going to your local Accident & Emergency department.
• Asthma UK's own guidance for what to do in an asthma attack

Any posts made requesting emergency advice will be removed so as to avoid causing upset to other message board users.

Opinions expressed in the forums are users' own, not those of Asthma UK, and are in no way a substitute for medical advice.

For the benefit of all users we operate a warning system for behaviour that does not adhere to the above rules. Warnings will be issued by a moderator, via the messaging system. If you receive three warnings your access to the message boards will be suspended. You will need to contact Asthma UK to ask them to consider reinstating your account in this instance.