Forum etiquette and rules

The GamCare Forum is provided as a safe and secure community for its users to exchange and share experiences, thoughts and feelings around their own recovery from problem gambling. It also welcomes partners, friends or family members of problem gamblers, who wish to exchange and share their experiences.

GamCare accepts that debating of the political issues surrounding problem gambling can be of therapeutic value to users. However, to preserve the safety of the Forum, we will remove posts which directly aim to incite anger, violence or protest.

GamCare staff are clinically trained and monitor the Forum on a daily basis, contributing to topics and posts whenever they believe it necessary.

The GamCare Forum is part of the GamCare therapeutic package insofar as it gives space for peer-to-peer exchange and interaction in a safe setting. In order to make this possible and provide you with a positive experience, we ask Forum users to consider the following rules and guidelines:

When using the Forum you, please...

Show consideration and respect to other Forum members
Give thought to how your messages may be viewed and perceived by others
Do not upload images or add links to messages that may offend or upset others or which aim to encourage forum users to purchase products

And finally...

Have fun, contribute positively and as frequently as you can, helping us to make this a thriving and rewarding community!

Forum rules

Registration at this Forum is free. However, registration means that you accept the Forum rules. The rules are not meant to be exhaustive and we reserve the right to edit posts and/or, take other action in accordance with the purpose and principles of the Forum.

All member posts reflect the views of the author of that post. The owners of this website will not be held responsible for the content of any member messages or information posted. Please note: GamCare staff are clinically trained to ensure the therapeutic nature of the Forum. They reserve the right not to self-disclose in order to keep the focus on Forum members and to delete or edit posts that are deemed to be against the purpose of this Forum. By registering at this Forum, you are agreeing to be held responsible for the information you add to the Forum and that you accept and understand the basic Forum rules outlined above as well as the general Forum rules below:

Anyone wishing to register and post messages / upload images on the GamCare Forum agrees not to post / upload anything that:

is obscene or insulting to others;
is hateful or disrespectful of other people's views;
does not reflect the purpose or theme of the specific Forum;
advertises or contains links to any service in conflict with the aims of GamCare and this forum;
discloses the identity or contact details of any person without their explicit and prior consent; or
seeks to engage with other Forum members for the purpose of subsequent publication. All media/research enquiries should be directed to eileen@gamcare.org.uk. Invitations to participate in research projects will only be considered for entry in the Forum provided they meet the required criteria. For a full explanation, please view the following link. http://www.gamcare.org.uk/forum/index.php?tid=85028.

The GamCare Forum is not a space for organizing political action. Should you wish to petition the Government about a political matter concerning problem gambling, please visit http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/, or write to your MP, asking them to write to the relevant Minister.

E-mail Accounts

You must register on this site with an e-mail address that is valid. Users whose e-mail accounts "bounce" will have their accounts deactivated. New users will not be able to post on the Forum until they click the activation link sent to their registered e-mail address, and the account has been approved and activated by the Forum Administrator. Registered Forum members are responsible to keep GamCare up to date about their current e-mail address.

Accounts

Only one account per person is allowed. Registering more than one account will result in all of the user's accounts being suspended, and the user may be permanently banned from using the GamCare Forum.

Abusing Other Members

Abusing other members of this website is not tolerated. Personal or targeted insults are not tolerated. Posts that are insulting or obscene are not tolerated. Please report abusive posts to michelle@gamcare.org.uk.

Please note: While GamCare staff will attempt to ensure that insensitive or abusive posts are removed or edited, you are encouraged to report any such activity to GamCare, you alone are responsible for your interactions with other Forum members. GamCare reserves the right but is not obligated to mediate or solve disputes between you and other users of the Forum.

Privacy Statement

GamCare does not sell, rent or trade user information and will always strive to maintain a high level of security to ensure users data are kept private and confidential on the forums.

The content of the GamCare Forum is owned by GamCare.

Account Removal and Banned Accounts

If a user who has posted messages on the Forum wishes to leave this website, we will deactivate the account. However, please note that posts will not normally be removed since this can cause other posts and threads to read incorrectly. We will only remove these posts if it could cause a serious problem to another person or to this website.

We will retain information of banned users so that we can attempt to stop them from registering again and we may use their information should the need for further (for example legal) action arise.

Posting and Readability Guidelines

Please try to use clear English with standard punctuation, capitalization, and paragraphs in your posts.
Do NOT post in ALL CAPS or in large fonts.

Third party materials

All third party articles or excerpts must include full credit to the authors as well as a link to the original source. Please also ensure that you do not post material where the author has expressly forbidden reproduction, or material that may be offensive to others or which aims to sell products to other users.

Advertising and Spam

Advertising a website, product or service is not allowed unless permission has been given from the Forum staff.

Malicious Content

Any user posting anything that you know may cause the computer or system of a visitor to experience problems will face an immediate and permanent ban from the Forum.

Share advice, but check your facts

Before offering up advice, be sure the information you are about to share is as accurate as possible. Remember, another user's suggestion is not a substitute for a professional's opinion. Also, remind yourself that what works for you may not work for everyone.

Removing posts

In the majority of cases posts have generated replies and encouraged others to reflect or contribute to threads. By removing posts these reactions will stand alone, taken out of the context that you have created. Before you ask for your posts to be removed we ask you to consider the effect this might have on Forum users who have taken the time to reply and encourage or support you.

We will of course remove a recovery diary if the user who posted it asks us. However, if they request a diary removal twice, they will not be able to post a third recovery diary.

If you wish us to remove your contributions from the Forum please contact michelle@gamcare.org.uk.
Any questions regarding the Forum should be sent to michelle@gamcare.org.uk