PEERS Community Forum Guidelines

All who join the PEERS community forums must agree that the forum administrator(s) have full discretion to remove any forum member at any time.

Flagging. For the rare times in our online forums when conflict arises and becomes divisive, blaming, or otherwise disempowering, we use a flagging system in our forums. At the bottom of every post and comment, you will a "Flag" link. If you come across a post or a comment which is clearly not in alignment with our community agreements, you can flag it. Here are some reasons you might flag a post:

• Vulgar language: Vulgar language used in a disempowering way.
• Attacking behavior: Offensive or degrading words directed at another.
• Clearly divisive: Polarizing comments which divide people on an issue.
• Spam: Inappropriate advertising or solicitation.
• Inappropriate sexuality: Disempowering or overly explicit sexuality.

Once a post or comment is flagged, a notification is automatically sent to the administrator(s) of the forum for review. The administrator(s) will determine whether or not they feel the post should be removed. If a post or comment clearly is not in alignment with our community guidelines, please don't hesitate to flag. In this way, those who slip from our community agreements will be given reminders. If a post is removed, the author will be informed of the removal and the reason.

Before flagging the post or comment, we invite you first to post a comment inviting the writer to remember our shared agreement to do our best to come from a place of mutual respect and support. At times we all need to be reminded of this, and often that is all it takes to come back into a place of mutual support. Please do your best to be compassionate when giving these reminders.

If a member is frequently flagged, they will be given a written reminder asking them to be more careful about following these community guidelines in posting. If this behavior still continues, the posting privileges of a member may be revoked. This decision resides solely in the hands of the administrator(s). All who join must agree that the forum administrator(s) have full discretion to remove any forum member at any time.

Stars. For posts which are particularly powerful or inspiring, we also have a rating system using five stars. As we have lots of great posts, this helps the best pieces to rise to the top so that others can easily find them. If you want to find some of our best material after registering, click the "Top Stuff" tab on your home page for a listing of all the top rated posts.