National Sleep Foundation

Forum and Blog Rules and Guidelines
The following rules apply to the forums and blogs located at http://communities.kintera.org/nsf. Please note that the site's privacy policy and terms of use also apply to these services.

No medical advice
The forums and blogs are designed for educational purposes only and not for the purpose of rendering medical advice. Individual variances in sleep problems and disorders require the consultation of a physician to make sound medical decisions. The information presented in the forums and blogs is not intended to replace the counsel of your physician. It is important to see your doctor before altering anything in your treatment plan. The Foundation does not endorse any sleep-related medications, products, equipment or treatments.

Rules and guidelines
The forums and blogs are moderated to ensure that this online community is constructive and beneficial to as many people with sleep issues as possible. Posting a message in one of the forums or on a blog constitutes your agreement to abide by the following rules and policies. These rules also apply to your communication with the team of moderators. 

Civility and courtesy in communication should be practiced by participants posting to the forums and blogs. All participants are free to express their opinions in a respectful manner. Disagreements will naturally arise, but personal attacks are never acceptable. The National Sleep Foundation is committed to maintaining this online community as a welcoming environment for all, regardless of treatment preferences, membership in the Foundation or severity of sleep problem.

You agree not to use the forums or blogs to send or post any message or material that is illegal, harassing, libelous, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene, profane, pornographic, racially offensive, intentionally inaccurate or otherwise objectionable. You also agree not to use this online community to communicate information or material that encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or international law or regulation. 
Any other unauthorized or illegal use of or activities on this board, including copyright infringement, are prohibited. 
  
The forums and blogs are for personal use only. Using the online community to advertise or promote services or products or to distribute unsolicited information about services or products for financial gain is prohibited. You also agree not to use information obtained about other forum/blog participants, including their e-mail addresses, for any commercial purpose or to obtain financial gain. 

 One online account (or username) is allowed per person. The creation of a duplicate account as an attempt to circumvent a suspension will result in further disciplinary action. 
  
It is recommended that you use discretion in sharing personal information, such as your address or telephone number, with other participants. When you post on the forums or blogs, your comments and username will be visible to the general public and indexed by search engines such as Google.
  
The National Sleep Foundation may, in its sole discretion, remove or suspend your forum or blog privileges if the Foundation believes you are violating these rules. 
  
Although the forums and blogs are monitored regularly, they are not monitored on a 24-hour basis. When the National Sleep Foundation becomes aware of a problem, it is reviewed and action is taken as soon as possible.
If you are the recipient of offensive or otherwise inappropriate comments through the forums or blogs, become aware of others being subjected to such comments or have other problems with the National Sleep Foundation's online community, please send an e-mail to nsf@sleepfoundation.org identifying your username and the nature of the problem. The National Sleep Foundation will follow up as appropriate in response to your e-mail.

The National Sleep Foundation reserves the right to remove a post, which does not relate to the topic being discussed in the folder or on a specific online community. In addition, the National Sleep Foundation may, in its sole discretion, remove or suspend your forum and/or blog privileges if the National Sleep Foundation believes you are violating these rules. If any user is reported to be in violation with the letter or spirit of these terms, the National Sleep Foundation retains the right to terminate such account at any time without further warning.