Because of the unique nature of the forum, there are a few guidelines and tips that should be read through before replying or taking action within the forum.

Forum Guidelines

• This is a support forum, and will be strictly moderated.  Any replies that are deemed to be abusive, spam, overly insensitive or threatening will be immediately removed.  Additionally, insensitivity or abuse in this forum may place your status as a support leader at risk.  Remember that you are being trusted with our most sensitive members when replying in ehelps and the Serious forum, and you should behave accordingly
  
• Note that leniency will most likely not be granted here.  Because of the nature of the forum, replies may be removed that would be considered "borderline" in other support forums.  If you aren't making any effort to help, you can bet that your reply will be hidden.  We expect more from you guys! :)
  
• Be careful with your delivery of "tough love".  This has occasionally been a problem in the past.  It's okay to be direct with the poster, but do so in a way that is not insulting to them or their situation on a personal level.  Keep in mind that people may have backgrounds, upbringings, values and situations that vary from your own.
  
• Report any topic that breaks guidelines as soon as you see it.  This includes suicide topics, topics asking for ways to harm oneself (how to starve yourself, how to perform an at-home abortion, how to cut yourself, how to overdose on a drug, etc) and topics containing sensitive information such as full names.

A change to note!  In the past we have asked that all replies be the same caliber as they would be in ehelp.  This guideline is being done away with, as it is taking away from the biggest advantage of the forum: conversational dialogue with members.  If you need clarification on what a member means by something, or need to ask more about their situation in order to reply...by all means do so.  Do not worry about making one huge post like you would in ehelp.  We encourage open dialogue with members in this forum.
Note this does not mean that you can simply post a one line response and walk away.  The idea here is that you're still providing roughly as much support as you would in an ehelp, except in a more conversational, personalized manner.

Moderation of the Serious Forum

As a support leader, you have moderation powers such as moving posts and voting to hide replies.  The nature of the serious forum calls for slight modifications to your normal use of these powers.  

• Do not move any support-oriented topic out of the Serious Forum.  Even if you feel that the member could get better replies in another forum, or if the topic isn't "that serious", you should not move the topic.  It is up to the poster where they wish to get support.  If topic placement seems like an issue for a member, or if you suspect they don't understand how the serious forum works, simply message the member about it with information on all the different support areas of the site (ehelp, serious forum, support forums).
  
• You may move topics out of the serious forum if they are clearly not geared towards support (i.e. topics about music, politics, television, etc).  If you are unsure if a topic should be moved, simply report the topic or message a moderator to help out.
  
• Do not vote to hide replies in the serious forum.  We ask this for two reasons.  First, problems with posts in the serious forum tend to be more complicated than just cleaning up spam in the regular forums.  Second, there is a chance that some sort of action will also have to be taken pertaining to the support leader's status.  It is necessary for a moderator to do this.  If you see a post that needs hiding, report the post.
  
• If you feel that a member is abusing the forum in any way, report it.  Do not attempt to deal with the member on your own.

Feel free to contact any moderator with questions or concerns regarding these guidelines.

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