Guidelines for Use of Direct Messaging System

[[Co...]]

Guidelines for Use of Personal Message System

The direct Messaging system is ideal for chit-chat and moral support. But wholly unsuitable for taper and withdrawal support, or for seeking or providing general medical advice. Any opinions offered via Messages will be necessarily narrow in viewpoint, and there is no opportunity for others to offer you alternative perspectives. And where information is erroneous, there is no opportunity for other members to provide a correction.

Further, there have been a few occasions where self-styled coaches have joined our community to promote their very dubious services. We feel duty-bound to help protect our more vulnerable members from those who might choose to misrepresent themselves at the BenzoBuddies community, particularly via the Message system.

For these reasons, please observe our guidelines for Messaging. You are requested to report Messages in any of the following circumstances:

• Attempts to lure you away for contact outside of the BenzoBuddies community;
   
• Attempts to solicit your real name, email address, or phone number; requests for you to join a Facebook group (or other social networking sites); seeks other personal information or anything else which might reveal your real-world identity
   
• The message you receive contains information which seeks to make you feel guilty or at fault for your situation
   
• Claims to be compiling a study on people in benzodiazepine withdrawal
   
• Attempts to provide you with direct taper advice relating to your benzodiazepine withdrawal (or other medications); or tries to give you specific medical advice, such as advising you drop a particular medication or start another; or offers to provide you with counseling (or similar) services
   
• Requests for withdrawal support or taper advice; or requests for help with any other matter relating to health and medicine
   
• Anything else which makes you feel uncomfortable.

Please select the 'Report' option from the three-dot 'meatball' menu at the top-right of your Message conversation. You will have the opportunity to add a comment detailing your concerns before submitting your report. Please do not delete related messages of concern until we have resolved the matter.

By reporting Messages of dubious intent/nature to the administration team, we can monitor for suspicious patterns of behavior, act in obvious cases of abuse or rule breaking, and help keep you and fellow members safe.

We understand that members will form friendships, and some will wish contact away from the BenzoBuddies community. Of course, this is your decision. But please apply your best judgment. You should understand that it is normally not possible for us to take action against account holders relating to actions occurring beyond this website. We provide multiple (and secure) platforms for communication right here at BenzoBuddies - we strongly suggest that you make use of them.

If you ignore our warnings and instead choose to share your contact information, you do so completely at your own risk. We disclaim all liabilities pertaining to the use of our systems to share your personally identifying and contact information.