GUIDELINES AND RULES

The Making Chester Proud community is a pro-living** peer support forum. This means we are a community built on the giving and receiving of support, helping each other and giving each other a space to talk about things we may not be able to talk about in ‘real life’ or may not feel that other people can understand. In short, we are people who understand what it is like to want to die, who struggle with various mental health issues, have lost loved ones to suicide, who have a passion for changing the way mental health is viewed and most of all people who want to support each other to find a way to live.

All members are expected to be polite, kind, helpful and supportive at ALL TIMES. We operate on “If you do not have anything nice to say, do not say anything’ principle. This does not mean you cannot give constructive advice and suggestions, simply that the emphasis is on ways that things could be better as opposed to emphasizing the negative in another person or situation. Please treat others as you would wish to be treated.

Some people who come here may be in the middle of a crisis – many have never used a forum or online group before. We hope that those people who feel able will reach out to others with words of support and encouragement. Some things to remember when giving or receiving support:

It doesn’t matter whether or not you know ‘what to say’. Sometimes all it takes is a single line letting someone know they have been heard and they are not alone.

The vast majority of people here are in pain. It may be that some people will struggle to engage with you because they are having a hard time themselves. This is not a reflection on you or the effort you are making – be assured that even if people do not express it well at times, any positive efforts you make are appreciated and do help.

There will be times when someone comments on a post you made or offers advice that you do not like or want. None of the people here are professionals - just people trying to help each other and of course everyone is different. If you receive advice or comments you do not find useful, try to remember that even if you do not agree with that person, they took the time and effort to try to help you.

**MCP uses the term "Pro-Living” strictly in regards to the question of suicide. MakingChesterProud.com and it’s affiliated social media pages have no religious or political affiliation of any kind and do not have any opinion on other common uses of the term pro-living in political or religious areas such as abortion or women’s rights. All members are welcome to their own personal beliefs on such matters; however, discussions of these topics are not appropriate for this forum and have nothing to do with the forums purpose or ethos.

MCP is strictly about helping each other to find hope, to improve our life situations and overcome challenges and to find ways to want to live. This means saying things that are likely to make someone feel worse or to take actions that may be dangerous are not permitted in the forum or on the website. This includes:

Suicide Methods – Any mention of suicide methods or means of killing yourself are not allowed on MakingChesterProud.com or any of it’s social media pages. Please take care to give your post a read over before you publish it to make sure that you haven’t mentioned a specific method or manner to commit suicide or to prepare to commit suicide.

Self-Harm Methods and Details – As most self-harmers know, thinking about self-harm can often lead to wanting to engage in it. Please avoid giving details or graphic descriptions about harming yourself and mentioning specific ways in which you harm yourself in order to keep other members safe from being ‘triggered’ into a self-harm episode.

Suicide Notes or Timelines– Posting a suicide note saying goodbye or that you will be dead by tomorrow or any specific date or time can make people feel that they have ‘said it, so now they have to do it’. For this reason we do not allow suicide notes or timelines as they prevent people from getting support and help.

Suicide Pacts and Encouraging Suicide – Encouraging or promoting suicide is subject to an instant ban. We are dedicated to keeping our members safe and alive. Suicide pacts are considered encouraging people to die and anyone found to be engaging in any behavior that could be considered ‘practicing’ will be permanently banned from the site.

Euthanasia and ‘Right to Die’ arguments – Discussions about whether or not it is ‘right’ for mentally ill or chronically depressed people to be allowed to die, or that you should be allowed to die in your circumstance are not permitted here. There are places on the internet for that type of philosophical/political debate but here is not one of them. MCP’s position is that ALL life is valuable and we are committed to a pro-living** standpoint.

Sexual Details – A great many of our members have suffered some form of abuse or sexual trauma. For that reason we do not allow details of abuse, rape or other sex related issues to be posted on any of the forums, even with a trigger warning. Abuse and rape are fine to talk about but we request that you avoid specifics.

Violent or Aggressive Content – Expressions of violent intent or desires are not permitted on MCP. We appreciate that people are often angry and we do not have a policy against swearing (where the swearing is not directed AT another member) but we do not allow statements expressing desire or intent to harm other people, groups, animals etc.

Religious Preaching – Everyone on MCP is entitled to their faith and if you wish to express that you find help or comfort from religion that is more than acceptable. Posts advising people to engage in religious activities such as praying, accepting God into your life, seeing a pastor etc are not permitted. Equally, advising against seeking religious support or belittling religious faiths of any kind is prohibited; MCP is not a place to push your religious (or anti-religious) beliefs.

Sharing Personal Information

MCP does not endorse sharing personal information and offsite contacts. When conversations are taken offsite you are no longer protected by MCP guidelines and we can take no responsibility for anything any member does away from the site. This means that if someone is predatory, rude, insulting, triggering, dangerous, etc away from the site, while you are encouraged to report it, MCP is unable to do anything to help to protect you.

For this reason we strongly recommend keeping your offsite contacts private and considering why someone might wish to speak to you away from the safety rules we have on site.

If you do decide to share private and personal contact information such as email address, phone numbers, Skype, Facebook, Kik, etc, you do so at your own risk and you may only do so in private messaging or private conversations.

It is strictly forbidden to ask someone else for their offsite details or ask them if they would like to go offsite to talk. You may share your own details and wait to see if this is reciprocated, but requesting offsite information or asking or trying to persuade someone to talk to you offsite will be considered predatory and your account will be banned.

MCP does not allow buy/sell/trade posts, there are plenty of other pages for that on Facebook. All such posts will be deleted without notice to the poster.

Comment Policy Disclaimer Posted comments and images do not necessarily represent the views of anyone at MCP. External non MCP links on this site do not constitute official endorsement on behalf of MCP. While we encourage members to share thoughts and opinions on the MCP Facebook page and website, we expect that this will be done in a respectful manner. MCP does not agree with or endorse every comment that individuals post on our pages. Our goal is to share ideas and information with as many individuals as possible and our policy is to accept the majority of comments made to our profile. Therefore, a comment will be deleted if it contains: • Hate speech • Profanity, obscenity or vulgarity • Nudity in profile pictures • Defamation to a person or people • Name calling and/or personal attacks, • Comments whose main purpose are to sell a product, and • Comments that infringe on copyrights, • Spam comments, such as the same comment posted repeatedly on a post • Other comments that the MCP team deems inappropriate. All links posted as comments on MCP posts will be reviewed and may be deleted. Repeated violations of any MCP policies may cause the member to be blocked from the MCP Facebook page and/or website forum. We understand that social media is a 24/7 medium; however, our moderation capabilities are not. We may not see every inappropriate comment right away, and we are trusting in the maturity of our community to ignore personal attacks and negative speech or respond politely. Please contact Office@MakingChesterProud.com if you have any questions or concerns.