We’ve made a small change to rule 8, which covers discussion of health issues. Previously the rule only extended to mental health conditions, but in practice we were also moderating discussions that included insensitive and demeaning opinions about people with physical health issues. We’ve removed the wording that limited the rule to only mental health issues.

We’re not expecting any change to the day-to-day implementation of the rule, or to the discussions that happen here.

The new rule is:

Any physical or mental health discussion that occurs in the threads should be conducted with the utmost sensitivity, and potentially triggering conversations should be marked with a clear disclaimer. People with health conditions should not be shamed, insulted, or demeaned. Definitive statements about specific health issues (“armchair diagnoses”) should be avoided.

The old rule was:

Any mental health discussion that occurs in the threads should be conducted with the utmost sensitivity, and potentially triggering conversations should be marked with a clear disclaimer. People with mental health conditions should not be shamed, insulted, or demeaned. Definitive statements about specific mental health issues (“armchair diagnoses”) should be avoided.

This rule change comes into effect as of this post.

Our rules are here.

Post in this thread or contact me or any other moderator if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.