Hi
The chat room is a privilage of this site and not a right. There is no doubt some people do abuse that privilage and thus the mods are there to keep the room "in line" with the rules. Most have engaged in risky banter(my self included) but we need to give thought to those no matter what age they are, who because of their emotional health can be offended by it.
Chat is part of the healing process for so many and many have made good friends via chat.
The chat room has become part of their social life and that is a positive thing and another step towards the goal of overcoming their anxiety.
I spoke to someone a few months ago who told me the chat room was a life line for them and because of it they are now getting out and about because before they could not even talk on the phone.
It is great that we come to think of the chat room as "our" chat room and a place where we can all meet up and share our news be that good or bad and give each other support but we must keep in mind the purpose of the chat room and that is for support.
The mods are there to ensure the smooth running of the room and we cannot have a them and us mentality.
If we have an issue with a mod or anyone for that matter, we can email or pm the admin team because no one is bigger than the site itself.
we also need to think of the reputation of the site because many health professionals are advising their clients to go on the site and I have a few friends who are doctors and they have directed people to the site. This may not directly concern us (if we choose to be selfish) but it does affect those who keep this site up and running.
This post is not an attack on others coz If that was a the case (people in glass houses shoudnt throw stones)
It is looking at what the chat rooms for and how we as adults conduct ourselves and for the most part the chat room is a fantastic place with great people.
Lets also give the whole of the NMP team some credit for the work they do on this site. I costed the running of a site like this yesterday and it is not cheap. Yet more than that, it takes many many hours of work each day just keeping it running as smoothly as it does.
Post something positive to this thread, be that a thank you to someone in chat or to a mod or the NMP team for running the site. Lets keep encouraging each other in chat and be there to support each other.
kev xx