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We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

TomBombadilModerator04 Sept 2026, 9:14 am AEST

We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

Updates to our Forum Guidelines:

We’ve heard your feedback about how our Forum guidelines are interpreted and applied. As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we’ve reviewed the guidelines to make them clearer and easier to understand.

We also want to be transparent about how moderation works and what you can expect from us.

“Be friendly” is now “Be respectful”

We’ve changed “Be friendly” to “Be respectful” because we heard that “friendly” is difficult to interpret consistently. You don’t have to agree with someone to participate in the Forums, but we always need to treat others with respect.

A new recovery-focused guideline

We’ve added a guideline to help keep the Forums focused on recovery, peer-to-peer connection, and support.

Recovery looks different for everyone. You don’t need to be “doing well” to participate, and it’s okay to talk about difficult experiences, setbacks, and challenges. At the same time, we want the Forums to be a place where people can have conversations to leave room for connection, reflection, and community.

How we moderate:

The SANE Forums are moderated by real people. Our moderators use the guidelines to help keep the Forums safe, respectful, and supportive.

Because moderation is a human process, there will sometimes be differences in how situations are interpreted and decisions are made. If you disagree with a moderation decision, you can provide respectful feedback. Our team of managers or our quality team will consider your concerns about how the guidelines have been interpreted or applied.

We may remove posts or threads when we believe this is needed to protect the safety or wellbeing of the wider community. This can include content that may have a harmful or negative impact on other members. We strive for consistency rather than perfection, with the goal of keeping things safe and respectful for all.

The Forums belong to the community

The biggest strength of the SANE Forums is the peer-to-peer connection that members provide to each other.

These guidelines help us protect that environment and keep the Forums a safe, respectful, and recovery-focused space for everyone.

You can view the updates that were made through clicking this link -

Community Guidelines - SANE Forums

https://saneforums.org/articles/community-guidelines

29 replies

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In response to: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

DogMan79Senior Contributor04 Sept 2026, 6:09 pm AEST

Re: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

Along similar lines as Bow's comment on the profile picture

Is "TomBombadil" a name? As in not anonymous? It might not be a name, but it looks like one and thus against guidelines

In response to: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

EternalFlowerSenior Contributor04 Sept 2026, 6:24 pm AEST

Re: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

@dogman79 i am confused as to the new moderators, there was Vincent as well which was a name from the movie Pulp Fiction. However, using names from tv characters etc is a little disconcerting, i assume similarly this is a character name.

I am wandering what has happened to peer workers at sane, and what the role is of the moderators, as I would be keen to know the gender and role of the moderators to feel comfortable knowing how to engage them.

Thanks

In response to: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

DimitySenior Contributor04 Sept 2026, 6:26 pm AEST

Re: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

It's from Tolkien @DogMan79 . A lovable character in The Hobbit who also crops up in some other stories.

In response to: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

BowSenior Contributor04 Sept 2026, 6:26 pm AEST

Re: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

You don’t engage them @EternalFlower they aren’t around for that anymore

In response to: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

EternalFlowerSenior Contributor04 Sept 2026, 6:28 pm AEST

Re: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

Hey @Dimity that was my guess because the Vince one was a character from Pulp Fiction :) i think they are using characters for the names. I would also like some transparency please on how the moderation has changed, its very different at the moment, and wheras there used to be email support offline, at the moment it works differently. I think some of us feel alone, or at fault, fort his, like we are being personally ignored. It would be helpful if the change was something we could sit with together.

In response to: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

DimitySenior Contributor04 Sept 2026, 6:33 pm AEST

Re: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

Correct @Bow

. I had a thread purged for addressing a moderator on shift in the middle of the technical meltdown.

And the @moderator tag no longer maps to a hyperlink.

In response to: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

BowSenior Contributor04 Sept 2026, 6:38 pm AEST

Re: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

Yeah I’ve tagged numerous psw, even mods and they just don’t response. They are only around to correct information or to send you to a crisis service. That’s all I’ll say. 🤐

In response to: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

EternalFlowerSenior Contributor04 Sept 2026, 7:23 pm AEST

Re: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

@dimity @bow @TomBombadil i am unsure if this is the correct link for the community guidelines? https://saneforums.org/articles/community-guidelines

Above in original post doesn't link on laptop or phone.

I agree with the changes, but would appreciate more transparency on the moderators role, as that has changed, and it has not been clear, and i feel myself and other users are struggling to adapt, and might use the forums as we did in the past, where peer workers were a part of the chats quite regularly.

In response to: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

BowSenior Contributor04 Sept 2026, 7:33 pm AEST

Re: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

there are some new rules in there I feel @EternalFlower ? Or maybe I missed them.

In response to: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

DogMan79Senior Contributor04 Sept 2026, 7:39 pm AEST

Re: We’ve been listening to your feedback about moderation decisions on the Forums.

@EternalFlower they might also be changes in response to feedback received in other communities

Certainly in the other forums and groups I participate in, SANE has always been viewed as over moderated

So maybe they take that on board too

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SANE acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.

SANE values diversity. We are committed to providing a safe, culturally appropriate, and inclusive service for all people, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, disability, sexuality, or gender identity.

Aboriginal flag

Torres Strait Islander flag

Transgender flag

SANE acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.

SANE values diversity. We are committed to providing a safe, culturally appropriate, and inclusive service for all people, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, disability, sexuality, or gender identity.