Community Standards

The general discussion forum is open to all current members of the AED. Members can control their notification preferences for posts to this forum in their online community profile. They may receive instant email notifications, daily or weekly digest email notifications, or no notifications at all. Notification preferences are unrelated to one’s ability to make a post to the forum.

 

There are multiple discussion areas within the AED Community; each is meant to serve a different purpose dictated by its participants and audience.

 

The General Discussion forum should be used to:

i)  Share important news regarding eating disorders, and

ii) In general, exchange information relevant to eating disorder treatment, research, prevention, and advocacy among members.

 

Rules for Discussion Forum Behavior:

i) All posts are the sole responsibility of the sender and do not reflect the opinion of AED. Posts are not prescreened (i.e., it is an unmoderated discussion forum). However, the online community is monitored by the Online and Social Media Committee to ensure adherence to AED policy (see below), and any member may flag a post as “objectionable,” which will prompt its review.

ii) It is up to AED members to use best practice and professionalism when posting. Conversations should be professional and respectful.

iii) Referral requests should be posted on the “Looking for Referrals” forum, not the Main Discussion.

iv) Posts about research studies should be posted on the “Research Opportunities” forum, not the Main Discussion.

v) Posts about postdoctoral fellowships and similar positions should be posted on the “Training Opportunities” forum, not the Main Discussion.

 

The following are not permitted and will be considered misuse of the Community:

i) Promotion/advertisement for treatment centers, treatment providers, treatments that one has a commercial interest in or commercial publications (e.g. books) or conferences; this includes notifications for events or products offered by for-profit entities.  For-profit agencies looking to advertise educational events or conferences should contact AED directly to discuss possible options for advertisement on the AED website

ii) Profanity, personal attacks or inflammatory remarks against individuals or organizations. This includes attacks or inflammatory remarks toward treatment providers/programs by name.

iii) Posting of identifiable patient information

iv) Content including political, religious and commercial material (an exception can be made for political content that directly affects association interests, e.g., bills before legislative bodies around the world)

v)  Information about specific charges or fees for services

vi) Job postings which should be submitted to the AED Job Board.

vii) Advertisements for office space rentals or inquiries seeking office space

viii) Advertisements for events, products, or services offered by for-profit entities

ix) Solicitations for donations that do not directly support AED and/or its mission

 

The following types of posts need prior approval by the AED Online and Social Media Committee to be posted:

i) Announcements regarding not-for-profit conferences.  Please be aware that AED may require documentation of the not-for-profit status.

ii) Announcements regarding research studies. See the section on Research Study Recruitment in this document.

iii) Announcements of postdoctoral fellowships and similar positions in the Training Opportunities forum.

 

AED Community Oversight:

i) Posts are subject to review by the Online and Social Media Committee (OSMC). Posts that are in violation of this policy will be deleted as soon as AED Headquarters or the Online and Social Media Committee become aware of the material, and violators will be notified with a warning. Members who violate these rules will receive up to three warnings from the AED and will be automatically suspended from the Community for a period of 6 months after three violations. Depending on the violation, removal may occur immediately and is based on a case-by-case assessment by the EMC, in consultation with the Director of Online & Social Media Portfolio Holder, the AED staff, and the Executive Committee. AED reserves the right to permanently remove members from, or reinstate members to the Community, based on the merits of each individual circumstance.

ii) It is not permissible to send derogatory or offensive messages to a member back-channel (whether through the community or any other means) in response to a post on the Community. Violations may be followed by suspension from the Community.

 

Confidentiality of AED Community Material:

i) The AED online community is confidential, and accessible only by current AED members except for the Research Opportunities, Racism, and COVID forums. It is in violation of AED policy to forward any post or information from the online community to any person or entity outside of the Community (e.g., personal or professional blogs, social networking websites) without the express written permission of the AED. AED acknowledges that educational information gleaned from online community discussions may be used by its members in further communication with colleagues and/or patients. This should be conducted in the spirit of the online community’s mission: “the exchange of information relevant to eating disorder treatment, research, prevention, and advocacy among members.”

 

Responses to requests for referrals or recommendations for treatment centers should be sent back-channel (i.e., sent directly to the individual who requested the information rather than posted to the forum). This reduces email notifications to other members who did not request the information. “Reply-all” responses will be removed, and the violator reminded of this rule.

SIG and Committee collaborative spaces are open to those members belonging to those SIGs and committees. Any member may join a SIG at any time by updating their AED Membership profile on www.aedweb.org. Members should contact staff to be removed from a SIG. While any member can view SIG pages, only SIG members can contribute material and engage in discussions. Access to committee spaces is managed by AED staff who update permissions as members join and leave committees.

 

The SIG and committee discussion forums should be used for the discussion of topics relevant to those specific causes and audiences. SIG members should keep in mind that their discussions within the SIG private working space are viewable by any member of that SIG. Committee discussions are also viewable only to those currently granted access (i.e., current committee members and administrators).

 

The Online and Social Media Committee does not monitor these forums. SIG and Committee chairs are expected to set rules and monitor content.

The AED Board may occasionally approve creation of forums on topics related to current events, such as Racism and the Coronavirus. The purpose of these forums is to share information which may be useful for clinicians who deal with these issues in their daily practice, as well as new research and advocacy opportunities. These forums can be read by non-members.

 

The membership includes people with a range of political views and personal experiences, and some member may have experienced trauma related to the topics under discussion. These forums are not an appropriate place for political arguments. Profanity, personal attacks, or inflammatory remarks will not be tolerated.

 

Do not post the same message on both a special topics form and the Main Discussion forum.

 

All requests for referrals, including outpatient and higher levels of care, should be posted to the Looking for Referrals forum.

Responses to requests for referrals or recommendations for treatment centers should be sent back-channel (i.e., sent directly to the individual who requested the information rather than posted to the forum). This reduces email notifications to other members who did not request the information.

“Reply-all” responses will be removed, and the violator reminded of this rule.

Self-promotion and advertising is not permitted.

Research study recruitment is free on the AED Community for members, non-members, and non-profit organizations. However, non-members and members associated with a for-profit entity are subjected to paying a fee to AED for this service. Submit such posting requests to info@aedweb.org.

All requests must be approved by AED's Online and Social Media Committee (Forward all necessary information to info@aedweb.org). Studies must have direct relevance to eating and/or weight-related disorders.

 

All requests for research recruitment advertisement must be accompanied by IRB (human subjects or ethics committee) approval, study abstract, author list (which must include an Academy member), and the proposed text of the posting.

 

Postings are free of charge for AED members and non-profit organizations that are partners, chapters, affiliates, or friends of AED, and $75 for non-members and for-profit entities. Postings will also be placed on the website where they remain for 6 months.

 

Upon approval, the member advertising the study should make the post on the Research Opportunities forum of the Community personally. This post must be started with “***This message was approved for posting by the AED Online and Social Media Committee***”. AED staff will post the information on the appropriate AED website page.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to outline the process for accepting and maintaining postings on the Academy for Eating Disorders website and in the online community including: advertisements for research studies, conferences sponsored by other organizations, links to other websites, and other postings by both non-profit organizations, partners, chapters, and affiliates, as well as for-profit entities. The AED staff is responsible for setting advertising prices based on current market conditions and best practices.

Job Postings

i)     Advertisements for open job positions which provide a salary of any kind are to be submitted to the AED Job Board, and are subject to fees. Similarly, the AED Job Board is available to individuals seeking employment opportunities.

ii)    An exception is job postings for trainee positions (e.g., post-docs). They are free for AED members to post on the Training Opportunities forum, with prior approval. Submit such posting requests to info@aedweb.org.

Announcements about Treatment Centers

AED accepts advertising for announcements from for-profit entities, including treatment centers. Ads may be placed on the AED website, in the online community, and in the Forum newsletter. Advertising rates can be obtained by contacting partners@aedweb.org.

1. How can I access the Online Community Standards? You can access the Online Community Standards via this link: https://www.aedweb.org/aed-community/communitystandards They are also available as a dropdown menu item from the AED Community tab as well as from a link on the Main Forum discussion page.

2. How can I access the Main Forum Discussion? From AED’s home page (https://www.aedweb.org/home), click on the “AED Community” tab to reveal the dropdown menu, then select “Main Forum.” You can see others' posts and create a new post here.

3. How can I access the Research Opportunities, Training Opportunities, and Looking for Referrals discussion boards? From AED’s home page (https://www.aedweb.org/home), click on the “AED Community” tab to reveal the dropdown menu, then select “Main Forum.” On this page, you will see an area with the heading “POPULAR COMMUNITY LINKS.” Under that heading, there are clickable links to the following community forums: Looking for Referrals, Training Opportunities, and Research Opportunities.

4. Who do I contact to request permission to post a RESEARCH study? All requests must be approved by AED's Online & Social Media Committee (forward all necessary information to info@aedweb.org). When requesting to post about a research study, please include IRB (human subjects or ethics committee) approval letter, the study abstract, the author list (which must include an AED member), and the proposed text for the post. Once approved, you can post in the Research Opportunities forum of the Community. This post must start with “***This message was approved for posting by the AED Online & Social Media Committee***”.

5. Who do I contact to request permission to post a TRAINING position? All requests must be approved by AED's Online & Social Media Committee (forward all necessary information to info@aedweb.org). When requesting to post a training position, please include the proposed text for the post. Once approved, you can post in the Training Opportunities forum of the Community. This post must start with “***This message was approved for posting by the AED Online & Social Media Committee***”.

6. May I reply-all to a referral request? No, replying all to a referral request violates the AED Community Standards. We do this to reduce the number of emails received by AED members not requesting the referral information. All reply-all postings to referral requests will be removed.

7. How do I reply directly to a referral request? To reply directly to a referral request on the AED website, select the dropdown menu next to the “reply” button of the original post and choose “reply privately”. To reply directly to a referral request received via email notification, please select “reply to sender” within the email.

8. May I promote my own work? Self-promotion and self-advertising are not permitted and are considered a misuse of the AED Community space.

9. What happens if I don’t follow the Community Standards? If you do not follow the Community Standards, you will receive an email asking you to remove your post OR informing you that your post has been / will be removed. The email will include information explaining why your post was removed and what action you can take to achieve your goal in a way that is in line with the Community Standards. There is a three-strike rule in effect. If you violate the Community Standards more than three times, you may be suspended from the Online Community for a period of six months following the violations.

10. Who can post to the Online Community? The Main Discussion forum is open to all current AED members. SIG and Committee collaborative spaces are open to members belonging to those SIGs and Committees. Any member may join a SIG at any time by updating their AED Membership profile.

11. How do I control the email notifications for the Online Community forums? As a member, you can control notification preferences for posts to the Main Discussion forum in your Online Community profile by following the steps below: → AED Community → My Profile → My Account → Community Notifications You can select to receive instant email notifications, daily or weekly digest email notifications, or no notifications at all. Notification preferences are unrelated to your ability to post to the Online Community.

12. What can be posted on the Main Discussion Forum? The Main Discussion Forum is intended to facilitate the exchange of information relevant to eating disorder treatment, research, prevention, and advocacy among AED members.

13. What CANNOT be posted on the Main Discussion Forum? i) Promotion/advertisement for treatment centers, treatment providers, treatments that one has a commercial interest in, or commercial publications (e.g., books) or conferences; this includes notifications for events or products offered by for-profit entities. For-profit agencies looking to advertise educational events or conferences should contact AED directly to discuss possible options for advertisement on the AED website. ii) Profanity, personal attacks, or inflammatory remarks against individuals or organizations. This includes attacks or inflammatory remarks toward treatment providers/programs by name. iii) Posting of identifiable patient information. iv) Content including political, religious, and/or commercial material (an exception can be made for political content that directly affects association interests; e.g., proposals before legislative bodies around the world). v) Information about specific charges or fees for services. vi) Job postings which should be directed to AED’s Job Board. vii) Advertisements for office space rentals or inquiries seeking office space. viii) Advertisements for events, products, or services offered by for-profit entities. ix) Solicitations for donations that do not directly support AED and/or its mission.

14. What types of posts require approval to post to the Online Community? i) Announcements regarding not-for-profit conferences. Please be aware that AED may require documentation of the not-for-profit status. ii) Announcements regarding research studies. See the section on Research Study Recruitment in the Community Standards and/or FAQ #4. iii) Announcements of postdoctoral fellowships and similar positions in the Training Opportunities forum. See the section on Training Opportunities in the Community Standards and/or FAQ #5.

15. Is information posted to the Online Community confidential? The AED Online Community is confidential and accessible only by current AED members (except for the Research Opportunities, Racism, and COVID forums). It is in violation of AED policy to forward any post or information from the Online Community to any person or entity outside of the Community (e.g., personal or professional blogs, social networking websites) without the express written permission of the AED. The AED acknowledges that educational information gleaned from Online Community discussions may be used by its members in further communication with colleagues and/or patients. This should be conducted in the spirit of the Online Community’s mission: “The exchange of information relevant to eating disorder treatment, research, prevention, and advocacy among members.”

16. May I cross-post to the Main Discussion and other forums? No, please do not cross-post to multiple forums. You should only post to one forum; whichever is the most appropriate location. For example, a post seeking referral information for a patient/client should only be posted in the “Looking for Referrals” forum. Do not cross-post to the Main Discussion forum. The only exception to this standard is the cross-posting of information to an appropriate SIG forum (e.g., posting a referral request for an FBT therapist to both the “Looking for Referrals” and FBT SIG Forums).

17. Who should I contact if I have questions about the Online Community and related forums that are not answered here? For help, please contact info@aedweb.org.

18. Where can I advertise a job position on the AED website? In general, you may not post job positions to the Online Community. Instead, advertisements for open job positions which provide a salary of any kind are to be submitted to the AED Job Board and are subject to fees. Similarly, the AED Job Board is available to individuals seeking employment opportunities. An exception is made for trainee positions (e.g., post-doctoral fellowships), which are free for AED members to post on the Training Opportunities forum, with prior approval. See FAQ#5.