Moderation Rules

What do moderators do?

Our moderators will:

• Try to be fair.
  Sometimes we remove posts from the forum if people don’t follow guidelines. This doesn’t happen often, but we’ll always explain why we’ve removed something.
• Resolve any technical problems you are having. You can simply email us at forum@opfs.org.uk.
• Temporarily or permanently suspend accounts if behaviour and/or comments are not in line with the forum guidelines.
• Try to respond to users if they haven’t received a response from other parents on the forum. Responses won’t necessarily be answered in the order that they are received, some will need to wait for a moderator with the required knowledge to be available.
• Take any safeguarding concern seriously.
• We may contact emergency services if you tell us that you’re unsafe and you give us sufficient details to locate you.
• If your question requires a specific and detailed response forum moderators may not be able to reply to it straight away

Our moderators will not:

• Give advice and information -– this can be found on our website 24/7 or you can talk to us during the advice and information helpline and live chat opening hours.
• Take part in topic discussions. The forum is for single parents to engage with each other.

What does it mean if a word is blocked out in a post?

Our forum blocks out certain words in posts, including extreme swearing and discriminatory language. This makes sure it’s a safe, welcoming and respectful environment for all users. We aim to capture all extreme or discriminatory language this way, but sometimes words will unfortunately slip through. We will continually review this should words be missed.

How do I report something or speak to OPFS about the forum?

If you’re concerned about a post or user, you can click the ‘Report abuse’ link on posts and replies to posts. Moderators then receive a notification. We deal with reports during office hours as quickly as possible. We’ll assess whether something has broken the rules or is a safeguarding concern. We always write to you to let you know the outcome of your report. You should not wait more than 5 working days to have your report dealt with.

If you’d like to speak to someone about the forum, drop us an email. This email account is monitored during office hours only.