THE DARK SIDE
Forum Guidelines
The Dark Side - A helpful corner of Bluelight for people struggling with any of the difficult elements of a life.
Introduction
Welcome to The Dark Side (TDS)! The Dark Side is the Bluelight forum which covers themes which have a negative effect on one's life in some way. This includes drug addiction, mental illness, self-harm, eating disorders and many other serious life obsticles. Many here have moved past a great deal of their darker moments, but have remained a part of this community and desire to be of assistance to others still in their darker times. TDS is here for people recovering from drug use, wanting to recover, for people with mental illness or just in a dark place in their life, to seek assistance, guidance, support. And, in turn, also a place to offer such to others. We encourage sharing your experiences with sensitivity to others issues, as well as offering help and guidance for those caught up in struggle(s). A great first contribution to the forum is to
tell us who you are.
TDS Staff
Please do not hesitate to contact any of TDS staff with questions, concerns or suggestions about the forum. We are here to help you. If your question/suggestion is either about the forum's guidelines or the way something is handled in TDS, it is best to PM a moderator. If you have a specific problem with a given moderator, either PM that moderator, or contact a member of the senior staff.
Moderators
n3oph7e
ocean
panic in paradise
paranoid android
Senior Staff Assigned to TDS
RedLeader (Administrator)
Chaos Butterfly (Administrator)
n3oph7e (Sr Mod)
Forum Rules
Given the sensitive nature of this forum, it's inevitable that several rules must be enforced.
Summary
Forum guidelines are in addition to the
Bluelight User Agreement (BLUA) that is enforced across Bluelight.
Many TDS members are working to reduce drug or alcohol use or obtain abstinence from them, as a result posts or pictures that glamorize use are not appropriate in this forum. Bluelight has other forums in which to discuss the recreational use of drugs. TDS also has members with self-injury problems. In this area especially, anything likely to trigger self-injuring behavior is not permitted -- in particular images and videos, but text-posts can be triggering at times as well. TDS is also here for people who may have mental or physical health problems, drug induced or other wise and have questions or answers about others experiences, types of therapy, or medications.
The Dark Side is focused on the negative aspects of drug use and mental health ways to get through such struggles. TDSers love to have fun just as much any anybody, for sure! But let's keep our conversations to fun things which are constructive for reaching better and brighter days. When telling one's story in TDS, one-upmanship and competition is to be avoided. Someone's tolerance or level of consumption could be a part of that person's story, but a thread where everyone is out to tell the best tale of over indulgence or top other people's problems can become unhelpful and contrary to getting our lives better.
In Specific:
- Treat others with respect; i.e. no "flaming," "trolling" or posting of "memes."
- Do not use SWIM; be honest about the subjects within your stories.
- "Tough Love" is appropriate at times, but keep in mind the mental state of the individual in need and use appropriate discretion.
- Do not post images of cuts, burns, wounds and the like - self-inflicted or not.
- Do not post pictures of drugs or alcohol.
- Nudity will not be tolerated.
- Do not post pictures of yourself "high as a kite" in the Photo Thread. There are other areas for such, including The Ecstasy Discussion Photo Thread and The Lounge Photo Thread.
- Try not to glorify drug use in the present tense, even in the social threads. There are other areas of BL to post within if you are enjoying an intoxication and/or a high and wish to talk openly about it (such as Drug Culture's 'How High Are you?' thread).
- Do not place "triggering" material behind NSFW tags. If it's questionable enough to feel the need to do so, don't post it at all. NSFW tags can be used on large images or in jokery in social threads, but please make note of why the tag is being used external to it.
Safety Disclaimer
Even though some TDS members are in professional positions in real life, TDS is a non-professional support effort. We don't diagnose or prescribe here. It is better to give our ideas about the nature of other people's problems or the tactics they may use to get better as suggestions rather than as declarations.
TDS is not is 'crisis line' per se, and if you or a friend are in immediate danger there are
links and phone numbers provided for immediate help, as well as regional contact-info for detox centers and other drug or mental health-related resources. It is recognized that some sorts of situations do create a need to tell people to take common sense, reasonable actions like getting to a hospital or doctor in the midst of an overdose and/or suicide attempt.
Abusive Posts
Many TDS threads require more tactfulness than ordinary posting situations. Posts that are intended to shame, humiliate, or provoke are not acceptable here. If a member is a continuous irritant to another member, but is not attacking anyone nor breaking any rules, then the best remedy is to put the member you have problems with on your ignore list via UserCP. If someone is creating a hostile environment, breaking BLUA or forum guidelines, then it is far better to use the report function (
) than to respond to them in the thread. The report function calls the situation to the attention of the entire TDS staff.
It's often tempting to reply to such posts, but more often than not pointless, particularly when the user in question is a recognized "troll." So please report, and leave us with as little mess to clean up as possible.
Off-Topic Posts
This forum is a community, and therefore off-topic chatter is practically necessary as both a form of relief and also a method of relating to each other as a group open to new members, regardless of their issues. However, there are certain rules regarding off-topic discussion that must be addressed. Please keep posts that are not relative to the issues discussed by the original poster of a thread to one of the off-topic threads. All off-topic discussion that is not considered to be conducive to either solving the problem, relieving one of a burden, or generally supporting the original poster will be moved. The social threads are much looser with respect to chatter. So if you feel the need to inject your own thoughts/opinions on something, why not start your own thread, or place it within a social thread (see below) instead?
Useful Links
Here are some links to threads within the forum and its Archive (current versions given):
Themed Threads - Help/Treatment
Cutting
TDS Anonymous Thread
Suicide
Sexual Abuse
Eating Disorders
Depression/Anxiety
Treatment Services
Heroin/Opiate Addiction
Alcohol Addiction
Meth/Amphetamine Addiction
Cocaine/Freebase Addiction
Themed Threads - Social/Lighthearted
Introduce Yourself
How are you in ONE word?
The Photo Thread
The Social Thread
What Song Fits Your Mood?
Fun Thread
Information Threads
How Tolerance Can Kill You
How Tolerance Can Kill You
Medication FAQ - Everything You Ever Needed To Know About Psychiatric Drugs.
Drug/Alcohol Free Monday and Thursday, Join In!
Descriptions of psychotic and emotional disorders
Guide to opioid addiction treatments and other medications used for withdrawal (detailed info on page 2)
HIV / AIDS Resources and Information
Suicidal Thinking On Anti-Depressants
Warning! Beware Of Some Psychiatrists
*Note that even though a lot of threads have been created for specific issues, this does not mean that users cannot form their own threads if they feel more comfortable doing so. In the end, it comes down to personal preference as to whether one wants to join in on a large thread, or create one's own arena.
In Conclusion
The Dark Side contains a staff eager to help and many regular participants who offer great contribution. TDS really is a hallmark of how useful Bluelight can be, and we encourage people to not be afraid to open up within it. To an extent, we all can understand the struggles that others go through, and in the end we're all here to help each other improve our lives. We have a sense of humor too, by the way, so please join in the social threads for random discussion as well. This really is a great community.
----------
The current TDS staff would like to thank past staff member
Enki for his role in developing these Guidelines.
TDS Forum Guidelines
Linear Mode
