Community Guidelines for Members

The purpose of The Pink Panther Movement is to advocate on behalf of its members for mental health reform.

Membership access and affiliation

For a peer-to-peer community like this to function effectively and succeed it is essential that the efforts of all members are focused in more or less the same direction. Differences of opinion or disagreement about specific issues are fine. They are  in fact the sign of a healthy organization. Anyone who supports our values and mission is welcome to become a member but anyone contemplating joining with a view to obstructing, disrupting or otherwise interfering with our activities is very definitely not welcome.

The Pink Panther Movement was set up to deal with the mental health problems and abuses that are taking place in Australia. Australia is regarded as one of the worst places in the world for mental health malpractice but it is by no means unique.

We recognize that the problems Australian’s face with their mental health system are common in one way or another throughout the developed world but in other places, different laws and conditions typically prevail. We are however happy for people from any part of the world to visit our website, submit articles for publication and public readership or become members. We are also very happy to form affiliations with other like minded organizations anywhere in the world and provide reciprocal links on our respective websites. Please use the Contact Us form to get in touch.

Personal security and commonsense

There is still an enormous amount of stigma, discrimination and sometimes hostility directed towards those of us who experience what is commonly referred to as mental health problems. It is therefore entirely reasonable for many  to be very cautious about revealing their true identity. We fully endorse and respect the right of our members to remain anonymous.

When you sign up for membership you are only required to provide five (5) pieces of information

1. A Username.  This can and normally should be fictitious for personal security reasons. Either this or your email address is used to log in as a member. It is the only piece of information that can’t be changed.
2. An email address. This is always hidden from other members. Only the site administrators can access it.
3. A password of your choosing. It is suggested you make it strong. Together with a Username this gives you protection against someone trying to hack your membership. It is encrypted and never visible to other members or administrators.
4. The state or territory in which you normally reside. The is required because we have different mental health laws and conditions in each state. This can affect people in different ways. On some occasions we may need to send information to members on a state by state basis. This field can be hidden from other members. Click on Change when you are creating your account. Members from countries outside of Australia should just use the “Outside Australia” option.
5. Your main Country of Residence. We need to know this because this web site and movement deals predominantly with mental health problems and issues in Australia and we certainly have our fair share of them. We however welcome friends from other countries and hope that by sharing our struggles and triumphs with each other we will all benefit.

You’re membership application will be validated by sending you an email. Validate your email by clicking on the Join Us button and then the Validation menu item Once your email address has been validated you will have access to the Members Only area. In the View Members area you will be able to add or change information, including  your profile icon but  only if you want to. You can also hide any or all of this information from other members leaving only your  UserName visible.

For various reasons some members may chose to reveal additional personal information. This is entirely their prerogative but it is definitely not ok for a member to coerce or in any way try to induce another member to reveal personal information. Anonymity is a right that each member has full personal control over. This right  must always be respected.

Even if members choose to meet up with each other in the physical world there is no reason why a fictitious membership name cannot be used. Ensure any initial meeting is in a well populated location and don’t, at least initially, reveal personal details such as your address etc. The guiding principle here is Reasonable Care and Reasonable Risk.

Mutual respect

Some of us have been subjected to considerable abuse by mental health authorities and service providers. It would be hard for anybody to justify how this sort of behavior in any way helps mental health. This is a community where we treat each other respectfully and kindly. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Bullying, harassment, slurs and hate speech will not be tolerated. If you have a problem or an issue try talking about it initially with your problem person. The next step would be to raise the issue with the community in the Venting group. If that fails to resolve the matter raise the issue in the Management Group and as a last resort contact Admin.

User Access

There are 6 levels of access for members.

1. Subscriber – A member who can manage their own profile and post in groups and forums.
2. Contributor – A member who can manage their own profile, post in groups and forums and write and manage their own posts but cannot publish them.
3. Author – A member who can manage their own profile, post in groups and forums and write and manage their own posts and publish them.
4. Editor – A member who can manage their own profile, post in groups and forums and write, modify and manage their own posts and those of others.
5. Administrator -A member who has access to all website administration and management.
6. Tech Support – A member who has Administrator access and access to the web site back end through the CPanel interface.

The default level given to a member when they first join is Subscriber level.  That is all that most members will ever need. If a subscriber level member wishes to write an article either for public publication or to attach to a group they can do this using the Submit an Article facility which essentially gives them the same access as Contributor level.  Note that all articles for public publication will go through an editing process to ensure a high standard of editorial content. This editing process may require further input or collaboration with the author. This doesn’t apply to member only articles attached to a group. These can be much more informal. If submitting a members article for a group, make sure you say which group(s) you want it attached to.

This is NOT a dating service

Participation in the wider physical community seems to be necessary for some of us if we are to develop an effective public voice or function fully in the wider community. It can also be a positive step forward in our own mental health journey. This website and movement however is not a dating service and should not be used in this way. In particular predatory or annoying behavior is Not Ok. If you are subjected to this sort of behavior, particularly in private chat sessions, please report them immediately to Admin.

Disclaimer

Last but not least is the usual disclaimer that we are not mental health professionals. If you are in crisis please seek appropriate expert help.