How do we protect our users
We created IAmEars to give you a safe community where everyone feels comfortable and welcome. In order to make sure it stays that way we need everyone to stick to the community guidelines and our terms of use. If you don’t you may find your posts/comments deleted and/or your account disabled or deleted. Help us to keep IAmEars safe and protected.
SupportiveWhen you are going through a tough phase in life and want that support. Be the person who would listen and respond with empathy and care.
Listening and asking follow up questions is the best way to get to know what the other person is going through and then to help someone. Most people are just looking for someone to validate what they are going through.
Everyone can help someone. Just a genuine attempt to listen to others is needed.
What might work for someone might not work for others. Instead of suggesting specific self-help strategies (including religion) suggest that someone finds something healthy and sustainable that works for them.
RespectfulIAmEars users should feel comfortable to openly share their story, feelings and challenges without fear. If someone has shown the courage to open up we ask that you respond supportively, with empathy and encouragement. Avoid being judgmental.
Any posts that appear to target individuals with the intention of degrading them, shaming them or abusing them will be removed. This includes posts that cause harm or damage the reputation of another user.
We Keep it cleanIAmEars users will sometimes post about strong topics that can stir emotions. We encourage you to express yourself but do not be abusive, offensive or swear excessively. Sexist, racist homophobic or transphobic posts are not allowed and will be removed.
Sexually explicit posts, nudity and requests for dating will be removed-IAmEars is not the place for this.
Posts that encourage or condone illegal or criminal acts will be removed.
Stay safeSometimes we aren’t feeling great and we want to support you through it. Tell us the bad, good and “meh” and share your difficult feelings but we don’t allow talk of dangerous, unsafe or violent acts. These kind of posts can be very dangerous and triggering to others.
We do not allow any posts that promote or encourage self-injury or suicide.
It’s ok to talk about your feelings around self-harm and suicide but please don’t post detail about methods and plans.
Please don’t talk specifically about calories, measurements, amounts of food eaten, methods of gaining or losing weight.
We do not allow posts that talk about actively about suicide or self-harm-if you need help please contact your local support service, call the emergency services or go to your nearest emergency department.
We take care of each otherWe encourage you to support others when you can. If you are feeling things are getting out of hand for you then please seek professional support. See our experts page and book an appointment from there. Please also be mindful of how much personal information you share on IAmEars -remember it is a public forum.
Stay on trackIAmEars is a peer to peer community. No advertising please-the site is for personal use only. This includes content advertising items whether for sale or donation. This also includes fundraising, crowdfunding, sponsorship sites and research.
IAmEars is our safe space, we can control what happens here. But once you connect with users outside of IAmEars, we cannot control what happens there.
Please do not share personal details with anyone you do not know. We will remove any social media accounts, telephone numbers or address information posted on the site.IamEars is also not a place for dating and hook ups.
Guard our safe spacePlease help us to keep IAmEars safe. If you read or see something concerning, please press the report on the right corner of the post/comment. This will alert admin to remove it. People rarely join IAmEars with intent to cause trouble, but we will block those that do.
Bullying will not be tolerated. If you’re bullying someone we will suspend you. If you continue to bully through secondary accounts, we will take action to block your device and or we may report your activities to relevant authorities.
Our moderators are volunteers who are giving their time to make sure IAmEars stays safe, and all their removed posts reviewed. Take time today to thank them for what they are doing, and make sure to respect and support them.
If your post or comment is not appearing, it may have been removed for a violation of these values or it may simply be stuck in a spam filter. Please email support@iamears.com and our team will be happy to discuss why the content was removed. If we have made a mistake please be understanding. We will get through support requests as fast as we can, so please be patient.
Our Administration team are not allowed to share their personal information, email or social media with you accounts with you. If you need to contact a member of the IamEars team please email team@iamears.com
Posts directly targeting moderators on the platform will be removed. If you want to discuss moderation please email us: support@iamears.com
At times, peer support isn’t the best option for your situation.
We are a peer support community-we do not offer professional advice. While we believe peer to peer support can be extremely valuable IAmEars is not a crisis service and in many situations it’s critical that you seek professional support. We do not have the ability to trace the source of any posts/accounts and cannot guarantee immediate responses.
If your post hasn’t received a comment that doesn’t mean the community or it’s users doesn’t care. A member might not always know how to respond to your situation or may not have seen your post. If you need an immediate response, consider reaching out to someone in person or over an emergency line.