Community Rules

Thank you for joining the Ability Toolbox community! 

By participating in discussions and activities here, you agree to follow these simple rules. They are all common sense, but this is the Internet where common sense isn’t so common. So here we go.

Be respectful.

• This is a community for people who are dealing with serious disabilities and health conditions. Be kind. Criticism is OK at appropriate times, but keep it constructive.
• Ableism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, weight-shaming, and other forms of hate and bullying are not welcome here. We are a welcoming and supportive place for people from marginalized communities.
• Religious proselytizing is not allowed. Faith can be comforting to many people, but others have been harmed by religion, so don’t try to pressure others to believe the same things you believe. We have a group specifically for discussing faith and religion for those who enjoy these conversations.

Keep it PG-13.

• We don’t preemptively censor swearing, but excessive profanity without a purpose may be removed. Insulting others in the community with or without swear words is not permitted.
• Some ableist words will be bleeped out automatically. If you’re corrected on using ableist language, please accept the feedback and don’t use those words in the future.
• We don’t allow pornographic images or links to them. Links to images of artistic nudity and adult content that is disability-related are permitted in our body image and relationships/sexuality groups.

Keep political discussions civil. Yes, it’s possible.

• Health and disability are political issues, and so politics will come up on The Ability Toolbox and in our groups. However, political discussions should be related to your identity as a person with a health condition or to other aspects of your identity such as race and gender. Posts about which candidate or party you like or hate that don’t have a direct connection to these issues will be removed.
• Fringe movements and conspiracy theories are not welcome and such postings will be immediately removed and the user banned. Threats or inciting violence will result in an immediate ban and a report to the appropriate authorities.

Fundraising and mutual aid posts are allowed in the group designated for that purpose.

• We have a fundraising and mutual aid group for people who have a Go Fund Me or other cause they want to promote. Fundraising posts are not permitted outside the group.
• Our fundraising group is for active community members only. If you want to solicit donations, please participate in other groups too.
• The Ability Toolbox does not verify fundraisers and is not responsible for any donations you choose to make. However, if we receive many reports that a fundraiser is a scam, we may remove it at our discretion.

Business and sales posts are allowed where appropriate.

• If you are a disabled/chronically ill/mentally ill person or a caregiver, you may list your business in our AbilityShop directory for free.
• We also have a small business group where you can discuss and promote your business, including businesses that don’t qualify for the directory such as people who sell on Instagram.
• We do not allow the promotion of any multilevel marketing businesses on the site. These companies prey on the disability community. The Ability Toolbox reserves the right to determine whether a business counts as an MLM.

Everything Else

• Unfortunately, we can’t possibly imagine every bad thing someone might try to do in our community. So if it’s not on here but it hurts people, it will be removed and you may be banned.
• Use common sense and don’t be a jerk. It’s really not that hard.

Moderation Policies

• We will typically give one warning followed by removal from the community. If you’re spamming or posting hateful things, that’s an immediate ban.
• We are a small company without a lot of time to moderate, so we’re not going to put up with your BS. We have better things to do. We would also rather be too strict than allow the community to become unsafe for our members.

Thanks for actually reading the rules! We’re glad you’re here.