The rules
The list is short and it is enforced. This space works because an account of what happened to one person is usable by the next person it happens to, and everything below exists to protect that.
- 01
Attack the system, not each other
Receiving parents and paying parents both post in the CMS space, and people who disagree bitterly about their own cases are still up against the same organisation. Abuse directed at another member will be removed, while anger directed at a department will not be.
- 02
Redact before you post
Remove your National Insurance number, case reference, claim number, address and anything identifying your children before you post, and crop screenshots rather than uploading them whole. Work on the assumption that a department you are in dispute with can read this page, because it can.
- 03
Say when you are guessing
Advice given confidently but wrongly can cost somebody a deadline they cannot get back, so write that you are unsure when you are unsure, and say so if you happen to be qualified. Nobody here is acting as your solicitor or your welfare rights adviser.
- 04
No naming individual junior staff
Name the department, the office, the policy and the decision as specifically as you like. Do not name or post photographs of the assessor, the caseworker or the call handler, although individuals holding public office and acting in a public capacity are a different matter.
- 05
Link the primary source
If you are posting a finding, link to the report, the judgment or the response itself rather than a screenshot of a headline about it, and make clear which part of your post is your own interpretation.
- 06
No advice that amounts to fraud or evasion
Explaining how to challenge a decision, how to complain, how to appeal or what somebody is entitled to is exactly what this space is for. Explaining how to misrepresent your circumstances will be removed, because it puts every person reading at risk.
- 07
Nothing that identifies a child
This matters most in the CMS space. Do not post names, photographs, schools or any other detail that would allow somebody to work out who a child is.
- 08
Crisis posts get answered, not deleted
If you are in a bad place then say so, and people here will respond. We will not remove the post, and we will add the helpline numbers to it. Samaritans can be reached free on 116 123 at any hour.
Moderation
Removals are logged, and if something of yours is removed you can ask why and you will get an answer. Editors and administrators can remove content and you can always remove your own. Removed content is hidden rather than destroyed, which matters if a removal is ever disputed.