Community Guidelines.

1Our spirit

MedSocio is a home for medicos: a place to learn, consult, celebrate and simply be yourself among people who understand the life you have chosen. Every guideline here serves one idea: that everyone who opens MedSocio should feel safe, respected and welcome.

2Protect patients, always

Before you share any case, image or report, check that the patient cannot be identified by anyone, including someone who knows them. Remove or avoid:

• names, initials, faces and eyes, unless clinically essential and consented;
• hospital, registration or bed numbers, dates of birth, addresses and phone numbers;
• tattoos, jewellery, birthmarks or other distinctive features that are not clinically relevant;
• hospital names, logos or watermarks on reports and images; and
• hidden metadata in photographs.

Obtain consent wherever your professional regulations require it. If in doubt, leave it out.

3Respect every voice

• A first-year student's question deserves the same courtesy as a professor's.
• Critique reasoning, not the person. Never mock a question or a mistake.
• No harassment, bullying, discrimination or hate based on gender, caste, religion, region, language, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic.
• No sexual harassment or unwanted advances, in public spaces or in messages.

4Share responsibly

• Distinguish clearly between evidence, guidelines and personal experience.
• Cite sources where you can, especially for treatment recommendations.
• Do not share medical misinformation, or claims that contradict established evidence in a way that could harm patients.
• Be thoughtful with graphic clinical images: share them only when clinically relevant, and add a content warning.

5Second opinion etiquette

When you ask: give a clear, structured history, examination findings, investigations and a specific question. The more complete the picture, the better the advice.

When you answer: explain your reasoning, mention what else you would want to know, and be honest about uncertainty. Remember that the treating doctor sees the patient; you see only a description.

Never contact a colleague's patient directly, and never undermine a colleague in front of others.

6Keep it professional

• No advertising or promotion of products, services, clinics or courses, and no soliciting of patients.
• Disclose any relevant conflict of interest, such as a relationship with a pharmaceutical or device company, when discussing a product.
• No selling of prescriptions, certificates or professional services.
• Respect colleagues' privacy: do not share screenshots of private messages without consent.

7Exam integrity

Help one another prepare, generously and honestly. Never share leaked papers, confidential examination material, or questions from examinations that are still in progress.

8Be yourself, beyond the ward

MedSocio is as much about life as it is about medicine. Share your milestones, your hobbies, your humour and your hard days. Celebrate one another. Keep personal posts free from anything that would make a colleague uncomfortable in a professional space.

9Look out for one another

Medicine is demanding. If a colleague shares that they are struggling, respond with kindness, not advice they did not ask for. If you are worried about someone's safety, report the post so our team can reach out.

If you are finding things hard yourself, you are not alone. In India, you can reach Tele-MANAS, the national mental health helpline, free of charge at 14416 or 1-800-891-4416, at any hour.

10Reporting and what happens next

Use the report option on any post, comment, message or profile. Our team reviews every report. Depending on what we find, we may remove content, issue a warning, limit features, or suspend or remove an account. Serious breaches, such as sharing identifiable patient information or impersonation, may lead to immediate removal.

If you disagree with a decision, you can ask us to review it through our Grievance Redressal process.