Content starts here
CLOSE ×
Search

AARP Online Community Guidelines

 

AARP's Online Community has long provided a safe, vibrant, open forum in which participants can discuss a wide range of topics, from the serious to the delightfully trivial.

By participating in the community, you agree to conduct yourself with civility, integrity and decency and to be respectful of others. You also agree to abide by the following AARP Online Community Guidelines, as well as the AARP Terms of Service

Violating these guidelines and terms may result in the removal of your content and/or the suspension of your online profile. In extreme cases, violations may result in the termination of your profile and access to the online community.

The Golden Rules


Our community thrives when each contributor follows the rules and helps to remove those who do not.

 

Share what you know

We welcome contributors willing to share knowledge and experience in a particular area or field. Conversely, feel free to ask questions, since chances are very good that someone in the community can answer you.

Be courteous

This is a diverse community of people with diverse opinions. It is up to each of us to be polite, discuss topics with civility, and treat each other with respect. If you disagree with an idea or point of view, offer yours, but do not attack the member proposing the idea.

 

Be a good citizen

Like any community, the quality of our environment depends on the involvement of our citizens. If you see great content, give it kudos. If you see abuse or a member in crisis, report it immediately. Before you write anything, ask yourself if your contribution increases the strength and virtue of the community. You make a difference in shaping the discussions and making the experience better for everyone.

 

Cite your sources

We encourage members to use online resources in their discussions. But please be sure to cite your sources and give credit where it is due. You may link to and summarize cited sources but may not copy entire articles or videos into your post. False and misleading information is also prohibited.

 

Help us read your posts

Keep your posts easy to read and understand by checking your spelling and grammar and being as clear as possible. Remember, for instance, that the use of all capitals is considered yelling online. Use titles that are directly related to the content of your post.

 

Categorize correctly

Be sure to put your question in the appropriate category. And check to see if someone has already begun a discussion on a given topic before posting. You may want to join an existing discussion instead of starting a new one.

 

Bad Behavior


The following behavior will not be tolerated. We encourage you to report any instances of this behavior immediately by clicking the Report Inappropriate Content option at the bottom of all user contributions.

 

Posting unacceptable topics

We have created specific categories within our community to host relevant conversations so they are on topic and constructive, and foster appropriate member connection. If readers cannot hold a constructive debate around a topic, it does not belong here. Examples include non-actionable topics, including but not limited to:

  • - Scams, spam, soliciting, unauthorized promoting
  • - Trolling or posting with the intent to cause dissention or incite other members
  • - Off-topic political discussion or debate

 

Using hate speech

We are a community of people with diverse beliefs, opinions and backgrounds, so please be respectful and refrain from making hateful and/or incendiary comments. You are free to express your opinions, but you must do so in a civil way that respects the opinions of others.

 

Venting and/or ranting

Our Community Members (and the Community Management team) always want to hear feedback about how our Members are enjoying the benefits of AARP. This feedback may sometimes include criticism or concerns, and we welcome that too. However, we do ask that the criticism be constructive and in the spirit of helping us to improve. We reserve the right to lock or remove threads that devolve into ranting or venting.

 

Being mean, bullying or obscene

Be civil. Attacks on individuals, social, ethnic or political groups and figures, insults, name calling, trolling, bullying, baiting or other attempts to sow dissension or incite members will not be tolerated. Sexually explicit and vulgar language and images are also not permitted in this community.

 

Exploiting the community

The AARP Online Community is not designed to attract customers, build your clientele or advertise your business or services. If you have years of experience in something, have a special hobby or write your own blog, it's OK to accompany a good, on-topic answer with a link to your website, blog or email to offer more information. However, it is not OK to post links that are unrelated to the topic or are clearly meant only to solicit others for personal and financial gain. Solicitations like "Will you add me as a contact?" or propositioning people will not be allowed.

 

Not being yourself

Our community is meant to reward members for sharing their opinions freely and openly, so creating multiple accounts or posting content for the sole purpose of gaining kudos is not permitted. Be yourself, and just yourself.

 

Improper profile information

Usernames must be inoffensive, in accordance with all other forum policies, and not misleading. Examples of usernames that do not meet these requirements would be any that include profanities, rude/sexist/racist comments, the names of real people other than yourself, political or religious expressions, and recognizable trademarked names. Using “AARP” within your username is also not permitted as it is reserved for official AARP roles. Avatars cannot contain solicitations, offensive or disturbing images, or display misleading information.

 

Violating the law

Members of AARP Online Community are not above the law, so don't post anything that violates the laws of your country, state, province or city. Don't steal anything (like copyright or trademark material) or solicit other contributors to share their personal information. Don't threaten, harass, impersonate or hurt others, and don't invade other people's privacy.

 

Acting maliciously

Don't post links to sites that contain viruses or malicious programs that interfere with the operation of the AARP Online Community or website.

 

Discussing moderation actions

No public discussion of moderation actions, reposting of deleted posts or discussion of suspended or no longer registered members. It is not permitted to discuss or repost removed content. It is also inappropriate to talk about others who are suspended from the community.

 

Posting private messages

No posting private messages including the ones of the moderators or any other community member. Everyone has a right to privacy. Please do not post publicly the content of private messages sent to you by other people, doing so would be an invasion of privacy. This also includes communications from community administrators and moderators.

 

Understand the limits of advice on this site

The content shared in this community is for informational purposes only. Nothing on this site should ever replace or substitute advice from professionals, particularly in licensed or certified fields such as medicine, pharmacology, law, tax, insurance, real estate, among others. Contributors to this community do not know your unique circumstances and are providing general knowledge only.