The main rule of the website and Discord is simple – “Be Excellent to Each Other”. It is not “Be Excellent to each other unless you think someone is faking or didn’t have trauma comparable to yours”.
Trauma is a very personal, individualized thing. Everyone has a Window of Tolerance – this applies to alters, systems, and singlets. What was highly traumatic for one person might not be for someone else, especially if one has non-neurotypical challenges the other does not. That’s expected and OK.
Being excellent to each other means being supportive. It means listening without judgment. It means keeping this a safe space for ALL dissociative folk, OSDD/DID or not.
That said, we all have non-excellent days. We ask that you have compassion for everyone in the cafe, including yourself. Be willing to ask for forgiveness or accept a sincere apology should an interaction turn sour.
If a non-excellent member does cause issues, the admins/moderators will take care of them. Depending on the severity of the problem, this may be via a warning or an outright ban. Contact T-E-C if you feel a member has been most non-excellent to you.
The Other Rules:
- Keep all content PG-13 or below (like any Marvel Comics movie other than Deadpool) unless you are in the website’s Danger Zone forum, blogging, or in #trigger-territory or #rant-n-rave on Discord. Always assume there could be a Little One out and about; please keep things in their place.
- Further trigger warnings are not required in the abovementioned trigger warning sections. If you venture there, be prepared. Reader discretion is advised.
- Respect that not everyone has the means to get a formal diagnosis. We strongly recommend seeing a good mental health care practitioner whenever possible, but sometimes, due to location, finances, or other factors, it can’t be done at present. If someone struggles with dissociation or is an ally of those who do, they belong here, diagnosed or not.
- Realize that no one here is acting as a mental health professional. If you are in a crisis, please try one of the hotlines in the wiki or contact your local emergency services.
- The cafe is for those over the physical body age of 18. Content may not be suitable for minors, especially in the trigger warning areas. Littles that are part of adult systems are welcome here, but we ask that legal minors use another platform. Sorry.