Social Media and Digital Comment Policy

We encourage and welcome public interaction with the content and materials posted to the Web sites, blogs, and social network platforms owned or administered by the Intramural Research Program (IRP) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In accordance with the U.S. Federal Government’s social media policies, the NIH IRP reserves the right to review, moderate, and/or approve all comments, responses, and posts based on the policy below.

To maintain a respectful dialogue, the following guidelines have been established. Comments that include the following are prohibited and will be deleted:

• Vulgar, obscene, profane, threatening, or abusive language
• Personal attacks of any kind
• Discriminatory language (including hate speech) based on race, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability
• Endorsements of commercial products, services, organizations, or other entities
• Repetitive posts (for example, if you submit the same idea multiple times)
• Spam or undecipherable language (gratuitous links will be viewed as spam)
• Copyright infringement
• Links to external sites
• Images or videos
• Solicitation of funds
• Procurement-sensitive information related to any current or future NIH acquisition
• Surveys, polls, and questionnaires subject to the Office of Management and Budget Paperwork Reduction Act clearance
• Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Sensitive Information (SI)
• Off-topic posts (including posts promoting unproven medical advice or treatments)

All views expressed in user comments and posts reflect those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the NIH Intramural Research Program, the National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. Federal Government.

In submitting your comments and posts to a Web site, forum, or social media network owned or administered by the NIH IRP, you irrevocably grant the NIH IRP permission to copy, distribute, make derivatives, display, or perform your work publicly and free-of-charge; and the right to use such content for any IRP purpose.

We recognize that the Internet is a 24/7 medium and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources (i.e., your tax dollars), moderating and posting comments should only be expected to occur during regular business hours.

Please note that the NIH IRP does not provide medical or treatment advice through any Web sites, social media networks, or other digital channels. All IRP content is provided for information purposes only. Please consult with a qualified physician for diagnosis and treatment options, and for answers to your personal questions.

Thank you for taking the time to review our comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to hearing from you.

Last Updated on 1/11/2022