Kidney Community – Terms of Use

Last updated: January 2026, Version 2.0

These Terms of Use form a legally binding agreement between you and Kidney Research UK (“we”, “us”, “our”) regarding your access to and use of Kidney Community (“the forum”). By creating an account or using the forum, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms.

These Terms operate alongside our Community Guidelines. The Guidelines describe expected behaviour; these Terms set out the legal conditions of using the platform.

1. Eligibility and Account Registration

1.1 You must be at least 18 years old to register for or use the forum.

1.2 You agree to provide accurate information when creating your account and to keep your login details secure.

1.3 You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.

2. Platform and Hosting

2.1 The forum operates on the Discourse platform, provided by Civilized Discourse Construction Kit, Inc.

2.2 The platform is hosted on servers provided by Discourse.org.

2.3 Hosting arrangements may involve data storage or processing outside the United Kingdom. Details of how your data is handled are set out in our Privacy Policy.

2.4 Discourse and any hosting provider act as data processors on behalf of Kidney Research UK and process personal data only for the purpose of operating the forum.

3. Acceptable Use

3.1 You agree not to use the forum for any unlawful purpose or in any way that may harm, disrupt, or impair the operation of the platform.

3.2 You agree not to upload or transmit any viruses, malicious code, or harmful material.

3.3 You agree not to impersonate any person or organisation or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or organisation.

3.4 You agree not to collect, harvest, or misuse personal data belonging to other users.

4. Content You Post

4.1 You are solely responsible for any content you post or transmit on the forum.

4.2 You confirm that you have the rights necessary to share any content you upload.

4.3 You grant Kidney Research UK a nonexclusive, royaltyfree licence to host, display, and moderate your content for the purpose of operating the forum.

4.4 We may remove or edit content that we reasonably believe breaches these Terms or poses a risk to users or the organisation.

5. Automated Moderation and Technical Features

5.1 The forum uses automated systems provided by the Discourse platform, including but not limited to:

  • automated flagging
  • spam detection
  • rate limiting
  • watchword filtering
  • automated hiding of posts flagged by multiple users

5.2 By using the forum, you acknowledge that these automated systems form part of the service and may affect the visibility or availability of your content.

5.3 Automated actions do not remove our ability to review or intervene manually where appropriate.

6. Moderation and Account Management

6.1 We may monitor activity on the forum and take reasonable steps to maintain a safe and functional environment.

6.2 We may remove, edit, or restrict access to content where we reasonably believe it breaches these Terms or applicable law.

6.3 We may suspend or terminate your account where we reasonably believe that:

  • you have breached these Terms,
  • your account poses a security or safety risk, or
  • your account has been inactive for 24 months.

6.4 We are not required to provide detailed explanations for moderation decisions, although we may do so at our discretion.

6.5 We may report activity to relevant authorities where required by law or where necessary to protect the safety of users.

7. Privacy and Data Protection

7.1 We collect and process your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

7.2 We may use your email address to send administrative notifications relating to your account or the operation of the forum.

7.3 We may disclose information where required by law or where necessary to protect the safety of you or others.

8. Medical and Legal Information

8.1 The forum does not provide medical or legal advice.

8.2 You agree not to rely on information posted by other users as a substitute for professional advice.

8.3 Kidney Research UK is not responsible for the accuracy of usergenerated content.

9. Third Party Links and Research Requests

9.1 The forum may contain links to third party websites. We are not responsible for their content or practices.

9.2 Research recruitment posts may only be made with prior approval from Kidney Research UK.

10. Intellectual Property

10.1 All trademarks, branding, and platform content belonging to Kidney Research UK remain our property.

10.2 You may not copy, reproduce, or distribute any part of the forum except as permitted by law.

11. Service Availability

11.1 We aim to keep the forum available and functioning, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted access.

11.2 Service may be affected by:

  • scheduled maintenance
  • software updates
  • hosting provider outages
  • technical issues outside our control

11.3 We may suspend or restrict access where necessary for security, maintenance, or operational reasons.

12. Liability

12.1 The forum is provided on an “as is” basis. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or errorfree access.

12.2 To the extent permitted by law, we exclude liability for any loss or damage arising from your use of the forum, except where caused by our negligence or breach of statutory duty.

12.3 You agree to indemnify Kidney Research UK against any claim arising from content you post or from your breach of these Terms.

13. Changes to These Terms

13.1 We may update these Terms from time to time.

13.2 We will notify users of material changes, and continued use of the forum after such notification constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

14. Governing Law

14.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

14.2 Any disputes arising from these Terms will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

15. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact:
enquiries@kidneyresearchuk.org

Definitions

In these Terms:

  • “Kidney Community” / “the forum” means the online discussion platform operated by Kidney Research UK and powered by the Discourse software platform.

  • “Kidney Research UK”, “we”, “us”, “our” means Kidney Research UK, the organisation responsible for operating and managing the forum.

  • “User”, “You”, “Your” means any individual who accesses, registers for, or uses the forum.

  • “Content” means any text, images, links, messages, or other material posted, uploaded, or transmitted by a user on the forum.

  • “Discourse” means the forum software provided by Civilized Discourse Construction Kit, Inc., used to operate the platform.

  • “Hosting provider” means the third‑party service that hosts the forum infrastructure (e.g., Discourse.org, AWS, or another provider as specified in our Privacy Policy).

  • “Moderators” means individuals authorised by Kidney Research UK to oversee activity on the forum, manage content, and support community safety.

  • “Terms” means these Terms of Use, as updated from time to time.

  • “Community Guidelines” means the non‑binding behavioural expectations published alongside these Terms.