Qs: Starting a Natural Health Forum?

[mtnman]

I have been itching to start a natural health forum for a couple months now. I've researched, chosen my platform, purchased domain, etc... There are a couple of issues that I am unsure about.

Some of the categories and subject matter I wish to share, includes information/devices that are not FDA approved. I would like for people to be able to discuss 'black-listed' treatments for various diseases freely, but I foresee issues with this. I have heard of others having issues with this in the past, but have never dealt with it myself.

The only way I have come up with so far to combat this activity is to create a membership and isolate the content to members only. This wasn't my goal, but I suppose there are pros and cons. Thoughts?

I'm unsure about internet laws and ability/reasoning for breech of content under certain circumstances. I would assume all liability issues would be covered through my LLC. Balloon policy maybe?

It seems there might be something I'm missing here. Are there other methods that I'm unaware of?

[mtnman]

Perhaps my title should be changed to Health Forum....it has nothing to do with questions about this forum. Sorry mods.

[Russ H]

Perhaps my title should be changed to Health Forum....Sorry mods.

No problem.

Consider it done.

-Russ H.

[carlhuber]

Err, I have a question. Why can't you just put a disclaimer - both when people are signing up and on that particular subforum - that certain claims may not involve FDA approved methods?

It's a forum. You're going to have people spouting off opinions left and right. They're going to get things wrong on a constant basis, especially as discussions dissolve into opinions and "what if" situations. No one should be taking the advice on your forum as a rock solid health resource. You'll need disclaimers. You say you've done research - surely you've seen disclaimers that static health sites have, like Web MD!

[mtnman]

Yes sir. I will have disclaimers, but through my research I learned it probably won't be enough. Now I may be wrong, but I'm just trying to have all my ducks in a row. Reason being, I would like to focus on quality helpful content for the users as much as possible. Granted there will always be issues.

I'm concerned specifically in the area of product promotion. Even though I will not be selling any products (current plan) many will be discussed to help others. Publicly posting results of a non FDA approved device is a form of promotion; so I've heard. I'm unsure where the line is drawn, that's why I was curious if anyone else had any insight.

On another note, BIG PHARMA has too much money. I've seen them cause hell on earth for a few organizations that promote natural/holistic health methods.

[michael515]

What research are you referring pointing to issues that others have had?

What about curezone.com? That's a forum all about natural treatments and it's huge. Maybe study their site for clues. WebMD - it's biased toward allopathic medicine and anything like that is funded by Big Pharma...

I have a little experience with this as I wrote a book about healing a disease naturally, creating a website, starting selling the book, etc. I stopped because it's a catch 22 - if you want to become successful - you're gonna get heat from Big Pharma. Didn't think that the rewards were worth it in a business sense.

But I was selling a book - giving advice (that is the key - are you being paid for advice?). You're really not giving advice at all but providing a medium to bring people together to discuss this on their own. Consult a lawyer but I don't see this as being a big deal. Again this is assuming that you don't directly attack Big Pharma and stay low key in the beginning.

[mtnman]

What research are you referring pointing to issues that others have had?

What about curezone.com? That's a forum all about natural treatments and it's huge. Maybe study their site for clues. WebMD - it's biased toward allopathic medicine and anything like that is funded by Big Pharma...

I have a little experience with this as I wrote a book about healing a disease naturally, creating a website, starting selling the book, etc. I stopped because it's a catch 22 - if you want to become successful - you're gonna get heat from Big Pharma. Didn't think that the rewards were worth it in a business sense.

But I was selling a book - giving advice (that is the key - are you being paid for advice?). You're really not giving advice at all but providing a medium to bring people together to discuss this on their own. Consult a lawyer but I don't see this as being a big deal. Again this is assuming that you don't directly attack Big Pharma and stay low key in the beginning.

I'm not concerned with it too much anymore. I kind of jumped the gun a bit, comparing publicly posted info to published info with direct statements. I was referring to a couple friends that published a book and another that had a website about natural drugs.

After reviewing all the FTC laws again (which I should have done pre-post) it shouldn't be that big of deal. Even if it is, I'm not going to worry about it, it'll just make me move slower and make an excuse. lol

Not sure why your book wouldn't be worth it in a business sense. If it was truly helping people, it would seem to make sense.

[mtnman]

Oh I forgot about curezone.....while there is great information there, I absolutely hate the design and interface of the site. It's to simple, it makes everything cumbersome. Did I say I hate it? lol