Community Guidelines

Effective Date: June 13, 2026
Last Updated: June 13, 2026

Sacred Sobriety is intended to be a respectful, faith-centered, and recovery-conscious space for reflection, discussion, encouragement, and responsible disagreement.

These Community Guidelines apply to comments, discussions, messages, submissions, livestream participation, and other forms of interaction connected with sacred-sobriety.com.

Participation is welcomed, but it is not an unrestricted right. Sacred Sobriety may moderate, restrict, or remove content to protect the purpose, safety, and integrity of the community.

1. Our Community Standard

Sacred Sobriety encourages communication that is:

• Respectful
• Honest
• Thoughtful
• Relevant
• Compassionate
• Recovery-conscious
• Open to responsible disagreement
• Appropriate for a faith-based audience

You do not need to agree with every article, interpretation, testimony, or comment.

Disagreement is permitted. Abuse is not.

2. Respect the Person

Address ideas, claims, interpretations, and arguments without degrading the person presenting them.

Do not submit content that:

• Insults or mocks another person
• Uses degrading or dehumanizing language
• Attacks someone’s intelligence, appearance, background, faith, recovery status, or personal history
• Encourages others to harass or target someone
• Repeatedly provokes another participant
• Attempts to humiliate someone publicly
• Dismisses another person’s suffering for entertainment or rhetorical advantage

Strong disagreement may be expressed firmly without becoming cruel, threatening, or abusive.

3. No Recovery Shaming

Sacred Sobriety does not permit recovery shaming.

Do not:

• Mock someone for addiction or substance use
• Shame someone for relapse
• Claim that relapse proves a person lacks faith or sincerity
• Ridicule someone for attending treatment, counseling, meetings, or support groups
• Shame someone for taking prescribed medication
• Suggest that one recovery pathway is the only legitimate pathway for every person
• Use another person’s testimony against them
• Treat vulnerability as weakness
• Weaponize someone’s past addiction or trauma during a disagreement

Accountability and compassion are not opposites. Recovery discussions should preserve both truth and human dignity.

4. No Medical or Treatment Directives

Community members may share personal experiences, but they may not present themselves as diagnosing or treating other participants.

Do not tell another person to:

• Stop taking prescribed medication
• Change a medication dosage
• Avoid medical care
• Refuse counseling or treatment
• Attempt detoxification without medical support
• Ignore withdrawal symptoms
• Replace professional care with prayer alone
• Follow a specific treatment plan based solely on a comment
• Use a substance, supplement, or product as a guaranteed cure

You may describe what helped you personally, provided you clearly present it as personal experience rather than universal medical advice.

5. Crisis and Emergency Content

Sacred Sobriety is not an emergency or crisis-response service.

Do not use comments or community discussions as a substitute for immediate professional assistance.

Content suggesting an immediate risk of suicide, self-harm, overdose, violence, abuse, or medical emergency may be removed, restricted, or reported when appropriate.

Sacred Sobriety cannot guarantee that crisis-related comments or messages will be seen or answered promptly.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services or an appropriate crisis resource.

In the United States:

• Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
• Call 911 for an immediate life-threatening emergency.

6. Protect Privacy

Do not post another person’s private or identifying information without permission.

This includes:

• Home addresses
• Personal phone numbers
• Private email addresses
• Medical records
• Treatment information
• Employment details
• Financial information
• Government identification numbers
• Private photographs
• Screenshots of private conversations
• Names of treatment clients, residents, or group participants
• Details that could identify someone who has not consented to public disclosure

Do not share identifiable information from recovery meetings, support groups, counseling sessions, treatment programs, ministry conversations, or private pastoral discussions.

Respect anonymity, confidentiality, and personal boundaries.

7. Share Your Own Story Responsibly

You are welcome to share your personal experience when relevant.

When sharing:

• Speak from your own perspective.
• Avoid identifying other people without permission.
• Do not present your experience as a guaranteed outcome for everyone.
• Avoid graphic or unnecessary details that may be triggering.
• Do not use your story to pressure others into a particular decision.
• Do not claim professional authority you do not possess.
• Consider whether public disclosure may affect your own privacy or safety.

Sacred Sobriety may edit or remove personal details when necessary to protect privacy or reduce harm.

8. Faith and Theological Discussion

Sacred Sobriety welcomes sincere discussion of Scripture, Christian theology, church history, discipleship, and recovery.

Participants may disagree with:

• The author
• Other commenters
• A denomination
• A theological interpretation
• A ministry practice
• A recovery philosophy
• A religious institution

However, theological disagreement must remain focused on ideas and evidence.

Do not:

• Harass someone because of their religion
• Use slurs or dehumanizing labels
• Declare that another participant is beyond redemption
• Weaponize Scripture to threaten or intimidate
• Repeatedly derail discussions for sectarian arguments
• Treat every discussion as an opportunity to recruit, condemn, or provoke
• Misrepresent another person’s beliefs after correction
• Post repetitive accusations without engaging the actual content

Firm apologetic or doctrinal discussion is allowed. Personal abuse and bad-faith disruption are not.

9. No Hate, Threats, or Incitement

Content is not permitted when it:

• Threatens violence or harm
• Encourages self-harm
• Promotes abuse
• Praises or celebrates violence against a person or group
• Uses hateful or dehumanizing attacks
• Encourages discrimination or exclusion based on protected personal characteristics
• Attempts to intimidate someone into silence
• Advocates unlawful conduct
• Glorifies exploitation or abuse

Credible threats may be reported to appropriate authorities.

10. No Harassment or Stalking

Do not repeatedly contact, follow, target, or pressure another participant after being asked to stop.

Harassment may include:

• Repeated unwanted replies
• Coordinated targeting
• Following someone across platforms
• Threatening private messages
• Repeated tagging
• Sexual harassment
• Persistent demands for personal information
• Attempts to expose someone’s identity
• Encouraging others to confront or shame a participant

Sacred Sobriety may restrict or block users who engage in harassment.

11. No Defamation or False Allegations

Do not make knowingly false statements about another person or organization.

Accusations concerning abuse, criminal conduct, professional misconduct, fraud, or other serious wrongdoing should not be posted casually or without a responsible factual basis.

Sacred Sobriety is not an investigative body, court, law-enforcement agency, or complaint-resolution service.

Comments may be removed when they create unnecessary legal risk, violate privacy, or make serious allegations that cannot be responsibly evaluated in a public discussion.

12. Stay Relevant

Comments should relate meaningfully to the article, video, discussion, or subject being addressed.

Content may be removed when it:

• Repeatedly changes the subject
• Copies the same argument into multiple discussions
• Attempts to dominate every conversation
• Posts unrelated sermons or essays
• Uses the comment section primarily for self-promotion
• Reopens disputes that have already been moderated
• Floods a discussion with excessive content
• Prevents others from participating

Lengthy responses may be shortened, declined, or redirected when they overwhelm the discussion.

13. No Spam or Unapproved Promotion

Do not use Sacred Sobriety primarily to advertise:

• Websites
• Products
• Services
• Ministries
• Books
• Courses
• Fundraisers
• Social-media accounts
• Affiliate links
• Treatment programs
• Coaching services
• Cryptocurrency or financial opportunities

Relevant resources may be shared when they contribute meaningfully to the discussion and are not posted repetitively or deceptively.

Sacred Sobriety may remove promotional links without notice.

14. No Impersonation or Deception

Do not:

• Impersonate another person
• Pretend to represent Sacred Sobriety
• Use a misleading identity
• Falsely claim professional credentials
• Pose as a treatment provider, counselor, pastor, or official representative
• Create multiple accounts to evade moderation
• Manipulate discussions through coordinated or automated activity
• Post fabricated testimonials
• Misrepresent an affiliation with a ministry or organization

Parody or satire must not be used to deceive others about the identity of the person posting.

15. No Illegal or Dangerous Content

Do not post instructions or encouragement involving:

• Illegal drug distribution
• Criminal activity
• Violence
• Abuse
• Exploitation
• Fraud
• Hacking
• Malware
• Doxxing
• Evasion of law enforcement
• Dangerous detoxification practices
• Deliberate misuse of medication
• Attempts to conceal an overdose or emergency

Discussions about addiction, crime, trauma, or recovery may occur in educational or testimonial contexts, but they must not instruct or encourage harmful conduct.

16. Copyright and Content Ownership

Only post material you created or have permission to share.

Do not copy and paste:

• Complete articles
• Book chapters
• Paid course materials
• Subscription-only content
• Copyrighted photographs
• Full song lyrics
• Private correspondence
• Large portions of another person’s work

Brief quotations may be used when relevant and properly attributed.

Content submitted to Sacred Sobriety is also subject to the Copyright and Permissions Policy and Terms of Use.

17. Graphic and Triggering Content

Sacred Sobriety discusses difficult subjects, but graphic content should be limited to what is necessary.

Do not post unnecessarily detailed descriptions or images involving:

• Self-harm
• Suicide methods
• Overdose methods
• Violence
• Sexual abuse
• Child abuse
• Physical injuries
• Drug preparation or administration
• Traumatic events

When discussing sensitive experiences, use restrained language and consider including a brief content note.

Sacred Sobriety may edit, hide, or remove content that is excessively graphic or likely to cause avoidable harm.

18. Minors

Sacred Sobriety is primarily intended for adults.

Do not:

• Request private contact with a minor
• Solicit personal information from a minor
• Sexualize or exploit minors
• Encourage a minor to conceal harmful conduct from a safe adult
• Offer private counseling or mentorship to a minor through the comment section
• Share identifying information about a minor without authorization

Content involving suspected child abuse or exploitation may be reported when legally or ethically appropriate.

19. Moderation

Sacred Sobriety may moderate content before or after publication.

Moderation actions may include:

• Approving a comment
• Holding a comment for review
• Editing formatting or removing sensitive information
• Removing links
• Closing comments
• Deleting content
• Restricting participation
• Blocking an account, email address, or IP address
• Reporting credible threats or unlawful material

Sacred Sobriety is not required to explain every moderation decision.

Moderation is performed to protect the purpose and integrity of the website, not to guarantee that every published statement is accurate or endorsed.

20. Repeated Violations

A participant may lose access to commenting or other interactive features when they:

• Repeatedly violate these Guidelines
• Ignore moderation instructions
• Return under another identity after being blocked
• Harass the website administrator or other participants
• Use the community primarily for disruption
• Create security or legal risks
• Engage in deceptive conduct

Serious violations may result in immediate restriction without a prior warning.

21. Appeals and Questions

A person who believes that content was removed or access was restricted in error may contact Sacred Sobriety.

Email:

timothyrb@sacred-sobriety.com

Use the subject line:

Community Guidelines Review

Include:

• Your name
• The email address used to comment
• The article or page involved
• A brief explanation of the concern
• Any relevant context

Submitting an appeal does not guarantee that content will be restored.

Abusive, threatening, or repetitive appeals may not receive a response.

22. Changes to These Guidelines

Sacred Sobriety may update these Community Guidelines when website features, community needs, safety concerns, or legal requirements change.

The current version will be posted on this page with a revised “Last Updated” date.

23. Contact

Questions concerning these Community Guidelines may be directed to:

Sacred Sobriety
Website: sacred-sobriety.com
Email: timothyrb@sacred-sobriety.com
Location: Washington State, United States

Use the subject line: Community Guidelines Question