Guidance notes for writing reviews and using the discussion forum
The aim of the discussion forum and product reviews is to share information and experiences about the use of assistive technology for people with dementia.
This is a public forum and any messages posted can be viewed by anyone with access to the internet. We recommend that you register a user name that is a pseudonym or nickname to ensure anonymity. None of your personal information such as your first and last name or email address will display on the website and you should not include this information in any of your postings or reviews as this will help you to keep your personal details confidential.
- Do I have to register to use the discussion forum and write a review?
- What is a review?
- What should I put in a review?
- What should not be put in a review?
- What is a discussion forum?
- How should the discussion forum be used?
- How should the discussion forum not be used?
Do I have to register to use the discussion forum and write a review?
This website requires you to register and log in to post or reply to messages on the discussion forum or to write a product review. However you can view the discussion forum and product reviews without having to register or log in.
To register please follow the instructions given on the register page. Once you have submitted your details an email will be sent to you asking you to confirm your registration, to do this simply follow the link in the email. Once you have confirmed your registration you will be able to log into the website and post new discussions, reply to existing ones and review products.
To log in please enter your user name and password. If you have forgotton your user name or password you will be asked to enter your email address and we will send you a user name and password reminder.
What is a review?
If you have used any of the products featured in our 'Find a product' pages you may wish to add a review. This allows you to rate the product on a scale from 0 (very poor) to 5 (excellent) for its reliability, ease of use, usefulness and design. You may also add your own comments on the product.
All reviews will be approved by a moderator before being set live. This means that the website manager will check that the content of the review is appropriate before it can be seen on the website. Please see our guidelines below on what content you should and should not include in a review.
We are currently piloting the review feature for products on this database to see how it is used and whether it is a useful feature for visitors to this website.
What should I put in a review?
When writing your reviews please try to provide helpful, unbiased advice on the usefulness and design of products. Where you have encountered difficulties with a product, please be aware that sometimes the product itself may not be at fault, the problem may be to do with installation, inappropriate use or solution, maintenance or other components of an integrated system.
For this reason, care should be taken when reviewing products, particularly when they are a component of an integrated telecare system.
The sort of information you might wish to include:
- What you liked about the product
- What you didn’t like about it
- How it was useful
- Strengths and weaknesses
What should not be put in a review?
- Do not review a product or service in order to promote you or your employer's business or hinder your competitor's business. Our aim is to collect unbiased reviews.
- Do not use any obscene language or comments that may be offensive or disrespectful to others.
- Do not enter into dialogue with other reviewers.
- Any reviews we consider offensive, inappropriate or commercial will be removed or edited as we see fit.
- Any reviews we consider libellous or defamatory to a person or company will be removed or edited as we see fit.
- For more general comments or comments or questions on products you do not have first hand experience of, please use the discussion forum.
- Inserting contact or confidential information, such as email addresses, phone numbers, or URLs, is strictly prohibited and will result in the deletion of the post or the removal of the prohibited material.
What is a discussion forum?
A discussion forum allows you to share views and information with other people using a website. This discussion forum allows you to exchange views about and experiences of assistive technology for people with dementia.
All message posts will be approved by a moderator before being set live. This means that the website managers will check that the content of the message is appropriate before it can be seen on the website. Please see our guidelines below on what content you should and should not include in a message post.
We are currently piloting the discussion forum to see how it is used and whether it is a useful feature for visitors to this website.
How should the discussion forum be used?
Once you have registered and logged in, you can add a new topic or reply to someone else's message. Topics (also known as 'threads') are the discussions that consist of one or more messages displayed as a list. Messages are the individual discussion posts made by a person. Replies are posts in response to other messages.
To start a new topic choose the appropriate category and select 'Add new topic'. Type in your topic title in the title line and type a message in the message box.
The administrators of this site make no claims as to the accuracy, integrity, timeliness or quality of such content. This site encourages dialogue between users, and allows for experiences to be shared. However, even where other users of the site are professionals, please remember that without detailed knowledge of your circumstances they may not be able to provide you with advice, and that information obtained from this site is not a substitute for professional advice. You should consult a relevant health or social care professional before making any decisions that could affect you or others.
How should the discussion forum not be used?
- Do not post messages that are purely for commercial purposes or messages that do not relate to the purposes of the discussion forum or respond to points made in any other postings.
- Do not use any obscene language or comments that may be offensive or disrespectful to others.
- Any messages we consider offensive inappropriate or commercial will be removed or edited as we see fit.
- Any messages we consider libellous or defamatory to a person or company will be removed or edited as we see fit.
- Inserting contact or confidential information, such as email addresses, phone numbers, or URLs, is strictly prohibited and will result in the deletion of the post or the removal of the prohibited information.