Reddit rules index · read 2026-10-04
Can you promote on r/AskDocs?
Self-promotion restricted Its rules restrict self-promotion. Posts that promote your own work are likely to be removed.
AI-generated content not allowed Its rules remove some or all AI-generated posts, comments or media. Write it yourself here, or pick another community. Other communities' AI rules.
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- its rules on Reddit
Having a medical issue? Ask a doctor or medical professional on Reddit! All flaired medical professionals on this subreddit are verified by the mods.
What its rules say about promotion
No promotion, advertising, surveys, studies
Promoting any service, products, website, or channel will result in a permanent ban from the subreddit. Surveys and study recruitment are not permitted.
What its rules say about AI and bots
No AI
No AI/ChatGPT responses. These systems lack the appropriate evidence/validation at this time. AI will likely have an important role in healthcare in the future but is not allowed on this sub currently. Comments that are confirmed or suspicious for being AI will be removed.
All 14 rules of r/AskDocs
- Please include detailed information
The more information you provide, the more helpful we can be. Age and sex (e.g. 17M or 33 AFAB) are **mandatory**. List diagnoses you have, medications you take, any non-prescribed medicines, vitamins, or substances, you take/use, and anything else. Photos and videos are helpful for anything visible. You can add them directly to the post or host them elsewhere and add a link. We will no longer manually remove posts that lack information, but the AutoMod will still do so. - No direct messages or tagging physicians for attention!
Sending unsolicited messages, whether asking for or giving advice, is not allowed and may be grounds for an immediate ban. Do not post usernames to attract attention. You also may not post questions that are recruiting people to discuss matters privately with you. It is fine in comments to either ask or offer permission for direct messages. Unsolicited messages are the unacceptable action. **If you receive an unsolicited message, please save it and let the moderators know through Modmail.** - Personal questions only
This subreddit is for asking specific personal health questions about yourself or family members. We do not answer general or hypothetical questions about the medical field or about any legal/financial/administrative aspect of medicine. For those types of questions you can ask in the weekly stickied general questions thread or try /r/medical, /r/legaladvice or other subreddits. Posts must have a specific medical question. We are not dentists! For dentistry questions, go to r/askdentists - No emergencies
If you are experiencing a physical or psychiatric emergency, including thoughts of hurting yourself or others, dial 911 or your local equivalent or go to the nearest emergency room. Posts regarding emergent issues are not allowed. - NSFW posts and comments
Use NSFW tags where appropriate. If you are UNDER the age of 18 DO NOT post NSFW photos on this subreddit. The photo can be considered child pornography and the post will be removed. - Claiming credentials
Posts by unflaired users that claim legitimacy by virtue of professional medical experience are not allowed. This includes physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, healthcare students, technicians, and more. If you interact regularly with patients or patient charts, you cannot use that experience to justify advice given here without flair. To get verified, see rule #10 - Harmful or mocking advice
Please report all potentially harmful advice. Advice that seems well-intended but wrong should not be reported. Egregiously bad or harmful advice will result in a ban without warning, as may joking advice or anything insulting to another poster. Recommendations for pseudoscientific healthcare is not allowed. This is a medical subreddit. Repeated recommendation of chiropractic, homeopathy, or other non-medical interventions may result in a ban. - No promotion, advertising, surveys, studies
Promoting any service, products, website, or channel will result in a permanent ban from the subreddit. Surveys and study recruitment are not permitted. - Monetary Compensation for Answers
You may not offer any form of monetary compensation in exchange for answers given on this subreddit. This includes cash, Bitcoin, etc. Awarding respondents with Reddit Silver/Gold//Platinum is acceptable. If there is an exchange of currency between users on this subreddit, both users will be permanently banned from the subreddit. - How do I become verified?
If you are a medical professional who wishes to become a verified contributor to this subreddit, please [message the moderators](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/AskDocs) with a link to a picture of your medical ID, diploma, or other credentials. Imgur.com is convenient, but you can host anywhere. Please block out personal information, such as your name and picture. **You must include your handwritten Reddit username in the photo!** We do not accept digital forms of identification. - No "bumps," request for upvotes, comments for visibility, "following," or thoughts and prayers
Let posts and comments attract attention organically. Asking for upvotes, or commenting just to "bump" or for visibility, makes things more cluttered. Don't ask for it and don't do it! You may be briefly banned for doing so. Similarly, sending thoughts and prayers is kind, but not the point of this subreddit and not helpful. Please don't comment about that. - Top level comments
Only verified and flaired users can make top-level comments. Unflaired users can still respond to medical questions, but only in response to the automod starter comment or other top level comments made by flaired users. - COVID and vaccine misinformation
If you spread misinformation, baseless alarmism, or fear about COVID and COVID vaccines, you are not welcome in this subreddit. Discussion in vaccine posts by non-flaired, unverified users is held to a high standard. - No AI
No AI/ChatGPT responses. These systems lack the appropriate evidence/validation at this time. AI will likely have an important role in healthcare in the future but is not allowed on this sub currently. Comments that are confirmed or suspicious for being AI will be removed.
What the written rules don't show
- Unpublished minimums. Many communities remove posts from new or low-karma accounts through AutoModerator settings that are not on the rules page, often before a moderator sees them.
- Reddit's own filters. Reddit's site-wide spam filters can remove posts from accounts that mostly share links to their own site, in any community.
- The community's norms. Many communities see themselves as peers, not an audience: post where you already take part, and make the post worth reading without the link.
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The verdict is our reading of r/AskDocs's rule text on 2026-10-04. Rules change and moderators decide: read the current rules before you post. Not affiliated with Reddit or r/AskDocs.