Research *can* be exploitive if it is done on people who aren't aware they're being studied, and if it done against those people's will (and their rights). I'm certainly not suggesting all research is exploitive (the vast majority is not), but some naturalistic studies are and psychology is full of examples of this (mostly back when research ethics wasn't even an area of discussion amongst professionals!). Some professionals who aren't research-educated can also make mistakes when it comes to informed consent and conducting research online.

In fact, there's a lot a site like this can do to prevent research if that's their rule (as it is our rule here). Legitimate research seeks peer-review publication, so if it is legitimate, I can certainly protest to the institution's IRB, lodge a complaint with their local licensing board, and file a formal complaint with their professional association. I also have legal avenues open to me, since such use of this forum would violate the terms and conditions of use for this service. Violating those terms is like violating a contract. So yes, there are some avenues open to me to prevent legitimate research from being conducted here. (I can't guarantee stopping illegitimate research, but I also have tools available to me that can try.)

The point here isn't to suggest all research is bad. Research of an online support site without the member's expressed written permission is bad (in my opinion) and is prohibited here.

DocJohn