Formal research by any student or researcher has been banned from our community since Day 1. This is because I saw another community used for research -- without their awareness or permission -- by a professional who didn't even bother to get IRB approval for his study (which was published anyway). So I am fiercely protective of the community from that perspective.

Does that stop student therapists or others from coming on here to learn about how people might use a self-help support group to help themselves? No, of course not. But it does prevent the community from being used as guinea pigs in an experiment.

I would also say this, though... when I was in grad school, there weren't any courses on learning about self-help or peer-driven resources (online or offline). Such courses are a rarity still today.

While you may see so many people and so many threads as a "invaluable resource," most students would probably see it as a bit overwhelming. Grad school is a busy time, and there's not a lot of time to read thousands of posts by hundreds of people...

Of course, anytime you post anything anywhere on the Internet, you open yourself up to observation (and possible scrutiny) by anonymous others. That's the price we pay for such resources.

Just some thoughts on the matter...

DocJohn