Community Policy

Keep it professional and civil – aka “don’t be a jerk”

In some online groups or the discussion thread, you will encounter others who may not fully align with your views.  You might get into the thick of some heated discussions and that’s okay. These discussions often entail topics that we all personally care a lot about and will passionately defend. But in order for discussions to thrive here, we need to remember to criticize ideas, not people.

So, remember to avoid:

• name-calling
• appealing to one’s prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than to one’s intellect or reason. attacking an opponent’s character rather than answering his/hers/their argument.  
• Responding to a post’s tone instead of its actual content.
• knee-jerk contradiction

Be a responsible, safe, professional and cooperative community where we are lifting up and reporting those that exhibit the following from thier profile. Currently, on the user profile and working to get it on all submitted elements. Report:

• Abusive/Hate speech
• Fake Profile
• Inappropriate Content
• Infringes on your rights
• Offensive/Harassment
• Pornographic
• Profanity
• Spamming
• Suicidal Concerns
• Violence to Others

See “Report Content User Guide” here.

General guidelines:

• Don’t Be a Jerk
• Treat others the way you’d like to be treated.
• Keep it professional.
• Stay On-topic or simply start a conversation on the topic you desire
• If you don’t have something nice to say about another user or the content they post, don’t say it.
• If you encounter any hate speech or any inappropriate content FLAG IT for moderation.  You help keep the community safe and professional.
• Always strive to add value to every interaction and discussion you participate in
• There are a lot of discussions that happen every day on OutBüro. Before joining in a discussion, browse through some of the most recent and active discussions happening in the community, especially if you’re new here or to a particular group.If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.
• Keep it tidy
• Be sure your topic matches the general theme of the channel. For example, all discussions on Talk Shop should pertain to fashion and beauty. Not sure if you’re posting to the right channel? Check the channel’s About section, or recently-added discussions to get an idea of what subjects are appropriate.
• No Self-promotion in comments in where the discussion is not specifically for such responses
• A discussion or comment that contains only a link to your blog, a product, or your article on another site will almost always be removed.
• Choose your words wisely. We have added a bad word filter that replaces known bad words with “….”.
• Comments that contain profanity are automatically held for moderator review before being posted. Depending on the context of the comment, it may be removed. Profanity used to insult, antagonize, or inflame will always be removed.
• Personal attacks and harassment will not be tolerated.
• Sexist, racist, misogynist, homophobic, and broad, offensive generalizations about groups of people are simply not allowed.
• Comments or discussions written intentionally to provoke will also be removed.
• Don’t Copy and Paste
• If you didn’t write it, or haven’t properly cited the article you’re quoting, don’t post it.
• English only for now. We hope to support multi-languages in the future.

Help make our moderators’ lives easier by taking a moment to ensure that what you’re about to post is in the right place. That means:

• Don’t post off-topic comments or discussions: check the Explore page to find the appropriate channel for your topic
• Don’t cross-post the same thing multiple times
  review any specific posting guidelines for the community: some communities such as a movies community may have specific rules regarding spoilers.
• Check if another active discussion on your topic has already been posted
• If you see something, say something

Moderators are at the forefront of combatting spam, mediating disputes and enforcing community guidelines and, so are you.

If you see an issue, contact the moderators if possible or flag any comments for review. If you believe someone has violated the Community Policy, Privacy Policy or User Agreement, report it to OutBüro by flagging the user’s profile and/or using the Contact form and if possible provide a link to the offending content.