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Community guidelines - Shoppers

Our mission

The objective of Recommend is to inspire shoppers to save and earn money through peer-to-peer recommendations. However, not all content is considered inspiring, which is why we have established community guidelines to identify what is permissible on our platform. These guidelines constitute our acceptable use policy, and we urge you to report any inappropriate content you encounter. Your reports allow us to improve our standards and collaborate with industry professionals to revise and update our guidelines

Content safety

Recommend does not tolerate contentious, explicit, inaccurate or deceitful, malicious, hateful, or aggressive content or behavior. We reserve the right to delete, restrict, or prevent the dissemination of such content as well as the accounts, individuals, groups, and domains that produce or distribute it, based on the level of harm it presents. Our pledge is to provide you with transparent and unambiguous expectations that are simple to comprehend and comply with. If you have any inquiries or confront challenges on Recommend, please do contact us.

Adult content

Recommend isn't a place for pornography. We limit the distribution of or remove mature and explicit content, including:

Fetish imagery
Vivid sexual descriptions
Graphic depictions of sexual activity
Images of nudity where the poses, camera angles, or props suggest pornographic intent

We endeavor to distinguish between pornography and other mature content. For example, content featuring nudity that is related to sexual health, breastfeeding, art, well-being, and education can be saved as shoppable content, provided it is not intended to be pornographic. However, we may limit its distribution to prevent accidental exposure.

Exploitation

Recommend does not tolerate the exploitation of individuals or animals. We will take action to limit the distribution of content and accounts that engage in practices that endanger the well-being of people or animals, such as sexual, physical, or financial exploitation. This includes:

Sexualization or sexual exploitation of minors, like grooming, sexual remarks or inappropriate imagery. If we find it, we'll report it to relevant authorities such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Non-consensual images, meaning images of a private or sexual nature obtained or published without consent. This porn and up-skirt images.
Adult sexual services that may involve sexual or physical exploitation or trafficking, like sex cams and escort services.
Human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labor.
Other illegal commercial exploitation, like trading in organs or products made from human remains or body parts.
The sale of wild animals or protected and endangered wildlife.
Corpses, animal parts, or products derived from cat or dog parts, or protected and endangered wildlife, including ivory
Irresponsible and harmful animal tourism or otherwise exploitative practices like organized animal fighting.

Hateful activities

We prohibit hateful content and individuals or groups that promote hateful activities on Recommend. We may limit the distribution of or remove such content and accounts, including:

Slurs or negative stereotypes, caricatures and generalizations
Support for hate groups and people promoting hateful activities, prejudice and conspiracy theories
Condoning or trivializing violence because of a victim's membership in a vulnerable or protected group
Support for white supremacy, limiting women's rights and other discriminatory ideas
Hate-based conspiracy theories and misinformation, like Holocaust denial
Denial of an individual's gender identity or sexual orientation, and support for conversion therapy and related programs
Attacks on individuals including public figures based on their membership in a vulnerable or protected group
Mocking or attacking the beliefs, sacred symbols, movements, or institutions of the protected or vulnerable groups identified below

Protected and vulnerable groups encompass individuals who are categorized based on their actual or perceived race, color, caste, ethnicity, immigration status, national origin, religion or faith, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition. Additionally, it includes people who are grouped based on lower socio-economic status, age, weight or size, pregnancy or veteran status.

Misinformation

We do not allow misinformation, disinformation, or mal-information on Recommend, nor do we allow individuals or groups who create or spread such content. We remove or limit the distribution of false or misleading content that may jeopardize the safety, well-being, or trust of shoppers or the general public. This includes:

Medically unsupported health claims that risk public health and safety, including the promotion of false cures, anti-vaccination advice, or misinformation about public health or safety emergencies
False or misleading content about individuals or protected groups that promotes fear, hate or prejudice
False or misleading content that encourages turning individuals, groups of people, places or organizations into targets of harassment or physical violence
Conspiracy theories, including about climate change or civic participation
Content that originates from disinformation campaigns, including about climate change or civic participation
Factual information that's published or deliberately modified to erode trust or inflict harm, such as changing or omitting of context, date or time
Fabricated or meaningfully manipulated visual or audio content that erodes trust or causes harm

Civic participation misinformation:

False or misleading content that impedes an election's integrity or an individual's or group's civic participation, including registering to vote, voting and being counted in a census.
False or misleading information about the dates, times, locations and procedure for voting or census participation.
Content that misleads voters about how to correctly fill-out and submit a ballot, including a mail-in ballot, or census form.
False or misleading information about who can vote or participate in the census and what information must be provided to participate.
False or misleading statements about who is collecting information and/or how it will be used.
False or misleading information about public safety that is intended to deter people from exercising their right to vote or participate in a census.
Content that encourages or instructs voters or participants to misrepresent themselves or illegally participate.
Content apparently intended to delegitimize election results on the basis of false or misleading claims.
Threats against voting locations, census or voting personnel, voters or census participants, including intimidation of vulnerable or protected group voters or participants.

Climate misinformation:

Content that denies the existence or impacts of climate change, the human influence on climate change, or that climate change is backed by scientific consensus.
False or misleading content about climate change solutions that contradict well-established scientific consensus.
Content that misrepresents scientific data, including by omission or cherry-picking, in order to erode trust in climate science and experts.
Harmful false or misleading content about public safety emergencies including natural disasters and extreme weather events.

Harassment and criticism

Recommend is a positive and inspiring platform that does not tolerate insults, hurtful remarks, or antagonistic behavior toward individuals or groups of people. While constructive criticism is welcome, we may remove or limit the distribution of insulting content to maintain a positive environment.

Manipulated images intended to degrade or shame
Shaming people for their bodies or assumed sexual or romantic history
Sexual remarks about people's bodies and solicitations or offers of sexual acts
Criticisms involving name-calling, profanity and other insulting language or imagery
Mocking someone for experiencing sadness, grief, loss or outrage

Private information

We don't allow content that reveals personal or sensitive information. We remove:

Personal ID and passport information
Private contact information and addresses
Online login information (usernames and passwords)
Photos of private people that they don't want posted online
Personal financial or medical history

If you come across unwanted photos of or information about you, you can reach out to us through our Help Center.

Self-injury and harmful behavior

To maintain a positive and safe environment, Recommend does not permit content that depicts,encourages, or justifies suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, or substance abuse. We may limit the distribution of or remove such content, including:

Self-harm instructions
Suicidal thinking and quotes
Graphic or otherwise triggering imagery or descriptions of self-harm
Promotion of self-harm
Mocking of people who self-harm or who have attempted or died by suicide
Images of accessories used to self-harm
Negative self-talk and insensitive humor about self-harming behavior
Suicide pacts, challenges and hoaxes

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or is considering hurting themselves, there are resources available to provide free, confidential, and immediate support. You can visit the website of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) at iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/ for a list of crisis centers and helplines around the world that can offer assistance.

Graphic Violence and Threats

Recommend isn't a place for graphic violence or threatening language. We limit the distribution of or remove such content, including:

Content that shows the use of violence
Disturbing scenes from before or after violent events
Threats or language that glorifies violence

In a few cases, we allow the saving of disturbing images dedicated to remembrance and advocacy, but limit distribution of such content in public parts of the platform.

Violent actors

At Recommend, we don't tolerate violent content, groups, or individuals. We take measures to limit the distribution of or remove content and accounts that support or promote dangerous activities carried out by such actors or groups. This includes:

Extremists
Terrorist organizations
Gangs and other criminal organizations

We work with industry, government and security experts to help us identify these groups.

Dangerous goods and activities

At Recommend do not allow the trading or selling of certain regulated goods that can cause harm when used, altered, or manufactured irresponsibly. Additionally, we do not permit the display or encouragement of dangerous activities on our platform. We may limit the distribution of or remove such content and accounts that violate these guidelines, including:

Individuals and unlicensed retailers offering to sell, purchase or trade alcohol, tobacco, drugs and weapons, including firearms and accessories, firearm parts or attachments, or ammunition
Content from or about unverified, unapproved or rogue online pharmacies
Offers, attempts, or instructions to bypass purchasing laws and regulation
Instructions for creating lethal or toxic substances
Instructions for creating lethal weapons, like bombs or grenades, including 3d printed weapons
Commercial sales of certain weapons and attachments
Harmful pranks or challenges that risk imminent physical harm or extreme emotional distress, especially if showing or encouraging the participation of minors

Harmful or Deceptive Products & Practices

We do not permit practices and products that could be harmful or misleading on Recommend. We take action to limit the distribution of or remove such content and accounts. These may include, but are not limited to:

Instructions and products for hacking or breaching security measures
Online gambling and lotteries
Counterfeit documents
Privacy-violating products or services
Exploitative financial practices

Impersonation

Accounts on Recommend cannot impersonate or misrepresent an affiliation with any person or organization. If you have a fan or commentary account for a public figure or brand, you must clearly indicate through your username or Recommend profile that you are not officially affiliated with them. We take this policy seriously and may remove accounts that violate it.

Intellectual property and other rights

To respect the rights of people on and off Recommend, please:

Don't infringe anyone's intellectual property, privacy or other rights.
Don't do anything or post any content that violates laws or regulations.
Don't use Recommend's name, logo or trademark in a way that confuses people (check out our brand guidelines for more details).

Site security and access

To protect the Recommend platform, we ask that you please:

Don't access, use or tamper with our systems or our technical providers' systems.
Don't break or circumvent our security measures or test the vulnerability of our systems or networks, except as part of an authorized Recommend bug bounty program.
Don't use any undocumented or unsupported method to access, search, scrape, download or change any part of Recommend.
Don't try to reverse engineer our software.
Don't try to interfere with people on Recommend or our hosts or networks, like sending a virus, overloading, spamming or mail-bombing.
Don't collect or store personally identifiable information from Recommend or people on Recommend without permission.
Don't share your password, let anyone access your account or do anything that might put your account at risk.
Don't attempt to buy or sell access to your account, boards, or usernames, or otherwise transfer account features for compensation.

Spam

Our goal is to maintain the quality and usefulness of the content and recommendations on Recommend by preventing the spread of spam. We urge you to be mindful of the experiences of others on the platform and avoid engaging in spammy behavior or spreading spam content. If we identify spam, we will remove it from the platform. Our guidelines around spam are:

Don't use automation that hasn't been explicitly approved by Recommend. This includes unauthorized services that automatically perform actions on your behalf.
Don't create or operate accounts that aren't authentic, create accounts en masse, or create new accounts for the purpose of violating these guidelines.
In general, don't attempt to make money from Shoppers or Shopper web traffic in ways that are misleading, detract from the Shopper experience, or don't add value for Shoppers.
Don't link to websites that are unsafe, deceptive, untrustworthy, unoriginal, or that facilitate or encourage spam. Websites should have original content that adds unique value for Shoppers.
Don't send repeated, unsolicited messages, especially if your messages are commercial or deceptive in nature.
Don't operate multiple accounts or coordinate with other people with the purpose of manipulating the Recommend platform.
Don't use any other unscrupulous tactics to attempt to improperly influence distribution, clicks, or other metrics, including: buying or selling engagement, "stuffing" irrelevant keywords, generating inauthentic traffic, or redirecting existing Recommendations to new destinations.
Don't attempt to evade our anti-spam systems. For example, don't use redirection to attempt to link to a site that is not permitted on Recommend.

- With respect to redirection, we encourage you to follow a “no surprises” principle — Shoppers should be able to reasonably anticipate where your link will take them. Links that exhibit excessive or deceptive redirection, as well as shortener services that are abused for spam, may be blocked.