PlaceChat Community Guidelines

1. Who These Guidelines Apply To

These guidelines apply to all activity on PlaceChat, including messages, usernames, profile photos, and any other content you share. By using PlaceChat, you agree to follow these rules in addition to our Terms of Use.

2. Be Respectful

Discussion, disagreement, and debate are welcome. Abuse is not. You must not:

• Harass, bully, or threaten other users.
• Use slurs or demeaning language targeting someone’s identity.
• Encourage others to attack or exclude someone.
• Tell others to harm themselves.

If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face in a public place, don’t say it here.

3. No Hate or Extremism

You may not post content that:

• Attacks or degrades a protected group (e.g., race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability).
• Supports or praises hate groups or extremist organizations.
• Uses symbols, slogans, or coded language tied to hate movements.

Criticism of ideas, institutions, or public figures is allowed, but targeting people or communities for who they are is not.

4. Keep It Safe

You may not share content that includes:

• Threats of violence or physical harm.
• Detailed instructions for violence, weapons use, or other dangerous acts.
• Promotion, sale, or distribution of illegal drugs or weapons.
• Encouragement of self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders.

5. Protect Privacy

Do not post:

• Someone else’s private information (e.g., address, phone number, email, workplace).
• Photos or content intended to expose, shame, or blackmail another person.
• Requests for personal data that could be used to identify, track, or harm someone.

Only share information you’re comfortable being public in a busy place associated with the channel’s location.

6. No Sexual Content Involving Minors

Absolutely no content that sexualizes minors or depicts sexual activity involving people who appear or are described as under 18. This includes:

• Sexual comments, fantasies, or jokes involving minors.
• Sharing or requesting images of minors in sexual or exploitative contexts.
• Any form of grooming, solicitation, or exploitation.

We may take action and, where required, cooperate with law enforcement when such content is reported or detected.

7. No Exploitative or Illegal Activity

You may not use PlaceChat to promote or facilitate illegal or exploitative behavior, including:

• Human trafficking or exploitation.
• Fraud, scams, or schemes to steal money or data.
• Distribution of malware or attempts to hack accounts or systems.
• Organized criminal activity.

8. Spam & Platform Misuse

To keep conversations focused and useful, please avoid:

• Sending repeated, irrelevant, or automated messages.
• Mass-promoting products, services, or external links.
• Creating multiple accounts to evade moderation or manipulate votes.

PlaceChat uses rate limiting and other tools to reduce spam and abuse. Attempts to bypass these systems may result in restrictions on your account.

9. Community Voting & Hidden Messages

PlaceChat allows users to upvote and downvote messages. In some cases, messages that receive significantly more downvotes than upvotes may be automatically hidden and replaced with a placeholder (for example, “Message hidden”). Users can still choose to view the original content.

Voting is meant to surface helpful content and push down content the community finds unhelpful or inappropriate. It is not a substitute for reporting truly harmful content.

10. Moderation & Enforcement

We use a combination of automated checks and human judgment to enforce these guidelines. Depending on the situation, we may:

• Block or prevent the posting of certain usernames, messages, or profile content.
• Hide or remove specific messages or other content.
• Limit features or temporarily restrict access to the Service.
• In more serious or repeated cases, suspend or terminate accounts.

When content is blocked, you may see a notice such as “Profile/Username/Message violates content policy.”

11. Location-Based Channels

Because PlaceChat is tied to physical places, please use extra care when posting about specific locations or people at those locations. You should not:

• Encourage others to harass people at a place or business.
• Organize harmful activities at or around a location.
• Misrepresent being staff or an official representative of a place if you are not.

Conversations about places should be honest, constructive, and respectful of those who live, work, or visit there.

12. Reporting & Feedback

If you encounter content that appears to violate these guidelines, please report it or contact us using the details below. Your reports help keep PlaceChat safer for everyone.

We appreciate good-faith feedback about how we can improve moderation, safety tools, and the quality of conversations on the platform.

13. Changes to These Guidelines

We may update these Community Guidelines over time as PlaceChat grows and laws or best practices change. When we do, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page.

14. Contact

If you have questions or concerns about these guidelines, you can reach us at:

• Email: support@placechat.app

These Community Guidelines are meant to clarify expectations and do not limit any rights or remedies available under our Terms of Use.