The Conversation

Community Guidelines

Respect the Conversation Community

We're not asking for the kind of respect reserved for nuns, the elderly, and brain surgeons. We mean don't abuse the site. The features on theConversation involve a certain level of trust. We trust you to be responsible; the other users respect that trust, so please be one of them.

We Review Articles Reported As Inappropriate

Okay, this one is more about us than you. If you see an article that seems inappropriate, report it to us using the Report Concerns link in the footer. For comments, simply hit the 'Flag' when you hover over the comment. We review them to determine whether they violate our Terms of Use — flagged articles or comments are not automatically taken down by the system. If we remove your article after reviewing it, you can assume that we removed it purposefully, and you should take our warning notification seriously. Take a deep breath, read our Terms of Use and try to see it from our perspective. If you find other articles on theConversation with the same violations, please report them so we can review them as well!

Don't Cross the Line

Here are some common-sense rules that will help you steer clear of trouble:

• theConversation is not a shock site. Don't post gross-out videos of accidents, dead bodies and similar things.
• Respect copyright. Only upload content that you made or that you are authorized to use. This means don't upload things you didn't make, or use content in your articles that someone else owns the copyright to.
• We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity).
• There is zero tolerance for predatory behavior, stalking, threats, harassment, invading privacy, or the revealing of other members' personal information. Anyone caught doing these things may be permanently banned from theConversation.
• Everyone hates spam. Do not create misleading descriptions, tags, titles or thumbnails in order to increase views. It's not okay to post large amounts of untargeted, unwanted or repetitive content, including comments and private messages.

Please take these rules seriously and take them to heart. Don't try to look for loopholes or try to lawyer your way around them — just understand them and try to respect the spirit in which they were created. Violations of the Terms of Use may result in a warning notification or termination of your account. If your account is terminated you are prohibited from creating any new accounts.

theConversation is for the Community

Remember that this is your community! Each and every user of theConversation makes the site what it is, so don't be afraid to dig in and get involved!

• Have fun with the site. There's a lot here to see, and lots of folks making amazing stuff — one of them might be you!
• Let folks know what you think. Feedback's part of the experience, and when done with respect, can be a great way to make friends, share stories, and make your time on theConversation richer. So leave comments, rate articles — there's a lot going on and a lot of ways to participate here.
• You may not like everything you see. Some of the content here may offend you — if you find that it violates our Terms of Use, then report it for review by us. If it doesn't, then consider just clicking on something else — why waste time reading things you don't like?

That's it! Thanks for reading!

— theConversation Team