Community guidelines

Summary

• Be kind and respectful, also when you disagree.
• Protect privacy. Use a nickname. Do not share exact home locations, private documents, or health, immigration, money or legal details.
• Ask permission before you post another person’s story or a photo or video of them.
• Photos and videos: only your own, or ones you have the right to share. No documents, ID cards or case papers. Watch a video before you post it.
• Public groups and topics you type are public and follow the same rules as posts.
• Never post about a child.
• “Looking for someone” notices are for finding adults only. Write only what is needed to recognise the person.
• Private messages follow the same rules as posts. Do not keep writing to someone who does not want it. You can block and report.
• No scams and no requests for money. No offers of immigration or resettlement help for payment.
• No threats, harassment or hate. Do not reveal private information about anyone.
• Do not pretend to be an official, an agency or a moderator.
• Our history is contested. Disagree with respect and say where your information comes from.
• Report scams, threats or unsafe requests to the moderators. Moderators can reject or remove posts and suspend accounts.

1. Be kind and respectful

Members of this community live in many countries and have lived through different things. We do not all agree about politics, religion, or the past. That is normal. Everyone here should be able to speak without fear.

• Treat people with respect across political, religious, caste, ethnic and regional differences.
• Talk about ideas and experiences. Do not attack the person.
• Respect people’s names, pronouns, gender identities, sexual orientations and access needs. Harassment or discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, including trans people, or against disabled people is not welcome.
• No one should have to disclose their identity, disability or personal history to take part. Do not push people to tell more than they want to.
• Many members read English as a second language. Write simply, and be patient with mistakes.

2. Protect privacy: yours and other people’s

Approved posts are public. Anyone on the internet can read them, not only members. For some people in this community, being identified can bring real risk for themselves or for family in other places. Please be careful.

• Use a nickname. Your display name does not have to be your real name.
• No exact home locations. A country or a city is enough. Do not post a street address, hut number or other exact place where a person lives.
• No private documents. Do not post or copy from refugee documents, identity papers, case numbers or letters from agencies.
• No sensitive personal details. Do not post health, immigration, financial or legal details about yourself or anyone else.
• No private contact details. Do not post phone numbers, email addresses or social media accounts of other people.
• Ask permission before you post someone else’s story. A story belongs to the person it is about. Share your own.

The site has its own places for finding and contacting people: the people directory, the “looking for someone” notices and private messages. These can be seen by signed-in members only. Please do not use public posts or comments for these things, for example by posting a “looking for” notice with a person’s full details.

The privacy policy → explains what the site itself collects and how you can delete it.

Photos on stories

You can add up to 4 photos to a story. An approved story and its photos are public.

• Your own photos. Post only photos that are yours, or that you have the right to share. Do not take photos from other websites or from other people’s accounts.
• Ask first. Ask permission before you post a photo that shows another person. If you cannot ask them, or they say no, do not post it.
• Children. Do not post a photo in which a child can be recognised, unless the child’s parent or guardian has agreed.
• No documents. Do not post photos of refugee documents, ID cards, case papers or letters from agencies. Check that none can be read in the background.
• Look at the whole picture. The site removes the hidden location data from the photo file. It cannot hide what the picture itself shows, such as a house number, a name sign or a face.
• Describe the photo. Please write a short description for people who cannot see the picture.

Each photo has its own web address. It is hard to guess, but anyone who has the address can open the photo while the story is on the site.

Videos on stories

You can add one video to a story: an MP4, MOV or WebM file of at most 50 MB. An approved story and its video are public.

• Your own video. Post only a video that is yours, or that you have the right to share. Do not take videos from other websites or from other people’s accounts.
• Ask first. Ask permission from the people who can be seen or heard in the video before you post it. If you cannot ask them, or they say no, do not post it.
• Children. Do not post a video in which a child can be recognised, unless the child’s parent or guardian has agreed.
• No documents. Do not post a video in which refugee documents, ID cards, case papers or letters from agencies can be read. Check the background too.
• Watch it before you post. Everything that can be seen and heard in the video is shared: faces, voices, names that people say, a house number, a name sign. The site cannot hide any of it.
• The place of recording. A phone usually saves the place of recording inside an MP4 or MOV file. The site’s page in your browser blanks that part of the file before the upload. The server does not check this, and a WebM file is sent unchanged. If the place must stay private, do not rely on this alone.
• Describe the video. Please write a short description for people who cannot see or hear it.

A video has its own web address. It is hard to guess, but anyone who has the address can open the video while the story is on the site. A video cannot be changed by editing the story: delete the story and post it again.

Your directory profile

The people directory is your choice. You are in it only if you make a profile and tick the box to be listed. For each detail you choose who sees it: only you, signed-in members, or everyone. You can change your profile, take yourself off the list, or delete it at any time.

• Write about yourself only. Do not put other people’s details in your profile.
• Think before you set a detail to “Everyone”: anyone on the internet can then see it.
• A photo is optional, and you can use a coloured avatar instead. If you add a photo, use one of yourself or one you have the right to use, and no photo that shows a child.
• A town or region is enough. Do not write a street address, a hut number or another exact place.
• The profile has no fields for a phone number, an email address or a home address. Please do not write them in the text about yourself. Members can reach you by private message.
• If you do not want messages from members who find you in the directory, you can switch them off in your profile.
• Profiles are not checked before they show. If a profile breaks these guidelines, report it. Moderators can delete a profile.

“Looking for someone” notices

A notice asks members for help to find an adult you have lost touch with, for example a friend from the camp or from school. Only signed-in members can post and read notices.

• Adults only. Never post a notice about a child.
• What to write. A name or nickname, how you know the person, and a short message. You can add a camp, a school and a period of time.
• What not to write. No phone numbers, no addresses, no documents or case details, no health information, and no accusations. A notice cannot have a photo.
• The person has not been asked. A notice is about someone who does not know about it. Some people do not want to be found. Write only what is needed for them, or for people who know them, to recognise who you mean.
• How people answer. Members answer by private message to you. While your notice is listed, any member can write to you. Do not put your own contact details in the notice.
• If you know the person. Do not send their contact details or their location to the writer without asking them. Tell the person about the notice and let them decide.
• How long. A new notice may wait for review, in the same way as a post. It is listed for 30 days from the day it was written and is then deleted. A notice cannot be edited: delete it and write a new one.
• If a notice is about you, or about someone you know, you can ask for it to be removed. Members can use the Report button on the notice. If you are not a member, use the suggestions form → and write the name that the notice uses. Do not write other private details in the form. Moderators can remove any notice.

3. Never post about children

This community is for adults aged 18 or over.

• Do not post about a child. This includes your own children.
• Do not post a child’s name, age, school, location or anything else that could identify them.
• Do not post a photo or a video in which a child can be recognised, unless the child’s parent or guardian has agreed. Do not link to images of children.
• Do not post a notice looking for a child.

You may ask general questions, for example about school enrolment, without naming or describing a particular child.

4. No scams, no requests for money

• Do not ask members for money, gifts, loans or bank details, for any reason.
• Do not offer immigration, visa, refugee status or resettlement help for payment.
• Do not sell things, advertise, or post spam.
• Do not ask people to move the conversation to a private channel in order to send money or documents.

Never pay someone who promises refugee status or resettlement. See the UNHCR guidance → If someone on this site asks you for money or documents, do not send them. Report the post or the message.

5. No threats, harassment, hate or doxxing

• No threats. Do not threaten anyone or encourage violence.
• No harassment. Do not insult, follow or keep contacting a person who does not want it.
• No hate. Do not attack people because of their ethnicity, caste, religion, nationality, region, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age.
• No doxxing. “Doxxing” means revealing private information that identifies a person or shows where they are, without their agreement. Do not do it, and do not help others to do it.
• No accusations against named private people. If you believe someone has done something wrong, tell the moderators or the right authority. Do not post it.

The moderators cannot help in an emergency. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact the emergency services where you are.

Private messages

A private message goes from one member to one other member. All of these guidelines apply in private messages too: no threats, no harassment, no hate, no scams and no requests for money.

• Who you can write to. You can write to a member only if they are listed in the directory and accept messages, or they have a notice that is listed now, or they have written to you before.
• Do not keep writing. Until the other member answers, you can send at most 3 messages. If they do not answer, leave them alone.
• Block. You can block any member. A block stops messages between the two of you in both directions. It also hides you from each other in the directory and in the notices list. The other member is not told that you blocked them.
• Report. Moderators do not review private messages and cannot read them. If you receive a message that breaks these guidelines, use the Report button on that message. A copy of that one message then goes to the moderators with your report. They cannot read the rest of the conversation.
• Protect other people. Do not send another person’s private details, documents or location in a message without their agreement.
• Be careful. The site does not check who a member is. A person who writes to you may not be who they say they are. Do not send money or documents.
• Deleting. When you delete a message you sent, it is removed for both of you. When you delete a conversation, only your own side is cleared.

6. Do not pretend to be someone else

• Do not pretend to be an official, a government office, UNHCR, a resettlement agency or any other organisation.
• Do not pretend to be a moderator or site staff.
• Do not pretend to be another person.
• One account per person.

Display names cannot contain words such as “admin”, “moderator”, “official”, “UNHCR” or “staff”, or the name of this site. This site is independent and is not part of UNHCR, any government or any resettlement agency.

Moderators will never ask for your password, for money, or for your documents.

7. Talking about our history

The history of displacement is contested. People lived through it in different ways and remember it differently. Community testimony and differing views matter here.

• Disagree with respect. Say “I see it differently” and explain why.
• Say where your information comes from. Is it your own experience, something your family told you, or a published source? If it is a published source, name it or link to it.
• Do not deny or mock what other people have suffered.
• Do not present rumours as facts.

If you think one of the site’s own history pages has an error, please send a correction. Each history page has a small form, “Is something on this page not accurate?”. Say what is not accurate, what it should say, and where it can be checked. The form is anonymous: it does not ask for your name and is not linked to an account. Do not write private details in it. You can also use the suggestions form → The About & accuracy page → explains how we handle sources.

8. Language

You can post in English or in Nepali. When you post, choose the language you wrote in. These are the languages our moderators can read. A post in another language may not be approved, because moderators cannot check it.

Posts, notices, groups, profiles and messages are plain text. Stories can also have photos and one video, and a profile can have one photo. Please write so that people who are still learning the language can follow.

Topics

When you post, you can choose a topic from the list or type your own, up to 40 characters. A topic you type is public with the post. The site shows a public list of the topics in use, with the number of posts under each.

• Use a short, plain topic that other people would look for. If a topic for your subject is already in the list, use it.
• All of these guidelines apply to a topic. Do not put the name of a private person, private details, an insult or an advertisement in it.

9. Sharing advice

Sharing experience is welcome. Please say whether what you write is your own experience or checked information. For legal, medical, immigration or money questions, tell people to check with a qualified organisation where they live. Do not present yourself as a lawyer, doctor or adviser on this site.

• Rules differ from country to country. When you ask, say which country or region you mean. When you answer, say which country you are talking about and whether it is your own experience, your work, or an official source.
• If you volunteer to answer questions, answer only what you know, and say so when you are not sure. You can change or withdraw your offer at any time.
• Nobody’s job, licence or qualification is checked by the site. Do not post licence numbers or identity documents to prove one.

Posts from other apps

You can add a link to your own post on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok to a story. Link only to a post that is yours or that you have permission to share, and never to someone else’s private post.

Public groups

Any member can start a public group with a name and a description, and members can join and leave it. Anyone on the internet can read an approved group and the stories posted in it.

• Name and description. Give the group a clear name and say what it is for. A group cannot be edited: delete it and make a new one.
• The same rules. All of these guidelines apply to the name, the description and the stories in a group. Do not start a group about a private person, a group that pretends to be official, or a group for selling or for collecting money.
• Posting in a group. You can post a story into a group you have joined. The story also appears in the main list of stories, and it shows the name of the group next to your display name.
• Members. The site shows how many members a group has. It does not show who they are.
• Review and reports. A new group may wait for review, in the same way as a post. If a group breaks these guidelines, report it. The member who started a group, or a moderator, can delete it. The stories posted in it then stay as ordinary stories.

Group calls

• If you host a call, say what it is about, which language it is in, and who can join.
• You can also state the format: an open discussion, or a talk in which you speak and the others listen. Then people know what to expect.
• Do not record a call unless everyone taking part has agreed.
• These guidelines apply to how people treat each other in a call. Moderators are not in the call: the host can remove someone who breaks them, and you can report the listing.

Camp visits

• A camp visit is an event in which a member who lives in a camp offers to receive visitors. Offer one only if you live in the camp and can receive the visitors yourself.
• Say in the description what visitors need to arrange before they come. Do not post a hut number or another exact home location in the listing.
• A camp visit is listed and reviewed like any other event. The site does not check who the host is or where they live, and it does not arrange the visit. The rule against asking for money applies to visits too.
• If you visit, ask before you take a photo or a video of anyone.

Inviting people

Invite people you know or trust to follow these guidelines. Never ask anyone for money, documents or proof of refugee status in return for an invite.

10. What moderators do

• Moderators are chosen by the site’s administrators.
• A new post, comment, event, notice or group, or an edited post or event, may wait until a moderator has looked at it. While it waits, only you and the moderators can see it.
• Moderators approve posts that follow these guidelines, and reject or remove posts that do not.
• Directory profiles are not looked at before they show. Moderators can delete a profile that breaks these guidelines.
• Moderators do not review private messages and cannot read them. The only exception is a message that a member reported: a copy of that one message comes with the report.
• Moderators look at reports and at messages from the suggestions form, including corrections sent from the history pages.
• Moderators see your display name. They do not see your email address. Only administrators can see email addresses.
• Every moderation action is written to a record, so that decisions can be checked.

Moderators can make mistakes, and they cannot see everything. Your reports help.

11. How to report

Use the Report button next to a post, comment, event or public group. Signed-in members can also report a notice, a directory profile, or a private message they received. Choose a reason: scam, threat, privacy, copyright, spam or other. You can add a short explanation. Please do not put private details in it.

• You can report a post, comment, event or group without an account. If you are not signed in, you may add an email address so that we can contact you. This is optional.
• When you report a private message, a copy of that one message goes to the moderators and is kept with your report.
• Moderators are not shown which member sent a report.
• Do not answer a scam or a threat yourself. Report it.

If you cannot use the Report button, use the suggestions form →

12. What happens when rules are broken

• Reject. A post that is waiting for review is not published.
• Remove. A post that was already visible is taken down. A moderator can also remove a notice, remove or delete a public group, delete a directory profile, and delete a private message that was reported.
• Suspend. The account can no longer post, edit, comment, like, RSVP, start or join a group, change its profile, send private messages or post notices. Its profile is taken off the directory list and its notices are removed. A suspended member can still sign in, read the site, download their data, and delete their content and their account.

What moderators do depends on how serious the problem is and whether it has happened before. A threat, a scam, a post about a child or a post that reveals private information can lead to suspension the first time.

Rejected and removed posts are deleted from the system after 90 days, unless a moderator restores them. The comments, likes and RSVPs under a rejected or removed post or event are deleted together with it. The photos and the video of a rejected or removed story are no longer shown. A rejected or removed group is deleted in the same way after 90 days; the stories that were posted in it stay as ordinary stories.

13. How to ask for a review

If you think a decision about your post or your account was wrong, you can ask for a second look. Until we have a contact address, please use the suggestions form. Write your display name, which post or decision you mean, and why you think it should be looked at again.

The suggestions form is anonymous, so we cannot answer you directly at this time. If the decision is changed, your post will be visible again or your account will work again.