Community Guidelines

1. Introduction

Epsu is a mobile-first local community platform organized around place-based (regional: city, state, country) and institution-based (school) communities called "Epsus". Our core mission is to foster safe, constructive dialogue among people who share a real physical or institutional context.

These Guidelines apply to all content you submit (posts, replies, reports, applications) and all actions you take on the Service. We define "content" as any text, images, links, or other material you upload, post, or transmit through Epsu, including post titles, bodies, reply content, report reasons, and school application answers.

We enforce these Guidelines through a combination of user reports, keyword-flagged pre-release reviews, and human moderation by assigned community hosts, moderators, and platform admins. Moderation actions may be recorded in backend governance logs for audit and safety purposes.

2. Scope and Application

These Guidelines apply to:

• All users: ordinary members, moderators, hosts, and platform admins.
• All Epsu types: regional (city/state/country) and school-based communities.
• All content formats: top-level posts, replies, reports, and application materials.
• All Service surfaces: mobile app, static website (epsu.site), and backend systems.

Hosts and moderators are held to higher standards, as they have governance authority over their assigned Epsus. Abuse of moderator or host privileges (e.g., unfair application rejections, targeted muting of critics) is a severe violation of these Guidelines.

3. Prohibited Content

The following categories of content are strictly prohibited on Epsu. We define each category below with examples and DSA-compliant illegal content designations where applicable.

3.1 Harassment and Bullying

Content that targets an individual or group with abusive, threatening, or intimidating behavior is prohibited. This includes:

• Targeting specific users or identifiable individuals with unwanted, threatening, or repeatedly harassing content through posts or replies.
• Organizing or encouraging others to harass a person or group.
• Sharing personal information (doxing) to facilitate harassment (see Section 3.4).
• Repeatedly posting content designed to humiliate, degrade, or upset a specific person.
• Impersonating another user to damage their reputation or mislead others.

Note: Criticism of public figures (e.g., school administrators) is allowed if it does not cross into personal harassment. Context matters in our moderation review.

3.2 Hate Speech and Discrimination

Content that promotes hatred, discrimination, or violence against individuals or groups based on protected characteristics is prohibited. Protected characteristics include: race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or serious disease. This includes:

• Slurs, derogatory language, or dehumanizing comparisons targeting protected groups.
• Content that denies or distorts well-documented historical events (e.g., Holocaust denial).
• Content that promotes white supremacy, neo-Nazi ideology, or other extremist hate groups.
• Stereotypical generalizations that incite hostility against protected groups.

This category qualifies as illegal content under EU law when it incites violence or hatred against protected groups.

3.3 Sexual Exploitation and Minor Safety

Content that exploits, harms, or endangers minors is strictly prohibited and will be reported to law enforcement where required. This includes:

• Any sexual content involving minors (including AI-generated content).
• Grooming, solicitation, or attempted contact with minors for sexual purposes.
• Non-consensual intimate imagery ("revenge porn") or threats to share such content.
• Sexualization of public figures under 18 years old.

We do not knowingly permit the Service to be used for sexual exploitation of minors. Content of that kind may lead to account termination and referral to relevant authorities where required.

3.4 Doxing and Privacy Violations

Content that reveals or threatens to reveal private personal information without consent is prohibited. This includes:

• Sharing real names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, or school IDs of Epsu users (even if you know their identity behind anonymous posts).
• Sharing non-public contact information of school staff, hosts, or moderators.
• Posting links to external sites that contain private personal information.
• Threats to expose a user's anonymous identity ("doxing threats").

Remember: Epsu posts are anonymous to ordinary users, but the backend stores author IDs for moderation purposes. Attempting to reveal or deduce another user's identity violates both these Guidelines and our Privacy Policy.

3.5 Scams, Spam, and Fraud

Content designed to deceive, defraud, or send unsolicited bulk content is prohibited. This includes:

• Phishing links, fake giveaways, or fraudulent investment schemes.
• Impersonating Epsu staff, school officials, or trusted institutions to solicit money or data.
• Sending identical, irrelevant posts to multiple Epsus (spam).
• Promoting illegal goods or services (e.g., drugs, weapons, counterfeit documents).
• Recruiting users for pyramid schemes or multi-level marketing (MLM) programs.

3.6 Illegal Content and Criminal Activity

Content that promotes, facilitates, or depicts illegal acts is prohibited. This includes:

• Content that incites violence, terrorism, or criminal organization activity.
• Instructions for manufacturing weapons, explosives, or harmful substances.
• Content that promotes self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders (see Section 3.7 for reporting support resources).
• Content that violates intellectual property rights (e.g., pirated content, trademark infringement).

This category may qualify as illegal content under applicable law. Reports of such content are prioritized for human review.

3.7 Suicide, Self-Injury, and Eating Disorders

Content that promotes or glorifies self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders is prohibited. This includes:

• Instructions or encouragement for self-harm or suicide.
• Images of visible self-harm or eating disorder symptoms.
• Content that claims self-harm is a "trend" or desirable behavior.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please contact:

• US: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call/text 988)
• EU: Your local emergency number (112) or mental health crisis line
• Global: International Association for Suicide Prevention (https://www.iasp.info)

We may share crisis resources in response to such content rather than removing it outright, depending on context.

4. Prohibited Conduct

Beyond prohibited content, the following conduct on the Service is banned:

4.1 Misuse of Moderation Features

• Filing false or frivolous reports to target users or silence dissent.
• Using the block-author feature to avoid seeing valid community feedback (blocks are for harassment protection, not content disagreement).
• Moderators or hosts using their privileges to remove posts critical of their management.

4.2 Ban Evasion

• Creating new accounts after being terminated or muted to circumvent restrictions.
• Using invites to bypass membership caps (3 regional, 3 school Epsus per user).
• Sharing account credentials to allow banned users to access the Service.

4.3 Interference with Service Operations

• Attempting to manipulate the hourly post queue, reaction thresholds, or auto-deletion logic.
• Scraping or harvesting user data, post content, or membership lists.
• Launching denial-of-service attacks or introducing malware to the Service.
• Interfering with invite systems (generating fake invites, redeeming multiple moderator invites).

4.4 Abuse of Epsu-Specific Features

• Posting identical content across multiple Epsus to spam the feed.
• Using school application answers to send irrelevant or harmful content.
• Abusing the reply function to flood posts with off-topic or harassing content.
• Attempting to access Epsus you are not authorized to join (e.g., private school Epsus without approval).

5. Anonymous Content Rules

Epsu is built on identity-hidden posting with backend accountability: ordinary users do not see post authors, but the backend retains author identifiers for moderation, safety, and deletion purposes. The following rules apply to posted content:

• Do not attempt to reveal, deduce, or share another user's identity behind anonymous posts. This includes cross-referencing post content with external information to identify users.
• Do not misuse the block-author feature to avoid seeing content from specific anonymous users without valid harassment reasons.
• Moderators and hosts must not share author identity information with unauthorized parties. Author identifiers are only visible within privileged moderation contexts where the system allows them for investigation.
• Respect the temporary content lifecycle: posts are deleted after their scheduled cycle ends. Do not attempt to archive or repost deleted content.
• The 1-post-per-Epsu-per-hourly-cycle limit is strictly enforced. Do not attempt to bypass this limit via multiple accounts or technical workarounds.

6. Moderation and Enforcement

We use a layered moderation system to enforce these Guidelines:

We prioritize objectionable-content reports for review within 24 hours. When we confirm objectionable content, we remove the content and eject or suspend the offending user.

6.1 Moderation Workflow

• User Reports: Any user can report a post for Guidelines violations. Reports are grouped by post and sent to assigned moderators, hosts, or platform admins for review.
• Keyword-Flagged Pre-Release: Posts with flagged keywords may be held in the hourly queue for privileged review before release.
• Progressive Auto-Deletion: Posts with high dislike ratios (0.80+ for low participation, 0.51+ for high participation) are automatically deleted after release.

6.2 Consequences for Violations

The following enforcement actions may be taken, depending on severity and repeat offenses:

Violation Severity	Enforcement Action	Scope
Minor (first offense, low harm)	Pre-release post removal (flagged content)	Specific post only
Moderate (released harmful content)	Post removal + account suspension or ejection	Relevant Epsu or Service-wide, depending on severity and context
Severe (harassment, hate speech, minor exploitation)	Immediate post removal + account suspension or ejection	Relevant Epsu or Service-wide, depending on severity and context
Critical (illegal content, ban evasion, repeated severe violations)	Immediate account ejection or termination, and referral to authorities where required	Service-wide, where applicable
School application violation	Application rejection + temporary reapplication cooldown	Specific school Epsu

6.3 Moderator/Owner Accountability

Hosts and moderators who abuse their privileges (e.g., unfair muting, selective post removal, selling moderator invites) will face:

• Revocation of moderator or host privileges.
• Temporary or permanent account restrictions.
• Removal of their Epsu from the Service if abuse is systemic.

7. Reporting Illegal Content (EU DSA)

For users in the European Union, Epsu provides channels for reporting potentially illegal content:

• Reporting Mechanism: Use the in-app Report flow or email epsu.site@protonmail.com with "Illegal Content Report" in the subject line.
• Review Timing: Reports of potentially illegal content are prioritized for human review as promptly as reasonably practicable.
• Action Basis: If action is taken, the recorded moderation action type and available in-app or support-facing context may be used to explain the basis for that action.
• Contact: Users may contact us by email about moderation-related concerns as described in Section 9.

We do not process reports filed via third-party platforms or social media. All reports must use the official in-app or email channels.

8. User Responsibilities

By using the Service, you agree to:

• Provide accurate information during signup (age, country, school application answers).
• Use the Service in compliance with all applicable laws and these Guidelines.
• Respect the boundaries of anonymous communities: do not try to uncover other users' identities.
• Use reporting and blocking features only for their intended safety purposes, not to silence dissent.
• Keep your account credentials secure; you are responsible for all activity under your account.
• Comply with moderator or host decisions for your assigned Epsus, unless you contact us with moderation questions as described in Section 9.

9. Moderation Questions

If you have questions about a moderation action affecting your content or account, you may contact us by email:

• Email Contact: The Account History screen provides read-only access to your moderation actions. If you need clarification, email epsu.site@protonmail.com with relevant details. No in-app appeal button is currently implemented in the code.
• Response Timing: Response timing can vary depending on volume, seriousness, and available context.

Abusive or bad-faith use of support channels may be ignored or restricted where appropriate.

10. Changes to These Guidelines

We may update these Guidelines from time to time to reflect:

• Changes in applicable law (e.g., DSA updates, new COPPA guidance).
• New product features (e.g., expanded Epsu types, new moderation tools).
• Emerging safety risks or abuse patterns.

We will notify you of material changes by:

• Posting the updated Guidelines on epsu.site with a new "Last Updated" date.
• Sending an in-app notification or email to your registered address.

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of updated Guidelines constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree, you must delete your account.

11. Contact Information

For questions about these Guidelines or to report violations, contact us at:

Epsu Tehnoloogiad OÜ
Email: epsu.site@protonmail.com (attn: Community Safety Team)
Registered office: Lääne maakond, Haapsalu linn, Estonia

For EU users: You may also contact your local data protection authority or use the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform.

12. Supplementary Terms for EU Users

For users in the European Union, the following additional terms apply per the DSA 2024:

• We provide a reporting mechanism for illegal content in the app and on epsu.site.
• Illegal-content reports are prioritized for human review.
• Users may contact us by email about moderation-related concerns.
• We do not rely solely on fully automated moderation to terminate accounts or permanently remove content.

13. Miscellaneous

These Guidelines are governed by the laws of Estonia, without conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising from these Guidelines shall be resolved in the courts of Tallinn, Estonia, except for EU consumers who may use their local court of residence.

If any provision of these Guidelines is held invalid, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

We may assign our rights under these Guidelines without restriction. You may not assign your rights without our prior written consent.

These Guidelines do not create a partnership, employment, or agency relationship between you and Epsu.