Community Guidelines

These Community Guidelines set the norms for contributing, endorsing, and flagging content on Zero Waste Asia. They apply to all users. Admins may act to protect users, partners, and data integrity in line with these Guidelines.

• Community-first: center the safety and dignity of people affected by waste and pollution.
• Accuracy and accountability: cite sources, correct mistakes, prefer verifiable information.
• Do no harm: avoid publishing details that could endanger individuals or communities.
• Equity and inclusion: respect diverse languages, experiences, and accessibility needs.
• Environmental justice and collective care: highlight community-led solutions; avoid extractive storytelling.
• Responsible storytelling: obtain consent for identifiable people; share context to prevent misinterpretation.

• No harassment, hate speech, or personal attacks. Debate ideas, not people.
• No doxxing or intimidation. Do not share private information without consent.
• Assume good faith; seek clarification before escalating.

• In scope: zero waste practices, reuse/refill systems, organics, reduction, policy and advocacy, facilities and programs, case studies, events, tools, and data relevant to Asia Pacific.
• Out of scope: unrelated marketing, political campaigning unrelated to zero waste, or generic environmental content without clear relevance.
• Claims should be specific and backed by sources; add links, citations, or documents where feasible.
• Use clear titles, concise summaries, and accurate categories/tags.

• Avoid uploading government IDs, exact home addresses, medical or financial records of private individuals.
• When listing waste worker groups, community compost sites, MRFs, or informal sector locations, prefer organizational contacts and generalized locations (e.g., barangay/kelurahan-level).
• Get consent before posting personally identifying details or photos of identifiable individuals, especially children and vulnerable persons.
• Round coordinates for private residences and sensitive sites; share precise coordinates only for public facilities with consent.
• For private residences or sensitive community locations, round coordinates and remove entrance photos; share exact details only via private channels with consent.
• If in doubt, redact or anonymize before posting; add a note that sensitive details are held on file, not published.

• Do not knowingly share false or misleading information, manipulated media, or contextless images.
• Differentiate facts, opinions, and analysis. Attribute quotes accurately.
• For statistics or technical claims (e.g., diversion rates, tonnages, emission factors), link to primary sources where possible.
• If an error is identified, edit your entry or comment to correct it and note the change.

• Upload only content you have rights to share or that is licensed for reuse (e.g., CC BY). Provide attribution per license terms.
• Avoid publishing high-resolution imagery that could reveal private residences or sensitive operational details without consent.
• Label edited or annotated images/maps. Include scale or accuracy notes where relevant.
• Respect copyrights and avoid embedding paywalled or proprietary materials without permission.

• Use Endorse (✓) when content is accurate, relevant, and in scope; add a brief note if helpful.
• Use Flag (⚑) for suspected errors, spam, duplicates, off-scope, privacy/safety concerns, or rights violations; choose a reason code and add context.
• Declare conflicts of interest (e.g., your organization operates the facility you’re endorsing).
• Do not brigade or mass-report to sway outcomes; repeat bad-faith flags may reduce your signal weight or lead to sanctions.
• Conflict of interest: disclose if you or your organization is directly involved in the item you endorse or flag.
• Evidence notes: when endorsing, cite the key source (e.g., policy document, monitoring data).

• A badge indicates an account’s affiliation has been validated; it is not an endorsement by Zero Waste Asia.
• Misuse of a badge (e.g., impersonation, misleading claims of partnership) may result in removal of the badge or account sanctions.

• Use clear, respectful language. Avoid jargon where possible; add short definitions.
• Where feasible, provide translations or summaries in local languages. Support screen-reader friendly formatting and alt text for images.
• Mark content that may include sensitive imagery or descriptions.

• Harassment, hate, threats, or incitement of violence.
• Doxxing, stalking, or publishing private contact details without consent.
• Commercial spam, astroturfing, undisclosed advertising, or deceptive engagement.
• Uploading malware, attempting unauthorized access, or disrupting services.
• Posting illegal content or content that violates intellectual property or privacy laws.
• Sharing precise locations of vulnerable individuals or groups without consent.

• Use the Flag (⚑) function on any entry to report issues; pick a reason code and add details.
• For urgent safety or legal issues, email [email protected] with the URL and context.
• If the issue involves potential security vulnerabilities, contact [email protected].

• Admins may edit for formatting/clarity, request changes, add context notes, merge duplicates, soft-lock, hide, or remove content.
• Sanctions may include warnings, temporary suspension of endorsement/flag privileges, time-limited account suspension, removal of badges, or permanent account closure.
• We prioritize safety risks and privacy violations; verified-badge misuse is treated seriously.
• Moderation aims for proportionality and transparency; key actions are logged.
• We aim to respond to flags within 5 business days and publish aggregate, privacy-preserving moderation statistics quarterly.

• If you believe a moderation action was in error, reply to the notice email or write to [email protected] with the decision reference.
• Provide new information or corrections; we will review and respond in good faith.
• You can appeal a moderation decision within 14 days of notice; include the decision reference and any new context.

• We aim to publish periodic, privacy-preserving summaries about moderation (e.g., number of removals, soft-locks, appeals).
• Personal data is never disclosed in transparency summaries.

We may update these Guidelines. The “Last updated” date reflects the latest revision. For material changes, we will provide notice through the service or by email. Continued use after changes means you accept the updated Guidelines.

• General concerns: [email protected]
• Privacy, Reports and other concerns: [email protected]