Community guidelines

This is not a date, and treating it as one ends your account the first time First strike

CommonBeat is not for meeting a partner. There is no warning for this rule and no second chance. The first time, the account is suspended and in nearly every case closed.

We write it plainly because a vague rule is not a rule. It covers:

Asking someone on a date, in the room or after it closes.

Telling someone they are attractive, or commenting on their body or their face.

Asking for a phone number or a social media handle in order to pursue somebody.

Sending anything sexual, in words or in pictures.

Carrying on contacting someone after they left, stopped replying, or asked you to stop.

Saying, in the group or if the group meets, that you are here to find a partner.

This is not a rule against being warm. Being warm with a group is the entire point. It is a rule against treating a room of strangers as a list of candidates, and against approaching someone who did not invite it.

If you are unsure, the test is the one above: would you say it to a colleague you had just met? If not, do not say it here.

Nothing involving a child, ever First strike

Any sexual content involving a minor, any attempt to contact a minor, and any material of that kind anywhere in the service ends the account immediately and permanently.

The evidence is preserved, not deleted. We report it to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and to the police.

We are required by Canadian law to report this, and we do. At this stage, no image can be uploaded or sent anywhere in CommonBeat.

Nothing to sell, nothing to recruit for

Do not sell, recruit, canvass, fundraise or promote. No multi-level marketing, no coaching, no religious or political recruitment, no asking for money.

A group is a few people on the same beat. It is not a lead list.

Be decent to the people in the group

No insults, no intimidation, no following anybody. Do not comment on somebody’s race, religion, disability, gender, sexuality or accent.

If somebody says they do not want to talk about something, that is the end of it.

Do not photograph or record anyone without asking first, and take no for an answer.

Be who you say you are

Your own first name. One account, on your own number.

Do not sign up as somebody else.

Misrepresenting your gender to get into a women-only room ends the account the first time. No women-only rooms are running yet.

If your group decides to meet

CommonBeat does not arrange meetings or choose places. If you meet, pick somewhere with staff, other people around and a way out. Never a home, never a car.

If somebody suggests moving somewhere private, you do not have to go, and you can tell us.

You can leave. Any time, no reason

Leaving a group is always allowed and is never held against you. You do not owe anybody an explanation.

The same is true of any meeting a group arranges: you can leave at any point.

Reporting somebody, and what each reason means

These are the reasons in the report sheet, in the order the app shows them. What each one means, and what happens after you pick it. Blocking is separate, and is always silent.

About a person

Harassment

Somebody was insulting, intimidating, or kept pushing after being asked to stop — in the group chat, or in person if the group met.

A person reads it and decides. It can end in a warning, a limit, or a ban.

Spam or advertising

Somebody was selling, recruiting, promoting or asking for money.

Usually a warning and a removal from the room; repeated, it ends the account.

Pretending to be someone else

Somebody is using a name that is not theirs, or pretending to be a particular person.

A person reads it and decides. An account that is not who it claims to be is closed.

Something else

Something that none of the other reasons covers. Tell us in your own words.

A person reads every one of these. There is no automatic handling.

I did not feel safe

You did not feel safe. That is the whole reason. You do not have to explain it, name anything specific, or be sure.

The person is blocked from you immediately and silently. A person reads it. If somebody else has said the same thing about the same person, that is treated as much more serious than one report.

Treated it as a date

Somebody treated the group as a way to find a date: asked you out, commented on how you look, or asked for a private way to contact you.

This is the first-strike rule at the top of this page. The account is suspended while somebody looks, and in nearly every case it is closed.

Sexual misconduct

Sexual behaviour towards you or anyone else — in messages, or in person if the group met.

The account is suspended on sight, before anyone has decided anything, and one person is paged at any hour. If you are in danger now, call 911 first.

Threat or violence

Somebody threatened you, or was violent.

Same as above: suspended immediately, and one person is paged. Call 911 first if it is happening now.

Under 18

You believe somebody in the group is under 18.

The account is suspended while we check. We would far rather check ten adults than miss one child.

How to report

• In a room, press and hold a message, or open the safety bar at the top. Both lead to the same sheet.
• Blocking is separate and is always silent. The person is never told, and never will be.
• If you cannot get into the app, write to info@commonbeat.ca with "safety" in the subject line and say what happened.
• If something is happening right now, call 911 first. Tell us second.