so.fa.dog aims to be a safe and supportive space for all members of our community. This is where our Community Guidelines—rules and recommendations for how to behave on so.fa.dog—come in to play.
First off, let’s define who qualifies as a member of our community. so.fa.dog has two types of users—Creators, and Fans. As the name suggests, Creators are the ones who create and post content on their channels. But who do they post the content for? That would be the Fans, of course—otherwise known as subscribers. Creators can’t exist without their Fans, and vice versa. That’s why we want to make sure so.fa.dog is welcoming to both parts of the equation.
Where there are rules, there are rulebreakers. While some rules are meant to be broken—after all, creativity knows no bounds—our Community Guidelines are here for a reason. The end goal is to provide a certain set of rules that all community members can use as a reference point both for content creation and overall behavior. These guidelines are the backbone for understanding what is and isn’t allowed on so.fa.dog—all for the benefit of our users.
If your content or behavior violates our Community Guidelines, as a rule, a member of the so.fa.dog team will get in touch with you. We believe that all members of our community deserve a chance to better their content—that’s why we will always have an actual human being looking into each case. Our goal is to have an open conversation, rather than blindly enforce rules. After all, each case is different and each user has a vast world that we might not fully grasp at first. so.fa.dog is here to understand, not discriminate—and that’s what we hope from our users as well.
That being said, all members of our community can report Creators and their content alike, as well as Fans and their comments. If needed, we may suspend or remove a user and/or their activity. In severe cases, we may ban users from using so.fa.dog.
We try our best to keep our Community Guidelines updated and ready-to-go at all times. Some cases are hard to anticipate—that’s why we’ll add points to our guidelines throughout our journey here. Let’s take a closer look at some of the behavior that is not OK on so.fa.dog.
NO HATE SPEECH
so.fa.dog does not allow any form of expression that spreads, incites, promotes or justifies hatred, violence or discrimination. Our community members are a diverse bunch and come from a variety of backgrounds. That’s why there is no room on so.fa.dog for attacks on people based on their race, nationality, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition. Unless the content has historical or educational value, there is no place for racial or otherwise discriminatory slurs or depictions. Promoting or glorifying groups known for spurring hate speech is also not allowed. These include promoting ideological and propagandistic groups, as well as hate speech-oriented political groups and parties.
There is a fine line between what can and cannot be considered as hate speech. Just because something is offensive, shocking or disturbing, or contrary to what the majority feels, does not automatically make it hate speech. From an educational viewpoint, creating content about hate
COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
speech should not be confused with endorsing hate speech. These complexities are why so.fa.dog takes extreme care in looking into all cases reported for hate speech.
In addition to hate speech, so.fa.dog does not allow content that promotes extreme and violent religious or political views outside the mainstream attitudes of society. That being said, terrorist organizations and hate groups are prohibited from using our platform and we have a zero tolerance policy for community members advocating for violent extremism or terrorism.
NO HARASSMENT
so.fa.dog does not tolerate harassment or bullying of any kind. We do not allow intimidation, threats or violence of any nature, even if a community member disguises it under the “free speech” principle. Criticism and free debate are allowed, of course, but only if it’s done in a respectful and safe manner. That being said, do not use abusive language, or language that is intentionally used to demean others. This does not include the moderate use of profanities, such as curse words, if it does not inflict harm on anyone else.
We urge you to treat all members of our community with kindness and respect. This includes being mindful of the people and information depicted in your content. Do not share anyone’s private information or content shot in private spaces, such as bathrooms or medical facilities, without their knowledge and explicit consent.
so.fa.dog takes threats of violence very seriously. Any community member threatening the physical health of another person or group will be banned from the platform. We also have a zero tolerance policy for threatening behavior such as stalking or inciting others to commit violence. If we believe a community member is a direct threat to others, law enforcement will be asked to intervene.
NO SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONTENT
Our goal is to nurture a safe and inclusive platform for community members of all ages. This is why so.fa.dog does not allow any form of pornographic content, or content made for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. This includes sexually suggestive and nude imagery, as well as illegal acts of a sexual nature. Community members posting sexually explicit content or comments will be banned from the platform.
so.fa.dog will report all cases of child sexual exploitation to law enforcement. Do not create or post sexually explicit content involving anyone under the age of 18.
Breastfeeding and other depictions of nudity in non-sexual or educational contexts may be permitted.
NO ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
so.fa.dog does not allow any content that depicts or endorses illegal or harmful behavior. Do not post content that shows or advocates for illegal or criminal activities, such as drug manufacturing, cybercrime, or theft. We do not condone content depicting graphic violence, or encouraging violent and dangerous behaviour. Content about harming or threatening to harm yourself, other people or animals is off limits.
However, we do allow the depiction of illegal or harmful behavior if it has educational value. For example, content about recovering from a drug addiction or eating disorder is allowed if it doesn’t promote or glorify the behavior itself. If we believe a community member will harm themselves or others, law enforcement will be asked to intervene. If you or someone you know is in danger of hurting themselves, contact local authorities or seek help: http://www.suicide.org/suicide-hotlines.html
NO DRUGS
so.fa.dog does not allow the depiction or promotion of any sort of illegal drugs. Do not show yourself or anyone else doing, manufacturing or distributing illegal drugs. Do not buy or sell drugs on the platform—or anywhere else, for that matter.
Depicting illegal drugs, their manufacturing and use is allowed if it has educational or scientific value. For example, content about recovering from a drug addiction is allowed if it does not depict the behavior itself. As for prescription or over-the-counter drugs, depiction is allowed if it doesn’t involve promotion or misuse. The same applies for alcohol—content depicting or discussing alcohol is allowed if it is not linked to promoting or misusing the substance.
NO MISINFORMATION
so.fa.dog aims to stop the spread of misinformation—false, inaccurate or misleading information. This includes disinformation, or misleading information that is spread deliberately to deceive, as well as fake news, or false and misleading information presented as news. Differentiating facts from fiction is a tricky task. That’s why we ask all Creators to mark fictitious content with a disclaimer. This obviously doesn’t cancel out misinformation, but it will help us understand if and when such content is purposefully spread.
Some forms of misinformation are more easily detected than others. That’s why we exercise our freedom to ban content that’s obviously malicious and aims to cause harm. Such cases include unsubstantiated medical claims and denying the existence of tragic events.
so.fa.dog does not allow spam or other deceptive practices, such as phishing. Do not post repetitive comments or unwanted personal messages, create misleading content or promote your own channel in another channel’s comments.
Another form of misinformation is impersonation—pretending to be someone you’re not. Do not impersonate your friends, celebrities or brands; catfishing is also not OK. After all, we want to know the real you.
NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
so.fa.dog does not allow content that infringes on copyright laws. In other words, do not post content that does not belong to you or that you do not have the right to use. This includes any sort of creative work in a literary, artistic, educational or musical form. However, under the fair use doctrine, limited use of copyrighted material is permitted. Read more about fair use in the US HERE, and about the exceptions and limitations system in Europe HERE.
NO ADVERTISEMENTS
so.fa.dog does not allow content with advertisements unless the Creator discloses the advertised products or services as part of an advertising, paid partnership or content marketing deal.