#community-rules

1. Be Respectful –

Encouraging Constructive Conversations

Engaging with Members, no matter where you engage on the website with other Members, we expect all users to treat one another with kindness and respect. Remember, we are all here to learn; sometimes, people make mistakes while learning. While comments and other actions may not be meant to be harmful, they can still inadvertently end up causing harm. If you encounter something you believe is harmful, please flag it for moderator attention, and our moderators will assess the situation.

2. No Hate Speech –

Fostering Inclusivity and Tolerance

The Afrikaner American is a place for creating community and belonging, not for attacking marginalized or vulnerable groups of people. Everyone has a right to use our website free of harassment, bullying, and threats of violence. Communities and users that incite or that promote hate based on identity or vulnerability will be banned.

3. Stay on Topic –

Keeping Discussions Relevant

Reviews, comments or feedback with off-topic, irrelevant and trolling comments about a Members personal experince will be deleted by website moderators.

4. No Spam –

Preserving the Quality of Content

Do not spam members or the platform. We don’t allow untargeted, irrelevant, obviously unwanted, unauthorized, in appropriately commercial or promotional, or gratuitously repetitive messages or similar content. Do not use our invitation feature to send promotional messages to people you don’t know or to spam people otherwise. Please make an effort to create original, professional, relevant, and interesting content to gain engagement. Do not do things to increase engagement with your content artificially. Respond authentically to others’ content and disagree with others ahead of time to like or re-share each other’s content.

5. Privacy Matters –

Protecting Member Information

Do not take conversations off the Couchsurfing platform. We want to ensure you have meaningful, engaging, and safe interactions with other members. Our Trust & Safety Team works around the clock to monitor the site for misuse and review member reports. Accessing interactions is the best way for our team to identify issues and react quickly. We do not allow members to exchange external communication information without a confirmed couch request. Never share your phone number, group chat links, email address, or other personal information to move conversations off-site (this includes profiles, messages, hangouts, groups, public trips, and events). If you have a confirmed a member via video call 1st, stay with a members you know. Exchanging phone numbers is allowed as backup communication; however, we ask that conversations still occur on the website or within the mobile app when possible untill you know that the members profile is not fake.

6. Help Others –

Promoting a Supportive Atmosphere

Be empathetic – The Afrikaner American is a global community with people from various backgrounds and perspectives, many of which may not be your own. A lot of South AFricans might live in other countries, and might still be members. Try to put yourself in others’ shoes and understand their feelings before you address them. Do your best to help make The Afrikaner American a community where others members feel safe contributing, participating in discussions, and sharing different ideas, experiences or history.

7. Community Standards -

Encourages adherence to community standards and policies

Moderator Code of Conduct: Enforcement

We will strive to resolve issues with you without resorting to restrictive measures. We believe that, in most cases, we can achieve resolution and understanding through discussion, not remediation.

If an Admin informs you that you have violated the Moderator Code of Conduct, your cooperation and swift responsiveness can help resolve the issue. We want you to be the best mod possible and encourage you to ask questions and seek clarity. We will not tolerate hostility, refusal to cooperate, or continued encouragement of rule-breaking behavior across The Afrikaner American platform.

If any mod of The Afrikaner American responds with hostility or is uncooperative, or we find the issues to be unresolvable via educational outreach, we may consider the following enforcement actions:

1. Issuing warnings

Temporary or permanent suspension of accounts

2. Removing moderators from a community

3. Prohibiting a moderator from joining additional moderator teams

4. Removal of privileges from, or adding restrictions to, accounts

5. Adding restrictions to The Afrikan Amerikan communities, such as adding tags or badges

6. Removal of content

7. Banning of The Afrikaner American communities.

8. No Self-Promotion –

Keeping Commercial Interests in Check

Posts linking directly to social media (IG, TikTok, YouTube, etc.) with the goal of getting views are strongly discouraged and may be deleted at mods’ discretion. We want you to engage, not promote and run.

9. Enjoy the Space –

Encouraging Positive Engagement

Golden Rule: Treat others the way you would like to be treated.

Knowledge: We love sharing our knowledge and can always help someone find what they are looking for.

Privacy: We don’t like social networks that sell our data so any sponsors we have will never be given your personal information without your opt-in. 

Fun: Don’t take life too seriously, you’ll never get out alive!