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Community Guidelines

Our goal is to help people discover local groups and foster positive real-world connections. To keep the map safe, helpful, and welcoming for everyone, all community creators and users must follow these guidelines.

1. Age Limit (18+ Only)​

  • Hexlink is an 18+ platform. All communities listed on the map must be intended solely for adults aged 18 and over.
  • Communities must not target, invite, or knowingly admit minors.

2. Respect & Courtesy​

  • Be Civil: Communities pinned on the map must be polite and welcoming to everyone.
  • No Hate Speech: We have zero tolerance for hate speech, harassment, discrimination, bullying, or intimidation based on race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, age, or sexual orientation.

3. Illegal & Harmful Activities​

You may not use our platform to link to, promote, or facilitate:

  • Illegal activities, goods, or services.
  • Violence, graphic content, or dangerous behavior.
  • Self-harm or suicide promotion.
  • Spam, scams, malware, or fraudulent schemes.
  • Explicit, non-consensual, or unlawful sexually suggestive material.

4. Privacy & Safety (No Doxxing)​

  • Protect Yourself: Do not pin map tiles over exact personal home addresses or include personal phone numbers/private addresses in public descriptions.
  • Protect Others: Never publish private information (doxxing) of any individual on the map without their explicit consent.

5. Review Process, Host Responsibilities & Enforcement​

  • Submission Approval: All new community listings are reviewed in an administrative queue prior to appearing on the live map to prevent spam, underage targeting, and unsafe content.
  • Runner Accountability: Community leaders who list on Hexlink are expected to actively enforce these standards within their external groups (see our Safeguarding Guide). Repeated failure to address harassment or safety issues may lead to your listing being removed from Hexlink.
  • Takedowns: We reserve the right to reject submissions, remove existing community map pins, or suspend associated accounts with or without prior notice if a listing violates these guidelines or our Terms & Conditions.

6. Illegal Content & Takedown Notices (UK Online Safety Act)​

In compliance with UK online safety standards, we operate a strict notice-and-takedown system for illegal content. We strictly prohibit map listings that facilitate:

  • Hate speech, harassment, or incite violent crimes.
  • Fraud, illegal drugs, or unlawful activities.
  • Any content or external links that pose a risk of harm to vulnerable individuals or attempt to involve minors.

Reporting illegal or non-compliant content​

If you encounter a community pin or external link on our map that violates UK law or our guidelines, please email removals@hexlink.org with:

  1. Community Name and map coordinates/tiles.
  2. A description and evidence of the violation or illegality.

We review reported listings in accordance with our administrative queue and will remove non-compliant content promptly.