Community Guidelines

1. The basics

Recess is a community for verified students of your school. Treat it like a campus common room: friendly, honest and useful.

• Be kind. Disagree with ideas, not with people.
• Be honest. Say what you actually know, and say when you are not sure.
• You are responsible for what you post, including anonymous posts.
• Follow your school’s code of conduct and the law. These guidelines add to them; they do not replace them.

2. Respect and safety

Everyone should be able to use Recess without being targeted.

• Keep disagreements civil. Criticize ideas, not people.

Not allowed:

• Harassment, bullying, stalking or encouraging others to pile on someone.
• Threats of violence, or praising violence or those who commit it.
• Hate speech or slurs, and attacks on people for their race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or age.
• Sexual content, nudity, sexual harassment or unwanted sexual comments.
• Content that encourages self-harm, eating disorders or drug misuse.
• Graphic or shocking images or video.

3. If someone is in danger

• In an emergency call 911, or your campus safety office.
• If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, US, 24/7).
• Reporting a post about someone in crisis helps us act, but it is not a substitute for calling for help.

4. Privacy

What happens on Recess should not follow anyone into real life.

• Ask before you share someone’s photo or video.

Not allowed:

• Posting other people’s personal information: full names with accusations, phone numbers, addresses, emails, student ID numbers, schedules or locations.
• Sharing screenshots of private messages or class rosters.
• Trying to find out who posted anonymously, or guessing in public who they are.
• Posting about a private individual’s health, relationships or legal troubles.

5. The anonymous space (Home)

Home is anonymous to other students so people can ask and say things they might not under their own name. That comes with rules.

• Your name is hidden from other students. Recess can still see who posted when content is reported, and can remove content or accounts.
• Talk about topics, experiences and questions rather than about named individuals.

Not allowed:

• Naming and shaming students, teachers or staff, or spreading rumors about them.
• Dating or hookup call-outs aimed at specific people.
• Using anonymity to harass, to impersonate or to avoid consequences.

6. Campus boards

Classes, Housing, Jobs and Lost & found use your username, because they work best when people can be trusted.

• Classes: ask about courses, professors’ teaching and study groups. Keep reviews fair and about the course.
• Housing: describe places and roommates accurately and treat people equally.
• Jobs: post real opportunities and say who is hiring.
• Lost & found: describe what you lost or found without sharing anything private, and only claim items that are yours.

Not allowed:

• Asking for or offering exam answers, homework to copy, or paid essay and exam services. This is academic dishonesty.
• Housing posts that exclude people for who they are.
• Pay-to-work schemes, pyramid or multi-level marketing recruiting, or jobs that ask for money or bank details up front.

7. Market

The market is for students to sell and give away things they own, from textbooks to furniture.

• Describe the item honestly, with accurate price, condition and photos.
• Use the in-app chat. You never need to share your phone number or email.
• Meet in a public place on campus, in daylight if you can, and check the item before you pay.
• Mark an item as sold when it is gone.

Not allowed:

• Weapons, drugs, alcohol, vapes and tobacco, or anything illegal to sell.
• Stolen, counterfeit or recalled goods, and items you do not own.
• Exam answers, graded work, essay writing or other academic dishonesty.
• Adult items, live animals, or personal data and accounts.
• Asking for payment in advance, gift cards, wire transfers or payments outside the agreed handover. These are common scams, so report them.
• Reselling tickets for more than the law or the venue allows.

8. Events

Events are for gatherings other students can actually attend.

• Give the real title, place, date and time, and choose the closest type.
• Say who is organizing it.
• Events with alcohol, food or large crowds must follow your school’s policies and the law.

Not allowed:

• Fake, duplicate or misleading events, or events that only exist to advertise something.
• Events that promote hazing, illegal activity or harm.
• Charging money without being clear about the price and what it covers.

9. Messages

Chat is for talking about the item, not for pressure or harassment.

• Keep messages about the listing and be polite, even if the answer is no.
• You can block a person at any time from the chat menu.

Not allowed:

• Unwanted or repeated messages, threats, or sexual messages.
• Sharing someone’s private messages with others.

10. Spam and misuse

• Post in the right place, once.

Not allowed:

• Advertising, referral codes, affiliate links or promotional posts.
• Posting the same thing again and again, or mass messaging.
• Fake accounts, bots, buying or trading votes, or any attempt to game the app.
• Attempts to break or probe the app, or to get around blocks, limits or removals.

11. Reporting, blocking and what we do

You do not have to put up with anything on this list.

• Report: open the options menu (the three dots) on a post, comment, listing, event or conversation and choose Report.
• Block: use the same menu, or Me > Blocked accounts, where you can also find a person by username. A blocked person cannot see your posts and you cannot see theirs.
• We review reports, and we may also look at content on our own. Depending on how serious and how repeated it is, we may remove the content, warn you, restrict or suspend an account for a few days, or remove the account for good.
• Bullying, targeted harassment, threats and a run of severe abuse can lead to a suspension straight away, even for a first violation and even in the anonymous space. Anonymous is not unaccountable.
• If many different students report the same post, comment or listing, Recess hides it and pauses its author's account right away while we take a look. A pause is not a final decision: if nothing was wrong, the content and the account are restored.
• Serious cases, such as threats, can be shared with your school or the authorities.
• We may act without warning when someone is at risk. If you think we got something wrong, ask the Recess team to take another look.
• Please do not report just because you disagree. False or abusive reports can lead to action too.

12. Changes

• We may update these guidelines as Recess grows. When something important changes we will tell you in the app.

Questions: support@recess.at