---
title: Community Guidelines | TimeBank Ireland
description: Community guidelines for respectful and productive timebanking.
canonical: https://hour-timebank.ie/community-guidelines
generated: 2026-05-15T16:01:36.884Z
---# Community Guidelines

How we expect everyone in TimeBank Ireland to treat each other. Short, plain-English, and applies to every exchange, message, post, and event.

Version 1.0 · Last updated 2026-05-13

## 1. Be kind and respectful

Treat other members the way you would treat a neighbour. Disagreement is fine — contempt, name-calling, mockery, and personal attacks are not.

- No harassment, bullying, stalking, or intimidation.
- No hate speech, slurs, or content that demeans people because of who they are — including race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, age, or background.
- No threats of violence, real or implied.

## 2. Be honest

Trust is what makes a timebank work. Misrepresenting yourself or what you're offering damages the whole community.

- Use your real name and a real photo on your profile.
- Describe skills, listings, and requests accurately. Don't exaggerate what you can do or how long something takes.
- Log hours honestly. Don't claim time you didn't give.
- One person, one account.

## 3. Keep it relevant

This is a space for community exchange, not a marketplace, billboard, or political platform.

- No spam, repeated promotion, or off-topic blasts.
- No commercial selling, recruiting, or fundraising outside the features designed for it (e.g. jobs, organisations, marketplace where enabled).
- No campaign material, partisan organising, or content designed to inflame political conflict. Civic engagement is welcome — partisan combat is not.

## 4. Protect privacy

What members share inside the community stays inside the community.

- Don't share another member's personal information (address, phone, photos, health details, family situation) without their clear permission.
- Don't post screenshots of private messages.
- Don't take photos at community events without asking the people in them.
- Use the platform's messaging for exchange-related communication; don't push people onto outside channels before they're comfortable.

## 5. Look after each other in person

Exchanges often involve meeting in person, sometimes in someone's home. Use ordinary common sense.

- Read the member's profile and reviews before a first exchange.
- Meet in a public place for the first exchange when you can.
- Tell someone you trust where you're going and when you expect to be back.
- Stop the exchange and leave if something feels wrong. You don't owe anyone an explanation in the moment.
- If someone is unsafe — themselves or with others — see Trust & Safety for how to report. In an emergency, contact emergency services first (112/999 in Ireland).

## 6. Report concerns

If you see something that breaks these guidelines — or that worries you — tell us. You can:

- Use the report button on any profile, listing, message, post, or event.
- Email the community team via the Contact page.
- For safeguarding concerns (a child or vulnerable adult at risk), see the Trust & Safety page for the dedicated reporting route.

Reports are reviewed by moderators and treated confidentially. We don't share your identity with the person you reported unless you've asked us to or the law requires it.

## 7. What happens when guidelines are broken

Most issues are small misunderstandings and a quiet word fixes them. For clearer breaches we use proportionate steps:

- A reminder — for first-time, minor issues.
- Removal of content — a post, listing, or message taken down.
- A warning — recorded on your account.
- Temporary suspension — for repeated or serious issues.
- Permanent removal — for harassment, safeguarding breaches, fraud, threats, hate speech, or repeated suspensions.

Serious matters — abuse, threats, fraud, exploitation — may be reported to An Garda Síochána or the appropriate authority regardless of the platform action.

If you think a decision was wrong, you can appeal via the Contact page. We'll review it with a moderator who wasn't involved in the original decision.

## Changes to these guidelines

We may update these guidelines as the community grows. Material changes will be announced in the platform and recorded in the legal version history.