Community Guidelines

1. Our Community Values

Market Cross is built on the belief that every town deserves a welcoming, respectful online space where neighbours can connect, share local news, and look out for one another.

Our community is founded on three principles:

• Welcoming: Everyone is treated with dignity and respect, regardless of background.
• Respectful: We disagree constructively. Personal attacks have no place here.
• Local-focused: We keep conversations relevant to our towns and communities.

2. Acceptable Behaviour

We encourage:

• Sharing local news, events, and information that benefits your community.
• Constructive discussion and friendly debate on local topics.
• Helping neighbours with questions, recommendations, and local knowledge.
• Buying, selling, and trading goods and services locally.
• Reporting safety concerns and lost/found items.
• Supporting local businesses and community organisations.

3. Prohibited Content

The following content and behaviour are not permitted on Market Cross:

3.1 Spam and unsolicited advertising

Do not post repetitive, irrelevant, or unsolicited promotional material. Legitimate local business posts in the Business Directory category are welcome.

3.2 Harassment, bullying, or intimidation

Do not bully, harass, intimidate, or threaten other members. This includes personal attacks, targeted campaigns, stalking, and repeatedly contacting someone who has asked you to stop.

3.3 Hate speech targeting protected characteristics

Do not post content that promotes hatred, violence, or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or age.

3.4 Misinformation presented as fact

Do not deliberately spread false or misleading information, particularly where it could cause harm. Do not impersonate other people, organisations, or public bodies.

3.5 Adult content or graphic violence

Do not post sexually explicit content, pornography, graphic violence, or content that glorifies suffering.

3.6 Threats of violence or incitement

Do not make threats of violence against individuals or groups, or post content that incites violence or illegal activity.

3.7 Sharing personal information without consent

Do not share someone's personal information without their consent (doxxing), including real names, addresses, phone numbers, workplace details, or photos taken without consent.

3.8 Illegal content or activity

Do not post content that is illegal under the laws of England and Wales, or promote, encourage, or facilitate illegal activity.

4. How We Moderate

Our moderation team reviews every report submitted by community members. When content is found to violate these guidelines:

• The content is removed and the author is notified with the specific reason.
• For serious or repeated violations, the author may receive a temporary or permanent ban.
• Content that receives multiple reports from different community members may be automatically hidden from the feed while awaiting review.

We aim to review all reports within 48 hours. Our decisions are guided by these guidelines and applied consistently and proportionally.

5. Reporting Content

If you see content that violates these guidelines, please report it using the report button on any post or comment. You will be asked to select a reason category and can optionally provide additional details.

After you submit a report:

• The reported content is hidden from your view immediately.
• Your report is added to the moderation queue for review.
• All reports are confidential -- the person you reported will not know who reported them.

You can also email reports directly to moderation@marketcross.online.

6. Consequences

Violations are addressed proportionally, depending on severity, context, and history:

1. Content removal: The offending content is removed with an explanation. This is the most common action for first-time, minor violations.
2. 24-hour suspension: A short cooling-off period for heated exchanges or minor repeated violations.
3. 7-day suspension: For more serious violations or repeated offences after a warning.
4. 30-day suspension: For serious violations that significantly harm the community.
5. Permanent ban: For the most serious violations (threats of violence, illegal content, persistent harassment). This cannot be reversed.

Severe violations -- including threats of violence, child exploitation material, or other illegal content -- will result in immediate permanent ban and may be reported to law enforcement.

7. Appeals

If your content has been removed or your account has been suspended, and you believe this was done in error, you may appeal by emailing moderation@marketcross.online with "Appeal" in the subject line. Please include:

• Your account email address.
• A description of what was removed or restricted.
• Why you believe the action was incorrect.

Appeals are reviewed within 7 working days by a member of staff who was not involved in the original decision.