Community rules and terms of use

1.1 About these terms. These terms apply when you use the HostStack Community at hoststack.uk/community. They sit alongside our website terms and privacy notice. If they conflict, these terms apply to the community.

1.2 Who can join. The community is free. You need a HostStack UK account with a confirmed email address. You must be at least 18 years old (owner decision recorded 15 Oct 2026). By joining you confirm you meet this age requirement.

1.3 Your display name. You choose a public display name. It must not contain an email address or web address, impersonate anyone, or be offensive. We recommend you do not use your full real name. We may change or remove a display name that breaks these terms.

1.4 What the community is for. Discussion about running short-let and holiday accommodation in the UK. Posts are plain text only; links are not clickable, and images, files and private messages are not supported.

1.5 Not professional advice. Posts are members' own views. Threads labelled "HostStack editorial" are general information written by HostStack UK and may become out of date. Nothing in the community is legal, tax, financial, safety or regulatory advice. Check official guidance or take professional advice before acting.

1.6 Content you must not post.

(a) anything illegal, or that encourages or assists illegal activity, including fraud and scams;

(b) threats, harassment, bullying, hate or abuse targeting any person or group, including on the basis of a protected characteristic;

(d) sexual content;

(e) personal information about guests, neighbours, cleaners or anyone else (names, addresses, booking details, screenshots of private messages);

(f) advertising, spam, affiliate or referral links, or repeated promotion;

(g) content that infringes someone else's copyright, confidentiality or other rights;

(h) false or misleading statements presented as fact about identifiable people or businesses;

(h1) sensitive personal information about yourself or anyone else, such as health, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, political views, criminal records or financial account details. (Added 15 Oct 2026: our hosting provider's data processing agreement, section 3, prohibits sending it special-category data; moderators hide such posts.)

(i) impersonation of another person or organisation, including HostStack UK;

(j) attempts to evade moderation, including deliberately misspelt prohibited terms.

1.7 How we moderate. To protect members:

a new member's first contribution (thread or reply), posts containing links, and posts our filters flag are reviewed before they appear;

we may hide or remove content, lock discussions, and suspend or close accounts that break these terms;

we may report illegal content to the police or other authorities where appropriate;

every moderation action is recorded.

Automated filters are imperfect; they may hold harmless posts and miss harmful ones. Please report anything that breaks these terms.

1.8 Editing and deleting. You can edit your posts for 30 minutes after posting and delete them at any time. Deleted posts are hidden from everyone. We keep a copy for the period set out in our privacy notice, for safety and legal reasons.

1.8A If you close your account. Your display name and profile are removed. Useful threads and replies may stay visible under the name "Former member", with identifying details removed where practicable. You can ask for your posts to be erased instead; see the privacy notice (section 2.6A). (Owner decision 15 Oct 2026, subject to privacy review.)

1.9 Your content and licence. You keep ownership of what you post. You give HostStack UK a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to host, display, and format it within the community and in search engine results while it remains published, and to keep records as described in 1.8. You confirm you have the right to post it.

1.10 Reporting and complaints. Use "Report" on any post, or the Contact page. Section 3 explains how we handle reports, complaints and appeals.

1.11 Our liability. We do not check every post before it appears and are not responsible for members' content. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot legally be limited. Owner decision 15 Oct 2026: plain-English wording accepted; a reviewer may still refine it.

1.12 Changes, suspension and closure. We may change these terms, with notice in the community where the change is significant. We may suspend or close the community. You may close your account at any time via the Contact page.

1.13 Law and courts. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, without removing consumers' rights to bring claims in Scotland or Northern Ireland. (Owner decision 15 Oct 2026.)

3.1 Roles. Moderators are HostStack UK staff with the admin or editor role who sign in with an authenticator. Only an admin can publish editorial threads or switch the community on. Named online-safety lead: Sean Long (owner decision 15 Oct 2026). Initial moderator at launch: Sean Long, using his existing admin account (owner decision 15 Oct 2026). Chantelle Stone will be added as moderator only after she creates an account, is granted a staff role and enrols an authenticator; she has no access yet. Backup/holiday cover: TO BE CONFIRMED.

3.2 Pre-moderation. Held automatically: each member's first post; posts with links; posts matching the moderation dictionary. Moderators approve or reject in Admin → Community. Target: held posts and ordinary reports reviewed within 24 hours (owner decision 15 Oct 2026, 22:50 UTC); urgent risks escalated promptly. This is a target, not a guarantee of 24-hour safety cover.

3.3 Reports. Any signed-in member can report a thread or reply with a reason. Triage:

P1 — urgent — Examples: Threats of violence, self-harm risk, child sexual abuse material, terrorism, doxxing

P2 — high — Examples: Hate, harassment, scams/fraud, personal data

P3 — standard — Examples: Spam, off-topic, profanity, misleading content

3.4 Actions available. Hide or restore content; lock a thread; suspend or reinstate a member; update the moderation dictionary. Each action records moderator, time, target and note.

3.5 Illegal content. Hide the content; preserve the record; do not copy, forward or repost it. Report child sexual abuse material to the IWF/NCA (never download or share it); report threats to life to the police (999 if immediate). Record the decision and any referral.

3.6 Telling the member. Where it is safe and lawful, tell the affected member which term was broken (without quoting prohibited terms) and how to appeal. Owner default, 15 Oct 2026: the existing Contact page is the initial channel for decisions and appeals; members get a clear notification and appeals route; automated notifications may come later. Currently no community email is sent.

3.7 Complaints. Anyone (member or not) can complain via the Contact page, subject "Community complaint", about: content; our handling of a report; a moderation decision; or our compliance with these procedures. We acknowledge within 5 working days and respond within 10 working days (owner default, 15 Oct 2026).

3.8 Appeals. A member may appeal a removal or suspension within 30 days. Where possible a different staff member reviews it. Outcomes: upheld, overturned (content restored / account reinstated), or varied. The outcome is final within HostStack UK.

3.9 Records and review. Keep moderation logs, complaints and appeal outcomes for 12 months. Review patterns, filter false positives and response times quarterly, and update the risk assessment where needed.