Forum: Guidelines

The Forum is a part of the app where everyone in the Olio community can come together to chat, no matter where they live. It’s about sharing information, tips and encouragement on our focus areas of sustainable living and local community. We want all contributions to the Forum to embody two of Olio’s main values: inclusive and caring, to make sure Olio is a fun, safe and useful place for our community 😊. 

Forum Guidelines

• Be polite and respectful - even if your opinion differs from others, always communicate with open mindedness and kindness.
• Post relevant content only - Other social media platforms are a place for expressing free speech, however the Olio Forum is specifically for communicating about related topics. When adding posts, use the Categories to guide you on suitable topics (see below for more detail).
• Debate calmly, compassionately and constructively - arguing on the Forum creates a negative environment which can be particularly off-putting for new members, so please don’t do this.
• Step away when needed - things can escalate quickly when text or tone is misconstrued. Please step away from the Forum if you feel things heating up - this can be important to protect your mental health.
• Use the flag reporting feature - please report inflammatory posts or comments so they can be taken down, and avoid replying to them as that can often make the situation worse.
• Remember the front page / family rule - when adding something to the Forum, always ask yourself: would you be proud to have that post/ comment published on the front page of a newspaper, or shared with your family or friends? If the answer to this is ‘no’, then please don’t post it!

✅  What the Forum is for:

• Sharing information and tips on relevant subjects - Things like: sustainable living, eco-alternatives, cooking and food, avoiding waste, energy consumption, recycling and upcycling, zero-waste lifestyle etc. Posting about lifestyle, mental health and community are wonderful - but please aim to keep it related to the Olio community, sustainability and sharing.
• Sharing stories about Olio - All the incredible experiences you’ve had, wonderful things you’ve shared and collected, and meaningful meets with your community. These really inspire and encourage others to engage with the app and feel the Olio magic.
• Positive, uplifting posts - These are encouraged, though again, please aim to stay on topic. Saying ‘’Good morning everyone, what a beautiful day!!’’ is lovely, but might not be as relevant and motivating to others as ‘’Good morning, what a beautiful day when you start your day with some delicious pastries collected from your Olio neighbour!’’
• Welcoming new members of the community - We want everyone to feel immediately comfortable, so please be supportive, respectful and kind when people post for the first time.
• Asking questions - There is no such thing as a silly question, even if it’s been asked before, or is contained in our FAQs. Please be patient with newbies and repetitive questions, and aim to answer compassionately - kindly giving people the answer or directing them to the appropriate page in the FAQs. We don’t want to put-off new members.
• Expressing responses to major events - Sometimes major national or global events take place which deeply affect our community. These may be posted about however, we reserve the right to close comments or remove a post if a debate becomes negative, and to issue guidance about specific/events if needed .

❌ What the Forum is not for:

If these guidelines are broken, users' posts and comments may be removed. Repeated breaking of these guidelines could result in an account suspension or ban.  

• Listing Free, Borrow or Wanted requests in the Forum - Please use the + button in the app to add a listing in the Free, Borrow or Wanted sections.
• Fundraising requests - These are prohibited, even if for charitable causes. 
• Posting repeated scam alerts - Scammers are becoming more sophisticated worldwide, but so are our systems for detecting and removing them. On Olio scams make up a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of weekly shares. The best way to deal with scam listings is to report them via the flag reporting system. Please do not flood the Forum with warning posts as this will needlessly scare-off new members of the community by giving the false impression that Olio is full of scammers.
• Naming & shaming - Please do not name and shame other Olio-ers (including Olio employees). If you believe someone is not following Olio rules, please report them to Olio by tapping the flag or getting in touch. 
• Pets & services - Please do not make local posts about pets and services e.g. lost cats, requests for plumber recommendations, asking for babysitters/dog walkers. We recommend local Facebook groups or Nextdoor for these conversations.
• Preaching on religion, faith or philosophy - Faith-based well-wishes are welcome (Merry Christmas, Ramadan, Mubarak etc.) and acknowledgement of major awareness days: World Food Day, World Mental Health Day etc., but please do not take a directive or demanding tone.
• Obscenities or discrimination - this content will be removed and you may experience further action. 

Forum Moderation

These spaces are not comprehensively moderated by Olio, as we are simply not able to read every post and comment. However, members from our Customer Satisfaction team check in on a daily basis to help where possible. 

Ultimately therefore, it’s the responsibility of the Olio community to make sure that the Forum is the pleasant, positive and uplifting place we all would like it to be.

Removing Posts or Comments from the Forum

If multiple reports are received via the in-app flagging system, a post or comment may automatically be removed. Olio staff members may also prevent the option to comment on posts, and/ or remove any posts or comments that break the guidelines above.

What does ''share locally'' or ''share globally'' mean, on the Forum?

If you choose to share locally, your Forum post will be shown to those within a 25km radius. If you choose to share globally, your Forum post will be shared with everyone worldwide, except for those in Spanish-speaking countries where we have a separate Forum.