Draft for legal review, not yet in force.

Community guidelines

For the circle in Talk, in Astitva, a product of Velcro Ventures OPC Private Limited
Last updated: [date of publication]

The circle is a small place to talk with other people going through infertility, treatment, a pregnancy after it, a loss, or what comes after. These are the rules you see in the app under "The rules for Talk", written out in full, with what happens when something is reported. The terms of use apply here too.

How you appear

• Your posts and replies show your first name and the first letter of your last name, like Priya S. The name comes from your profile, so you cannot post under another name.
• Nobody in the circle sees your email address, your full name, or anything you log in the app.
• Names are what people say they are. Posting as someone else is not allowed. Report it if you see it.
• Anyone who makes an account can read the circle. Write only what you would be comfortable with a stranger reading.

The rules

1. Say what happened to you. Your treatment, your clinic, what the medicines did to you. That is what makes this place worth being in.
2. Do not tell anyone what to take. Nobody here knows another woman's dose, history or clinic. Telling someone to stop or change a medicine can hurt them.
3. No blame, ever. Not for a loss, a failed cycle or a decision someone made. Nobody here caused what happened to them, and nobody should be told they might have.
4. Good news is welcome, under its own label. Post it under Good news. Women who have lost a pregnancy or stopped treatment do not see it unless they turn it on.
5. Keep other people out of it. Your posts show your first name and initial. Nothing else should identify you or anyone else: no other names, no workplaces, and no naming clinic staff.
6. Nothing is for sale here. No clinics advertising, no referral links, no products. Report it if you see it.
7. If you are worried about someone, report it. Choose "I am worried about this person". We read those reports first.

Anything the terms of use forbid is not allowed here either, including harassment, sexual content, anything harmful to a child, and anything against the law.

Topics

Every post has a topic: Anything, A question, Treatment, Loss, Good news or Practical. Good news is the only topic that is ever hidden by default, and only from women in a loss or who have stopped treatment. Each of them can switch it on.

When someone is struggling

If you write about harming yourself, the app shows a helpline beside the post button: Tele-MANAS on 14416 or 1-800-891-4416, free and open at any hour. It never stops you posting. If you are in immediate danger, call 112.

If what you write reads like telling someone what to take, the app shows a short note. It does not stop you posting either.

Both checks run on your phone. Nothing about them is sent to us.

Reporting a post

• Any post or reply can be reported. You choose a reason: I am worried about this person, Medical advice, Unkind or blaming, Spam or selling, Identifies someone, or Something else.
• The moment you report it, it is hidden from everyone, including the person who wrote it, until a person decides.
• Reporting is anonymous. We do not record who reported, and the writer is never told.
• A person reads every report. We are small, so that person is us, and it may take a day. If something needs to be removed sooner, write to us at [takedown email].

What a moderator does

Reports are read in order: worries about someone's safety first, then the oldest first. A report left sitting is a post left hidden, which is its own harm to whoever wrote it.

• I am worried about this person. We read the post to see whether the person is all right, not only whether it breaks a rule.
• Medical advice. Instructions to start, stop or change a medication come down. "This is what happened to me" stays. The line is between prescribing and sharing experience, and it is a judgement.
• Unkind or blaming. Anything telling a woman a loss was her fault comes down.
• Identifies someone. It comes down. If it names someone else, it stays down even if the writer asks for it back.
• When in doubt, we put it back. A wrong removal silences someone who came here to be heard. A wrong restore can be reported again.

After a decision

• A post put back is visible again.
• A post taken down stays hidden from everyone. We keep it locked for 180 days, as the law requires, and then erase it [proposed: erased at 180 days].
• For serious or repeated breaches, we may stop an account from posting, or close it.
• If you think a decision about your post was wrong, write to our grievance officer at [grievance email]. How to appeal further is on our grievances and contact page.

Your own posts

• There is no button to edit or delete a post. To remove one, write to [contact email] from your account's email address and tell us which post. We remove it within 7 days.
• Deleting your account removes your words and your name from all your posts and replies: each one shows "Removed by its author" instead. The replies other members wrote under your posts are theirs, and stay. A post or reply of yours that was taken down, or hidden after a report, is kept locked for 180 days after you delete your account, as the law requires, and then erased.

If a post is about you

Write to [takedown email], even if you do not use Astitva. Tell us which post, and why. The time limits we keep to are on our grievances and contact page.