Community Guidelines

Effective date: 11 October 2026

These guidelines say what is and is not allowed on Novagora. They are part of the Terms of Service, and breaking them is breaking the terms. They apply to everything on the Service: posts, articles, comments, chat (channels, group chats and direct messages), voice notes, events, tasks, notes, polls, files, profiles, usernames and Space names, whether the audience is public or private.

A Space may set its own rules on top of these guidelines. Space rules can be stricter; they can never permit what these guidelines forbid.

1. The idea

Novagora is for clubs, teams and communities to run their own Spaces. People show up under a visible identity, and what they publish is their choice. That works only if everyone can rely on some basics: nobody gets hunted, nobody gets deceived, nobody under 16 is here, and the law is respected. That is what these guidelines protect.

2. What is not allowed

Harassment and bullying. Targeting a person with abuse, threats, humiliation, unwanted sexual attention, or persistent contact after they asked you to stop, and organising others to do so.
Hate. Attacking, dehumanising or inciting hatred against people because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, caste, disability, illness, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or immigration status. Symbols and slogans of banned organisations, including those unlawful under German criminal law.
Violence and threats. Threatening, inciting, glorifying or instructing violence against people or animals, including terrorism and violent extremism.
Sexual content involving minors. See section 3. Nothing else in these guidelines is treated as strictly.
Sexual content without consent. Intimate images of real people shared without their consent, threats to share them, and sexualised content about a real person who did not agree to it.
Adult sexual content. Pornography is not allowed on Novagora.
Self-harm. Encouraging, instructing or glamorising suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. Talking about your own experience or asking for help is allowed, and we may point people who seem at risk to help.
Private information. Publishing someone's home address, phone number, identity documents, financial details, private messages or other personal data without their consent, or threatening to do so.
Deception. Impersonating a person, a Space, an organisation or Novagora itself; scams, phishing, fraud and fake giveaways; artificial engagement, bought or automated accounts, and vote or score manipulation.
Spam. Unsolicited bulk messages, repeated off-topic promotion, invitation spam, and misuse of chat or reports.
Illegal goods and services. Selling or promoting illegal drugs, weapons, stolen data, counterfeit goods or anything else the law prohibits.
Other people's rights. Content that infringes copyright, trademarks or other rights, including uploading files you have no right to share.
Malware and abuse of the platform. Uploading malicious files, attacking the Service, scraping, or circumventing blocks, restrictions, rate limits or moderation.

This list describes the common cases. We may act against content or behaviour that causes comparable harm even if it is not named here.

3. Child sexual abuse and exploitation: zero tolerance

Novagora prohibits, without exception, any content or behaviour that sexualises, exploits or endangers a minor. This includes child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in any form, including drawn, generated or "virtual" depictions; sexualised comments about minors; grooming, meaning building a relationship with a minor in order to sexualise or exploit them; sextortion; requesting, sharing or linking to such material; and any attempt to arrange contact with a minor for sexual purposes.

When we become aware of such content or behaviour we remove it, terminate the account without warning, preserve the evidence, and report it to the competent authorities: to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) or the responsible law enforcement authority, and, where the law or the platforms we distribute through require it, to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). We cooperate with lawful requests from these authorities.

Anyone can report a concern from within the app, on every piece of content and every profile, or by email to [email protected], which is also our designated child-safety contact. If a child is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first.

4. Reporting

Every profile, Space and piece of user-visible content has a Report action. Pick the reason that fits best and describe what you saw; a moderator sees only what you point them to. Reports are confidential: the person reported is never told who reported them. Reporting is rate limited, so one detailed report beats many thin ones.

You can also block a person, which stops them from following you, messaging you or interacting with your content, and mute a person or a Space, which silently hides them from you. A block always wins over any other setting.

Reports about illegal content may also be sent by email to [email protected], by anyone, with a link to the content and the reason. Deliberately false reports are a violation.

5. How decisions are made

Your reason decides where a report goes, and you do not choose the destination:

Everyday reports about content inside a Space go to that Space's moderators. They may dismiss the report, warn, remove the content, restrict or remove the member, or escalate the report to Novagora.
Reports about a person, about a whole Space, and every serious category (section 3, violence and threats, self-harm, illegal content) go to Novagora, whatever Space they came from. A Space's moderators do not see those reports and cannot overrule the outcome.

Serious reports open a safety case: the content is preserved as evidence, access to it may be restricted while the case is open, and the case closes only when it is settled. Preserved evidence is not removed by the reported person deleting their content or their account.

Reports are decided by people, considering the content, its context and the account's history. Separately, automated checks look for spam, fake accounts and automated misuse. On their own, they can slow an account down, ask it to confirm it is a person, hold its posts and articles from other people's feeds, search and Explore until an administrator reviews them, or suspend it for 24 hours. The Terms of Service (section 8.2) and the Privacy Policy (section 5.2) explain how these checks work. You are notified about the outcome of reports that concern you; you are not shown another person's record.

6. What happens after a violation

We respond in proportion to the violation and its history:

Warning — a notice that names the violation.
Content removal — the content is removed or hidden.
Feature restriction — posting, commenting, messaging or another capability is limited for a period.
Removal from a Space — for violations within a Space.
Suspension — the account is inaccessible for a period.
Termination — the account is closed permanently.

Severe violations, in particular section 3 and credible threats of violence, lead directly to termination. Repeated violations move faster up the ladder, and evading a restriction with another account is itself a violation.

When we act against your content or account, we tell you what was done, which rule it was based on, and how to dispute it, except where telling you would endanger someone or is prohibited by law. Automatic restrictions and the decisions Novagora's administrators take about your account or content are explained on the Account standing page in Settings.

7. Disputing a decision

A Space's decision applies inside that Space; a Novagora decision applies to your account. To dispute either, write to [email protected] within six months of the decision and say why you believe it was wrong. A person who was not involved in the original decision reviews it and answers you with reasons. For an automatic restriction you can also request a review on your Account standing page; an administrator reviews it and can lift the restriction. This does not limit your right to go to court.

8. Changes

We update these guidelines as the community and the law evolve. Every edition carries a version number and an effective date, and the app asks you to accept a new edition before you continue when the change matters to you.

9. Contact

[email protected] — for reports you cannot make in the app, for child-safety concerns, for disputes, and for requests from law enforcement.