Be useful, specific, and kind.

What these guidelines are for

Stateclan works best when a person can ask an honest question and receive a clear answer from someone with relevant knowledge, experience or local insight. These guidelines apply to profiles, topics, answers, replies, photos, contact requests, reports, and every other contribution.

Context matters. A mistake, a disagreement, and deliberate harm are not the same. When something goes wrong, the response should reflect what happened, the risk created, whether it can be corrected, and whether the behaviour is repeated.

Ask one clear question

• Use a title that tells people exactly what you need, such as “Where can I repair an LG television in Asaba?”
• Add enough detail for a useful answer, but leave out private information that the public does not need.
• Choose the most accurate state, city or town when location matters, and select the relevant category before publishing.
• Say when timing matters, especially for road conditions, opening hours, prices, events, safety, or availability.
• Search first and avoid posting the same question repeatedly. If an older answer is no longer useful, explain what has changed.

Give honest and useful answers

• Answer the question that was asked and keep unrelated arguments or promotion out of the thread.
• Say whether you know something first-hand, heard it from someone else, or are making a reasonable suggestion.
• For information that changes quickly, mention when you last confirmed it.
• Correct your answer if you discover that it is wrong or outdated.
• Do not invent experience, copy another person’s answer as your own, or coordinate fake support for an answer.

Treat people with respect

You may challenge an answer, decision, public claim, or idea. Do not turn disagreement into an attack on the person.

• No bullying, targeted insults, humiliation, stalking, unwanted sexual attention, or repeated unwanted contact.
• No threats, praise for violence, or attempts to frighten someone into silence.
• No hateful treatment of people because of ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, sex, disability, age, or another protected characteristic.
• Do not organise harassment, encourage a pile-on, or use public posts to settle a private dispute.

Protect privacy and get permission

• Do not publish another person’s phone number, email, home address, identity number, financial record, medical record, or private messages without a lawful reason and permission.
• Do not post information intended to identify, track, expose, threaten, or shame someone.
• Share an approximate area or public landmark when an exact location is not necessary.
• Before uploading a photo, check that you have the right to share it and that it does not reveal a document, vehicle plate, school detail, child’s location, or other unnecessary private information.
• Do not request passwords, verification links, one-time codes, card details, or copies of identity documents.

Products, services, jobs, and recommendations

People may ask where to find goods, services, accommodation, work, or a local professional. Members may give genuine recommendations or explain their own relevant experience.

• If you own, work for, or benefit from a business you mention, say so clearly.
• Do not turn answers into advertisements, repeat the same sales pitch, collect leads dishonestly, or contact people who have not invited it.
• Do not post fake customer experiences, paid praise without disclosure, deceptive prices, false availability, or guaranteed results.
• Do not pressure anyone to pay a deposit, transfer money quickly, or continue through an unsafe link or private channel.
• Referral links, repeated phone numbers, and promotional contact details may be removed when they are not needed to answer the question.

No scams, impersonation, or manipulation

• Do not pretend to be another person, a public official, a company, a charity, a professional, or a Stateclan representative.
• Do not create false urgency, fake emergencies, false job offers, fake property listings, advance-fee requests, phishing pages, or investment guarantees.
• Do not use multiple accounts, organised voting, copied answers, or misleading activity to make a topic, account, or recommendation look more trusted than it is.
• Do not send malware, harmful files, or links designed to steal information or take control of a device or account.

Sexual, exploitative, or graphic content

• Never post, request, threaten to share, or link to sexual content involving a child or a person who did not consent.
• Do not use Stateclan to arrange sexual services, exploit a vulnerable person, or share intimate material as revenge, pressure, or humiliation.
• Graphic injury or death should not be posted merely to shock people. Where an image is genuinely needed for a public-safety question, use the least graphic description or image possible and provide clear context.

Dangerous or unlawful material

• Do not use Stateclan to plan, request, sell, or meaningfully assist violence, theft, fraud, trafficking, unauthorised access, or another unlawful act.
• Do not provide step-by-step instructions that create a clear and serious risk of physical, financial, or digital harm.
• A safety warning, news discussion, prevention question, or request for lawful help may be allowed when it does not enable harm and includes enough context.

Health, emergencies, and important claims

Do not present a guess as professional medical, legal, financial, or emergency advice. Clearly state uncertainty, encourage an appropriate professional source, and do not discourage someone from seeking urgent help.

False claims that create a serious risk—such as a dangerous treatment, a fake emergency warning, or an invented security alert—may be removed even if they were shared without bad intent.

Photos, writing, and ownership

• Post only material you created or have permission or another lawful basis to share.
• Give a source when quoting or summarising someone else, and keep any quotation reasonably short and relevant.
• Do not remove a creator’s name, copy an entire protected work, or use another person’s logo or photo in a way that falsely suggests endorsement.
• If a photo contains private information, crop or cover it before uploading—or do not upload it at all.

Use reports responsibly

Report a topic or answer when you genuinely believe it breaks these guidelines or creates a safety risk. Choose the closest reason and add useful facts where the form allows it. A report is not displayed publicly, and authorised staff can access it; it is not a public accusation.

Do not submit reports merely because you disagree with someone, want their answer hidden, or are trying to win an argument. Repeated dishonest reports may themselves lead to account limits.

What may happen after a rule is broken

Depending on the situation, Stateclan may ask for a correction, change a label, limit visibility, lock or remove content, restrict a feature, suspend or ban an account, or preserve information needed to address a serious incident. Content may also be restored when correction is the fair outcome.

No guideline can list every unsafe tactic or every harmless exception. Stateclan may act on closely related behaviour when that is reasonably necessary to protect people, preserve useful public knowledge, or comply with law.