Campus Plug — Community Guidelines and Moderation Policy

Effective date: ⟨INSERT⟩ · Publish at: https://qconnec.co.za/community-guidelines

Why this document exists. Google Play's User Generated Content policy requires apps hosting UGC to define objectionable content, obtain non-skippable user consent to those rules, provide in-app reporting and blocking, and operate ongoing moderation. Reviewers frequently ask to see this page. It must be separate from your Privacy Policy — Google explicitly asks developers to keep the two distinct.

1. Who this applies to

These Guidelines apply to everyone on Campus Plug and to all content you create: posts, stories, comments, chains, Anonymous Feed posts, marketplace listings, images, videos, direct messages, profile details, usernames and Study Zone activity.

You must accept these Guidelines before you can post. Acceptance cannot be skipped.

2. What is not allowed

Sexual content - Nudity, pornography, or sexually explicit material. - Any sexual content involving a person under 18 — this results in immediate permanent removal and a report to the South African Police Service. - Sexual harassment, unsolicited sexual messages or images, or sexual propositions directed at another user.

Harassment and hate - Bullying, threats, intimidation, stalking, or coordinated pile-ons. - Hate speech or incitement based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic under section 9 of the Constitution. - Publishing another person's private information (doxxing), including residence numbers, ID numbers, or timetables. - Non-consensual intimate images.

Violence and harm - Threats of violence, incitement, or glorification of violence. - Content promoting self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, or dangerous challenges. - Terrorist or violent-extremist content.

Illegal and regulated goods - Sale of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, vapes, weapons, ammunition, prescription medicines, stolen goods, or counterfeit items. - Sale of academic work, exam papers, or assignment-writing services. - Fraudulent listings, fake payment proofs, or non-delivery scams.

Deception and platform abuse - Impersonating another student, staff member, institution or Campus Plug. - Fake accounts, bought accounts, or accounts created to farm referrals or rewards. - Spam, mass unsolicited messaging, or artificially inflating engagement. - Manipulating streaks, Plug Points, referrals or leaderboard position by any automated or fraudulent means.

Academic and institutional harm - Content that facilitates cheating or plagiarism. - Content encouraging vandalism, disruption, or unsafe behaviour on campus.

3. Reporting and blocking

Every post, comment, listing, message and profile carries a Report action.

To report content: tap the ⋯ menu on the item → Report → choose a reason → submit. You will receive confirmation that we have your report.

To block a user: open their profile → Block. Blocking stops them messaging you, seeing your content, or appearing in your feed. You can manage blocked accounts under Profile → Settings → Privacy → Blocked accounts.

Report reasons offered: harassment or bullying · hate speech · nudity or sexual content · violence or threats · self-harm · illegal or regulated goods · scam or fraud · spam · impersonation · academic dishonesty · other.

⚠️ Build requirement: report and block must be available for posts, comments, listings, profiles and direct messages. Play's UGC policy requires blocking specifically for features enabling 1:1 interaction.

4. How moderation works

Automated screening. Content is automatically screened on submission for the categories in section 2. Content that clearly breaches these Guidelines is blocked or hidden immediately; borderline content is queued for human review.

Human review. Reports are reviewed by our trust-and-safety team. Target response times:

Anonymous Feed. Anonymous posts are moderated to the same standard as all other content, and are held to a higher automated threshold. Anonymity does not protect a user from enforcement — every anonymous post is internally linked to the account that created it.

5. Consequences

Serious breaches — child sexual abuse material, credible violent threats, fraud at scale — skip straight to permanent ban.

Appeals. Email appeals@qconnec.co.za within 30 days. A person who was not involved in the original decision will review it, including any decision made by an automated system.

6. Rewards integrity

Campus Plug rewards participation with Plug Points and CampusCash. To prevent that from incentivising bad behaviour — a requirement of Play's UGC policy, which mandates safeguards preventing monetisation from encouraging objectionable conduct — the following apply:

• Rewards accrue only for content that has passed moderation. Removed content earns nothing.
• Points earned from content later removed are clawed back.
• Referrals only count for accounts that verify as genuine students and remain active.
• Daily and per-post earning caps prevent volume farming.
• Accounts detected gaming the reward system forfeit all unclaimed balances.

7. Users under 18

Campus Plug is open to users aged 16 and above. For users under 18:

• a safety reminder about the real-world risks of online interaction is shown before they can share freeform content or message another user;
• a parent or guardian can enable, restrict or disable social features for that user by contacting privacy@qconnec.co.za;
• moderation thresholds on content visible to them are stricter;
• adults who attempt to solicit, groom or obtain personal information or images from a user under 18 are permanently banned and reported to SAPS.

8. Contact

Trust and safety: safety@qconnec.co.za Appeals: appeals@qconnec.co.za Privacy: privacy@qconnec.co.za

QCONNEC (Pty) Ltd t/a Campus Plug · Reg 2023/568714/07 · Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa