Community Guidelines

Golden Hint is a place where people who run charities help each other. Most of us are busy, many of us are volunteers, and all of us are here to do some good. These guidelines keep it a place people want to come back to.

They apply to the Expertise Exchange, messaging, profiles, reviews and the forum. These open when membership opens. You will be asked to accept these guidelines when you join, and the site records which version you accepted.

Be kind

Assume good intent. Everyone was new once.
Disagree with ideas, not people.
There is no such thing as a silly question here. Answer the question that was asked, without talking down.
No harassment, bullying, threats, slurs or hate. This includes jokes.
No sexual content, and no unwanted personal attention.

Be honest

Be who you say you are, and represent only the organization you are allowed to represent.
Describe your skills truthfully. If something is outside what you know, say so.
If you are a licensed professional, be clear about whether you are giving general guidance or acting in your professional role.
Write reviews that are honest and fair. Never trade good reviews, and never pressure someone into one.

Keep your promises

Agree the scope and timing of an exchange before work starts.
Do what you agreed, when you agreed.
If something changes, tell the other person early. A short, honest message is always better than silence.
Confirm completion promptly once the work is done, so credits can move.

Keep confidences

Treat what others share in an exchange as confidential. Documents shared in an exchange stay private to the two people involved.
Do not share someone's messages, files or personal details outside Golden Hint without their permission.
Do not post private information about anyone in the forum, including donors, beneficiaries, staff or volunteers.
Remove names and details from real examples before you post them.

No selling or soliciting

Golden Hint is a place to give and get help, not a marketplace.

Do not use the Exchange or forum to sell products or paid services.
Do not use an exchange as a way in for a paid contract. If someone asks you about paid work, that is fine, but do not push it.
Do not ask other members for donations, and do not collect member contact details for mailing lists.
No spam, chain messages, or repeated self-promotion.

Credits are a record of contribution and have no cash value. Never offer or accept money for credits. See the Credit Rules.

No political campaigning

The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity. Federal tax law does not allow charities like ours to support or oppose candidates for public office.

Do not use Golden Hint to support or oppose any candidate or political party.
Do not post campaign material or ask for votes or political donations.
Talking about how laws and policies affect your work, and how charities can take part in public life within the rules, is welcome.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding means protecting people, especially children and vulnerable adults, from harm.

Golden Hint is for adults aged 18 and over.
Never share information that could identify a child or a vulnerable person you serve.
Never use Golden Hint to make contact with a child, or with someone you serve, in a way that breaks your organization's safeguarding rules.
If you see something that suggests someone is at risk, report it to us straight away.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency number first. Then tell us.

How to report a problem

If something on Golden Hint worries you, please tell us. You do not need to be sure that a rule has been broken.

Use the report link next to a post, profile, review or message, once membership opens.
Or write to hello@goldenhint.com. Tell us what happened, where, and when.

The Golden Hint team reads every report. We do not tell the other person who made a report. We will let you know when we have dealt with it, though we may not be able to share the details.

What happens when someone breaks the guidelines

We look at what happened, why, and whether it has happened before. Most problems are honest mistakes, and a friendly word fixes them. Depending on how serious it is, we may:

send a reminder or a warning
edit or remove a post, profile entry or review
pause or cancel an exchange
reverse credits earned by breaking the rules, as the Credit Rules explain
limit what a member can do for a time
suspend or close an account
report the matter to the police or other authorities where the law requires it or someone is at risk

Where it is safe and fair, we will tell the member what we did and why, and give them a chance to respond. If you think we got it wrong, write to hello@goldenhint.com and someone who was not involved in the first decision will look again.

Changes

We may update these guidelines as the community grows. When we do, we will change the version date at the top and let members know.