Our Mascot - Pip! Pups in the Park

Online Safety Policy

December 2025

1. Purpose

Pups in the Park operates digital spaces (Discord,TikTok, Instagram) to facilitate community building. This policy ensures these spaces remain safe, inclusive, and strictly adhere to our community standards.

2. Scope & Eligibility

This policy applies to all official Pups in the Park online platforms and the users within them.

  • Age Requirement: In line with Discord Terms of Service and our own rules, all users must be 13+. Anyone found to be under 13 will be banned immediately.
  • Language: Our server operates in English only to ensure effective moderation.

3. Behaviour Expectations

Users of our online spaces must adhere to the following principles:

3.1. Respect & Boundaries

  1. Bullying, harassment, hate speech, and dogpiling are prohibited.
  2. The use of slurs, regardless of whether they are considered "reclaimable" (including the term "chav"), is strictly prohibited.
  3. Respect the boundaries of others. Do not assume familiarity; if you are unsure, ask.
  4. We are a system-safe space. However, to align with our community stance, this space welcomes traumagenic systems only; endogenic or mixed-origin systems are not permitted.

3.2. Accessibility

To ensure our community remains accessible to all members, including those using screen readers:

  1. The use of special/fancy fonts in display names, intros, or messages is prohibited (with the exception of official Discord Nitro username fonts).
  2. While allowed, typing quirks must not render text unreadable.
  3. Moderators reserve the right to change display names that are unreadable or cause issues for screen readers to a "Moderated Nickname".

4. Content Standards

Our online spaces are PG-13 and focused on the event community.

  1. All content must be Safe For Work (SFW). This includes profile pictures, banners, bios, and media. Sexual jokes, "deleting" sexual messages, and suggestive behaviour are not tolerated.
  2. Prohibited Topics:
    1. Politics: Political discussions are not permitted.
    2. Substances: Discussion of illegal substances (drugs, smoking, vaping) is prohibited. Discussion of alcohol is restricted to specific adult channels and must be event-related.
    3. Violence: Discussion or imagery of violence (including memes) is prohibited.
    4. Location Details: For your safety, do not post information that reveals your specific location (e.g., house number, school name).

5. Mental Health

Pups in the Park is a recreational social group, not a mental health crisis service. We maintain a strict boundary regarding mental health topics to protect the well-being of all members.

  1. We do not have a venting channel and do not permit venting in public channels.
  2. We are not therapists. Users must not use the server to discuss self-harm, suicide, or heavy trauma.
  3. Users may not ask others to DM them for the purpose of venting.
  4. If you are feeling mentally unwell or in crisis, please step away from the server and seek professional help. Moderators may remove content that indicates a user is at risk to prevent distress to others.

6. Safeguarding

  • Adult/Minor Contact: Strictly Prohibited.
    • Adults are not permitted to DM minors.
    • Minors are not permitted to DM adults.
    • Before sending a Direct Message (DM) to someone you have just met in the server, you must check their age role.
  • Moderators are trained to look for signs of grooming. Any predatory behaviour will result in an immediate ban and a report to the relevant authorities.

7. Moderation

7.1. Moderators

  • Moderators are empowered to delete messages, mute users, and issue bans to maintain safety.
  • Do not spam staff or argue with decisions in public chat. If you believe a staff member is being unreasonable, contact Management or Beck Bond privately.
  • Moderators will not read private DMs unless forwarded & screenshots are provided as evidence of a rule breach.

7.2. Reporting Mechanisms

  1. Users should use the ticketing system to report issues to the moderation team privately, selecting the appropriate category.
  2. In cases of illegal content (e.g., CSAM, terrorism), Pups in the Park will report the content to the platform (e.g., Discord Trust & Safety) and the police (CEOP).

8. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually by the Community Manager to ensure it remains effective and fit for purpose. The next scheduled review date is December, 2026.

9. Contact

For any questions regarding this policy, please contact the Community Manager via community@pupsinthepark.uk.