Community Guidelines

Why these guidelines exist

4Warning only works if people trust what they read. A single false or malicious warning damages that trust for everyone nearby. These guidelines keep the service useful and keep it fair to the people it talks about.

Post things that help someone

The test is simple: would somebody walking this way in the next few minutes be better off knowing this?

• Report what you actually saw, as plainly as you can.
• Say where it happened, accurately.
• Post while it still matters. An incident from last week is not a warning.
• Keep it short. Enough for somebody to understand what to look out for.

Be accurate

Do not guess, exaggerate, or post something you were told second hand as if you saw it. If you are unsure what you saw, say so in the description rather than choosing a more dramatic category.

Do not identify individuals

This is the rule we enforce most strictly. A warning describes a situation, not a person.

• No names.
• No vehicle registration numbers.
• No phone numbers, addresses, or social media handles.
• No photographs or video where a face is identifiable.
• No descriptions targeting someone by race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, disability, gender, or sexuality.

Describing what happened is fine. Pointing at a person is not.

Do not use 4Warning against people

• No warnings posted out of revenge, or as part of a dispute with a neighbour, an ex-partner, a landlord, or anyone else.
• No harassment, threats, or intimidation.
• No campaigns against a person, a business, a household, or a community.
• No deliberately false reports, including reports intended to draw people away from or towards a location.

Emergencies go to the emergency services

If someone is in danger, or a crime is in progress, contact the police or the relevant emergency service first. 4Warning does not replace them and nobody here is watching for your report. Post the warning afterwards if it would still help someone.

What happens if you break these guidelines

Depending on what happened, we may remove the warning, limit what your account can do, suspend it, or close it permanently. Serious cases, particularly those involving a risk to someone’s safety, may be referred to the police.

If you think we have got it wrong, you can appeal through the contact page.

Reporting a problem

If you see a warning that breaks these guidelines, report it. See Report Abuse for how, and what happens next.