At Lounges, we believe in fostering open discussions about mental health, suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders in a supportive & safe manner. However, it's crucial to recognise that certain content can be sensitive & may pose risks to some users.
When creating content that involves suicide, self-harm, or eating disorder-related topics, consider the potential impact on your audience, particularly minors and individuals who may be sensitive to such content.
To ensure the well-being of your viewers and other users, please adhere to the following Community Guidelines when producing content related to suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders. Failure to comply with these guidelines may lead to strikes, content removal, or other measures implemented to protect users. For more details, refer to our guidelines.
This Community Guidelines policy applies to videos, video descriptions, comments, live streams, and any other Lounges product or feature. It's essential to note that these policies also extend to external links in your content, including clickable URLs, verbal references to other sites in videos, and other forms of linking.
Don’t post the following content:
- Content that promotes or glorifies suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders.
- Instructions on engaging in suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders (including concealment techniques).
- Suicide, self-harm, or eating disorder-related content targeted at minors.
- Graphic images of self-harm.
- Visuals of suicide victims' bodies unless fully obscured or blurred.
- Videos depicting the lead-up to a suicide, suicide attempts, or suicide rescue footage without adequate context.
- Content encouraging participation in suicide or self-harm challenges (e.g., Blue Whale or Momo challenges).
- Suicide notes or letters without adequate context.
- Content featuring weight-based bullying in the context of eating disorders.
In some instances, we may restrict rather than remove suicide, self-harm, or eating disorder content if it meets certain criteria (e.g., age-restriction, warnings, or a Crisis Resource Panel). Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.
Best practices for creators posting content about suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders
To safeguard your viewers from harm and distress, consider employing these best practices when creating content related to suicide or self-harm:
- Don’t show the person who died by suicide, respecting their privacy and that of their families.
- Use positive and supportive language, focusing on recovery, prevention, and stories of hope.
- Provide information and resources for suicide and self-harm prevention and coping strategies within the video and its description.
- Refrain from using sensationalist language or dramatic visuals.
- Offer context while avoiding discussions about how the victim died by suicide, including specific methods or locations.
- Blur content containing images of suicide victims.
- Emphasise the impact of the disorder rather than detailing disordered eating behaviours.
- Educate your audience on the severe complications commonly associated with eating disorders.
- Include information and resources for eating disorder prevention and coping strategies in the video and its description.
What happens if content violates this policy: If your content violates these guidelines, we will remove it and notify you via email. Additionally, we may remove unsafe links if they cannot be verified.
For a first-time violation, you will likely receive a warning with no penalty to your Lounge. Repeated violations may result in strikes against your Lounge page, and three strikes within 90 days will lead to Lounges termination. Refer to our strikes system for more details.
We have a zero-tolerance policy for repeated violations or severe abuse of our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service, which may lead to Lounges account termination. Moreover, if you indicate an intent to live stream content that violates our guidelines, we may limit your access to live streaming.
Please remember that our goal is to ensure a safe and positive environment for all users, and we appreciate your cooperation in upholding these Community Guidelines.