Community Guidelines

These Community Guidelines were created so every Member can enjoy a great experience and to help ensure that everyone has a voice and can participate in conversations freely.

Your Username

There are three ways to identify yourself on Head Chatter. When you create an Account to become a Member, you will be asked to choose a Username. You can use a made-up name up to 20 characters, a variation of your real name, or your real name. Business Memberships require that you use your real name.

Username Choices

Your Username can offer you anonymity if you choose not to use your real name.

Consider choosing a Username that reflects your personality or something you love or a creative name or a humorous one or something off the wall.

Make sure the Username you choose is not of a sexual nature, obscene, violent, or intentionally offensive, does not impersonate any person or entity and is not a business name unless you have a StoreFront, OfficeFront, or ServiceFront Business Membership.

Usernames Cannot be Changed – Contact Us if You Need to Change Your Username

Be sure you choose a Username you really like before submitting it upon creating your Account for Membership. At this time, your Username cannot be changed by you.

If you make a mistake when creating your Username or have another reason for needing a new Username, contact us with the reason and the Username you would like to use in place of your old Username and we'll make the change for you.

Your Profile Photo & Personal Information

You have the option to upload a photo or image to your profile and provide information about yourself or leave your profile in the default mode without a photo or personal information.

It’s important to observe the following guidelines if you decide to upload a photo or image to your profile or provide any personal details or information:

Profile Photos

Your profile photo can be of you or any image as long as it is not an image of a sexual nature, intentionally offensive, violent, or obscene. Business logos can be used if you have a Business StoreFront, OfficeFront, or ServiceFront Membership.

Your Profile Photo or Image must be in .JPG format.

Important: Flashing images can induce severe headaches or seizures in some people with photo-sensitivity and/or epilepsy – officially known as photosensitive epilepsy, PSE or reflex epilepsy. This is the main reason Animated GIFs, Images and Repetitive Motion Clips are prohibited.

Personal Information

For your security and privacy, we recommend that you do not include phone numbers, street or mailing addresses, URLs, email addresses or any other personal contact information in your profile or in any publicly viewable areas on the Service.

Business Information

Using your Individual Membership Profile to promote or advertise your business or sell goods and services, is prohibited. If you own a business and would like to promote it on the Service, find out how you can grow your business with a StoreFront, OfficeFront, or ServiceFront here.

Freedom to Express Yourself

We encourage and promote open dialogue and support every Member’s right to express their opinions, beliefs, ideas, and unique points of view with very few limitations – here they are:

Don’t Harass or Abuse Members

Please don’t harass, verbally abuse, intimidate, attack, bait, stalk or threaten a Member for ANY reason.

If you don’t agree with the way a Member is expressing themselves or don’t agree with their opinions, beliefs, ideas, or points of view, try expressing your opposing opinions, beliefs, ideas and viewpoints.

Don’t Make “False” Accusations

Please don’t make “False” accusations against a “Real” person by name or make “False” accusations against a business or organization by name. Even in a veiled fashion. The person, business owner, or company can file a lawsuit against you for Defamation if you make “False” accusations.

Don’t Post or Upload These Materials

Please don’t post or upload any obscene, illegal, libelous, profane, pornographic, sexually explicit or patently offensive materials. This includes gun play, gore, knife/blade play, or any other extremely violent or gory content whether real, hentai, cartoons, animations or any other medium of expression including links to such materials.

Don’t Encourage Members to Commit a Crime

Please don’t encourage Members to commit a crime or advocate “Unlawful” conduct against the Government or “Violent” overthrow of the Government. This doesn’t include encouraging or promoting Civil Resistance. Civil resistance is a powerful way for people to fight for their rights, freedom, and justice—without the use of violence.

Chat Etiquette

Meeting and talking with people in Destinations is not unlike meeting people in a “real life” setting and that requires some etiquette to ensure a pleasant and enjoyable experience for you and everyone in the Destination. Here are some suggestions:

Joining a Destination

When you first arrive in a Destination or it’s your first time in the Destination, sit back for a few moments to get a feel for how the conversations are going. There may be several taking place at the same time or only a few. When you’re ready to participate and respond to a post or post content, introduce yourself in the room with a simple “Hello Everyone!” then jump into the conversation, comment on a post, or start a conversation with a post of your own about a thought, idea, content, or question.

Typing in all Caps

Typing in all caps can be considered rude, and is the equivalent to YELLING. Try and keep CAPS to a minimum. If you need to emphasize a word, by all means capitalize it.

Type in Normal English

Try typing in normal English. Abbreviating is fine (BRB, LOL, LMAO, OMG! WTH? for example), but it helps a great deal if the average person doesn’t need to be a CIA code specialist to understand you.

Try Not to Monopolize Conversations

Try not to monopolize a conversation or drown one out, be part of them.

Please Don’t Flood Chat Destinations with Content

Sharing content and information in Destinations is great but not to the point that it becomes disruptive to the conversations taking place inside. If you have a lot of content to post, pace it out.

Respect the Participants in the Destination

This simply means that your activity, language, tone, and electronic transmissions are appropriate for the particular Destination you visit.

What is appropriate in some Destinations or contexts may not be appropriate in others. For example, Taverns and Saloons can be noisy, energetic and even rowdy while a conversation in a Café or Coffee House is likely to be more quiet and relaxed.

Each Destination comes with a description to let you know what the Destination is generally about and what you can reasonably expect in the way of the participants, conversations, and posted content.

Political Destinations

The political polarization in the United States is very high at the moment and the political views and opinions between Members can be diametrically opposed to one another and fiercely defended.

With this in mind, the political Destinations listed below were created so Members can engage in conversations and share their political views, ideas, opinions, and information with like-minded Members – they were NOT created for political battles between Members with completely opposing viewpoints and opinions.

• Democrats
• Liberals
• Republicans
• Conservatives
• Independents
• Libertarians

If you’re looking for a political fight, start one in the “Political War Room”.

The Political War Room – the Place for Political Battles!

The Political War Room is for political debates, conveying opinions, ideas, facts, arguments and views on political parties, election integrity, election results, weaponization and politicization of departments of government, the 2020 election, the midterm elections, the 2024 Presidential election, campaigns, candidates, politicians, elected officials, the current administration, congress and senate, departments of government, the World Economic Forum, the WHO, the UN, the G20, wars, the climate change agenda, social issues, political and cultural agendas, media, and more.

If you’re looking for a political battle with Members that have opposing political viewpoints and opinions, head in to the Political War Room and make your views and opinions known but be prepared for heated counterarguments, anger, some name calling, and strong opposition.

Be aware that discussions in this room can be very passionate, personal, intense and very confrontational. Knock yourself out!

Finding Political Common Ground

If you want to find political common ground with Members that hold opposite political viewpoints, try to understand their values and shape your arguments accordingly. Even if you are not successful, you likely brought some light to the debate rather than heat.

Another way to find political common ground is to stop alienating political opponents by repeating your argument and your sense of morality over and over again and focus on how they think and then framing your viewpoints in a way that somehow fits with their thought process.

Content Sharing

You can share links to websites, links to social media posts, articles, stories, news, photos, memes, and links to music and videos as long as they do not infringe on any rights or violate any applicable laws, are not obscene, illegal, libelous, pornographic, sexually explicit, extremely violent, patently offensive or incite illegal activities.

NO Animated GIFs, Images or Repetitive Motion Clips

Please do NOT post animated GIFs or moving images or animated photos in Destinations, Direct Messages, or in your Profile. They are disruptive and annoying to most Members. You can share your animated images and clips in Direct Messages with the permission of the Member.

Important: Flashing images can induce severe headaches or seizures in some people with photo-sensitivity and/or epilepsy – officially known as photosensitive epilepsy, PSE or reflex epilepsy. This is the main reason Animated GIFs, Images and Repetitive Motion Clips are prohibited.

Don’t Flood Destinations with Content

Please do not flood Destinations with content or share the same content repeatedly to the point it becomes disruptive to the conversations taking place in the Destination.

NO Fundraising

Please do not use Destinations or Direct Messaging for fundraising or soliciting money. This includes crowdfunding through websites like Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and Patreon.

Caution! – Be Careful Downloading Computer Files

Be cautious when sharing and downloading computer “files” that Members may post in a Destination or in a Direct Message. They may contain VIRUSES without you or the Member knowing the file was corrupted or a threat to you and your computer.

No Business or Commercial Advertising in Destinations or in Individual Membership Profiles

We are bombarded by advertising across online and social media platforms, television, and billboards and it’s becoming more intrusive. Most people are trying to get away from it.

Please do not use Destinations or your Member Profile for promoting or advertising your business or the business of someone you know. Spamming in Destinations or in Direct Messages to Members is not allowed. This includes links to your business website, online store e.g. Shopify, or any other promotional activities such as an affiliate relationship with Amazon.

Exception: If a Member posts a request for a business referral or recommendation in a Destination, you can provide a positive referral that includes your experience and the contact information for the business.

If you own a business and want to reach Members on the Website, you can grow your business here with a Custom StoreFront, OfficeFront, or ServiceFront Destination. Click here for more information.

You are the Arbiter of Truth

Disinformation, misinformation, lies, half-truths, fake news, gaslighting, suppression, propaganda, psychological operations, bias, and flat out lies are prevalent on the internet, social media platforms, in print, and in the mainstream media and alternative media sources.

Finding the truth has become increasingly more difficult for people seeking accurate and fair news, commentary, and information. There are now fact checkers fact checking the fact checkers.

Here are a few tips that can help you be the arbiter of truth over the information you hear, read and share here or anywhere.

Check the Source

Is the source credible? Do they have a long standing reputation for conveying the truth? Are several mainstream sources all following the same word-for-word narrative? Parroting each other? Does the name of the information source indicate bias? WeHateBiden.com or WeHateTrump.com would be a clue.

Is the author of the information credible on the subject? A podiatrist speaking on the effects of medical marijuana on your social life might not be so credible.

Ask yourself what is the motive of the speaker, writer, business or organization whether it be a journalist, news outlet, or a publisher. What do they have to gain or lose and finally, who controls them?

Read Entire Articles

Headlines and the first few lines of an article don’t always tell the true story. Read the entire article to get the most details and then find more articles on the same subject from different sources. This can help you find the truth or get you closer to it.

Show Me the Facts!

Is the statement based on facts? How do you know? What is the source of the alleged facts? Is the source trustworthy? Is the source anonymous? Where did the source get the information? Trace the facts back to their origin to confirm their validity.

If the statement isn’t based on facts, then the speaker, writer, news outlet, spokesperson, or organization is asking you to trust them. Should you? Do you have a basis for that trust? Is there any reason they might want to deceive you or to “spin” the facts in a self-serving way?

Look for Loaded Words

Racist, terrorist, radical left-wing extremists, radical right-wing extremists, meltdown, bailout, etc. are examples of words used to add emotional meaning to an “alleged” factual statement or headline. Just replace the loaded words with unemotional words and see if the statement still makes sense.

Do Some Research

Double or even triple check the information you hear or read with other reliable sources you trust. Today, anyone can produce news and information on the internet. Be cautious and don’t believe everything you hear on social media platforms, television, online or in print without doing some research.

Don’t be Fooled by Statistics

Adding numbers to something that’s not true doesn’t make it more credible, especially if the numbers are made up or if the numbers come from a biased study or survey.

Verify the source of the statistics, and if the statistics are based on a survey then make sure that the survey questions aren’t misleading (a common way to bias an answer) and that the sample used for the survey fairly represents the relevant population.

Don’t be Fooled by Surveys and Polls

Survey says: “Over half of Americans still head to TV for news”. Really? That’s about 160,000,000 people that said they do this. How is that possible? It’s not.

This is a real headline but the real number of people surveyed by Gallup was only 2,048. So, always check the number of people a survey or poll is based on and ask yourself, do the numbers match up to the published results or headlines?

Your Role as the Arbiter of Truth

We think the best arbiter on whether something said or posted on the Service is true or not — is you. It’s very dangerous when social media platforms of any size play the role of arbiter when it comes to deciding what their Members say or post is true or not by any means human or digital.

It’s up to every Member to determine if anything stated or posted by other Members is true or not.

Gaslighting – A Tactic Used to Gain Power Over You

Gaslighting is a tactic in which a person or entity makes you question your reality, doubt your own perceptions, values, morals, beliefs, and accept their reality in order to gain more power over you. It works best when the person or the audience is vulnerable or fearful.

It’s a common technique used by abusers, dictators, narcissists, cult leaders, authoritarians, governments, journalists, Politicians, writers, publishers, reporters, psychopaths, and is used heavily by the media and media figures today.

Some people say we are living in a perpetual state of gaslighting. Are they right? Did you ever notice how the reality the media often presents to you is completely at odds with what you see with our own eyes?

For example, the news media shows you footage of mobs looting, smashing windows, setting cars and buildings on fire and the reporter you’re watching live on the scene dodges a burning projectile and says to you after the fiery object barely misses their head, that what you’re seeing is mostly peaceful protests. You know a riot when you see one.

When you challenge or question the false reality or narrative presented to you by a person, entity or the media, with your own reality, sometimes the same one you saw with your own eyes, chances are good you’ll either be verbally abused, vilified, censored, or canceled and then labeled or demonized. Sound familiar?

Keep in mind that Members will share information on the Service that came from a number of diverse sources and that even the smartest and most self-aware person can be sucked into gaslighting. Here is how to recognize a Gaslighter:

Gaslighters Tell Blatant Lies

You know it’s a lie. They may even admit it or you might hear the media retracted it. The idea here is to keep you off-kilter so you’re not sure if anything they say in the future is true or not.

Gaslighters Deny Saying Something They Said

You know for sure you heard what they said. They deny it. The idea here is to get you to start questioning your reality and start accepting theirs.

Gaslighters Attack the Foundation of Your Being

They know what’s important to you and use it against you. They start with your identity by attacking your personality, your choices, your beliefs, your political views, your heritage, your values, your education, your financial status, and even the color of your skin as being negative in some way. If you have kids, they will tell you what a bad parent you are because of this reason for that reason and so on.

Gaslighters Wear You Down Slowly

The most insidious thing about gaslighting is that it’s usually done slowly over time. A lie here, a lie there, a personal attack every so often on an individual or group basis and then it starts increasing.

Actions of Gaslighters Don’t Match Their Words

Look at what the person or entity is doing and match it to what they are saying when you suspect them of gaslighting. Their actions will not match their words.

Gaslighters Use Positive Reinforcement to Confuse You

The same person or entity that is cutting you down or shaming you for who you are and what you believe in or your choices, views, and even your religious or political affiliation, will occasionally praise you for something you did or agree with something you stand for or believe in. The idea here is to get you to think they aren’t so bad and again lead you to question your reality.

Gaslighters Know Confusion Weakens People

Most people like having a sense of stability and normalcy in their lives and Gaslighters know it. Their goal is to destabilize your sense of stability and normalcy by making you constantly question everything. Our natural tendency is to look to the person or entity that will help us feel more stable—unfortunately many times it’s the Gaslighter.

Gaslighters Love to Project

Gaslighters have plenty of negative traits and behaviors yet they constantly accuse you of them. You know they're wrong, but the idea here is to distract you from their negative behavior, even crimes, and get you to question if you have the same negative behaviors and traits.

For example, in politics, the gaslighter is colluding with a foreign country and making deals on the side for themselves and their family members yet they accuse their political opponents of doing the same when they are not, many times with the help of the Media and “Special” guests, to perpetrate the lie.

Gaslighters Try to Align People Against You

Gaslighters are masters at manipulating. They find people and groups they know will support them no matter what they say or do and they will use these people against you.

They will tell you things like, "This person or that person knows I’m right" or "This person or that person thinks you're crazy”. These people may not have said anything about you but it doesn’t matter to the gaslighter.

The tactic here is it make you feel like you don't know who to trust or look to for support leading you right back to the gaslighter. And that's exactly what they want–isolation gives them even more control over you.

Gaslighters Tell You that Everyone is a Liar

Telling you that everyone else is a liar can make you question if it might be true. This manipulation technique makes you think the gaslighter has the "correct" information–not your sources or the people that support you.

Gaslighters Tell You and Others that You’re Crazy

The most effective tool the gaslighter uses is telling you and others that you’re crazy or insane or need to be "Deprogrammed". The gaslighter knows that if people around you question your sanity, they won’t believe you when you expose them.

Trust Yourself!

If you weren’t familiar with gaslighting before reading this, you should find it easier to recognize it when a person, official, entity or the media is trying to twist your basic understanding of reality to their own ends.

Trust yourself, seek the truth, share the truth, and trust more of what you see with your own eyes over what you are being told.

Misunderstandings & Disputes Between Members

When we communicate online, we miss out on body language, facial expressions and in-person signals that are useful in our communications and understanding with people. This can lead to misunderstandings and disputes between Members.

Most people using social media to communicate want an equal voice and expect their opinion to be heard. The rules about what people can and cannot say in public settings has changed. With less context to guide our conversations and decisions, the number of things we agree on is shrinking fast. Here are some tips that can help you avoid misunderstandings and disputes:

How I don’t agree with you can turn into “I don’t like you”

Keep in mind that agreeing with people motivates them less than disagreeing with them. There is nothing wrong with this but it means people are more likely to comment or post when they disagree with something another Member said or posted.

If a Member disagrees with something you said or posted, try not to take their disagreement as a personal attack. It more than likely is not an attack on you personally, even though the chemicals that flood your brain says, “this is an attack on me!” Otherwise, “I don’t agree with you” can turn into “I don’t like you” very quickly instead of keeping an open mind to the other person’s point of view and continuing the conversation.

Consider How Your Comments can be Interpreted

When making jokes or using sarcasm, consider how your comments can be interpreted. Remember that the receiver of your message, which could be a room full of people, cannot see your gestures or facial expressions. The use of emoticons (emotional icons) can give your messages and communications more clarity and help avoid misunderstandings.

Arguments Between Members Can Erupt

If an argument erupts during a conversation with another Member, remember that you don’t have to agree or even find common ground with them unless you want to, but you do need to show common courtesy and respect their right to express their opinions, beliefs and viewpoints, even if you don’t agree with them. Just respecting this right can cool down a disagreement before it becomes more hostile or even personal.

Finding Common Ground

If you want to try finding common ground with Members that hold opposite viewpoints or beliefs, try to understand their values and shape your arguments accordingly. Even if you are not successful, you likely brought some light to the debate rather than heat.

Another way to find common ground with Members that hold opposite viewpoints or beliefs, is to stop alienating them by repeating your argument over and over again, try focusing on how they think and then framing your viewpoints in a way that fits with their thought process.

When it’s Time to End a Conversation

Sometimes you’ll find yourself in a conversation with another Member or a group of Members and you just can’t find common ground with them or the conversation is going South where even the slightest admission that anything you have to say is getting through. When this happens, it’s time to ask yourself if continuing the conversation is worth your time. If it’s not, then end the conversation as nicely as possible and move on.

Meeting Members In-Person

If you decide to contact a member or meet with them outside the Service, you should always take precautions for your personal security and safety. This can include speaking with the person by phone before meeting them, meeting in public places during the day, taking someone with you to a meeting, and forming a group meet-up involving several people.

We do not screen or inquire into the backgrounds of Members or verify any of the statements Members make on the Service or to you or to Us. It is your responsibility to use your best judgement and prescreen anyone you plan to meet in-person.

Abide by the Law

It is your responsibility to know and abide by the law. Please do not publish, post, transmit, promote, or distribute material, including software, links, photos, sounds, related or written material, that is illegal or incites illegal activity, or use the Service to conduct illegal activities.

If you witness any suspected illegal activity on the Service, please use the “Contact Us” or “Report” links to report it.

Protect Your Account & Your Privacy

Your Account

We will NEVER ask for your password or billing information in a Destination or in a Direct Message. Do not give your password or billing information to anyone or enter it into a website or a form that opens after you click a website link posted by a Member in a Destination or Direct Message. For example, website links provided within a Destination or Direct Message, even if it is an official-looking website, as these can be imitated to look like a familiar website by scam artists or hackers.

You are responsible for all activities on your account. You should not allow anyone to use your account without being present. If any violations occur by a person using your account, you would be responsible for their actions.

Your Privacy

Please protect your privacy. Using a Username in place of your “Real” name offers you a degree of privacy while on the Service. You can use your “Real” name as your Username if you would like, but we don’t recommend it unless you have a Business Membership where your real name or your business name is required. Do not give out your address or phone number or disclose any personal information in a Destination, in your profile, or in a Direct Message unless you know the Member you’re messaging.

Never provide any financial information such as bank account numbers or credit card information anywhere on the Service or to other Members.

Direct Messages

The Direct Messages feature on the Service allows Members to communicate with each other privately in real-time. Occasionally, you may receive an unwanted message and here are the instructions to block them:

Blocking Unwanted Direct Messages

You can block receiving Direct Messages from any Member while in a Destination. If you receive an unwanted Direct Message from a Member or you see a Member in a Destination you would prefer not receiving a Direct Message from, you can use the “Block” feature by following these simple steps:

1. Click the Member’s Username.
2. Click the “Options” button on the Right Destination Panel.
3. Click the “Block” Icon.
4. To Un-block a Member, repeat step 2 and 3.

Help & Assistance

Need assistance with your account? Have a technical question? Billing issue? Need to report a violation of our Terms of Use or Community Guidelines? How about providing some feedback, an idea or a suggestion?

Just click “Contact Us” link located in your Account Menu or the “Contact Us” link located at the bottom portion of the Website Home Page.

Thank You!

Following these Community Guidelines so everyone can enjoy a great experience makes you a very important part of this exclusive social network. We’re glad you’re here. Thank you for being the best part of Head Chatter!