Community guidelines

WeNepal wants readers to take part: to point out errors, suggest sources, send tips and, where comments are open, discuss the news. These guidelines apply to everything you post on or send to the service, including comments, reactions, suggestions, contact messages, tips, submissions, your account name and replies on our social channels. They sit alongside the terms of use and the acceptable use policy. In this page "WeNepal", "we" and "us" mean the publisher that operates the service.

Comments on stories are not yet switched on. We will open them only when moderation is in place first. When they open, they will be available on routine stories and closed on sensitive ones (elections, court cases, deaths and violence, communal tension, allegations against named people, health emergencies, national security and anything involving minors). Until then you can reach us through the contact form.

Whatever you post or send:

1. Be civil. Argue with ideas, not people. No insults, harassment, bullying or threats.
2. No hate. Nothing that attacks or demeans people for their caste, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, region, language or nationality, and nothing that stirs communal hostility.
3. No incitement or glorification of violence, terrorism, self-harm or suicide.
4. Respect privacy. Do not post anyone's phone number, address, identity documents, private photos or other private information, and never identify a child or a survivor of sexual violence.
5. Do not defame. Do not accuse named people of crimes or wrongdoing without evidence that is already public and reliable.
6. Be yourself. No impersonation of another person, journalist, official or organisation, and no fake or multiple accounts to amplify a view.
7. No spam or manipulation. No advertising, scams, repeated posts, link farming, coordinated campaigns or automated posting.
8. No misinformation that can cause harm, including false claims about elections, health, disasters or emergencies.
9. Respect copyright. Do not post material you do not have the right to share; see the copyright policy.
10. Keep it lawful. Nothing that breaks the law of Nepal, including content that is obscene or that threatens national sovereignty or social harmony as defined by law.
11. Stay on topic. Comments should relate to the story they are posted under.

• Tell us where information comes from. We do not publish single-source claims without a primary document, so a link to an official notice, a document or an on-record statement helps most.
• Do not send material obtained unlawfully, or private data about other people that you have no right to share.
• Sending us a tip or document does not oblige us to publish it. We decide independently whether and how to report.
• If you ask us to protect your identity as a source, tell us clearly. We will not name you without your consent unless a court orders us to, and we will tell you if that happens and the law allows us to.
• By sending a suggestion, comment or submission you give WeNepal permission to use it as described in the terms of use. You keep your rights in it.

• Comments, when enabled, are checked by an automated moderation model before they appear and by a moderator afterwards.
• We may hide, edit out personal data from, or remove anything that breaks these guidelines, with or without notice.
• First breach: the post is hidden. Second breach: a seven-day mute. Third breach: a ban from community features. Serious breaches (threats, doxxing, content involving minors, incitement) lead to an immediate ban and, where the law requires, a report to the authorities.
• Moderation decisions are made by WeNepal's staff. Our technology provider does not moderate or decide what is published.

If you think we removed something or restricted your account by mistake, write to hello@wenepal.com within 30 days with the details. An editor reviews it, where possible someone other than the person who made the original decision, and we reply within 7 days.

Use the report option next to the post when available, or write to hello@wenepal.com with the link. For something that puts a person in danger, contact the police first.

Community questions and appeals: hello@wenepal.com.