Community Standards

Introduction

Welcome to Orthodate! We value honesty, kindness, and respect towards others in our community. We aim to provide a platform where users can express themselves freely, as long as it doesn't harm or offend others. We want Orthodate to be a safe and respectful space for all users. We have high standards for our users, and we expect all users to think before they act, both online and offline. 

To ensure this, we have developed a set of Community Standards (or rules) that everyone must follow when using our platform. Please review and familiarise yourself with this document, as breaching any of the standards listed below may result in your Orthodate account being terminated. Remember that your offline behaviour can also affect your ability to maintain an Orthodate account. 

Additionally, we encourage you to report any suspected breaches of our Community Standards, to help make Orthodate a safe and enjoyable community for everyone! Please also check out our Orthodate Safety Tips (https://www.orthodate.com.au/safety-tips) for additional guidance. 

Our Purpose

Orthodate’s primary purpose is to provide Orthodox Christians in Australia with an online platform where they can easily meet other members of the Australian Orthodox denomination, and potentially create lasting and meaningful relationships via these connections. Consistent with this purpose, Orthodate’s organisational values are founded on Christian values derived from Christian faith and religious practices.

Orthodate certainly welcomes all users, but we expect users to respect our organisational values, and to exercise caution when expressing personal views relating to Christianity or the Orthodox religion, particularly where those views may be inconsistent with Orthodate’s above-mentioned values. Orthodate reserves the right to terminate a user’s account, in the event that content or commentary uploaded to our platform by that user is deemed inappropriate or offensive by Orthodate moderators.

Nudity and Sexual Content

Please keep it classy and appropriate for public consumption. No nudity, no sexually explicit content, and do not chronicle all of your sexual desires in your bio.

Harassment

We do not tolerate targeted abuse or harassment against any other user. This includes sending any unsolicited sexual content to your matches. Reports of stalking, threats, bullying, or intimidation will be taken very seriously.

Violence

Violent or graphic content is not allowed on Orthodate. We do not allow any actions or content that advocate for or threaten violence of any sort, including promoting terrorism. Physical assault, coercion, and any acts of violence are strictly prohibited. 

Hate Speech

Any content that promotes, advocates for, or condones racism, hatred, or violence against individuals or groups based on factors such as race, ethnicity, disability, age, national origin, is not allowed.

Private Information

Do not publicly disclose any private information, yours or anyone else’s. This includes passports, passwords, financial information, or unlisted contact information, such as phone numbers, email addresses, home/work address.

Spam

Do not use Orthodate to drive people to external websites via a link or otherwise.

Promotion or Solicitation

Soliciting other users is prohibited on Orthodate. It is fine to invite your matches to something that you’re doing, but if the purpose of your profile is to advertise your event or business, non-profit, political campaign, contest, or to conduct research, your account may be terminated.

Prostitution and Trafficking

Promoting or advocating for commercial sexual services, human trafficking, or other non-consensual sexual acts is strictly prohibited and will result in your account being terminated.

Scamming

Orthodate has a zero-tolerance policy on predatory behaviour of any kind. Anyone attempting to get other users’ private information for fraudulent or illegal activity may be banned from using our platform. Any user caught sharing their own financial account information (PayPal, Venmo, etc.) for the purpose of receiving money from other users may also be banned.

Impersonation

At Orthodate, we value authenticity and honesty. We prohibit any form of impersonation or misrepresentation of yourself or others. This includes creating fake accounts or pretending to be someone else. Parody accounts are also not allowed, even if they are meant to be humorous. Remember, be yourself, and do not misrepresent your affiliation, connection, or association with any person or entity.

Minors

To ensure a safe and appropriate environment, Orthodate is only available to individuals who are 18 years old or older. Any images of unaccompanied minors are not allowed on our platform. If you wish to share pictures of your children, please ensure that you are also in the photo. If you encounter any profiles that feature unaccompanied minors or encourage harm to minors, or contain any content that depicts minors in a sexual or suggestive manner, please report it to us immediately.

Copyright and trademark infringement

To avoid copyright and trademark infringement, please ensure that any work displayed on your Orthodate profile is your original content or that you have obtained permission to display copyrighted or trademarked material belonging to others.

Account Management and Inactivity Policy

Each Orthodate account must have only one owner. Therefore, you are not allowed to create a joint account with someone else, or maintain multiple accounts. Using any third-party apps that claim to provide Orthodate's service or unlock exclusive Orthodate features (such as auto-swipers) is strictly prohibited. To fully benefit from our platform, we encourage you to use Orthodate regularly.

Please note: If you have not logged in for 2 years, we may assume you no longer wish to use our service, and your inactive account may be deleted.

Illegal activity

The use of Orthodate for any illegal activities is strictly prohibited. Orthodate moderators will refer inappropriate or suspicious content to relevant authorities for further action. If you encounter any bad behaviour on Orthodate, please report it to us. (https://www.orthodate.com.au) All reports are confidential and will be reviewed by our team. Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and enjoyable community on Orthodate.

Please note: Our team possesses the authority to conduct thorough investigations and, if deemed necessary, terminate user accounts. Refunds will not be provided in cases involving misuse of Orthodate services.