Community Guidelines

1. Why we have guidelines

Toshak should feel like a good gathering at a friend's home: welcoming, respectful and safe. These guidelines apply to everything on Toshak, including group chats, private messages, profiles, photos, listings, events and reviews. They are part of our Terms of Service. Breaking them can lead to content removal, warnings, suspension or a permanent ban.

2. Respect everyone

• No hate, insults or attacks based on ethnicity, tribe, race, nationality, religion or sect, language, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age or immigration status. All Afghans are welcome here: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, Baloch, Nuristani, Aimaq, Pashai and everyone else, Sunni and Shia, religious and not.
• No harassment, bullying, threats, or repeated unwanted messages. If someone asks you to stop messaging them, stop.
• Disagree about ideas, not people. Political discussion is allowed when it is respectful. Incitement, calls for violence, and celebrating attacks or violence are not.

3. Keep everyone safe

• No threats of violence, and no content that promotes, praises or supports terrorist or violent extremist organizations or their members.
• No sharing of anyone's private information (phone number, address, workplace, documents or photos) without their permission. No secret recordings shared to shame or expose someone.
• No sexual content or nudity. No sexual messages to anyone who has not welcomed them.
• No content that encourages suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. If someone seems at risk, report it and encourage them to contact local emergency services.
• If anyone is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number first. Toshak is not an emergency service.

4. Zero tolerance for child exploitation

Toshak is for adults 18 and older. We have zero tolerance for any content or behavior that sexualizes, exploits or endangers children, including grooming, sexual images of minors, or attempts to contact minors for sexual purposes. We remove it, ban the accounts involved, report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and cooperate with law enforcement. Report it in the app or email safety@toshakapp.com.

5. Be real and honest

• Use your real name or the name people know you by. No fake profiles, and no pretending to be another person, business, organization or official.
• One personal account per person. Do not create new accounts to get around a suspension or ban.
• No spam: no repeated posts, chain messages, mass private messages, or posting the same thing in several topics.
• Post in the right topic. Business ads belong in Local business ads only.

6. Scams and fraud

Never ask for money in advance for something people have not seen, a job, a visa, housing you do not control, or a "fee" to release a prize or a package. No pyramid schemes, "get rich quick" offers, fake investments, crypto schemes or loan scams. Do not ask anyone for passwords, verification codes or bank details. If something feels wrong, report it.

7. Buying and selling

Be honest about what you sell, its condition and its price. Meet in public places and inspect items before paying. You may not buy, sell, trade or give away:

• weapons, ammunition, explosives, or parts for them;
• drugs, prescription medicines, cannabis, or drug equipment;
• alcohol, tobacco or vaping products;
• stolen, counterfeit or recalled goods;
• identity or immigration documents (passports, visas, green cards, work permits, IDs, driver's licenses, Social Security numbers), or "help" getting them by fraud;
• smuggling, help crossing borders illegally, or travel "agents" that promise guaranteed visas;
• money transfer or currency exchange (including hawala) unless you are licensed to provide it where you operate;
• government benefits (such as food stamps or EBT), gift cards or accounts;
• animals for sale, adult or sexual services, gambling, or anything else illegal where you or the buyer live.

8. Offering services

• Licensed work needs a license. If your service requires a license or registration where you work, you must have it. Examples: lawyers, tax preparers, doctors and other health workers, contractors, electricians, real estate agents, insurance agents, money transmitters, car dealers, driving instructors and childcare providers.
• Immigration help: only licensed attorneys and accredited representatives (in the U.S., DOJ-accredited representatives of recognized organizations; in the UK, OISC-registered advisers) may give immigration legal advice or choose forms for someone. Interpreters and translators may translate, but may not give legal advice or call themselves "notarios" or "immigration consultants."
• Describe your prices, experience and qualifications honestly. We may ask for proof of any license, and we may remove listings that do not meet these rules.
• A Verified badge means we reviewed a document at one point in time. It is not a guarantee.

9. Housing ads

Housing ads must follow fair housing laws. Do not exclude or prefer anyone because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status (families with children) or disability, or any other trait protected where the home is. For example, do not write "Afghans only," "no kids" or "Muslims preferred." If you are renting a room in a home you live in and share, you may state a preference for a roommate's gender where the law allows. Only advertise a place you own or have the right to rent, and never ask for a deposit before someone has seen the place and signed an agreement.

10. Job posts

Describe the job, pay and location honestly. Do not exclude or prefer applicants because of a protected trait such as ethnicity, religion, sex, age or disability. Pay at least the legal minimum wage. Never charge people to apply or to get a job, and do not ask for unpaid "trial" work.

11. Events

Post only real events with accurate details. Each event is reviewed before it is published. Organizers are responsible for permits, venue rules, safety and any tickets or refunds. Events in public listings must be suitable for families. Use the price field honestly, and say clearly if an event is free or paid.

12. Reviews

Only review a service you actually used. Reviews must be honest and based on your own experience. Do not review yourself, your family's or your friends' businesses, or competitors. Businesses may not pay for, trade for or pressure anyone into leaving positive reviews, or offer rewards for removing negative ones.

13. Respect other people's work

Only post photos, videos, music and text that you created or have permission to use. To report copyright infringement, see Section 11 of our Terms of Service.

14. How moderation works

• Every community is looked after by Toshak staff and volunteer moderators.
• Report a message, person, listing or event from the app. Reports are confidential: the person you report is not told who reported them.
• Depending on how serious it is, we may remove content, warn you, limit features, suspend or permanently ban your account. Serious harm, threats, scams and child exploitation lead to an immediate ban.
• Only moderators can pin messages in group chats. Some topics, such as Community announcements, are read-only.
• If you think we made a mistake, email appeals@toshakapp.com within 30 days with your account details and what happened. A different person will review it.

Thank you for helping keep Toshak a good place for our community.