Community Guidelines - Gander Social Blog

Gander Community Guidelines

A community framework for safe, open, and respectful behaviour on Gander Social

Last Updated: April 17, 2026

Welcome to Gander

Gander is a Canadian social platform built to support healthy conversation, user agency, and digital sovereignty. Our mission is to create fun and trustworthy social media.

Our approach to community is anchored by the The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We reflect the spirit of peace, order, and good (platform) governance.

These Guidelines are also informed by established Canadian norms and trusted institutions, which provide a roadmap to navigating complex and nuanced moderation decisions.

They draw from Canadian human rights frameworks, journalistic ethics, Truth and Reconciliation principles, ongoing input from Canadian legal experts, and communities who hold lived experience.

Fostering diverse views does not mean allowing hate or abuse. We’re committed to creating space for a wide range of voices without compromising safety, dignity, or inclusion.

On Gander, you shape your own experience: who you follow, how you filter content, and with whom/what you engage with. With agency comes accountability: everyone plays a role in keeping the platform respectful and enjoyable.

Gander is built on the AT Protocol. That means you may see content from outside Gander, including from Bluesky and other servers. You can choose to view this content, or turn it off in your settings.

We apply our rules to all content displayed on Gander, and we’re continuously improving how we moderate content both in terms of policy and practical application. Building a space with real accountability takes work… and we’re committed to doing it well.

These guidelines apply to everyone using Gander, including official Gander accounts. They’ll continue to develop as we learn and grow alongside the community.

You must be at least 18 years old to use Gander.

Policy Foundations

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Gander respects the values reflected in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including freedom of expression, equality, and protection from discrimination. This does not mean all speech is allowed. It does mean that moderation should be fair, proportional, and consistent with democratic norms.

Public Benefit and Platform Values

Gander is a Canadian Benefit Company created to advance user dignity, digital sovereignty, and democratic participation. Our enforcement decisions consider safety and public interest.

Freedom of Expression

Charter: Fundamental Freedoms (s.2); Reasonable Limits (s.1)

We protect space for meaningful expression: debate, critique, creativity, and conversation. In Canada, freedom of expression includes reasonable limits to prevent harm.

How We Show Up

Express yourself openly and constructively.
Disagree respectfully.
Act in good faith.
Label sensitive or graphic content so others can choose how they engage.

Equality and Non-Discrimination

Charter: Equality Rights (s.15)

Everyone deserves dignity and the ability to participate safely. Equality is a right and is essential for healthy digital life.

How We Show Up

Treat all users with respect and care.
Debate ideas, not identities.
Use inclusive language and assume good intent.
Welcome perspectives across identities and lived experiences.

Multiculturalism and Accessibility

Charter: Multiculturalism (s.27); Indigenous & Language Rights

Canada’s cultural mosaic is a strength. Gander is designed to reflect and uphold it.

How We Show Up

Honour cultural diversity and Indigenous knowledge.
Use language tags, content warnings, or translations when helpful.
Share in ways that support accessible participation.
Expect, and welcome, many voices, and viewpoints.

Accountability and Integrity

With autonomy comes shared responsibility. Trust is maintained through honesty, fairness, and transparency.

How We Show Up

Participate honestly: correct mistakes when they happen.
Report issues responsibly and in good faith.
Take responsibility for your impact on the community.

Prohibited content and behaviour

To ensure the safety of our community and the inclusive participation of all, we do not allow certain behaviours and content on Gander. Our enforcement includes content removal, account bans, and for the most serious harms, reporting to law enforcement.

Child safety and sexual abuse material (CSAM)

We have zero tolerance for content that sexually exploits children. We quickly remove such content and report it to law enforcement. We do not allow:

Sharing or asking for nude images of children.
Child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including cartoons or AI-generated content.
Sexualised comments or images of children.
Predatory behaviour such as asking for sexual contact with children.
Advocating for pedophilia or child marriage.
Content showing physical or psychological harm to children.

Adult sexual content and nudity

Gander is a safe space where consenting adults may engage in private communication of a sexual nature. With this in mind, we do not allow:

Pornography, whether real, fictional, animated, cartoon or AI-generated.
Unwanted sexual solicitation: offering or requesting sexual services.

For some adult-only content we ask users to label, so viewers can choose how they engage:

Sexually explicit or suggestive content
Nudity with an artistic purpose, such as photography, sculptures or paintings.

Gore and graphic content

We do not allow real-life extreme gore and graphic content, including:

Extreme violence, gore and torture.

Sharing graphic content or advocating for animal cruelty and abuse.

Some graphic content is allowed with a sensitivity screen. We ask you to label allowed graphic content so others can choose how they engage, for instance:

Depiction of dead human bodies without graphic injuries.
Physical injuries, such as broken bones, burns, cuts or bruises.
Fictional graphic violence such as cartoons, mangas, video games or TV shows.
Graphic depictions of surgeries or medical treatment.
Animal-on-animal killing in nature, or the religious slaughter of animals.
Jump scare videos.

Hate speech and hateful ideology

Canada’s diverse mosaic is a strength, and Gander is designed to ensure all communities can engage in a constructive, open and civil manner. We encourage political discourse. We remove hate speech and hateful content including:

Content that targets, attacks, or discriminates against individuals or groups based on protected characteristics like race, disability, national origin, immigration status, ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and caste.
Praise, justification, glorification or incitement of hatred or harm against a protected group.

Promoting or endorsing hateful ideologies is not allowed on Gander and will result in an immediate ban. This includes:

Content that supports Nazi ideology, white supremacy, fascism or antisemitism.
The denial or minimization of historical events such as the Holocaust, Japanese internment camps in Canada and the Indian residential school system.

Harassment and bullying

Everyone deserves to participate and engage without fear on Gander. We do not allow abuse, harassment, bullying, shaming, or attempts to encourage others to do so. This includes:

Mocking, shaming or harassing others based on physical appearance or cognitive abilities including disparaging comments about political affiliation, socio-economic status, intelligence, body, height, weight, facial features, attractiveness, or mental health status.
Organizing or encouraging coordinated attacks against others to intimidate, including mass commenting, mass harassment, and mass reporting.
Wishing serious harm or death to others, or belittling others by dismissing their trauma.
Making unwanted sexualizing comments or unwanted sexual advances.

These protections apply to everyone, including public figures.

Spam and artificial engagement

To ensure that Gander remains a trustworthy and authentic environment, we do not allow:

Repeatedly posting commercial content including affiliate marketing.
Repeatedly driving traffic to external websites.
Repeatedly posting spammy comments.
Using bots, automated services, or inauthentic accounts to share spam.
Manipulative techniques to artificially drive engagement.

Suicide and self-harm

can for example contact the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention or call 9-8-8 for emergencies. We allow posts from people seeking support and sharing resources for mental health, and discussions and information about Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).

We remove content that can be harmful for others to encounter. This includes:

Depiction of suicide, self-harm or disordered eating.
Content that glorifies, encourages or provides instructions for suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders.
Promotion of dangerous challenges such as “subway surfing” or “choking” challenge.

Some content is allowed with a sensitivity screen. We ask you to label allowed sensitive or graphic content so others can choose how they engage, for instance:

Fictional scenes featuring suicide, self-harm or disordered eating.
Personal recovery stories and discussion about mental-health struggles

Fraud and scams

Gander should not be used to deceive others for financial gain or personal benefit. We do not allow:

Schemes such as fake investment opportunities, pyramid schemes, and the solicitation of donations for unverified causes.
Selling counterfeit goods.
Attempts to use the service for money laundering or to facilitate financial crime.
Phishing or social engineering, and the posting of links designed to steal login credentials or personal data.

Inaccurate or misleading information

We want Gander to be free of harmful content that is knowingly false or intentionally deceives or confuses others.

We remove:

Misinformation that could cause physical harm, property damage or threats to public safety
Synthetic media such as AI-generated images, deepfakes, and false news reports shared to mislead others, or intended to incite panic.
False claims regarding medical treatments or public health crises that contradict expert consensus.
Content shared to mislead others about civic processes or undermine election integrity.
Accounts created to impersonate companies, brands, or individuals.
Accounts held by users under the age of 18.

We ask you to label AI-generated content so others can choose how they engage.

Personal information

We do not allow the sharing of someone’s personal private information, whether done intentionally or not. This includes:

Sharing private identifying information about a real person, such as home addresses, private phone numbers, non-public email addresses, private medical information, financial information, or government identification.
Doxxing: sharing another person’s private or confidential information without their permission with malicious intent, or encouraging others to do so.
Revealing a pseudonymous user’s identity without their permission.
Content that reveals a child’s identity, school, or home address.

Context Matters

Moderators may apply warnings rather than removal when context justifies it.

In some cases, content that usually breaks the Gander rules may be allowed if it is for Educational, Documentary, Scientific, or Artistic (EDSA) purposes. This may include:

Journalism and news reporting content.
Credible academic content or documentary material.
Criticism or condemnation over content depicted.
Internationally renowned art or satire.

When We Make Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes: people and networks alike. We distinguish between good-faith errors and bad-faith harm. We encourage “calling in,” constructive correction, learning, and labelling. Gander commits to owning and fixing its mistakes, and we ask users to do the same.

Reporting content

If you experience or see any inappropriate behaviour or content on Gander, please report it directly from the app or contact us via our support centre. Here are some of the actions we may take:

Review and remove the content if it is against our Guidelines.
When we remove content, we may issue a strike against the user’s account. Multiple strikes can lead to a permanent account ban.
Permanently ban accounts.
We reserve the right to report illegal behavior or content to local authorities.

If you believe your content was removed or your account was banned in error, you will have the opportunity to appeal the moderation decision.

These Guidelines are in accordance with our Terms of Service.

Enforcement & Appeals (Beta)

Moderation is proportional, fair, and grounded in Charter principles. Actions may include:

Suspension for serious or repeated violations.
Labels and warnings.
Reduced visibility.
Post removal.
Temporary restrictions.

Our Promise as a Canadian Benefit Company

We will:

Respect your dignity and right to participate
Uphold safety, equality, and accessibility
Protect children and vulnerable users
Support healthy democratic dialogue
Be transparent in our decisions
Evolve these Guidelines with community input

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