Terms & community rules

Disagreement is the point of Take Harbour. Nobody is removed for holding an unpopular view, and a strong argument for an unpopular side is just as welcome as one for a popular side. What we don't allow is behaviour that makes debate impossible:

• Threats of violence or harm, against anyone.
• Harassment: targeting, intimidating or repeatedly going after a person.
• Hate: attacking people for their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or similar characteristics.
• Abuse: insults and personal attacks instead of arguments.
• Doxxing: sharing someone's private or identifying information, such as an address, workplace or phone number.
• Spam: advertising, repeated copy-pasted posts, or links that have nothing to do with the debate.
• Trolling: posting in bad faith just to disrupt, provoke or derail.
• Impersonation of another person or organisation, or of the Take Harbour team.
• Illegal content, including content that breaks New Zealand law such as the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015.

Good habits: stick to the debate's question, give reasons, reply to what someone actually said, and use the “strong point” button for posts that argue well, even when you disagree with them.

• Anyone with an account can report a post they think breaks these rules. Moderators review reports and either keep or remove the post.
• We judge behaviour, not opinions. Posts are not removed just because they are unpopular, offensive to some, or disagree with the Take Harbour team.
• We may remove content, or suspend or close accounts, that break these terms, especially repeatedly or seriously. Where content may be unlawful or someone is at risk, we may also preserve it and share it with the authorities.
• If you think we got a decision wrong, contact the person who invited you to the private beta (a dedicated email address will be listed here before public launch) and we'll take another look.

• You must be 18 or over.
• One account per person. Don't use extra accounts to vote more than once or to get around a suspension.
• Keep access to your email account secure, because anyone who can read your email can sign in as you.
• Pick a username that doesn't break the community rules or pretend to be someone else.

• You own the arguments and replies you write, and you're responsible for them.
• By posting, you give Take Harbour a non-exclusive, royalty-free permission to store, display and share your posts on Take Harbour, and to include them in grouped summaries of a debate (for example, the main themes on each side). This permission ends for a post when you delete your account, except for grouped summaries already made.
• Only post things you have the right to share. Don't post other people's work as your own, or anyone's private information.
• Your posts are public and show your username and the side they support.

• Debate questions and Starter Takes are written by the Take Harbour team to start a balanced discussion. They are not statements of our own views, and we try to make the case for each side fairly.
• Results show how people on Take Harbour voted. They are not a scientific poll and don't represent New Zealand as a whole.
• Posts are members' own views. Don't rely on them as professional, legal, financial or medical advice.

Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect and how we protect it, including keeping your votes private.

• Take Harbour is free during the beta. If we ever introduce paid features, we'll explain them clearly first and you'll never be charged without agreeing to it.
• Because it's a beta, we may change, pause or remove features, and there may be occasional bugs or downtime.
• Don't try to break, overload or get around the security of Take Harbour, scrape it in bulk, or use automated accounts.

You can delete your account at any time from your profile, which deletes what you posted as described in the Privacy Policy. We may close accounts that seriously or repeatedly break these terms.

We work hard to keep Take Harbour running well, but it is provided “as is” and we can't promise it will always be available or error-free. To the extent the law allows, Take Harbour is not responsible for what members post or for losses arising from using the service. Nothing in these terms limits any rights you have under New Zealand law that can't be excluded, such as under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or the Fair Trading Act 1986.

We may update these terms as Take Harbour grows. If we make important changes, we'll tell members in the app before they take effect. These terms are governed by New Zealand law. Questions? Contact the person who invited you to the private beta (a dedicated email address will be listed here before public launch).