Unibuddy Community

How Unibuddy Community works 

We have a range of public group chats that you can join to meet people by subject area, interests, and hobbies. Can’t find what you’re looking for? You can set up your own public groups for others to join.

You can also create your own private group chats and send direct messages to each other. These are a great way to have private conversations within the safety of the platform. The university cannot see these conversations but can support you if something does get reported.

We recommend keeping conversations within the Unibuddy Community app.

If you do choose to create group chats and share social handles on external platforms, please make sure you observe the relevant guidelines on those platforms. 

Community rules

Be kind - no hate or bullying

Everyone is welcome and debates and different opinions are fine, but not if they make others feel unsafe or threatened. Treat others in the community how you would expect to be treated yourself. Bullying of any kind is never acceptable. Personal attacks, inflammatory remarks, profanity, or degrading comments about things such as race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender, or identity will not be tolerated.   

Privacy and respect

Speaking freely makes interactions in communities fun and interesting, however please be mindful of others. We are unable to monitor conversations in private groups or direct messages so mutual trust and respect is expected. We also ask you not to spam or post irrelevant links or promotions. 

Other social media platforms

We understand that you enjoy connecting on other social networks, but we advise against giving out your personal details such as telephone number, usernames, full name or location. The University of Brighton can moderate Unibuddy Communities, but we do not have the ability to act in any other platforms you use to make connections.

Look after yourself and others

If you are upset by something someone has posted, be sure to report it using the instructions below. We can then act and remove the comment or the user from the platform if appropriate. You can also block other users yourself so they won’t be able to contact you again.

Of course, we want you to be yourselves, but we also want to ensure that all our users feel safe and welcome. At the University of Brighton we are committed to our #NeverOk pledge, which calls for a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for everyone, and we expect all staff and students, including applicants, to respect this policy.

Sharing Information about yourself

Unibuddy will give you the option to upload a photo and some information about you in your profile. Please don't feel obligated to do so as this is not a requirement and you'll still be able to use the platform if you choose not to.  Similarly, as other communities users will be able to see your profile and messages, please only share information and comments that you feel comfortable with others reading.

Stick to the rules

By logging on to the community and joining the chat, you agree with the rules outlined above. If you break one of these rules, you may be removed from the Unibuddy Community platform. 

Moderation

Messages posted in public groups are read and moderated at least once every 24 hours by our current student ambassadors who may delete messages if deemed inappropriate or offensive.  This is done to protect you and other users. If as a user you feel a message is not appropriate please report it following the steps below.  If you feel that you are in need, a time of immediate crisis or require additional support please reach out to some of these external services.

Reporting instructions

All users have the ability to block or report inappropriate users within Community.

If you would like to report another user who has sent you a direct message or who has communicated with you in a community group:

1. Log into Community.
2. Go to your inbox and click on your message history with that user.
3. On desktop / web browser, the user's profile will be visible to the right-hand side of the screen.
   On mobile, you can access their profile by tapping on the three dots at the top right.
4. Select ‘Report user’
5. Select the reason for your report and add a comment for additional context as to why this user is being reported if necessary.

If you would like to report a user within a group:

1. Log into Community.
2. Go to your inbox and click on the group in question.
3. Click on the name of the person that you would like to report, either above a message they have posted in the group, or by going to Members in the group's side bar. This will be visible to the right of the screen on desktop / web browser, or accessed by tapping on the three dots at the top right on mobile.
4. Select ‘Report user’
5. Select the reason for your report and add a comment for additional context as to why this user is being reported if necessary.