HMD The Better Phone Project: Community Guidelines

“Rules are good! Rules help control the fun!” – Monica Geller, Friends.

General virtual forum rules

1. Respect

If you wouldn’t say it with your mum in the room, maybe keep it to yourself. Let’s treat all members of The Better Phone Project with respect; and please remember that people of all ages are involved in this project.

2. Follow The Better Phone Project Guidelines

Ours aren’t the only rules in town. Please abide by the Community Guidelines. Not all heroes wear capes. Our mods do, though – and they call the shots even though we keep asking them to stop. Anyway, they are responsible for ensuring the server rules are upheld, and their decisions in those matters are final. Follow their instructions where applicable. We’ll make sure the power doesn’t go to their heads.

3. Speak up

These rules are here for a reason: to make sure that this is a positive and respectful place for everyone. If you see any of these rules being broken, please report it to a moderator or admin. Then pat yourself on the back.

4. Be aware of spam and keep private info private

We want The Better Phone Project to be a safe place but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. Do not share personal information about yourself, others and be aware of messages with links. We’d recommend not sharing full names, contact details, personal messages, any external links and embarrassing photos from last Friday night.

Collaboration, co-creation & transparency

5. Process to share ideas is important

In case you couldn’t tell, we really like process. In a way that makes everyone feel informed. When you join the Project, you will get an automated survey a few days following registration asking for your input into the topics of greatest interest to you. We’ll then follow up with you after each forum with a survey to explore your views on the topics covered. This is because we want to hear from you – giving you a way to share your ideas and feedback at every stage of the journey together. The feedback you give us will help us shape the project. What comes next is up to you as much as it is us…

6. Teamwork makes The Better Phone Project work

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships. Yes, that’s a Michael Jordan quote. No, we don’t work with Michael Jordan (yet), but we would love everyone to approach The Better Phone Project with a supportive mindset, put forward the best ideas and to find solutions to effectively co-collaborate.

7. We will be open about our journey

Signing up to The Better Phone Project doesn’t mean that you alone will adhere to these guidelines. It means that we will too. We will play our part in creating a continuous feedback loop that is honest, open and transparent, while offering detail on product designs and features from the very beginning. We’ll tell you about the tech developments in progress, features and designs as we produce them as we want your feedback on them every step of the way. No gatekeeping here – the gate, barndoor and everything under the sun will be open to all.

8. Asking questions is encouraged

There is no such thing as a bad question or idea. More importantly, we expect everyone to foster a culture of creativity and collaboration so that people feel welcome to ask questions and contribute to the conversation.

Continuous learning

9. Experts are qualified for a reason…

… but that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to constructively challenge them. Remember, we’re all working towards the same goal and the experts are here to guide us in that conversation.

10. Technology is our forte, but not the only topic of discussion

It’s clear why we all want a solution. It’s why we wanted to take action, and use our years of tech expertise and knowledge to co-create new solutions. That’s not the only issue we’ll be covering, however. Mental health, wellbeing, school education, social media and so much more will come up in conversation to help give you immediate advice from the experts on what you can do now while we work together to create better tech solutions within the year.

Building a community

11. No shouting

Ever read a post or comment that’s like, someone screaming through your monitor? It’s not nice. Please don’t use excessive emojis, capital letters, or any other weird text formatting. Let’s keep the reading easy.

12. Share the love

You’ve signed up and are a community member now. Thank you & welcome to The Better Phone Project. Could you do us a small favour, though? There are no limitations to being kind, supportive and spreading the word to encourage others to join us in our collective mission via social media (#thebetterphoneproject) and word of mouth.

13. Communities thrive

More than anything, we want everyone that joins The Better Phone Project to feel like they are part of, and signing up to, a mission to deliver genuine change. We want to co-create solutions and products that protect the mental health of children and young adults around the world. That’s our ambition and if you share that emotion – great. And now, enjoy.