Copper’s Community Guidelines

Effective as of April, 2022

These guidelines extend Copper’s Terms of Service located at: Terms of Service

While we know that ‘nobody reads the fine print’ before joining a platform, we trust that you will because we’re all readers here. We take our community very seriously and we’re committed to building a safe and inclusive space that authors, aspiring authors, and readers love to participate in. We trust that you’ll read through these community guidelines, decide to behave as a Good Neighbor, and find yourself having an exceptionally enjoyable experience with Copper!

This set of community guidelines apply to any and all areas of Copper’s community interaction – including but not limited to:

• on the Copper platform
• in all online spaces (like our social media pages)
• in any in-person event interactions affiliated with Copper.

If you use our platform and/or participate in our community in any way, you are agreeing to abide by our Copper Community Guidelines.

Let’s start with the basics – you may have heard a couple of these before*:

• Treat others as you would like to be treated.
• Leave a place better than you found it: Ask yourself, ‘Is Copper a better place because I’m here?’ and make sure the answer is YES!
• If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all: We would like to note that ‘nice’ doesn’t necessarily mean agreeing with everyone all the time. We welcome diverse perspectives, respectful debate, and intellectual discussion…just remember that while we can disagree down to our bones, we can still have soft hearts. Be kind.

*We consulted our moms and grandmas during the creation of these guidelines, so you can bet that the kindest humans on earth agree with what we’re up to here at Copper. We may or may not have them monitoring the platform as well.

Copper’s Manifesto

Copper is a community of people who love books, champion authors, and believe in the power of the written word’s ability to impact the world.

Our community is made up of members, not users. We are lifelong learners. We value a growth mindset and assume that you have one. We’re deep thinkers and big celebrators.

We seek to understand before seeking to be understood. We welcome differing perspectives and opinions. We love to have our minds changed. We listen with intentionality. We challenge our own opinions, assumptions, judgements, and even long-held beliefs.

We are peacemakers and door-holders.We’re building a table that’s big enough for everyone. We believe we’re all works in progress. We honor the grit required to birth creative work into the world. We believe in the power of story.

We amplify diverse voices. We protect this space so we can keep it safe for everyone in our community. We are kind if we need to show someone their way out to reflect on their choices.

We are curious. We ask questions-- lots of them-- and we don’t jump to conclusions. We put people first and we assume the best. We believe in the power of the golden rule.

We love books and we love others. We invite you to take a seat at our communal table and stay awhile.

You are welcome here! Cheers.

Now with the Copper Manifesto in mind…

Please Do

Be Curious, Respectful, and Kind: You’re going to link up with old friends and make a bunch of new ones in the Copper community– the keyword being friend! Treat everyone on the Copper platform as you would a great friend and fellow bookworm. Even when we disagree, we’re all on the same team. We all know how powerful words are– choose your words wisely, and with kindness.

Start engaging discussions: Copper was built to be the premier destination for authors and readers to connect in meaningful community around books. The more you engage, the more we’ll have for you to engage in! This is the concept of maximum value = maximum participation. We hope that Copper proves to be an amazing use of your time and energy. Aren’t we all ready to leave mindless doom-scrolling in the past? Cheers to purposeful connection!

Share exciting discoveries: Find a new book at your local store and need to tell the world how amazing it is?! We want you to do that on Copper. Fill up your bookshelves with robust recommendations and share, share, share!

Keep it real: No fake friends here, people. We encourage you to bring your authentic self to the table, because you have so much to give! We want to meet and interact with the real you. Using a pseudonym or anonymity to check out what’s going on without participating is not. the. point.

Reach out to us with feedback: We LOVE– it cannot be overemphasized, we LOVE– to receive feedback. It’s our mission to build a platform and a community that adds incredible value to the lives of our authors, aspiring authors, and readers. We can’t build the best if we’re not hearing from the best. Don’t hesitate to reach out to help@copperbooks.com or send us a DM on any of our socials letting us know how you feel, what we can improve, or raising any technical issues so that we can squash the bugs. We work for you, and we’re happy to help.

Report anything that violates our Copper Community Guidelines, causes potential harm to another member of the Copper community, or generally gives you the creeps:å This is the ‘If you see something, say something’ principle. You can report any violations or wrongdoings that you see by sending us a note at help@copperbooks.com

Please Don't

Spoil the surprise!: You love books, your friends love books, we all love books here at Copper– so please, don’t spoil something in a book (or related television show, film, etc.) for everyone else. We’re proud of you for reading ahead, but if you are going to communicate information like plot details, you run the risk of ruining the experience for another member. Please proceed with caution! At the very least, when you are intentionally sharing information in a relevant discussion, use a ‘Spoiler Alert’ in your comment.

Spam or Scam: Can we just… not? Absolutely no tomfoolery shall take place in this slice of the interwebs! Our community exists to create meaningful connections, not to feed the bots or sell products from your pyramid scheme. Don’t be that person. We’re here to talk about books, ideas, and the like; if we see you trying to sell used cars and snake oil, you’ll end up in time out. Don’t do it.

Harass anyone in our community, in any way. What we define as harassment includes but is not limited to the information in the following ‘do not’ statements:

• Do not make comments, use images, or use language that is violent, racist, sexist, abusive, threatening, or offensive regarding gender identity, disability, mental illness, body size, physical appearance, age, religion, or any other aspect of another member’s identity.
• Do not use sexually explicit images or language: Do not engage in unwanted communication that is sexual in nature. Do not assume intimacy with other members. Consent is key, and any continuation of inappropriate contact after a request to cease is a violation of our guidelines.
• Do not continue to communicate one-on-one with another author, aspiring author, or reader in the Copper community who has requested that you end communication.
• Do not deliberately misgender, or in any way mislabel, another member of the Copper community. This includes use of ‘dead’ or rejected names.
• Do not publish or share any private or personal information of another member without permission. Examples include: sharing private messages, ‘outing’ another person, sharing confidential information about a company or individual, ‘leaking’ details about an upcoming project, etc.

Thank you for reading through our Community Guidelines as you become a part of our Copper community. There’s so much good to be grown here, friends! We ask again that if you see any content that violates our guidelines, please contact our Community Management team at help@copperbooks.com so that we can handle it. Don’t feel the need to go back-and-forth with another member or engage in content that does not uphold our guidelines– report what you see or hear, and we’ll take it from there. Violation of our guidelines could result in disciplinary action, including but not limited to, lifetime ban from Copper.

We value our members and will protect the incredible community of authors, aspiring authors, and readers that call Copper home. Let’s be kind to each other while we read and write books, okay? It’s time to thrive.