Community Guidelines
Cooper exists because potential is real, and real things can be shown, not generated. That only works if the community protects the trust it depends on. These Community Guidelines explain what is and isn't allowed on Cooper, how we enforce them, and how you can report something that doesn't belong here. These Guidelines apply to every Peer and every Organization, and are part of our Terms of Service.
1. The Principles Behind These Guidelines
- Show up as yourself. Real Proof, Portfolios, and Cooper Cards only work if the people behind them are real and honest about who they are.
- Recognition should be earned, not gamed. Impact Stars, testimonials, and Requests reflect genuine human judgment, not manufactured signals.
- Respect goes both ways. Peers and Organizations are held to the same standard of honesty and respect toward one another.
- Cooper’s Search finds; it never excludes. Nothing in these Guidelines is intended to let any user or Organization use the Platform to screen people out based on protected characteristics.
2. Content That Is Not Allowed
2.1 Hate Speech and Discrimination
Content that attacks, demeans, or incites hatred or violence against people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic is not allowed.
2.2 Harassment and Bullying
Do not target another person with repeated unwanted contact, threats, humiliation, or content intended to intimidate or degrade them. This includes harassment carried out through Requests, testimonials, comments, or CoopCast.
2.3 Sexual Content
Cooper is a professional community. Sexually explicit content, sexual solicitation, and content that sexualizes any user is not allowed.
2.4 Violence and Dangerous Content
Do not post content that depicts, threatens, glorifies, or incites violence, self-harm, or dangerous illegal activity.
2.5 Impersonation and Misrepresentation
You may not impersonate another person, brand, or Organization, or misrepresent your identity, credentials, work history, age, or affiliation. Video and testimonial content should reflect who you genuinely are and what you genuinely did.
2.6 Fake or Misleading Opportunities
Organizations may not post opportunities that do not exist, misrepresent the role or compensation, or exist only to collect Peer information (ghost jobs are exactly what Cooper was built to eliminate, and Cooper does not tolerate them from Organizations on the Platform).
2.7 Spam and Manipulation
Do not post repetitive, unsolicited, or automated content, or attempt to manipulate Impact Stars, Real Proof, Requests, Search visibility, or any other Platform feature to misrepresent genuine community recognition or market demand.
2.8 Intellectual Property Infringement
Do not upload content you do not have the rights to use. See our separate DMCA Policy for how to report copyright infringement.
2.9 Illegal Activity
Do not use Cooper to plan, promote, or carry out illegal activity, including unlawful discrimination in hiring.
3. Guidelines for Requests and Impact Stars
- Send a Request only when you genuinely intend to pursue that Peer for a real opportunity.
- Do not use Requests to harass, spam, or contact a Peer for any purpose unrelated to a genuine professional opportunity.
- Grant Impact Stars only when you genuinely believe a Peer’s contribution moved something forward. Do not trade, sell, or coordinate artificial Impact Star exchanges.
- Give Real Proof testimonials only about people whose work you genuinely know. Do not write or solicit fabricated testimonials.
4. Reporting Content or a User
If you see content or behavior that violates these Guidelines, you can report it directly from the Platform (through the report option on a profile, video, testimonial, or message), or by emailing us. When you report something, tell us what happened and, where possible, include the profile, content, or Request involved so we can review it quickly.
Reports can also be sent to: legal@thecooperapp.com
We review reports as promptly as we can. Reporting a user does not notify them that you personally made the report.
5. How We Enforce These Guidelines
When we determine, in good faith, that content or an account violates these Guidelines, we may take action proportionate to the violation, which can include:
- Removing the specific content
- Issuing a warning to the account
- Temporarily restricting certain features (such as sending Requests or granting Impact Stars)
- Suspending the account temporarily
- Permanently terminating the account
Severe violations (such as content involving minors, credible threats of violence, or illegal activity) may result in immediate termination without prior warning, and may be reported to law enforcement where appropriate.
6. Appeals
If you believe we made a mistake in removing your content or restricting your account, you can request a review by contacting legal@thecooperapp.com with your account information and the reason you believe the action was made in error. We will review appeals in good faith, though not every enforcement decision can be reversed.
7. Repeat Violations
Cooper maintains a repeat-violator policy. Accounts with multiple confirmed violations of these Guidelines, or of our Terms of Service, will face escalating consequences up to and including permanent termination, consistent with our DMCA repeat-infringer policy for copyright-specific violations.
8. Changes to These Guidelines
We may update these Community Guidelines from time to time as the Platform and community evolve. Material changes will be communicated through the Platform before they take effect.
9. Contact Us
The Cooper App LLC
11815 Globe St, Orlando, FL 32832
Email: legal@thecooperapp.com