The short version
Smileys is a curated community for people building real friendships in Istanbul. Be kind, be honest, show up when you say you will, and treat every member like someone you might meet for coffee tomorrow — because you probably will. These guidelines exist so the rare bad actor doesn't ruin it for everyone else.
What we expect from every member
🤝Be kind, even when you disagree
Debate ideas, not people. Sarcasm and edge are fine in the right tone; personal attacks, slurs, and pile-ons are not. Disagreement is welcome — disrespect isn't.
📅Show up when you RSVP
Other members are counting on you. If something comes up, cancel as early as you can so your spot frees up. Repeat no-shows hurt the host's ability to run good events and may pause your access.
🎯Keep posts on-topic and useful
Club walls, event chats, and the neighborhood feed are for connection, not promotion. Sharing a side project once is fine; spamming every channel isn't.
🔒Respect what's said in private
What members share in a private club or DM stays there. Don't screenshot, forward, or quote without consent — same rules you'd follow in any in-person friend group.
🙅No harassment, hate, or unwanted advances
Smileys is not a dating app. Members aren't here to be hit on. Any pattern of unwanted DMs, persistent flirting after a "no thanks," or sexual / racist / hateful content is grounds for immediate removal.
Hosting events
Hosts have a higher bar — members trust you with their evening.
✅Be accurate about what you're hosting
Title, description, neighborhood, capacity, time, price — if it changes after people RSVP, message the attendees. Don't bait-and-switch a "coffee meetup" into a sales pitch.
💸No hidden costs
Member-priced events get the discount they're advertised at. Optional purchases at the venue (drinks, food) are fine to mention up front — surprise cover charges are not.
🚫No selling, no recruiting, no MLM
Events that exist primarily to sell a course, a coaching package, a crypto thing, or an MLM downline aren't allowed. We'll refund attendees and pause your hosting access.
Posting in the Business Directory
📍Submit places you've actually been
Add businesses you know — your favourite café, your physio, the friend's gallery. Don't pad the directory with rumours or competitor listings you've never visited.
⭐Reviews are honest first-hand experience
One member, one review, with the rating that matches what you'd tell a friend. No fake-positive reviews of your own business, no revenge reviews of a place you had one bad encounter with.
🪪Only claim a business you actually own or operate
The "Is this your business?" flow verifies ownership. Claiming someone else's listing to manipulate it is a permanent ban offence.
Content you share
- No content that targets people by race, religion, gender, sexuality, nationality, or disability.
- No promotion of violence, self-harm, illegal drugs, or weapons.
- No sexually explicit content — Smileys is a mixed-audience community space.
- No political party campaigning or organized political mobilization (per Turkish law and our community focus on social life). Personal views shared respectfully are fine.
- No deepfakes, manipulated images of real people, or impersonation.
When something goes wrong
We're a small team and we're not always watching every channel in real time. Help us by flagging things:
- Bad behaviour in an event or chat — message a host or use the report link on the offending post / member.
- A directory listing that's wrong — hit "Report a problem" on the business card.
- A safety concern — email info@smileyscommunity.com directly. We treat these as priority.
How we enforce
We try to start with a conversation. For most first-time issues we'll reach out and ask the member to adjust. From there, in increasing order of severity:
- A direct warning from a moderator with a specific ask.
- Temporary pause on hosting, RSVPing, or posting (typically 7–30 days).
- Removal of specific content (post, review, listing, club post).
- Permanent account removal. Reserved for harassment, hate, repeat violations, fraud, and anything that endangers another member.
Serious or unambiguous violations (threats, hate, sexual misconduct, fraud) skip the warning step. Appeals go to info@smileyscommunity.com; we review every appeal but reserve the right to decline reinstatement.
Things that aren't community guidelines but related
Some questions are governed by other documents:
- Terms of use — your account, payments, refunds, IP.
- Privacy policy — what data we collect, how we use it, your rights.
- Cookie policy — what runs in your browser and why.
Changes to these guidelines
The community grows, the rules evolve. When we update these guidelines we'll bump the "Last updated" date at the top. Material changes (new categories of violation, new enforcement steps) will also be announced on the community wall so you're not surprised.