Community Guidelines

• 🌱 Curiosity over certainty.No hierarchy of expertise — only people further along on different paths.
• 🤝 Respect for real people.Treat people the way you'd want to be treated in a shared space.
• 🏘️ Care for local communities. Instructors, learners, venues, and the places they live all matter.
• 🧭 Integrity and accountability. Trust is built through honesty, follow-through, and owning mistakes.

LearnNearby isn't currently publishing classes for kids or teens. Any class serving participants under 18 is blocked until our youth-safety launch gate is complete.

Before a youth class can launch, we must confirm:

• The listing is marked as serving minors, with parent/guardian booking and consent required.
• One-on-one private-setting formats are blocked unless a parent/guardian or a second approved adult is present.
• The instructor has an approved youth background check and completed child-abuse identification and reporting training.
• Counsel has reviewed whether laws such as California AB 506 apply.

If you observe behavior involving a minor that concerns you, report it. If a child is in immediate danger, call local emergency services first.

Don't photograph or record people in classes without their consent. Group photos for marketing are fine when the instructor asks first and lets people opt out without awkwardness. For personal review recordings, confirm with the instructor and anyone visible or audible. The default is to ask.

Don't share things people said in class without their permission.

Instructors should make reasonable efforts to accommodate disabilities and access needs — clear physical access, captions, flexible pacing, or simply asking what someone needs. Learners requesting accommodations should reach out in advance when possible. If LearnNearby can help mediate, we will.

• Represent yourself accurately.If you're new to teaching, say so.
• Describe your class honestly.Don't oversell outcomes — especially certifications, careers, or health benefits.
• Hold the room. Set norms, address disruptions, make sure everyone has a chance to participate.
• Honor your policies. Follow your advertised refund and cancellation terms.
• Don't use class as a sales funnel. Recommending a tool you use is fine; pitching unrelated products is not.
• Mind the power dynamic.Don't trade on student trust — financially, emotionally, or socially.

• Show up and engage. On time, prepared, ready to participate.
• Respect the room.The instructor's expertise, other students' time, the venue's rules.
• Give honest feedback.Specific, fair, grounded in what actually happened — not personal attacks.
• Don't abuse refunds or chargebacks. Refunds for poor fit are fine; chargebacks to dodge payment for a class you attended are not.

We aim to be fair, proportionate, and transparent. Roughly:

• First or minor issue— warning, conversation, chance to fix it.
• Repeated or pattern behavior— listing removal, temporary suspension, or feature loss.
• Harassment, discrimination, fraud, safety— immediate suspension during investigation, often permanent removal.
• Sexual misconduct, violence, endangering minors, illegal activity — permanent removal and, where appropriate, reports to law enforcement.

We weigh context: severity, intent, impact, history, and whether the person takes responsibility. We don't always get it right on the first pass — that's why appeals exist.

Appeal in writing within 30 days through the appeal form. A different team member than the original reviewer will respond within 10 business days and explain the reasoning. Our decision stands unless new information surfaces.

LearnNearby is a platform — listing, review, and profile content comes from the people who use it, not from us. We moderate because we care about this community, not because we're responsible for everything posted. Removing content reflects a judgment call about what belongs here; it doesn't mean we've reviewed everything or endorsed what we haven't removed.

Reporting helps us maintain the community — it doesn't guarantee a specific action or response time. For emergencies, contact 911. These Guidelines work alongside our Terms and Privacy Policy. We'll note when they change.