Posting content with the intent to:
Threatening violence or calling for serious physical harm to an individual (e.g., “I hope you die”, “Someone needs to find and maim you.”, “I hope you get [insert disease] and die.”)
Encouraging, glorifying, or promoting:
Acts of physical violence towards others by civilians (excluding discussions about reasonable self defense as well as violence involving military actions).
Acts of physical violence towards others by other non-state actors, such as terrorist organizations.
Suicide or self-harm (including eating disorders). This includes soliciting or sharing information, strategies, or methods on how to commit suicide or self-harm.
Animal cruelty
Stating a specific intent to commit physical violence.
Stating intent to join a terrorist group, or recruiting on behalf of a terrorist organization
Graphically violent profile photos, Space icons, and cover photos.
Examples include:
Glorifying a violent mass casualty event (e.g., “I’m so glad [insert terrorist group] bombed that building”)
Explaining how long it would take to succumb to death after a self-inflicted injury or sharing the easiest way to inflict self-harm or commit suicide
Sharing a link to an animal torture video and saying the animal “deserved it”
Providing tips on how to practice known behaviors associated with eating disorders.
Quora may also ban and remove all content from any user who is a confirmed and/or declared member of any group on the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, or is a confirmed participant in acts of mass violence or hate crimes.
Note: Please refer to the self-harm guidelines for content that involves self-harm/suicide (including eating disorders), as this type of content is labeled differently than other harmful activities.
Content that asks for, or provides, advice on how to self-harm or commit suicide OR encourages others to self-harm or commit suicide should be labeled as “self-harm-promote”.
All other discussions about self-harm/suicide (including users seeking help) are allowed so long as the content doesn’t violate the policy described above, and should be labeled as "self-harm-mention". Note that "self-harm-mention" content/Spaces are not considered policy violating and will not receive any negative scoring in ROS.
The following content is prohibited, and should be labeled as “harmful activities”:
Threatening violence or calling for serious physical harm to an individual
Encouraging, glorifying, or promoting:
Acts of physical violence towards others by civilians (excluding discussions about reasonable self defense as well as violence involving military actions).
Acts of physical violence towards others by other non-state actors, such as terrorist organizations
Animal cruelty
Stating a specific intent to commit physical violence.
Stating intent to join a terrorist group, or recruiting on behalf of a terrorist organization
Graphically violent profile photos, Space icons, and cover photos (note: this bullet only applies to profile photos, Space icons, and cover photos, and does not apply to images/videos on other areas throughout the platform.)
Quora may also ban and remove all content from any user who is a confirmed and/or declared member of any group on the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, or is a confirmed participant in acts of mass violence or hate crimes.
Examples of harassment & bullying
“I hope you die”
“Someone needs to find and maim you”
“I’m going to break your legs”
“I hope you get cancer”
“Okay how about you die anyway grandma. I was asking for advice and it’s people like you that make this world a piece of shit”
“EAT SHIT AND DIE, i HAVE HAD 4 ACCOUNTS CLOSED THIS WEEK, YOU WILL BE #5”
“Shut up idiot, I don't forgive and I'm not positive person. I hope you die”
Examples of OK content
Rhetorical or hypothetical content that is not directly targeting an individual:
“No. It’s terminal. You can only become a leftist or kill yourself.” (answer in response to question, “Can the effects of left-wing propaganda be undone?”)
Note that this example would be OK given the rhetorical context (i.e., the user is not actually being told to kill themself).
“Make your way into my house uninvited and you will leave draped in a sheet.” (answer in response to question, “Assuming you live in a country where firearms are legal, is it realistically feasible to hold a home invader at gunpoint until police arrive (as opposed to shooting him over mere valuables), or is that a risk only viable in movies?”)
This example is hypothetical and does not directly target an individual.
“Well I can relate to your situation because I am paralyzed also. So it sounds like you just want the experience of being able to say that you got spanked. I would suggest lay down on your bed or on the floor, turn on your side and make sure that your pants and underwear are down. And you can use whatever you choose a hand, paddle, brush or belt.” (answer in response to question, “I’m paralyzed and I want to spank myself, but I can’t feel the lower part of my body. What is the best way to spanking myself?”)
Note that this would be OK given the relevant context of the question as well as the fact that spanking oneself does not classify as serious physical harm.
Special note for when violence is directed towards a protected class:
Calls for action, stating intent to cause harm, or encouraging/glorifying/promoting violence against a protected class should be labeled as Hate Speech and not a Harmful Activity.
Exceptions include statements involving wars/military actions, such as "I hope the Ukrainians kill the Russian invaders" (in this context, this is referring to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, and would not be considered a threat of violence towards Russian civilians).
Examples of policy violating content:
“I’m so glad ISIS bombed that building”
“You should beat up that kid, that’ll teach him a lesson”
“You should just shoot up the school already”
“What would be the best weapon to stab my brother with?”
“You should murder your father in law.”
“Where can I find body armor and bombs? Can I make them?”
“Those school shooting victims totally deserved it”
“The Highland Park shooter is a hero”
Examples of OK content:
"The British should have won the American Revolutionary War by massacring all colonists."
“If you’re being attacked, kick the attacker in the groin and run away.”
“I hope the Ukrainians destroy the Russian invaders”
Note: in this context, this is referring to the known Russian military invasion of Ukraine, and would not be considered a threat of violence towards Russian civilians/Russians as a whole
“If someone breaks into my house, I’ll shoot them”
“I’m so glad Osama bin Laden was killed”
"The cops should have gone in and killed the shooter even if it was a risk to their lives; that's the risk you bear if you sign up to be a cop."
“The Parkland gunman should absolutely get the death penalty”
Examples of policy violating content:
“You should poison your neighbor’s dog to stop the barking for good”
Sharing a link to an animal torture video and saying the animal “deserved it”
Examples of OK content:
Any content encouraging, glorifying, or promoting animal killing/slaughter in the context of hunting, fishing, food prep, or religious and/or ritualistic purposes
Examples:
“What is the best rifle to hunt elk with?”
Depiction of an animal being slaughtered for meat or as part of a religious sacrifice
Depiction of an individual holding up a deer they just hunted
Examples of policy violating content:
“I’m going to blow up my high school next week“
“I’m going to beat up that fat kid”
"I’m going to pull a Columbine" (referring to the Columbine shooting)
“I’m going to give my mother a black eye”
“I’m going to sneak into [insert crowded location] and start spraying bullets”
Terrorist groups are defined as Foreign Terrorist Organizations designated by the U.S. Department of State.
Examples of policy violating content:
“I want to join ISIS, how can I do this?”
“The New People’s Army is looking for courageous fighters, DM for more info”
Note that this guidance only applies to profile photos, Space icons, and cover photos, and does not apply to images/videos on other areas of the platform.
Graphically violent images/videos are not permitted in profile photos, Space icons, and cover photos. This includes depictions of self harm and suicide, torture, violent abuse towards humans or animals, and other content that depicts graphic bloodshed.
Examples of policy violating content:
Media that depicts someone committing suicide
Media that depicts someone cutting themselves
Media that depicts humans or animals being tortured
Media that depicts graphic assault (including sexual violence)
Media depicting corpses and/or excessive bloodshed, such as a crime scene, or a beheading scene