Community Guidelines

Effective Date: 1 May 2026 Last Updated: 1 May 2026

GIA is a community of tattoo professionals, studios, festivals, and clients. These Guidelines describe what we expect from everyone — in plain English, without legalese.

For the formal rules, see our Acceptable Use Policy. For the contract you accepted when joining, see our Terms of Service.

1. Be Real

• Use your real name or your professional pseudonym. No fake identities, no impersonation.
• Use real photos. Your portfolio should show your work.
• Don't post tattoos that aren't yours — unless the artist gave you permission, or it's on your own body.
• Be honest about your experience. "Master with 20 years" should mean 20 years, not 2.

2. Be Civil

• Treat others as professionals, even when you disagree.
• No harassment, no doxxing, no threats.
• No hate speech. No racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, religious or ethnic slurs.
• Don't pile on. If you have a complaint, use the report tool — don't start a witch hunt.

3. Be Safe

• GIA doesn't handle payments between users. If anyone asks for money "through GIA", that's a red flag.
• Don't move conversations off-platform when money is involved. If you must (e.g. for a meeting), at least keep the deal commitments documented in a GIA chat first.
• Verify before you transfer large deposits. A "✓ verified" badge means we confirmed someone's contact channels — it does not mean they are honest.
• If something feels wrong, it usually is. Trust your instincts.

4. Be Clear

• Listings are commitments. If you advertise a guest spot at €50 a day with shared accommodation and no private window, say so. People who book have accepted those terms — and our Blacklist archive documents what was offered, in your own words, in case of dispute.
• Set expectations early. Cancellation rules, deposit rules, equipment requirements — say them upfront, in writing, in the chat.

5. Respect Authorship

• A tattoo is the artist's work. If you upload a photo of someone else's tattoo, you must have that artist's permission. (If it's on your own body, you accept the risk that the artist may still object.)
• Don't pass off AI-generated work as your own hand-drawn art. AI Sketch images are clearly labelled and that's how they should stay.
• The model is trained on existing work. Before tattooing an AI-generated design, double-check you're not copying someone else's piece. We are not your copyright attorney.

6. Respect People in Your Photos

• If your portfolio photo includes another person — a client's body, a fellow artist, a session in a studio — you need their consent to publish.
• Faces are personal data. Be careful with them.
• If someone you photographed asks you to take it down, do it.

7. Use the Aftercare Tool Wisely

• Aftercare reminders are general suggestions — not medical advice.
• If something looks wrong on healing skin (red, hot, swollen, oozing), see a doctor. Don't ask GIA, don't ask the chat.
• We deliberately do not collect symptom logs or photos of healing tattoos.

8. Respect the Migration Module

• GIA is not an immigration adviser. We are not registered with OISC in the UK.
• Any advice, application, or representation is from the independent agent or lawyer you choose, not from GIA.
• Treat their fees, terms, and timelines as theirs — bring disputes to them.

9. Respect Each Other in the Network

• Promotion is fine. Spam is not. Pin / Boost your profile if you want visibility — but don't bot-spam comments, don't mass-message strangers, don't flood public threads.
• No fake reviews. No fake follower behaviour. We will detect it eventually, and you will lose access.

10. Respect the Festival Organizers

• Festival pages are run by independent organizers, not GIA. If a festival oversells, runs late, or changes its lineup, that's between you and them.
• If you organize a festival, post accurate dates, capacities, and prices. Honour them.

11. Tell Us About Problems

The report tool in the app is the fastest way to flag:

• Harassment or threats
• Suspected scam attempts
• Stolen portfolio
• Underage user
• Anything else that worries you

You can also email privacy@globalinkalliance.com for anything sensitive.

12. We're Not Here to Censor — But We Will Enforce

We don't moderate opinions, taste, or style. You can love or hate any kind of tattoo. You can post sharp critiques.

We do enforce against:

• Sexual content involving anyone
• Identifiable real people without consent
• Hate, harassment, threats
• Fraud and impersonation
• Illegal content of any kind

If you cross those lines, expect: warning → content removal → suspension → permanent ban. Severe cases skip warnings.

13. Appeal If You Disagree

If we removed content or limited your account and you think we got it wrong, reply to the email we sent you within 14 days. We re-review every appeal.

13a. The Community Discussion Chat (Blacklist section)

The Blacklist section includes an open chat where verified users share work experiences with studios and artists. We made this so people can read real opinions before walking into a deal — not just the formal Blacklist records.

Who can post

• 100% complete profile required. Read-only for everyone else.
• Each message requires you to confirm: "I personally worked with / know firsthand."

What's allowed

• Your personal experience working with a studio or artist
• Concrete facts, dates, and screenshots
• Constructive criticism — what worked, what didn't

What's not allowed

• Insults, name-calling, personal attacks
• Crime accusations without evidence ("scammer", "criminal", "thief" without proof)
• Hate speech (racial, religious, gender, sexual orientation)
• Doxxing or revealing private information about third parties
• Spam, marketing, off-topic content

How we moderate

• Pre-publication: automated content filter (OpenAI Moderation API) catches hate speech and threats before the message goes live
• Post-publication: 3 reports from different verified users = auto-hide pending admin review
• Repeat violations = ban from the chat (the rest of your GIA account stays active unless violations are severe)
• Right to reply: if you're mentioned, you receive a notification and can respond in the same thread

What GIA does and doesn't do

• We are not the publisher. We provide infrastructure for users to share opinions.
• We do not pre-verify the truth of any specific claim.
• We do remove content that violates our rules when we become aware of it.
• For serious documented violations, use the formal Blacklist submission tool — not the chat.

Rate limits (anti-spam)

• 5 seconds between messages
• 20 messages per hour
• 100 messages per day

Translation — messages are auto-translated to your selected language. The original is always available alongside the translation.

14. Crisis Resources

If you or someone you talk to in chat is in crisis:

• UK: Samaritans — 116 123
• DE: Telefonseelsorge — 0800 111 0 111
• NL: 113 — 0800 0113
• PL: Telefon Zaufania — 116 123
• TR: İntihar Önleme Derneği — 182
• US: 988
• EU general: 116 123

These are independent services. We list them so help is one tap away.

Contact

privacy@globalinkalliance.com — for anything sensitive hello@globalinkalliance.com — for general questions

Document prepared for Global Ink Alliance Ltd. Version 1.0 — 1 May 2026