If You Were Mayor provides citizens and civic-minded organizations a simple place to share ideas and projects with the goal of enhancing the city’s livability. Users on the web-based platform have the opportunity to engage, collaborate and make positive impacts. As such, we have a number of rules we enforce to maintain a high level of discourse.
Please review our community standards. Ideas and comments violating these rules are subject to editing or removal. If you see something on If You Were Mayor that you believe violates these rules, please report the abuse.
Keep in mind that reporting content doesn’t guarantee that if will be removed from the site. If You Were Mayor is open to expression that meets the community standards outlined below.
No city is perfect and finding opportunities where there are gaps is one way to realize more of your city’s full potential. If You Were Mayor is organized around five categories that have been found in countless studies related to livability and quality of life and almost any positive idea can fit somewhere in them: Transportation, Education, Economic Opportunity, Arts & Culture and Neighborhoods, Parks & Housing.
Complaints only get you so far and many issues require the attention of the local government. Every problem can be solved in many ways so occasionally conflicted ideas will find their way onto the site. That’s ok!
Feasibility or perceived feasibility should not be a limiting factor if you have an idea that you think is interesting or applicable to creating a more livable city. However, an idea should be realistic. For instance, putting a dome over your city is not realistic.
That cannot happen if you only complain. If You Were Mayor is all about productive discussion, and even impassioned debate. People feel strongly about their city and neighborhoods. Occasionally these exchanges will involve conflicting opinions that need to be voiced. However, please follow the rules and standards of engagement outlined on this page. Raise your concerns, but be civil. If you’ve got a better idea, please share it and link it to others who you think can share your enthusiasm. This is one way that you can help to build the community.
This site is not a place for specific complaints about civic services or conditions. Seek out your local ombudsman, neighborhood association and your council representative, to voice those concerns.
If You Were Mayor is a location-based community, and as such we take harassment and threats very seriously. We may remove content and refer to law enforcement when we perceive real risk to anyone’s well being.
Hate speech is corrosive and considered harassment. We do not permit attacks based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition. We reserve the right to remove any content we find hateful.
Don’t post anything relating to minors that is inappropriately sexual or violent. We don’t tolerate bullying or any other harassments of minors.
We reserve the right to remove anything deemed explicit content that is not appropriate.
Don’t use If You Were Mayor to engage in phishing or fraud. Don’t use If You Were Mayor to fish for personal information in deceptive ways. Don’t post content that violates others’ privacy, including personally identifying or confidential information like credit card numbers, social security numbers, or non-public contact information.
Respect copyrights and trademarks. Unauthorized use of copyrighted or trademarked work are not allowed. It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement as per our Terms of Service.
Don’t impersonate someone else in a deceptive way.
Don’t use If You Were Mayor for any commercial purposes or the benefit of any third party or in any manner not permitted by the Terms of Services. Don’t use If You Were Mayor to distribute unauthorized advertising, promotions, spam or any other form of solicitation for goods or services.
If You Were Mayor reserves the right to enforce, or not enforce, these policies at our discretion. These policies do not create a contractual obligation for us to act in any specific manner. We reserve the right to make changes to these rules, per our Terms of Service.
