Community Guidelines

A handy guide to posting kindly, sharing fair local reviews, and knowing what’s okay to share on Hawk’s Bay.

Hawk's Bay is a website by and for the neighbours who live here. The reviews, notices and events you see are written by residents, for residents. A few simple ideas keep it useful and friendly — this isn't a rulebook so much as the spirit we'd like everyone to bring.

Be a good neighbour

  • Be kind and assume good faith. We're all living side by side. Disagree without getting personal.
  • Keep it relevant to Hawk's Bay. Local services, estate life, what's on, lost-and-found, recommendations, questions for neighbours — all welcome.
  • Share honestly. If you leave a review of a local service, base it on your own genuine experience.

Please don't

  • Post anything abusive, harassing, discriminatory or threatening.
  • Share someone else's personal details — address, phone number, photos of them — without their say-so.
  • Use the site to advertise or spam. The directory is for recommending services, not for businesses to promote themselves.
  • Post anything unlawful, or content that isn't yours to share.
  • Name and shame individuals, or use reviews to settle a personal score.

Reviews & recommendations

The directory works best when reviews are fair and first-hand. A bad experience is worth sharing — just keep it factual and about the service, not the person. If a tradesperson or business wants to respond, get in touch and we'll help sort it out fairly.

Reporting something

Seen a post that doesn't sit right? Email hello@hawksbaywicklow.com and let us know. We're volunteers, so we won't always reply instantly, but we read everything.

What we may do

Because a handful of neighbours run this in their spare time, we keep moderation light — but we may edit or remove posts that break these guidelines, and in rare cases suspend an account. We'll always try to have a friendly word first. These guidelines form part of our Terms of Use.

Thanks for helping keep Hawk's Bay a place we're all glad to log into. 🌊