Community Guidelines

1 Respect & Compassion

MemoryMantle is a space for grieving families and those who wish to pay their respects. Everything shared here should reflect that purpose.

What we expect

• Be kind. People visiting memorials and death notices are often going through the most difficult time of their lives. Treat every interaction with care.
• Be genuine. Only post condolences and memories that are sincere and heartfelt.
• Be respectful of differing beliefs. Families come from all backgrounds, faiths, and traditions. Honour their choices without judgement.
• Respect privacy. Do not share personal information about the deceased or their family beyond what the memorial creator has chosen to include.

2 Memorial Content

Memorials should be created by family members, close friends, or authorised representatives. Death notices are published by verified funeral directors, who confirm the death and funeral arrangements before a notice goes live.

Memorial creators should

• Only create memorials for real individuals who have passed away
• Ensure the information is accurate to the best of their knowledge
• Have the right or family consent to create the memorial
• Use real names (not pseudonyms or nicknames as the primary name)

AI-generated content

MemoryMantle offers AI-assisted obituary writing. While this tool can help you express your thoughts, we encourage you to personalise AI-generated text with your own words and memories. The AI is a starting point, not a replacement for genuine tribute.

3 Condolences & Messages

The condolence e-book is a place for sympathy, shared memories, and support. All condolence messages are subject to moderation.

Good condolence messages

• Express genuine sympathy or share a fond memory
• Are written with care and consideration
• Respect the family's grief and the tone of the memorial

Condolence messages must not

• Contain offensive, abusive, or hateful language
• Include spam, advertising, or self-promotion
• Attempt to solicit money or personal information
• Discuss disputes, legal matters, or grievances with the family
• Include graphic or disturbing content

4 Photos & Images

Photos bring memorials to life and help preserve precious memories. Please follow these guidelines when uploading images.

Acceptable photos

• Photos of the deceased (alone or with family and friends)
• Photos of meaningful places, events, or objects related to their life
• Family photos where the deceased is present
• Photos of flowers, memorial sites, or tributes

Photos must not contain

• Graphic, violent, or disturbing imagery
• Content that is illegal under Irish or EU law
• Images you do not have the right to use
• Advertising or promotional material

Photos should be uploaded in common formats (JPG, PNG, WebP) and must not exceed 10MB per image. Basic memorials allow up to 50 photos; Premium memorials allow up to 250.

5 Prohibited Content

The following content is strictly prohibited on MemoryMantle and will result in immediate removal and potential account suspension.

• Hate speech — Content that attacks individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or nationality
• Harassment & bullying — Targeted abuse, threats, or intimidation directed at any person
• Spam & scams — Unsolicited commercial content, phishing attempts, or fraudulent activity
• Misinformation — Deliberately false information about a deceased person intended to defame or harm their reputation
• Impersonation — Creating memorials or accounts that misrepresent your identity or relationship to the deceased
• Explicit content — Sexually explicit, gratuitously violent, or otherwise inappropriate material
• Illegal content — Any content that violates Irish law, EU regulations, or international law
• Fake memorials — Memorials for people who have not died, fictional characters, or animals (MemoryMantle is for human memorials only)

6 Fake & False Death Notices

A death notice or memorial for a person who has not died is one of the most harmful things that can be published on a platform like ours. It can devastate the person named and their family, and it may constitute harassment under Irish law. We treat it with zero tolerance.

What happens when a notice is reported as fake

• Immediate de-listing: The first report on any notice or memorial automatically removes it from all public listings — before any human review
• Immediate hiding: Where the report says the notice is fake or the person is alive, the page itself is also hidden behind an under-review notice, so it cannot be viewed even by direct link
• Priority human review: Our admins are alerted straight away and review "person is alive" reports as a priority
• If the report is upheld: The content is permanently removed, the account that created it is banned without refund, and the matter may be referred to An Garda Síochána — publishing a fake death notice about a living person can amount to harassment or a harmful communication under the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 ("Coco's Law")
• If the report is not upheld: The notice is restored to public view, and that page is protected against further automatic hiding

Responsible reporting

The Report button exists to protect people — please use it honestly. A false report can suppress a genuine death notice and cause real distress to a grieving family. False reporting is itself abuse: we record the details of every report (including IP address), and serial or bad-faith false reporting will lead to bans and may itself be referred to Gardaí where it amounts to harassment.

7 Moderation & Enforcement

We use a combination of automated systems and human review to maintain community standards.

How moderation works

• Automated filtering: All condolence messages are automatically screened for offensive language, spam, and other violations before publication
• Memorial creator controls: Memorial creators can choose to manually approve condolences before they appear publicly
• Community reporting: Anyone can report content they believe violates these guidelines
• Staff review: Our team reviews reported content and takes action as needed

Enforcement actions

Depending on the severity of the violation, we may take one or more of the following actions:

1. Content removal — The offending content is removed
2. Warning — The user receives a notice about the violation
3. Temporary suspension — The user's account is suspended for a period
4. Permanent ban — The user's account is permanently closed

We aim to be fair and proportionate. Minor first-time offences will typically result in content removal and a warning. Serious or repeated violations will lead to suspension or banning.

8 Reporting Content

If you see content that violates these guidelines, please report it so we can take action.

How to report

• Use the Report button: Every death notice and memorial page has a Report button. You do not need an account, and you can report anonymously. Reports about fake notices or living persons take effect immediately (see Section 6)
• Email us: Send details to [email protected] with the subject line "Content Report"
• Include: A link to the content, a description of the issue, and any screenshots if relevant

What happens after you report

• We aim to review all reports within 48 hours
• We may contact you for additional information
• We will take appropriate action based on our guidelines
• For privacy reasons, we cannot always share the outcome of our review with the reporter

9 Contact Us

If you have questions about these Community Guidelines or need assistance:

These guidelines may be updated from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email to registered users. Your continued use of MemoryMantle after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated guidelines.