Harmful Online Behavior

Whether in-person or online, harmful, harassing, defamatory, and threatening online behavior violates our community standards. It is our collective responsibility to address harmful behavior and ensure respect for the rights of all. We know that many students have been affected directly or indirectly by anonymous (or simply unwanted) posts online. This conduct includes sending or posting threatening or abusive messages/images or publishing derogatory or personal and private information (doxxing).

If you become aware of or are a target of this inappropriate online behavior:

Make a Report:


Seek Help and get Support:  

  • Health & Counseling Services (Confidential). Call 828.251.6520 to schedule an appointment. If you have a medical emergency, call 911. If you need after-hours or weekend mental health support, call 828.251.6520 and press #4. For a health consult, call Health Link at 888.267.3675. 

  • Contact the Dean of Students Office (Private, not confidential). Email dos@unca.edu.

What do I do when I observe harm being done?

Every platform or app that you use has community guidelines or terms of use that establish expected standards of behavior and identify best safety practices. These guidelines are meant to help facilitate a safe and vibrant online community where all users feel empowered to participate. If a user violates the guidelines, they may be temporarily or permanently banned from the site or app. 

Community Guidelines also stipulate when and how to disrupt harmful conduct on each platform and website. Anyone who observes harm online (or in-person) has the opportunity to intervene:

  1. Report posts that harass or discriminate against individuals or groups of people through the app or site. (You can also report to the appropriate University office.) 

  2. Downvote posts or comments that harass or spread harmful misinformation. 

  3. Interrupt conversations in which personal or identifying information about others is being shared without consent. 

  4. Provide information about appropriate resources for those who may have been impacted. (Examples include Dean of Students, Title IX Coordinator, Health and Counseling, University Police, etc.)

  5. Delete the app or page where the behavior persists. Sometimes the best course of action is removing or reducing access to or communication from spaces that create a harmful environment.

To learn how to intervene and report harmful and harassing comments made on a specific social media platform, review each platform’s Community Guardrails:

Commit to being curious and gaining more information before presenting anything as fact – you may not know all the relevant information. Challenge assumptions you make and your immediate reaction to what you see/hear. Consider the impact that your words and actions have on others, including those you have grievances with and those who may feel blindsided and triggered by the very public discourses going on. 

If you see posts that have you concerned about someone’s well-being or that of the larger UNC Asheville community, please reach out to faculty or non-student staff members. Share the concern with us so that we can respond as quickly and effectively as possible.

Possible Outcomes of Harmful Online Behavior

Harassment, defamation, stalking, and threats are violations of University policy, even when the conduct occurs online, and could result in disciplinary action via the student conduct process. University sanctions such as a written warning, mandatory mediation, disciplinary probation, or suspension could be imposed depending on the severity of the incident(s). In some cases, online conduct, such as cyberstalking, may also violate criminal law and result in a criminal charge and investigation. An individual may also take civil action against an individual who harasses, defames, stalks, or threatens them. 

What can I do to stay protected online?

While anyone can be a victim of online or technology-facilitated harassment, there are steps you can take to help protect yourself and others, which often involves being aware of the unique character of the app.

For instance, we know that YikYak is one of the more popular location-based apps currently being used, which can feel specific to our campus but is actually not restricted just to UNC Asheville and the people in our community. While there is now a requirement to authenticate one’s user account through a phone number and/or University email, this does not eliminate the risks. This is why YikYak cautions, “This is a public forum and your yaks are public. You are responsible for your yaks and their consequences and your interactions with other yakkers. We urge you to be cautious about your interactions.”

Additionally, it is worth noting that “anonymous” forums like YikYak are not actually as anonymous as they appear. Yik Yak’s fine print says the service can disclose to police each user’s Internet protocol address and GPS coordinates, along with details about the phone or tablet, and date and time for each message. To help authenticate its customers, the service requires each user to provide a phone number to sign up.

Learning to use YikYak and other location-based apps in a mindful and responsible way is incredibly important. Please consider taking the following steps:

  • Enable strict privacy settings on social media apps.

  • Don’t post your residence hall location or room number.

  • Don’t invite people to meet you at campus locations alone.

  • Be wary of sharing photos or other personal information with individuals that you do not know, including via public account access.