About
Ethics
What we will and won’t do — on data, money, recognition, and design.
01
Recognition is editorial, not algorithmic
We don’t rank by engagement. Designer of the Week is picked by editors with a written rationale. Likes are not part of the curation signal. The pool, the shortlist, and the winner are visible.
02
No ads, no sponsored slots
Sooonar doesn’t carry advertising. The Academy and subscriptions are how we’re funded. If something is sponsored in the future, it will be clearly labelled as a partnership, written by us, and limited to the Journal — never the feed, the directory, or the recognition cycle.
03
Your work is yours
Sooonar stamps provenance on uploaded pieces (SHA-256 of the canonical asset set, with a timestamp). We never train models on portfolio images. We never resell your data. If a piece is plagiarised, we publish the chronology to the verifier.
04
DMs are gated, not closed
Anyone can be reached on Sooonar — but a featured designer doesn’t get spammed. Recipients control who can message them directly; everyone else lands in a Requests inbox that the recipient accepts or declines silently. Declined senders are blocked for 30 days.
05
No engagement loops
No streaks, no leaderboards, no notification badges for things you didn’t ask for. Notifications are for actions taken on your account, not for behaviour we want to encourage.
06
No casteism, no plagiarism, no harassment
Reportable in one click; reviewed by a real editor; outcomes published. Repeat offenders are removed. Caste-based, religion-based, or community-based discrimination is grounds for immediate removal regardless of follow count or tier.
07
Money flows transparently
Pricing is in INR, listed on the upgrade page, and includes GST. We share Academy revenue 60/40 with instructors. Refunds: 7 days, <25% watched. Subscription pro-rated within the first 7 days. We post quarterly numbers to the Journal.
08
We close gracefully if we have to
If Sooonar shuts down, designers get a 90-day window to export their portfolios, certificates, and messages. The recognition archive stays online for 12 months minimum after the platform shutters, so anyone who was named Designer of the Week can point at the archive page.