content policy

core principle

folk.zone is a space for the common folk, people who make things, write things, discuss things, and build community together. Treat other people as you would want to be treated. When in doubt, do not post it.

what is always prohibited

No exceptions are made for the following, regardless of context, artistic framing, or claimed irony:

• Sexual content depicting minors (CSAM)
• Credible threats of violence against specific individuals or groups
• Doxxing, posting private personal information of another person without their consent
• Content designed to facilitate real-world harm, such as instructions for weapons or synthesis routes for dangerous substances
• Incitement to violence or genocide

hate speech

Content that dehumanises people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or socioeconomic status is prohibited. Criticism of ideologies, institutions, policies, and belief systems is not hate speech. The line is dehumanisation, treating people as less than human because of who they are.

harassment

Sending repeated unwanted messages to another user, coordinating pile-ons, or using folk.zone services to continue harassment that originated elsewhere is prohibited. If someone asks you not to contact them, stop.

misinformation

Intentionally spreading false information in ways that could cause harm to individuals or public health is prohibited. This does not restrict satire, clearly labelled opinion, or good-faith error.

content warnings and sensitive content

On services that support content warnings, primarily social. and write.:

• Use content warnings for graphic violence, sexual content (where the service permits it for adults), suicide or self-harm, eating disorders, political content (optional but encouraged in federated spaces), and spoilers for recent media
• Sexual content between adults is permitted on services where the operator has enabled it, with appropriate content warnings. It is off by default
• Gore and graphic violence are permitted only for journalistic or documentary purposes, behind a content warning

commercial use

Light commercial use is permitted, such as promoting your own creative work, freelance services, or small business. Unsolicited advertising, multi-level marketing, and spam are prohibited.

moderation

At launch, the operator is the sole moderator. Trusted community members may be granted moderation roles on specific services as the community grows. Moderators follow these guidelines and may be removed if they do not.

In rough order of severity, moderation actions include:

• Content removal: single piece of content violates policy, account in good standing
• Warning: first or minor violation, pattern unclear
• Temporary suspension: repeated violations, serious single violation pending investigation
• Permanent suspension: severe violation, repeated suspensions, CSAM, doxxing, credible threats
• Instance block: for federated services, remote instances sending significant policy-violating content

appeals

If you believe your content was removed or your account was suspended in error, you may appeal by emailing the operator at hello@folk.zone. Appeals will be reviewed within 14 days. The operator's decision on appeal is final.

reports

Use the built-in report function on each service where available. Reports are reviewed by the operator within 72 hours for serious matters and within 7 days for lower-priority reports.

federation moderation

For Mastodon, Pixelfed, and other federated services, the operator will:

• Block instances that are consistently used to send harassment, CSAM, or unconsented spam
• Silence (limit) instances with moderation policies significantly at odds with these guidelines
• Maintain a public list of blocked instances at wiki.folk.zone/federation-policy

registration by service

contact

For content policy questions, abuse reports, or appeals:

• Email: hello@folk.zone
• Mastodon: @folkzone@social.folk.zone