moderation/README.md

# Moderation guidelines

## Status

This document is a working draft and incomplete.

## Definitions

The key words _shall_, _shall not_, _should_, _should not_, _may_ are to be interpreted as described in
[RFC 2119](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119.html).

- _shall_: strict adherence, no deviation
- _should_: recommendation, deviation with good reason
- _may_: suggestion, optional, but good manners

### Representation

The term _representation_ applies to both textual (something being described in text) and pictoral
(something shown in a still image or video) representation. It applies whether or not the represented
idea is real or imaginary.

## Visibility

- _unrestricted_
  - Activities _may_ be visible in public timelines.
  - Media attachments _may_ not be marked as sensitive.
- _restricted_
  - Activities _shall not_ be visible in public timelines if unlabeled.
  - Activities _should_ be labelled with a content warning.
  - Activities _may_ be visible in public timelines if labelled with a content warning.
  - Media attachments _shall_ be marked as sensitive.
- _prohibited_
  - Activities _shall_ be rejected.
  - Media attachments _shall_ be stripped.

### Personal integrity

Many individuals experience discomfort or distress when confronted with the compromise of a person’s integrity.

Personal integrity includes:
- Physical (bodily) integrity
- Mental (emotional) integrity

**Representation of:**
- compromise of personal integrity _should_ be restricted.
  - invasive medical procedures
  - mental health
- non-consensual compromise of personal integrity _shall_ be restricted.
  - physical violence
  - psychological abuse

**Practical application:**
- Media depicting physical violence _shall_ be marked as sensitive and labelled with `violence`.
- Posts about mental health issues _should_ be labelled with `mh`.

### Nudity & sexuality

Nudity and sexuality are considered private to varying degrees in most cultures. Some individuals have
experienced trauma related to sexuality and find confrontation with nudity or sexuality distressing.
Some representations of sexuality are illegal.

**Representation of:**
- any penis, vulva or anus _should_ be restricted.
  - body parts commonly used to experience sexual pleasure
- bare anthromorphic torso _may_ be restricted.
  - unclothed breasts, abdomen or buttocks
- non‐sexual nudity _may_ be unrestricted.
  - breast-feeding of children
  - non‐sexual nudity in medical settings
  - non‐sexual nudity in culturally accepted settings
- erotic or sexual nudity _shall_ be restricted.
- erotic or sexual nudity involving humans or anthropomorphic characters below the age of 18 _shall_ be prohibited.
- sexuality _should_ be restricted.
- sexuality involving humans or anthropomorphic chararcters below the age of 16 _shall_ be prohibited.
  - edge case: person describing their own experience of sexual abuse

**Practical application:**
- Pictures with nudity _should_ generally be marked as sensitive and labelled with `nudity`.
- Sexually suggestive pictures without nudity _should_ be marked as sensitive and labelled with `lewd` or `suggestive`.
- Explicit descriptions or depictions of sexual activity _shall_ be marked as sensitive and labelled with `lewd`.

### Bodily emissions

Emissions from a being’s body tend to be considered private in most cultures. Many individuals experience
discomfort when confronted with them.

**Representation of:**
- bleeding or blood _should_ be restricted.
- micturition or urine _should_ be restricted.
- defecation or feces _should_ be restricted.
- ejaculation or ejaculate _shall_ be restricted.

**Practical application:**
- Descriptions or depictions of blood _should_ be marked as sensitive and labelled with `blood`.
- Pictures of dog excrement _should_ be marked as sensitive and labelled with `scat`.

### Existential threats

Confrontation with existential threats may be important, but can be highly distressing.

**Representation of:**
- existential threats to any population _should_ be restricted.

**Practical application:**
- Discussions of war or climate change _should_ be labelled with appropriate content warnings.

### Politics

Discussion of politics is very important, but can be exhausting. Some political ideologies are fundamentally
incompatible with our values.

**Practical application:**
- Discussion of politics _may_ be labelled with content warnings (`pol`, `depol`, `uspol` etc.).

### Food

Food and its consumption are not considered private in most cultures, but some individuals have eating disorders
and may experience distress when confronted with food.

**Representation of:**
- eating or food _may_ be restricted.

**Practical application:**
- Pictures of meals _may_ be marked as sensitive and labelled with `food`.

### Eye contact

Eye contact may be experienced as uncomfortable by some people. May need some research.

**Representation of:**
- eyes focused on the viewer _may_ be restricted.

**Practical application:**
- Selfies with eyes focused on the camera _may_ be marked as sensitive and labelled with `ec`.

## Instance moderation

Instances _should_ only be moderated if an issue cannot be expected to be resolved in a less invasive manner,
for example by addressing them directly with the users causing them or the instance administrators.
Reducing the visibility of an instance’s content _should_ generally be preferred over complete defederation.

_(incomplete)_

- `activities`:
  - `unlist`: Remove activities from federated timeline.
  - `restrict`: Force activities to be visible to followers only.
  - `reject`: Reject all activities except deletes.
- `media`:
  - `mark`: Mark media attachments as sensitive.
  - `strip`: Strip all media attachments.

### Practical guidelines

_(incomplete)_

#### Politics

- Instances focused on right‐wing extremism _should_ be defederated.
- Instances with strong free speech policies _may_ have their activities withheld from public timelines.
- Instances with a high prevalance of unlabelled political content _may_ have their content withheld from public timelines.

#### Personal integrity

- Instances with a high prevalence of media depicting violence _should_ have their media marked as sensitive.

#### Nudity & sexuality 

- Instances focused on CSAM _shall_ be defederated.
- Instances with a high prevalance of legally questionable sexual content _should_ have their media stripped.
- Instances with a high prevalance of unmarked sexual content _should_ have their media marked as sensitive.

## Local user moderation

Issues with local users _should_ preferably be addressed in a cooperative and constructive manner.

_(incomplete)_

- Unlisting (removal from federated timeline), `mrf_tag:force-unlisted`
- Sandboxing (removal from public timelines), `mrf_tag:sandbox`
- Marking media attachments as sensitive, `mrf_tag:media-force-nsfw`
- Stripping media attachments, `mrf_tag:media-strip`
- Account deactivation
- Account deletion

### Practical guidelines

_(incomplete)_

- Users publishing CSAM _shall_ be permanently suspended.
- Users failing to mark sensitive media _may_ have them forcibly marked as sensitive.