Moderator Guidelines
Moderators build and run Topicle's communities, and a good one takes real work. This page covers what's yours to decide, what we ask of you, and when we step in.
What's yours to decide
- Your rules. Pick a rule set (Relaxed, Standard or Strict) and add your own rules on top. They can be as specific as your community needs.
- What stays up. Removals and bans under your community's rules are your call.
- How the community works. Flairs, pinned posts, the default post type, whether GIFs and crossposts are allowed, and who can join if the community is private.
- Your team. Add moderators and choose what each of them can do.
- Our backing. If people harass you over a moderation decision, report it. Harassment breaks the site rules wherever it happens, and we'll deal with it.
What we ask of you
Moderate for the community, not for a personal agenda or to win an argument. Apply your rules the same way whether or not you agree with the post. If you're unsure, leave it up.
If you're part of a discussion, let another moderator handle it. That includes disagreements and anything where you have a personal stake.
Pins and sticky comments are for announcements, rule reminders and useful context. Post as much as you like as a regular member.
When you remove something, say why, so the person knows what went wrong. Silent removal is for spam and clearly illegal material. Moderation actions show in the community's public mod log.
Check reports regularly. If you'll be away for a while, tell your co-moderators. Moderators who have been inactive for a long time may be removed so a community isn't left unattended.
Being a moderator doesn't exempt you from them. Your community can be stricter than the site but never looser. Ten rules apply everywhere, and the other five depend on your rule set.
Don't offer or accept payment or favours for a moderator role, and don't hand a community to an outside organisation or business.
What you see in modmail, reports and mod tools stays with the mod team. Don't use moderator access to look people up for anything other than moderation. If someone messages you privately about a moderation issue, move it to modmail.
Talk through big decisions like bans and rule changes with your co-moderators when you can. Don't reverse another moderator's action without discussing it first.
If you get one wrong, reverse it. People can appeal your decisions. Read appeals properly, even when you think you were right.
When we step in
Most of the time we stay out of your community. We remove content that breaks the site rules or the law.
We also act when a moderator keeps breaking these guidelines, for example by banning people for opinions that are within the rules. Before we act against a moderator, we'll contact you and explain why, unless it's urgent: illegal content, a risk to someone's safety, a legal requirement, or an account that looks compromised.
Depending on how serious it is, a moderator can lose some permissions or their moderator role, and serious breaches of the site rules can lead to a suspension or ban.
If you think a moderator is breaking these guidelines, please contact us.
Related
These guidelines supplement the site-wide Community Rules, which apply to all users including moderators. For full platform policies, see the Terms of Service.