Moderation Philosophy

Moderation in TGK Community exists to protect the standard of the room, not to impose ideological obedience. It protects safety, clarity, and the conditions needed for honest disagreement.

How Moderation Works

  • A member reports content or a moderator identifies a concern.
  • A human moderator reviews the content, its context, the relevant rules, and the evidence reasonably available.
  • The moderator decides whether guidance, a warning, removal, a restriction, suspension, permanent removal, or no action is proportionate.
  • The affected member is told the outcome where it is practical and appropriate to do so.
  • Significant decisions may be recorded privately for consistency, safeguarding, and later review.

The Standard TGK Applies

TGK aims to act fairly, consistently, and proportionately using the evidence reasonably available. Action is based on conduct and risk, not political or religious viewpoint, popularity, membership level, Founder status, or Keys balance.

  • Reasonable disagreement and good-faith criticism are permitted.
  • Poor writing, humour, unusual communication, or an unpopular opinion is not a breach by itself.
  • Terms such as malicious, unserious, low quality, weak, or incoherent do not justify a sanction without conduct and context that explain the actual breach.
  • Deliberate flooding, fabricated evidence, targeted abuse, evasion, or repeated refusal to follow clear room directions may justify action because of their effect on people or the room.

Default Moderation Ladder

  1. Informal guidance or redirection.
  2. Content notice or formal warning.
  3. Content removal or temporary participation restriction.
  4. Temporary account suspension.
  5. Permanent removal for serious or persistent breaches.

This is a guide, not an automatic sequence. Not every matter must pass through every stage. A credible threat, safeguarding concern, serious harassment campaign, doxxing, evasion, or other grave abuse may justify immediate restriction, suspension, content removal, or permanent removal. Moderators may preserve evidence before removing harmful material.

Correction and New Evidence

TGK normally prefers correction where correction is safe and realistic. Guidance can be enough when a member misunderstands a rule or can repair the problem. TGK may also correct a moderation decision when new evidence emerges or when the original action proves mistaken or disproportionate.

One Internal Review

A member may request one internal review of a temporary suspension, permanent account removal, or another significant decision that materially restricts participation. Send the request to admin@thegnostickey.com. Explain why the decision may be mistaken or disproportionate and include relevant evidence.

  • Someone other than the original decision-maker should handle the review where reasonably possible.
  • TGK may uphold, reduce, reverse, or replace the original action.
  • Abusive, repetitive, or substantially identical requests may be declined.
  • Urgent safety action remains in force while the review is considered unless TGK decides otherwise.
  • The outcome is communicated to the affected member.

This is an internal moderation review, not a legal process. It does not guarantee compensation, restoration, or a different outcome merely because the allegation is denied.

Private Moderation Records

Significant decisions may be recorded privately to support consistency, safeguarding, identification of repeated abuse, review of moderator action, correction of mistakes, and improvement of policy. These records are administrative working records. They are not automatically public and do not prevent TGK from correcting an error or improving a rule.

TGK aims to apply its rules fairly, consistently, and proportionately. Moderation decisions use the evidence reasonably available and may be corrected when new information emerges. Previous decisions may guide future moderation, but they do not prevent TGK from correcting mistakes or improving its rules.