Participation Guide

This guide covers the practical side of participation: creating threads, replying, challenging arguments, voting, reporting concerns, using pseudonyms, and understanding what Keys do and do not mean.

Creating Threads

  • Members may create threads where the room allows it.
  • Choose the room that matches the subject and the kind of discussion you want.
  • Give the thread a clear prompt, claim, question, or source.
  • Starting a thread does not require a Steel Man summary.
  • Do not create duplicate threads to force attention or evade moderation.

Replies and Formal Challenges

Use Reply for questions, additions, clarifications, agreement, humour, or related observations. Use Challenge when directly contesting another contribution. A Challenge must begin with a Steel Man summary of 6 to 60 words, or 30 to 600 characters. An ordinary Reply does not require one.

  • Steel Man first: state the strongest version of the other person’s case before you challenge it.
  • Engage the argument, not the person.
  • Keep contributions direct, readable, and free of needless heat.
  • Support consequential claims with reasoning or evidence.
  • Use paragraphs in longer contributions so the thread remains legible.
  • Ask for clarification when you cannot yet represent the other position fairly.
  • Aim for clarity, fairness, and intellectual honesty.

Steel Man Submissions

The original poster may accept or reject the Steel Man summary. A rejection requires a written reason of at least 15 words and remains visible beneath the Challenge. Rejection does not prove that the Challenge was abusive or dishonest, and acceptance does not prove that the rebuttal is correct. The Steelman Handbook explains the full standard.

Voting

Members may use Agree when a contribution is sound and well reasoned, and Insight when it adds a useful connection, source, or reframe. Voting is a community signal, not a moderation ballot. Popularity does not decide whether a report is upheld, and an unpopular view is not a breach by itself. Votes never require a reply.

Reporting Content

Members can report a contribution through its Report control. Select the closest reason and explain the concern clearly. Reports go to human moderators for review. Do not use reporting to punish disagreement, organise pressure, or bury criticism.

A report does not decide the outcome. Moderators consider the content, its context, the relevant room rules, available evidence, and any immediate safety risk.

Using Pseudonyms

Pseudonyms provide privacy without cancelling accountability. Choose a name that can live in a serious room. Do not impersonate others, use bait names, or treat identity as a toy.

Changing your community name costs 10 Spendable Keys and is limited to once every 30 days. A single free change within the first 30 days of a new account does not trigger the cooldown or deduct Keys. After each change, the prior pseudonym is captured and shown beneath any contribution for 90 days as “Previously known as …,” so the community can trace identity changes. Admin accounts can change their names freely with no cost or cooldown.

Spendable Keys may come from participation and from a one-time welcome credit after a first successful paid upgrade. The current welcome amounts are 10 Spendable Keys for Membership and 20 Spendable Keys in total for the Founder path. They do not increase Reputation or reset on cancellation or resubscription.

If you lack enough spendable Keys, the change is blocked with the message “Insufficient keys to change username,” and your community name remains unchanged until the required Keys are available.

Keys, Standing and Membership

TGK distinguishes paid access from community signals. Membership permits participation in the rooms that require it. It does not buy credibility, truth, authority, favourable moderation, or influence over a dispute.

Reputation and Spendable Keys are separate. Qualifying participation increases Reputation and adds the same number of Spendable Keys. Reputation records earned standing and is not spent. Spendable Keys can be used for community features such as pseudonym changes. Paid welcome Keys increase only the spendable balance. They are a product credit, not proof of intellectual merit or good conduct. Moderators must decide reports by conduct, context, risk, and evidence, not by membership level, Founder status, Reputation, Keys balance, or popularity.

Member Responsibilities

  • Read enough of the thread to understand its context before contributing.
  • Distinguish fact, inference, suspicion, humour, and personal interpretation.
  • Correct material errors when they are shown to you.
  • Do not repeat a point merely to flood the room or force attention.
  • Respect restrictions and moderator directions while any internal review is pending.
  • Report serious concerns rather than escalating them through personal retaliation.