Moderation Policy

1. Our Moderation Principles

We moderate the platform to keep it safe, welcoming, and genuine. Our guiding principles are:

• Consistency — the same rules apply to everyone, regardless of status or tenure.
• Proportionality — the response matches the severity of the violation.
• Transparency — affected members are informed of decisions and their reasons.
• Fairness — every member has the right to appeal.

2. What We Moderate

The following behaviours will result in moderation action:

• Harassment and bullying — targeting, threatening, or demeaning other members.
• Hate speech — content that discriminates on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin.
• Spam and solicitation — unsolicited commercial messages, repetitive posts, or promotional content without prior approval.
• Impersonation — pretending to be another person or creating a misleading identity.
• Explicit content — sexually explicit or graphic violent material.
• Privacy violations — sharing another person's private information without consent ("doxxing").
• Fraud and deception — misleading members for personal gain.
• Platform abuse — creating multiple accounts, automated scraping, or attempts to compromise platform security.

3. How We Moderate

Moderation occurs through two channels:

• Member reports: any member can report content or behaviour they believe violates this policy. Reports are reviewed by our moderation team within 3 business days for standard issues, or within 24 hours for urgent safety concerns.
• Proactive review: our team periodically reviews content and activity patterns for policy violations.

4. Moderation Actions

Depending on the severity and frequency of a violation, we may take one or more of the following actions:

1. Warning — a formal notice that the behaviour is not acceptable.
2. Content removal — the offending content is removed from the platform.
3. Temporary suspension — access to the platform is restricted for a defined period (1–30 days).
4. Permanent ban — the account is permanently closed and the member may not re-register.
5. Legal referral — for serious illegal activity, we may report to the relevant authorities.

Severe violations (e.g. threats of violence, child safety concerns) will result in immediate suspension pending investigation, without prior warning.

5. How to Report

To report a member or piece of content, please contact us via our Contact & Complaints procedure with the following information:

• Your username or email address.
• A description of the violation and, where possible, a screenshot or URL.
• The username of the reported member (if applicable).

Reports are treated confidentially. We will not disclose your identity to the reported member.

6. Appeals

If you believe a moderation action taken against you was incorrect, you may appeal within 14 days of the decision by emailing appeals@friendshaping.com. Please include your username and a clear explanation of why you believe the decision was wrong. A senior moderator not involved in the original decision will review your appeal and respond within 10 business days.