Community Guidelines

Last updated: May 5, 2026

Pholk is built for real neighbors and real communities. Hyperlocal platforms have to take their responsibilities seriously — what happens here can spill into real life faster than on a generic social network. These guidelines are how we keep that from going badly.

What Pholk welcomes

Pholk is a place for the full range of how people actually talk to each other.

Real disagreement — politics, civic issues, tough neighborhood conversations
Local knowledge, recommendations, and warnings
Calling out things that need calling out, including businesses and public figures
Mockery, sarcasm, swearing, strong opinions
The kind of stuff you'd say at a community meeting — and the kind you wouldn't

What Pholk does not allow

These are zero-tolerance. No warnings, no second chances, no "but my context." Examples include, but are not limited to:

Doxxing or geographic targeting

Sharing a person's home address, workplace, schedule, kids' school, or any private information that puts them at physical risk. This is the line Pholk most fiercely defends. A doxxing victim on a hyperlocal platform can be targeted in person within hours — the local nature of Pholk makes this category of harm uniquely severe.

Threats or incitement of violence

Threatening any person or group, or encouraging others to harm them. This includes hypothetical, "joking," and indirect language when the intent is clear. We err on the side of removing.

Harassment campaigns

Coordinated abuse, repeated unwanted contact after being asked to stop, posting personal information to invite harassment, slurs targeting protected classes (race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, immigration status). Disagreement is welcome; targeted abuse is not.

Sexual content involving minors

Banned without exception. Reported to the appropriate authorities.

Evading bans

Creating new accounts to evade a Phorum ban or site-wide suspension.

Underage access to NSFW content

Accessing or posting Not Safe For Work (NSFW) content without affirmatively verifying you are at least 18 years old.

What Pholk does not moderate

To be explicit, because we'd rather over-clarify than have anyone guess:

Disagreement, including strong, persistent disagreement
Critical opinions about public figures, politicians, or businesses
Posts that are off-topic for a Phorum (the Phorum mod may remove them, but we won't ban site-wide)
Posts you don't like that don't fall into the zero-tolerance categories above
Anonymous criticism, sarcasm, mockery, or swearing

If something doesn't belong on Pholk in your view but isn't zero-tolerance, the right response is usually to downvote, ignore, or block — not to report. Use the report button when something would actually warrant intervention under these Guidelines or the Terms of Service.

How moderation works

Pholk has two layers of moderation:

Phorum mods can remove posts and ban users from their own Phorum. They cannot suspend accounts site-wide. Phorum mods are independent community volunteers and are not employees, agents, or representatives of Pholk. Pholk may remove or limit moderator privileges at its sole discretion.
Site admins can suspend accounts site-wide for the zero-tolerance categories above.

When something is removed, the author sees the post or comment marked Removed by mod with the reason. We don't do silent removals.

Every moderation action is recorded in an internal audit log with the actor, reason, and timestamp. This allows Pholk to review moderator conduct and enforce these Guidelines consistently.

We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor, review, or remove content. Moderation decisions are made at our sole discretion. Depending on severity, Pholk may remove content, limit features, issue a Phorum ban, suspend an account, or take other appropriate action.

Appeals

If you've been suspended or had content removed and believe it was wrong, email phil@pholk.io with your username. Every appeal gets a real reply from a real person.

Reversals require evidence the original action was made in error. We don't reverse zero-tolerance suspensions on the basis of "I won't do it again."

A note on scale

Pholk is small right now. As it grows, these guidelines will get sharper, mod tools will get better, and we'll learn things we can't anticipate. We'll update this page when that happens, and announce material changes.

Questions? phil@pholk.io