DRAFT: DFOS Community Guidelines

Hey everybody. I wanted to share this first draft of Community Guidelines we've come up with to express the intentions and spirit of this space. We're putting this first draft in front of you to hear feedback, to answer questions, and to help come to a clear understanding together of what kind of culture we're trying to foster here.

The thing to note ahead of the guidelines: we see DFOS as infrastructure. It's not like Metalabel, where we have carefully curated who will use. DFOS, at its core, is a toolkit that we think many different types of people will find utility with. Our intention is not to control what happens within, but to provide a trusted space in which people can explore together.

OK, enough throat clearing! I'm pasting the first draft below, as well as linking to this Google Doc, which has comments for anyone turned on, so you can ask more granular questions. TY!

DFOS community guidelines

DFOS is infrastructure for trusted communities. Our tools allow groups of people to come together around shared interests and projects. These are our guidelines for how DFOS can be used, and what happens when they're broken.

Protecting the container, not policing the content.

Our responsibility is to create trusted tools that allow people to safely build community together. We do not govern what happens inside individual spaces beyond violations of these guidelines or hard cases, as described below.

Community Principles

1. Honest participation. Join spaces to contribute, not to extract. The trust that makes private creative community possible depends on people showing up in good faith.
2. No weaponization. DFOS cannot be used to organize harassment, coordinate violence, exploit minors, or distribute illegal content. Individuals or groups who violate these policies will be banned.
3. Spaces govern themselves. Each space sets its own culture, rules, and creative standards. Every space should state its purpose, expectations, and decision-making so members know what they're joining.
4. Economics are visible. By default, members can see what they're paying and where money goes. Spaces can adjust this, but members always know when visibility has been restricted.
5. You can leave. Any member can exit any space and take their own work with them. Any space can wind down with a clear process. No one is locked in.

What happens when things go wrong

• Within a space: Space operators are responsible for their own moderation and conflict resolution. DFOS will provide tools — muting, removal, content moderation queues — but does not make decisions for spaces. If a member has a dispute with a space operator, their recourse is to leave and, if applicable, exercise their exit rights.
• Between a space and the platform: If DFOS receives a report that a space is violating platform principles, a review process begins. DFOS can require changes, restrict features, or in extreme cases remove a space from the platform.
• The hard cases: A space that is technically legal but creating harm. A space whose private content makes other spaces on the platform uncomfortable by association. A space operator who is following the letter of the rules but violating their spirit. The goal is always to preserve trust — in the specific space and in the platform.