Merge pull request #673 from hachyderm/update-actions-appeals

Expanded Actions and Appeals doc

Author: quintessence

community.hachyderm.io/content/en/docs/moderation/actions-and-appeals/_index.md

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ been moderated, including:
 
 * The specific actions we take and what they mean or imply
 * How to appeal and how we work around limitations with the appeal process
+* Expectations on disclosures to third parties
 
 ## First things first <!-- omit in toc -->
 
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ will come from the Moderator Covenant in particular.
     - [When not to appeal](#when-not-to-appeal)
     - [When to appeal](#when-to-appeal)
   - [Limitations of the appeals process](#limitations-of-the-appeals-process)
+- [When Someone You Know Has Been Moderated](#when-someone-you-know-has-been-moderated)
 
 ## The moderation actions and information about them
 
@@ -148,6 +150,40 @@ issue is closed without action or when a user is warned, frozen, or
 limited, the action is not visible to the reporting user or other
 users.
 
+## Moderation Privacy
+
+We do not moderate in public. This is a safety decision.
+
+When someone is moderated on Hachyderm, we can confirm that a moderation
+action was taken and what type of action it was (warn, freeze, suspend, etc.).
+What we will not do is disclose the reasons behind that action if doing so
+could compromise the safety of another person. Moderation situations
+frequently involve more than one party, and the details of why someone was
+moderated can make it possible to identify, locate, or target someone else
+in the situation. For example, if a man harasses a woman and we publicly
+reference the specifics of that situation, the woman is placed at risk of
+further harassment, whether she was the one who reported it or not.
+
+We will disclose the details of a moderation action to the moderated
+person themselves, through direct communication (email or appeal). We
+will share the details of a moderation action with third parties only
+when we have the informed consent of all parties involved, not only the
+person who was moderated.
+
+It is also important to understand the notification limitations of the
+platform. Mastodon can only notify local Hachyderm users when a
+moderation action has been taken on their specific account. Users who
+filed a report do not receive in-platform notifications about the
+outcome, regardless of whether the report was about a local or remote
+user. Remote users are also not notified through the platform when an
+action is taken that affects them.
+
+In those cases, we may reach out to the remote user directly if there
+is a public contact method available and if doing so does not put
+another party at risk. We may also contact their instance's moderation
+team. Both of these are manual processes that happen outside the
+platform itself.
+
 ## The Appeals Process
 
 You may respond to any moderator action with an appeal. In all cases except for
@@ -224,5 +260,158 @@ summary of the situation in the appeal itself, as that will remain
 tied with the appeal in admin UI, which will set the initial context
 and set the expectation that there are emails corresponding to the appeal.
 
-
-[def]: #when-to-appeal
+### What Does a Successful Appeal Look Like?
+ 
+All moderation decisions are made with the understanding that something
+has happened that required intervention. Resolving that intervention
+through an appeal is, in most cases, straightforward.
+ 
+If we made an error, your appeal can be as simple as letting us know.
+Point us to the interaction we may have misread, or share any context
+we may not have had at the time of the decision. We review that
+information and correct course where appropriate.
+ 
+If the moderation action was in response to something that did happen,
+the path back is also straightforward. For Hachyderm users, this
+commonly follows our freeze pattern: we provide a short article or
+similar resource (typically under five minutes of reading) related to
+the situation, even if it does not describe the exact circumstances.
+The appeal in that case is as simple as reading what we sent,
+confirming that you have read and understood it, and letting us know.
+We do not ask for lengthy actions as part of the path back to
+community.
+ 
+If you are a remote user and are unsure whether you have been
+moderated or what steps to take, emailing us to ask is enough to
+start the conversation. We will let you know what, if anything, is
+needed.
+ 
+The appeals process is designed to be accessible and low-friction.
+You do not need to build a case or recruit support. You just need to reach out.
+
+### Timeliness of Appeals
+
+We encourage anyone who wishes to appeal a moderation decision to
+do so as soon as they are able.
+
+Moderation decisions are made based on the full context available
+at the time, including posts, threads, and interactions across
+accounts. Over time, that context can change. Posts may be deleted. Accounts
+may migrate or be removed. Threads may become incomplete as other
+participants change or remove their own contributions. The further
+from the original decision an appeal is filed, the less complete
+the available record may be.
+
+We may not be able to meaningfully revisit a decision when the
+evidence that informed it is no longer available for review. This
+is not a penalty for delay. It is a practical reality: we cannot
+responsibly re-evaluate a situation on an incomplete evidence
+base, and we will not guess at context we can no longer verify.
+
+If you have been moderated and are considering an appeal, the best
+thing you can do is reach out to us at
+[admin@hachyderm.io](mailto:admin@hachyderm.io) while the full
+context of the situation is still available.
+
+### Appeals for Remote Users
+
+If you interact with Hachyderm from another Fediverse instance,
+the Mastodon appeal interface is not available to you. To appeal a
+moderation action that affects your ability to federate with us,
+email us at [admin@hachyderm.io](mailto:admin@hachyderm.io). As noted
+above, the platform cannot notify remote users when an action is taken,
+so if you believe you have been affected and have not heard from us,
+please reach out.
+
+You are also welcome to ask your instance's moderation team to
+contact us on your behalf. We routinely work with other instance
+moderators and are happy to have them act as an intermediary.
+
+When you (or your moderators) email us, please include:
+
+* Your full Fediverse handle (e.g. @you@your.instance)
+* A summary of the situation as you understand it
+
+We review remote appeals with the same care and standards that we
+apply to appeals from our own users.
+
+## When Someone You Know Has Been Moderated
+
+If someone you follow or care about has been moderated, your
+instinct to help is understandable. We ask that you pause before acting on
+that instinct, because not all help is helpful and some interventions
+can make a situation worse for the person you are trying to support.
+
+Before you reach out to us or take action on someone else's
+behalf, please consider the following:
+
+**Does the person actually want intervention?**
+
+Sometimes people talk about being moderated because they need to
+vent or process. Venting is not always a call to action. It is sometimes a
+call for people to hold space. If someone has been moderated, whether
+they have chosen to appeal or not, they may neither need nor want you to do
+anything other than be present. So just be present.
+
+Similarly, if the person has explicitly said they do not want to
+engage with the moderation team, respect that decision. Reaching out to
+us on their behalf, against their stated wishes, is not advocacy. It is
+overriding their autonomy in a situation where they have already
+made a choice about how they want to handle it.
+
+**If the person does want help, what kind of help do they want?**
+
+The most helpful thing you can do is ask them what kind of help
+they actually want or need. Do they need help drafting
+communication? Do they want someone to review their appeal before
+they send it? Would it help for you to read through the correspondence
+so far to offer more holistic feedback? Do they need something else
+entirely? The most useful thing you can do is ask, and then do the thing
+they asked for.
+
+**Is the person someone who might need proactive support?**
+
+If the person is a member of a marginalized community, new to the
+industry, or otherwise in a situation where they may not feel
+empowered to advocate for themselves, your proactive support may genuinely
+be welcome. Use your judgment, but lead with a question rather than
+an assumption about what they need.
+
+**What we will and will not do when you contact us on someone else's behalf**
+
+We will confirm whether or not a moderation action was taken and
+what type of action it was. We will not share the details of the
+situation with you unless we have the consent of all parties involved, not only
+the person who was moderated. This is the same standard we would apply to
+protect you if you were the other party in a moderation situation.
+
+If you believe we have made an error, the most effective thing you
+can do is help the moderated person file their own appeal and email us
+at [admin@hachyderm.io](mailto:admin@hachyderm.io). If the moderated
+person is on another instance, their moderator or moderation team is also
+welcome to reach out to us on their behalf. Moderator-to-moderator
+communication is a normal and expected part of how the Fediverse
+works. We take every appeal seriously.
+
+**Do you want to understand the full situation?**
+
+The moderated person has the most complete picture of their own
+situation. They have access to any correspondence they have sent
+to us or received from us, and they can share that with you at their
+discretion. If the confirmation we are able to provide (whether an
+action was taken and what type) is not sufficient for you, the
+person you care about is the best source of additional context.
+
+**A note on public advocacy**
+
+Public pressure campaigns do not change the outcome of a moderation
+decision. The only way to change a moderation outcome is for the
+moderated person to file an appeal. Others cannot change the
+decision on their behalf, regardless of the method.
+ 
+What public campaigns do affect is the safety of other people
+involved in the situation. Moderation situations frequently involve more
+than one person, and public attention can expose people who did not
+ask for that exposure, including the moderated person themselves. If you
+want to help, help the person that wishes to appeal to email us -
+and only to the degree they wish.