Community Guidelines

The Spirit of Internet Court

Internet Court is built around the idea that ordinary people can benefit from an outside perspective on the conflicts in their lives. The best cases are relatable, anonymous, and genuinely ambiguous. The worst cases are targeted, identifying, or designed to harm a specific person.

If your goal in submitting a case is to get the internet to bully a specific person you're in conflict with — that's not what we're here for. If your goal is to genuinely learn whether the internet thinks you or someone in your life handled something badly — welcome to court.

What's Allowed

Internet Court is the right place for:

• Anonymous and fictional disputes — You can write about a real situation without naming or identifying anyone involved. "My roommate" is fine. "John Smith from Portland" is not.
• Opinion conflicts — Disagreements about values, money, relationships, workplace behavior, social obligations, and family dynamics.
• "Am I wrong?" scenarios — Cases where you genuinely want an outside verdict on your own behavior.
• Lighthearted disputes — Debates about who should pay on dates, whether pineapple belongs on pizza, and other content where the stakes are low and the fun is high.
• Cases involving public figures — But only their public actions, not private lives.
• Culturally sensitive disputes — We welcome diverse perspectives on social norms, generational differences, and cultural conflicts, provided content stays respectful and does not demean any group.

What's Prohibited

The following content will be removed immediately, and repeated violations will result in account suspension or permanent ban:

🚫 Identifying Real People Without Consent

• Do not include anyone's real full name, physical address, phone number, email address, social media username or handle, employer, school, or any combination of details that would allow a reader to identify a specific private individual.
• "My coworker Sarah" is borderline and may be reviewed. "Sarah Johnson who works at Acme Corp in Austin Texas" will be removed.

🚫 Doxxing

• Do not post private personal information about any person, including location data, financial information, private photos, or identifying characteristics.
• This applies even if the information is technically "publicly available." Aggregating public information to expose a private individual is doxxing.

🚫 Harassment and Targeted Abuse

• Do not submit cases, comments, or votes designed to coordinate harassment against a specific person.
• Do not use Internet Court to wage a personal campaign against someone, even if you believe they wronged you.
• Do not contact other users to pressure them about their votes.

🚫 Hate Speech

• Do not submit content that demeans, dehumanizes, or calls for violence against any person or group based on race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, age, or other protected characteristics.
• Disputes about controversial social topics are allowed. Content that uses the dispute format as a vehicle for spreading hate is not.

🚫 Self-Harm and Suicide Content

• Do not post content that promotes, glorifies, encourages, or provides methods for self-harm or suicide.
• If you are struggling, please reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988 in the US) or your local crisis service.

🚫 Sexual Content

• Explicit sexual content is not permitted on Internet Court.
• Content of a sexual nature involving minors will result in immediate permanent account termination and will be reported to the appropriate authorities.

🚫 Spam and Manipulation

• Do not create multiple accounts to vote on your own case.
• Do not solicit or coordinate off-platform campaigns to skew verdicts.
• Do not submit AI-generated or fictitious cases as real situations.

🚫 Illegal Content

• Do not post content that constitutes or facilitates illegal activity, including content that violates intellectual property rights, defames individuals, or constitutes criminal threats.

Moderation Process

Every case submitted to Internet Court goes through a two-stage review before it appears in the jury feed:

1. AI Review — Our AI moderation system (powered by OpenAI) screens every submission for violations of these guidelines. Cases that clearly violate our rules are rejected automatically and never published.
2. Human Review — Cases flagged by the AI for ambiguous content, or that receive multiple community reports, may be reviewed by a human moderator before or after publication.

We aim to review flagged content within 24 hours. High-severity content (doxxing, threats, CSAM) is escalated immediately.

How to Report a Violation

If you see content that violates these guidelines:

• In-app: Tap the three-dot menu (···) on any case or comment and select Report. Choose the violation category and, optionally, add a note.
• By email: Contact us at support@theinternetcourt.app with the subject line "Content Report." Include as much detail as you can about the content and why you believe it violates our guidelines.

All reports are reviewed. We may not respond directly to every report, but we take every submission seriously. False or bad-faith reports may result in action against the reporting account.

Consequences for Violations

Depending on the severity and frequency of the violation, consequences may include:

• Content removal — The violating case, comment, or vote is deleted without notice.
• Warning — A first-time or minor violation may result in an in-app warning.
• Temporary suspension — Repeated or moderate violations may result in a 7-day, 30-day, or 90-day account suspension.
• Permanent ban — Severe violations (doxxing, harassment, CSAM, credible threats) result in immediate, permanent account termination with no right of appeal.
• Law enforcement referral — Where required by law or where we determine there is a credible threat of harm, we will report content and account information to the relevant authorities.

Appealing Moderation Decisions

If you believe your content was removed or your account was actioned in error, you may appeal by emailing support@theinternetcourt.app with subject line "Moderation Appeal." Please include your username and a description of the content in question.

We review all good-faith appeals and aim to respond within 5 business days. Permanent bans for severe violations (CSAM, credible threats) are not subject to appeal.

A Note on Anonymity

We encourage you to write cases anonymously — changing names, genders, professions, and other details enough that the people in your life wouldn't recognize themselves or others. This protects both you and the people you're writing about, and makes for a better experience for the jury.

Remember: the goal isn't to expose someone. The goal is to get a verdict.

Questions?

If you have questions about these guidelines or want to discuss a moderation decision, email us at support@theinternetcourt.app.

These guidelines may be updated from time to time. Material changes will be announced in the app.