📖 Content moderation glossary
What is a moderation policy?
In short
A moderation policy, often published as community guidelines or a comment charter, is the set of rules that defines what content is allowed in a space, what is not, and what action is taken when the rules are broken.
A good policy is short, concrete and public. It lists what is not allowed (insults, hate speech, harassment, spam, personal data, illegal content), says clearly what is allowed (criticism, disagreement, off-topic within limits), and explains the possible actions: hiding, deletion, ban, and how to contest a decision.
Example: a city council's policy states that criticism of municipal decisions is welcome, that personal attacks on staff and residents are hidden, and that comments containing someone's phone number or address are removed immediately.
The policy is also what moderators and AI systems apply. Under the Digital Services Act, intermediary services must describe in their terms and conditions any restrictions they impose on content, including the tools used and whether decisions are automated or human (Article 14). OpenModeration moderates according to the rules each client defines, and its written reasons refer to those rules.