Our Moderation Standards

Why we moderate

NatterFly exists to help people enjoy friendly public conversation, meet new people and become part of genuine communities.

Moderation is not intended to control ordinary discussion or prevent respectful disagreement. It exists to protect members, reduce harm, resolve conflict and keep the community welcoming.

• Protect members from abuse, threats and harassment.
• Help calm disagreements before they escalate.
• Support members who may be distressed or vulnerable.
• Encourage respectful and responsible communication.
• Apply the Community Rules fairly and consistently.

Safety by Design

NatterFly has been designed to reduce common risks before moderation is even required. The platform combines technical safeguards with visible human oversight.

Live Safety Alerts

NatterFly uses automated phrase and pattern detection to identify messages that may require immediate staff attention.

Safety Alerts may be triggered by language relating to:

• Abuse or harassment.
• Threats or violence.
• Self-harm concerns.
• Encouraging another person to harm themselves.
• Grooming or exploitation concerns.
• Hate or targeted discriminatory abuse.
• Serious safeguarding concerns.
• Illegal or dangerous activity.

When a message reaches the configured detection threshold, every online Administrator and Sysop receives an immediate toast notification. The room name in that notification can be clicked, allowing staff to enter the relevant chatroom straight away.

Human judgement always comes first

Technology supports moderation, but every important decision is made by a person.

Before taking action, staff are expected to consider:

• The surrounding conversation.
• The apparent intent behind the message.
• Whether somebody may be at risk.
• Whether the wording was supportive, quoted or misunderstood.
• Whether the alert may be a false positive.
• Whether harmful behaviour has continued after staff guidance.

Staff should discourage abusive, threatening or harmful behaviour while encouraging calm, respectful and safer wording. The aim is to improve the situation wherever possible.

Our moderation principles

Administrators and Sysops are expected to:

• Treat every member with dignity and respect.
• Remain calm, clear and professional.
• Consider the full context before acting.
• Apply similar standards to similar situations.
• Avoid taking sides in personal disagreements unnecessarily.
• Use moderation powers only for legitimate safety purposes.
• Choose the least restrictive action that will work.
• Ask another staff member for help when uncertain.

Moderation actions

Most minor issues can be resolved with calm communication. Stronger action is used when behaviour continues or when there is a serious risk.

Each incident is considered individually. Moderation is not a fixed points system and staff may act more quickly when there is a serious or immediate safety concern.

Responding to Safety Alerts

Administrators and Sysops who receive a live Safety Alert are expected to visit the room as soon as reasonably possible and review what is happening.

Their first responsibility is to make sure people are safe. Staff may:

• Ask members to pause or change the tone of the conversation.
• Discourage abusive, threatening or harmful language.
• Encourage supportive, calm and respectful communication.
• Check whether a member appears distressed or at risk.
• Separate participants where necessary.
• Use a mute, kick or ban where the Community Rules are broken.

Where serious abuse, threats, harassment or repeated harmful behaviour is confirmed, staff may apply an immediate 24-hour ban while protecting the room and reviewing the situation.

Supporting members

Not every concerning message requires punishment. Sometimes a person may be upset, frightened, angry or asking for help.

Staff should use supportive and appropriate wording, avoid embarrassing the person publicly and focus on immediate safety. A person expressing distress should not be punished merely for asking for help.

Chat logs, evidence and privacy

Public chatroom messages and Messaging Centre messages may be retained where necessary to support moderation, safeguarding, abuse reports, enforcement of the Community Rules and review of serious incidents.

Staff access to logs and member information must be used only for legitimate moderation, safety, security or investigation purposes. Sensitive information must not be shared publicly.

Reporting concerns

Members can report concerns through the NatterFly support system. Reports may include:

• Abuse or harassment.
• Threats or intimidation.
• Grooming or exploitation concerns.
• Hate or discriminatory abuse.
• Scams or impersonation.
• Illegal or dangerous content.
• Any other serious breach of the Community Rules.

Where possible, reports should include the username, room name, date, approximate time and a screenshot showing the relevant conversation.

Transparency and accountability

NatterFly publishes these standards so members understand how moderation works, how automated alerts are used and what they can expect from staff.

Staff are expected to act fairly, use their powers responsibly and correct mistakes when they occur. Moderation should never be used for revenge, entertainment, status or personal advantage.