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Publish the downward-only appeal ratchet as creator-facing copy State in legal/appeals.md and about/guarantees.md that review of a moderation decision can affirm, reduce, or overturn an outcome and can never raise it, apply an aggravating factor the original decision passed over, or reach a level it did not. Settled 2026-08-08 in wiki mnw-moderation, section "The appeal ratchet".
Co-Authored-By
Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Author: Max Johnson <me@maxj.phd> · 2026-08-23 20:49 UTC
Signed with PGP, not checked
Commit: 38d7f5668e9ca61f3b19e58027d3b14541c05431
Parent: bcf7dc3
2 files changed, +34 insertions, -1 deletion
M server/site-docs/public/about/guarantees.md +16 -1
@@ -160,6 +160,19 @@
160 160
161 161 ---
162 162
163 + ## Appeals
164 +
165 + **Guarantee:** An appeal can only lower an outcome, never raise it.
166 +
167 + Review of a moderation decision can affirm it, reduce it to any lower outcome, or
168 + overturn it entirely to no action. It can never raise the outcome, apply an aggravating
169 + factor the original decision passed over, or reach a level the original decision did
170 + not. Every enforcement action is a ceiling from the moment it is issued, so contesting
171 + one is never a risk. The outcome of a review is binding, not advisory. See the
172 + [Appeal Process](../legal/appeals.md) for how to file one.
173 +
174 + ---
175 +
163 176 ## Enforcement
164 177
165 178 If you think we've broken any of these:
@@ -199,7 +212,9 @@
199 212 If we moderate content or take action on an account:
200 213
201 214 - Clear written explanation of the policy violated.
202 - - Opportunity to appeal, reviewed by someone other than the original decision-maker.
215 + - Opportunity to appeal, reviewed by someone other than the original decision-maker. The
216 + downward-only guarantee above already holds today; what is planned is the independent
217 + reviewer.
203 218 - Data export access preserved even during suspension (excluding content we cannot legally host).
204 219
205 220 ---
M server/site-docs/public/legal/appeals.md +18
@@ -56,6 +56,24 @@
56 56
57 57 ---
58 58
59 + ## An Appeal Can Only Lower the Outcome
60 +
61 + Review can affirm what was decided, reduce it to any lower outcome, or overturn it
62 + entirely to no action. It can never raise the outcome, apply an aggravating factor the
63 + original decision passed over, or reach a level the original decision did not.
64 +
65 + This means appealing is never a risk. Every enforcement action is a ceiling from the
66 + moment it is issued, so the only question you face is whether contesting it is worth
67 + your effort.
68 +
69 + If a review concludes the original decision was too lenient, nothing changes on your
70 + case. The divergence is recorded as a defect in the rule text and feeds the next
71 + version of the rules, which binds everyone from its effective date forward.
72 +
73 + The outcome of a review is binding, not advisory.
74 +
75 + ---
76 +
59 77 ## Timeline
60 78
61 79 We resolve appeals within: