Moderation is a tightrope. Too little and the platform drowns in spam and abuse. Too much and people feel like they can't speak freely. Most platforms fall off one side or the other.
The List fell off the "too little" side. Moderation was essentially nonexistent, and the platform became a wasteland of scams, spam, and content nobody wanted to see. The Green App fell off the "too much" side, algorithmically suppressing posts that generated reports, even when those reports were just neighbors disagreeing with each other.
We're trying to stay on the wire.
What Gets Blocked Automatically
Our automated moderation system scans every listing and Porch post before publication. It catches and blocks:
- Spam. Duplicate posts, keyword stuffing, promotional floods.
- Prohibited content. Illegal items, weapons, controlled substances, anything that violates our terms.
- Known scam patterns. Phrases and structures commonly used in fraud: advance-fee language, fake check schemes, phishing URLs.
- Harassment and hate speech. Slurs, threats, targeted abuse. These never make it to the page.
- Contact information in public fields. Email addresses and phone numbers in listing descriptions where they don't belong. This protects users from having their contact info exposed to scrapers and spammers.
This all happens before a post goes live. If the system flags something, the post doesn't publish. The user gets a message explaining why and can edit and resubmit.
What Doesn't Get Blocked
Opinions. Recommendations you disagree with. Negative reviews of businesses. Political views. Complaints about the neighborhood. Heated but non-abusive disagreements.
The Porch is a community space, and communities have disagreements. A neighbor who thinks the new restaurant on the corner is overpriced should be able to say so. Someone who thinks street parking should be eliminated can post that take without getting silenced.
We draw the line at abuse, not at disagreement.
Community Flagging
Every post has a flag button. When a user flags something, it enters a review queue. We look at every flag, and we consider context. A post that gets flagged because people disagree with it gets left alone. A post that gets flagged because it's harassing someone gets removed.
Flagging is not a super-downvote button. It's a safety mechanism. We educate users about this distinction because the difference matters.
Account Consequences
Users who consistently violate guidelines face escalating consequences: warnings, temporary suspensions, and ultimately permanent bans. We don't enjoy banning anyone, but we'll do it to protect the community.
The Balance
Perfect moderation doesn't exist. We'll make mistakes. We'll probably block a legitimate post by accident. We'll probably miss something that should have been caught. When that happens, we fix it and adjust the system.
The goal isn't perfection. The goal is a platform where you feel safe posting and where your voice isn't suppressed for saying something unpopular. That's the line we walk, and we take it seriously.