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Stop Flock Cams Now

Community Guidelines

Stop Flock Cams Now · Last updated: 2026-08-23

SFCN's credibility is its only asset. These guidelines exist so that every marker on the map can survive scrutiny from a journalist, a city council, or a court. They apply to all submissions, comments, dispute filings, and community spaces we operate. They supplement the terms-of-service.md; the enforcement machinery behind them is documented in ../docs/MODERATION.md.

1. What we're here to do

Document, verify, educate, inform, organize, and advocate — lawfully. We map equipment and public spending. We do not fight cameras with crimes, and we do not tolerate people who try to use this platform to do so.

2. Reporting standards

Every camera report should meet the bar in contributor-policy.md and source-standards.md. In brief:

  • Report only what you personally observed or can cite. First-hand sighting from public property, or a documented source (government record, news report, official portal) with a link.
  • From public property, hands off. Photograph from sidewalks, public roads, and other places you may lawfully be. Never touch, open, climb toward, or linger suspiciously around equipment. Never enter private property. If you can't document it lawfully, don't document it.
  • Precision honestly stated. Drop the pin where the camera is, not where you were standing. If you're unsure, say so — the confidence-tier system (methodology.md) exists exactly for uncertainty.
  • One camera, one report. Check the map for an existing marker first; if one exists, verify or dispute it rather than duplicating.
  • Photos: equipment and its mounting context only. We strip GPS EXIF automatically, and we reject photos whose focus is people, private residences' interiors, or license plates of private vehicles.
  • Removals count too. A camera that's gone is data. Report it; don't just delete-request the marker.

3. Prohibited content and conduct

The following are removed on sight and jump the enforcement ladder as noted:

  1. Advocacy or instruction for illegal acts — vandalism, tampering, disabling, jamming, obstruction, theft, trespass, "flock sock" how-tos, or any interference with equipment. Includes winking encouragement ("somebody should…"). Severe: immediate ban.
  2. Targeting people — harassment, threats, doxxing (addresses, plates, photos, schedules, family details) of officers, officials, Flock Safety employees, residents, or users; organizing real-world confrontation of individuals. Severe: immediate ban, and where threats are credible, referral to authorities.
  3. Fabricated data — invented cameras, false verifications, staged photos, coordinated manipulation of confidence tiers or rankings. Severe: ban plus flagging of all the account's contributions for re-review.
  4. Using the platform to track any individual person or to evade law enforcement.
  5. Unlabeled speculation presented as fact — see the ALLEGATION / FINDING / COURT DECISION rule in editorial-standards.md. Speculation belongs in dispute notes, clearly framed, or nowhere.
  6. Spam, off-topic promotion, impersonation, ban evasion, malware.
  7. Personal data of private individuals in any submission field.

Political opinions about ALPRs — pro or con — are welcome in designated discussion spaces and irrelevant everywhere in the data layer. The map has no opinions.

4. Enforcement ladder

Moderators apply the lowest rung that protects the platform; severe violations (§3 items 1–3) skip rungs. Every action is logged with reasons (audit trail: ../docs/MODERATION.md).

Rung Action Typical trigger
0 Edit/decline with feedback Fixable submission problems (bad pin, missing source)
1 Warning First minor guideline breach
2 Temporary restriction (submissions held for extra review, or 7–30 day suspension) Repeat minor breaches; sloppy accuracy pattern (reputation impact: contributor-policy.md)
3 Permanent ban Severe violations; third strike on minor ones
4 Ban + content sweep + external referral Fabrication campaigns, credible threats, unlawful content

Appeals: any enforcement action may be appealed once, in writing, within 30 days to [moderation@stopflockcamsnow.com]; a different moderator (or admin) than the one who acted reviews it. Appeal outcomes are logged.

Reporting violations: every piece of content has a report link; urgent safety issues go to [safety@stopflockcamsnow.com] and are triaged first, ahead of all queues.

5. A note on tone

We are guests in a contentious debate. Be the person whose data both sides have to trust. Criticize systems, policies, and spending as hard as the facts support — and leave individuals, on all sides, alone.