THE BLACK FILES — COMMUNITY RULES & CONTENT POLICY
PART 1 OF 4 — INTRODUCTION & GENERAL CONDUCT
Effective Date: [DATE]
Last Updated: [DATE]
These rules are divided into four parts because of forum post-length limits. All four parts form one complete policy and apply equally to every member.
Welcome to The Black Files, an independent discussion community dedicated to conspiracy theories, unexplained events, disputed history, government secrecy, unusual phenomena, investigative research, and controversial claims.
Our purpose is to provide a place where members can question accepted narratives, present evidence, challenge theories, and investigate subjects that may be ignored, ridiculed, disputed, or unresolved elsewhere.
Open discussion does not mean unrestricted posting.
The Black Files is not a lawless platform, an evidence-destruction service, a marketplace for stolen information, or a tool for harassing real people. Members may investigate powerful individuals and institutions, but they may not use this community to threaten others, publish private information, coordinate criminal activity, distribute unlawful material, or present unsupported accusations as established facts.
By accessing, registering for, or using The Black Files, you agree to follow these rules, our Terms of Service, our Privacy Policy, and all applicable laws.
If you do not agree, do not use the platform.
SECTION 1 — THE CORE PRINCIPLES
1.1 — Question Everything, Including Yourself
Members are encouraged to challenge official explanations, popular theories, institutional conclusions, media narratives, and the assumptions of other members.
However, proving that one explanation is incomplete or false does not automatically prove that another explanation is correct.
Theories should be tested, evidence should be examined, and corrections should be accepted when reliable information becomes available.
1.2 — Claims Are Not Automatically Facts
A post appearing on The Black Files does not mean that the claim has been investigated, verified, endorsed, or accepted by the platform.
Members must clearly distinguish between facts, personal opinions, personal experiences, allegations, rumours, speculation, satire, predictions, unverified documents, and disputed interpretations.
Do not knowingly present speculation, rumours, satire, altered media, or unverified allegations as confirmed facts.
1.3 — Attack the Argument, Not the Member
Members may strongly challenge theories, evidence, sources, governments, corporations, religions, political movements, public figures, and institutions.
Members may not threaten, stalk, intimidate, relentlessly harass, or organize abuse against another person.
Disagreement is expected. Personal warfare is not.
1.4 — Freedom to Discuss Is Not Freedom From Moderation
The Black Files may remove, restrict, label, relocate, lock, preserve, or report content when reasonably necessary.
The absence of an immediate moderation action does not mean that content has been approved.
A moderator's failure to notice a post does not create permission for similar content.
SECTION 2 — MEMBER RESPONSIBILITY
2.1 — You Are Responsible for What You Post
You are responsible for everything submitted through your account, including threads, replies, private messages, profile information, usernames, signatures, images, videos, audio, documents, links, polls, reactions, and uploaded files.
Do not submit material you are not legally permitted to possess, publish, distribute, or make available.
2.2 — Think Before Publishing
The Black Files is a public or potentially public community. Content may be copied, archived, indexed, quoted, screenshotted, reported, or shared outside the platform.
Deleting a post does not guarantee that every copy has disappeared.
Do not publish anything that you require to remain private or confidential.
2.3 — Account Security
Members are responsible for maintaining the security of their accounts.
You must use a strong and unique password, protect your login information, avoid sharing your account, keep your recovery information current, and notify staff if you suspect unauthorized access.
Use two-factor authentication whenever it is available.
Activity conducted through your account may be treated as activity authorized by you unless staff determine otherwise.
2.4 — Minimum Age
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or participate in The Black Files.
By registering, you confirm that you meet this requirement.
Accounts reasonably believed to belong to minors may be suspended or removed.
SECTION 3 — RESEARCH, EVIDENCE & SOURCES
3.1 — Source Significant Claims
When making serious factual allegations, provide the strongest supporting material reasonably available.
Useful sources may include court records, legislation, government reports, declassified files, archival records, original photographs or recordings, scientific research, direct interviews, credible investigative reporting, verifiable public statements, official databases, and clearly identified secondary analysis.
A social-media post repeating another social-media post is not independent confirmation.
3.2 — Clearly Label Unverified Information
Use language such as:
"Allegedly"
"According to this source"
"I have not independently verified this"
"This is speculation"
"This is my interpretation"
"This document's authenticity is disputed"
"This is a personal experience"
"I am presenting this for discussion, not as confirmed fact"
The more serious the allegation, the more careful and specific your wording must be.
3.3 — Do Not Manipulate Evidence Deceptively
Do not knowingly edit media to create a false impression, remove context that materially changes its meaning, fabricate screenshots or documents, use artificial intelligence to create fake evidence, falsely attribute statements, alter relevant dates or metadata, present fictional material as authentic, or repost known hoaxes without identifying them as hoaxes.
AI-generated, reconstructed, dramatized, colourized, enhanced, or otherwise altered media must be clearly labelled whenever the alteration could affect its interpretation.
3.4 — Corrections
If information you posted is later shown to be materially false or misleading, correct the original post where possible.
Do not quietly edit a serious allegation in a way that hides what was originally claimed. Add a visible correction or update.
3.5 — Evidence Labels
Staff may apply the following labels:
UNVERIFIED — Insufficient evidence is currently available.
DISPUTED — Reliable sources or interpretations conflict.
SUPPORTED — Multiple credible sources support important elements of the claim.
DOCUMENTED — The central event is established through primary records or official acknowledgement.
MISLEADING — The content omits or distorts important context.
DEBUNKED — Reliable evidence demonstrates that the central claim is false.
OPEN FILE — The subject remains unresolved or under active discussion.
CLOSED FILE — The investigation has reached a strong conclusion or is no longer active.
These labels are moderation and organizational tools. They are not judicial findings or guarantees of accuracy.
SECTION 4 — ALLEGATIONS ABOUT REAL PEOPLE
4.1 — Use Extra Care With Identifiable Individuals
Do not accuse an identifiable person of crimes, abuse, corruption, sexual misconduct, trafficking, murder, fraud, treason, or other serious wrongdoing without a legitimate factual basis.
A question mark does not automatically protect an otherwise defamatory accusation.
Writing "in my opinion," "allegedly," or "just asking questions" does not provide unlimited permission to publish unsupported claims.
4.2 — Public Figures Are Not Without Rights
Public officials, celebrities, executives, journalists, activists, religious leaders, and other public figures may be criticized.
Criticism should concern their public actions, statements, policies, professional conduct, documented associations, or evidence relevant to a matter of legitimate public interest.
Do not fabricate evidence or make reckless factual accusations merely because someone is famous.
4.3 — Private Individuals
Do not create investigative threads targeting private individuals unless the discussion concerns documented information of legitimate public importance.
Personal disputes, relationship conflicts, workplace grievances, custody matters, neighbourhood disputes, and revenge posts do not belong here.
4.4 — Naming Suspects
Do not publicly identify an uncharged private person as the perpetrator of a crime based on rumours, physical resemblance, anonymous tips, psychic impressions, internet sleuthing, or speculation.
Do not interfere with active investigations.
4.5 — Corrections and Removal Requests
A person who is the subject of a post may request a review by contacting:
Content Review: [MODERATION EMAIL]
The request should include the requester's name, the URL, the exact statement being challenged, why the material is allegedly false or unlawful, supporting documentation when available, and a safe method of contact.
Submitting a request does not guarantee removal. The Black Files may remove, restrict, annotate, preserve, or decline to act depending on the circumstances and applicable law.
SECTION 5 — PRIVACY, DOXXING & PERSONAL INFORMATION
5.1 — Doxxing Is Prohibited
Do not publish, request, trade, threaten to publish, or help others locate sensitive personal information without authorization.
Prohibited information includes home addresses, personal telephone numbers, private email addresses, government identification numbers, financial information, login credentials, medical records, private employment records, real-time locations, travel itineraries, information about children, non-public family information, private photographs, security-system details, and information enabling stalking, theft, fraud, or harassment.
5.2 — Publicly Available Does Not Always Mean Acceptable
Information being technically available somewhere online does not automatically make it appropriate to aggregate, republish, or weaponize here.
Staff may remove publicly accessible information when its publication creates an unreasonable risk of harassment, intimidation, identity theft, or physical harm.
5.3 — Personal Information in Documents
Before uploading documents, inspect and redact unnecessary personal information.
Remove signatures, account numbers, addresses, telephone numbers, private email addresses, birth dates, identification numbers, names of uninvolved family members, and metadata exposing private identities or locations.
5.4 — No Threats to Expose People
Do not use The Black Files to blackmail, extort, intimidate, or threaten someone with exposure.
"Do what I want or I will release this information" is not investigative journalism.
END OF PART 1
Continue to Part 2 — Safety & Prohibited Content.