Human Moderation

Every answer shared with the garden passes through a real person before anyone else can read it. This page explains who moderates, how it works, and why we chose this approach.

Why Human Moderation

Automated filters and AI systems are fast, but they don't read or think: they match patterns. A sentence that looks suspicious to an algorithm might be someone's most honest reflection. A sentence that passes a filter might carry real harm. We believe the answers people share here deserve careful, human attention.

Human moderation also keeps Question Garden aligned with its purpose. This is not a platform trying to scale to millions of posts a second. It is a garden. Gardens need tending.

Who Moderates

Moderators are people who believe in this project and have volunteered or been invited to help. They read submitted answers and decide whether each one is ready to be shared with the garden, following our Garden Rules.

Moderators can see the decrypted content of a submitted answer, but not who wrote it. Authorship is only visible to administrators in exceptional circumstances, such as a serious safety concern. This protects the writer's anonymity while still allowing responsible oversight.

How It Works

When you share an answer, it's checked against a list of words we don't allow. Nothing is sent to an AI or third-party system. What passes enters a moderation queue, where a moderator reads it and makes one of two decisions:

• Approve: the answer is published to the garden and becomes readable by others.
• Reject: the answer is not published. You are notified and welcome to try again.

Moderation happens manually and takes time. We aim to review answers within 24 hours, though this may vary depending on volume and moderator availability.

What Moderators Look For

Moderators follow our Garden Rules. In short, they approve answers that feel sincere, personal, and on topic — and reject answers that contain harmful content, spam, or text that appears to be AI-generated. They are not looking for perfect writing or profound insight. A short, simple, honest answer is always welcome.

When an Answer Is Rejected

If we reject your answer, you'll get an email from us. If you think we got it wrong, you can reply once telling us why: we'll read it and respond. After that, the moderation decision is final.

Rejections are not a judgment of you as a person. It simply means the answer is not right for this community at this time. You are always welcome to share a new answer again with a more personal, clearer, or respectful response.

Want to Help Moderate?

Moderation is a meaningful way to contribute to Question Garden. If you are interested in joining the team, reach out at mail@question.garden. We are looking for people who share the project's values and can bring patience and care to the role.