# Moderation Policy

Last updated November 9, 2026.

> [!SUMMARY] Lexicon Garden moderates what it indexes and shows, and the DNS it runs for sandboxes. It can't remove anything from your PDS or from the network, and it doesn't try to. People, not automated systems, make every moderation decision, and each one is logged with its reason. If we act on your lexicons, your sandbox, or your account, you can ask us why and ask us to look again.

## 1. Why we moderate

Developers rely on Lexicon Garden to find out what a lexicon means and who controls it. Moderation keeps the index trustworthy: free of lexicons built to deceive or harm, names squatted or impersonated, and content that attacks people. Sandboxes put Lexicon Garden's own DNS zone behind other people's lexicons, so we also have to be able to stop a sandbox resolving at once.

## 2. What we moderate, and what we can't

Lexicon Garden is an index. Every lexicon it shows lives in its publisher's own repository, on their own PDS. **We moderate only what Lexicon Garden itself does**: what it indexes, what it shows on its website, XRPC methods, and MCP server, which sandboxes resolve through its DNS, and who can sign in to it.

We can't delete a record from your PDS or from the network, and we don't try to. Other apps and services make their own moderation decisions about what they read and show; a label or restriction elsewhere doesn't mean we've acted here, and our decisions don't bind anyone else.

## 3. Who decides

Moderation decisions are made by hand, by Lexicon Garden's administrators. Takedowns can only be made by administrators named in Lexicon Garden's configuration, using their own AT Protocol identities, and every takedown is recorded with who made it, when, what it removed, and why. We don't use automated systems to make moderation decisions.

## 4. What we can do

| Action | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Stop indexing a lexicon** | Lexicon Garden stops indexing and showing one NSID: in search, browse, and lexicon pages, and through its XRPC methods and MCP server |
| **Stop indexing a namespace** | The same for every NSID under a namespace, such as everything under `com.example.app` |
| **Take down a sandbox** | Stops indexing everything under the sandbox's name, removes its lexicons from Lexicon Garden, deletes its DNS records at once, and stops it from being republished or renewed. The name stays assigned to its owner and is never given to anyone else |
| **Take down an account** | Stops indexing everything the account publishes, removes its lexicons and records from Lexicon Garden, takes down its sandboxes, deletes the DNS records Lexicon Garden created for it, ends its sessions, and stops it from signing in |

We act where something breaks the [Terms of Service](/terms/#s7), the [Sandbox Policy](/sandboxes/), or the law, or creates a real risk to Lexicon Garden or to other people. We choose the narrowest action that deals with the problem.

## 5. What a takedown means for your data

A takedown ends Lexicon Garden's use of your data; it doesn't take anything from you.

- Your lexicons and every other record **stay in your own repository**, on your own provider, exactly as they were. We don't delete them, because we can't: they're yours.
- Lexicon Garden stops indexing and showing them, and a taken-down sandbox stops resolving.
- What you do with your records afterwards is between you and your provider.

## 6. How we'll do this fairly

When we act on your lexicons, your sandbox, or your account, we'll:

- keep a **statement of reasons** for every action, and tell you what it is when you ask;
- give you **advance notice** where that's reasonable, though we may act immediately if the law requires it, if the content is obviously illegal or seriously breaks our rules, or if waiting would create a real risk to other people; and
- **look at the decision again** if you ask, in light of anything you send us.

To ask, message @lexicon.garden or @ngerakines.me on Bluesky with the NSID, sandbox name, or account involved. We apply these rules with care and proportionality, and we respect your freedom of expression.

## 7. Reporting a problem

If you think a lexicon, a sandbox, or an account on Lexicon Garden breaks these rules or the law, message @lexicon.garden or @ngerakines.me on Bluesky. Please include:

- the NSID, sandbox name, handle, or DID involved, and links to the pages on Lexicon Garden;
- a clear explanation of why you believe it breaks these rules or the law; and
- a statement that you believe, in good faith, that your report is accurate and complete.

Reports you make inside an app such as Bluesky go to that app's moderation team. They don't reach us, so message us if you want Lexicon Garden to look at something.

**Copyright.** If you believe a lexicon on Lexicon Garden infringes your copyright, send a notice the same way with the details required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3). If we stop showing something because of a copyright notice, we'll tell its publisher and pass on any valid counter-notice.

We review every report ourselves, by hand.

## 8. Legacy subdomains

The two-word subdomains from Lexicon Garden's earlier lexicon management lose their DNS records on an announced date, as the [Sandbox Policy](/sandboxes/#s8) explains. That's a retirement, not a moderation decision.

## 9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. A change is a new version of this site, and you'll be asked to accept it the next time you sign in. When we make a major change, we'll announce it from @lexicon.garden on Bluesky at least 30 days before it takes effect, unless the law or an urgent safety or security problem requires a faster change.