Server Rules for Gay.Amsterdam

This is a draft document of server rules for Gay.Amsterdam and will be displayed on the homepage (https://gay.amsterdam) under Server Rules.

Legal considerations:

• Gay.Amsterdam will always stay invite-only as it aims to create a safe and sustainable community for the Dutch LGBTQIA+ (and allies!) community. Not strictly limited to the Dutch community, all languages and nationalities are welcome.
• Target userbase aims to stay under ~20,000 users with ~2,000 active users.
• Gay.Amsterdam is volunteer-run but aims to make operations sustainable via paid business accounts.
• We wish to walk a very fine line of supporting 16+ minors while also allowing 18+ sexualized personal content.

Draft Server Rules

APPLICABLE LAW.

Users must comply with applicable Dutch and European Union law regarding online conduct and content. Prohibited content includes content that facilitates or promotes illegal activities, including trade in illegal drugs/substances. Posting or sharing content that incites violence, criminal offences, or terrorism is not allowed.

HATE, THREATS, AND BULLYING.

Hate speech, threats, or bullying of any kind is not allowed. This includes content that insults groups or incites hatred, discrimination, or violence against people on grounds such as race/ethnicity, religion/belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or disease. Threats, including threats of violence or serious harm, are not allowed. Misgendering or deadnaming is considered as bullying/harassment and is not allowed. Violations result in immediate account suspension (if on Gay.Amsterdam) or server defederation.

PERSONAL DATA AND CONSENT.

Sharing personal data about others without their explicit consent is not allowed. Exceptions may be allowed where the sharing is solely for journalistic purposes and consistent with the balancing of freedom of expression. Sharing non-consensual sexual media of others is not allowed, without exception.

MINORS.

Users must be at least 16 years old. Minors are encouraged to lock their accounts so that follow requests must be approved by the account owner. Minors are not allowed to share sexual content.

ADULT CONTENT.

Adults (18+) are allowed to share sexual content only when using Pixelfed’s Content Warning (CW) feature, applicable hashtags, and alt-text. Shared sexual content can only be of the account owner or of individuals who have given explicit consent for sharing. Any sexual media involving someone under 18, including art where the subject appears to be under 18, is not allowed.

DATA PROTECTION AND FEDERATION.

Pixelfed-Glitch implements the ActivityPub protocol that facilitates automatic federation across distributed servers globally outside our control. ActivityPub federation requires delivery that is protocol-driven: when users share content, that content and related metadata are transmitted to other independently operated servers, which may then store, display, cache, moderate, or retain that data under their own responsibility. ActivityPub is designed to federate edits and deletions that are sent onward and compliant servers should apply them, but this is best-effort and Gay.Amsterdam cannot guarantee changes or removals of user-shared remote content.

PRIVACY.

For personal data processed on Gay.Amsterdam's own systems, Gay.Amsterdam acts as the data controller and processes only what is necessary to provide the Pixelfed-Glitch service and to keep our users and user data secure. Gay.Amsterdam does not use user data for advertising, profiling, or any other purpose unrelated to operating the Pixelfed-Glitch service, and Gay.Amsterdam does not sell or share any data with any third party. Gay.Amsterdam does not access or use user content or metadata except as needed to operate, secure, and moderate the Pixelfed-Glitch service, or when required by Dutch or European Union law. User-initiated deletions are treated as authoritative: content deleted by a user is deleted from this server to the same standard as an operator/admin deletion. Data exports are a core function of Pixelfed-Glitch and are accessible through authorized user account settings. Gay.Amsterdam may be required to disclose or preserve data where necessary to comply with a legal obligation or a binding lawful order from competent authorities.

COPYRIGHT.

Unless explicitly defined by each user, per Dutch law, all shared media is automatically protected by copyright, with all rights reserved by the user as the rights-holder. Further, by sharing media on Gay.Amsterdam, users grant Gay.Amsterdam a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, cache, reproduce for technical operation, and display/make available user media to other ActivityPub users as needed to provide the Pixelfed-Glitch service. Users must only upload content they own or have permission to share, and other users may not reuse content without the owner’s permission unless a clear legal exception applies, such as quotation or other fair-use allowances.

ADVERTISING.

Corporate advertising is not allowed. Spam, including unsolicited commercial messaging, is not allowed. Individual self-promotion is allowed (e.g., artists, small makers, community events, personal shops) only when posted by the account owner, is clearly labeled, and is not automated or repetitive. Unsolicited promotional direct messages, mass-tagging, follow-spam, scraping, affiliate link-farms, or growth bots are not allowed.

BUSINESS ACCOUNTS.

Business accounts are allowed for an annual fee paid directly to Gay.Amsterdam for the operational costs of Gay.Amsterdam. Small businesses must pay 100 EUR per year, medium businesses must pay 500 EUR per year, and large businesses must pay 2500 EUR per year to have a Gay.Amsterdam account.

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS.

Personal acconts are free but users are encouraged to donate to Gay.Amsterdam for operational sustainability. Users are allowed to have multiple accounts. Anonymous accounts are allowed. Impersonation accounts are not allowed.

PROFILES.

A profile image and profile description is required within 30 days of creating an account or the account will be deleted.