truthseek
Community

Community Guidelines

truthseek is a platform for collective truth-seeking. These guidelines help maintain a productive environment where diverse perspectives can contribute to finding truth through evidence and reasoning.

Core Principles

🎯

Truth Over Agreement

The goal is to find truth, not to confirm what we already believe. Be willing to change your position when evidence warrants it.

📊

Evidence Over Opinion

Claims should be evaluated based on evidence, not personal preference or popularity. Cite sources and explain their relevance.

🤝

Good Faith

Assume others are genuinely trying to find truth. Disagreement is healthy; hostility is not. Critique arguments, not people.

Claim Submission

What Makes a Good Claim

✅
Verifiable: Can be evaluated with evidence. "The Eiffel Tower is 330m tall" vs "Paris is the best city"
✅
Specific: Clear enough that people know what they're evaluating. Avoid vague wording.
✅
Neutral framing: State claims objectively without loaded language that presumes the answer.
✅
Appropriate complexity: Tag claims accurately so voters understand the required expertise level.

Claims to Avoid

❌Pure opinions ("X is better than Y" without measurable criteria)
❌Future predictions unless time-bounded
❌Unfalsifiable claims
❌Claims requiring private information to verify
❌Duplicate claims (search first!)

Voting Guidelines

Vote Based on Evidence

Your vote should reflect your honest assessment of the claim's truth value based on:

  • Quality and quantity of evidence submitted
  • Source credibility
  • Your domain knowledge
  • Logical consistency

Use the Full Gradient

0.00.51.0
0.0-0.2
Strongly false
0.2-0.4
Lean false
0.4-0.6
Uncertain
0.6-0.8
Lean true
0.8-1.0
Strongly true

Update Your Votes

You can change your vote as new evidence emerges. There's no penalty for changing your mind based on new information — that's good epistemic practice.

Don't Game the System

Prohibited Behaviors

  • • Coordinated voting to artificially shift gradients
  • • Creating multiple accounts to multiply votes
  • • Voting based on who submitted, not content
  • • Revenge voting on unrelated claims

Evidence Standards

Quality Evidence

🎯

Relevant

Directly addresses the claim at hand

📎

Sourced

Links to primary sources when possible

💬

Explained

Includes context for why it's relevant

⚖️

Honest

Represents sources accurately, including limitations

Source Hierarchy

Not all sources are equal. Generally prioritize:

  1. 1
    Primary sources (original documents, raw data)
  2. 2
    Peer-reviewed research
  3. 3
    Expert analysis from credible institutions
  4. 4
    Quality journalism with named sources
  5. 5
    Secondary commentary and opinion

Discussion & Comments

✅ Constructive Comments

  • Ask clarifying questions
  • Point out logical issues
  • Suggest evidence sources
  • Explain your reasoning

❌ Prohibited Comments

  • Personal attacks or harassment
  • Off-topic tangents
  • Spam or promotional content
  • Threats or doxxing

Prohibited Content

The following are not permitted on truthseek:

  • • Content that violates applicable laws
  • • Calls for violence or harassment
  • • Doxxing or invasion of privacy
  • • Spam, scams, or malware
  • • Sexually explicit content
  • • Content that exploits minors

Enforcement

Violations may result in:

Content removal
Reputation penalty
Privilege restriction
Account suspension

See the Moderation page for details on the moderation process and appeals.