Reporting & Appeals

Pre-launch draft · not effective. The effective version must publish monitored report channels, response targets, escalation owners, jurisdiction-specific notice requirements, and an accessibility alternative.

1. What to report

Use the report control on a public card or publication, or contact [email protected], for suspected violations of the Acceptable Use Policy, child-safety concerns, impersonation, privacy disclosure, intellectual-property concerns, security abuse, a bot that violates the Bot & Automation Policy, or a support/grant offer that violates Support without surveillance.

Include the relevant URL or project identifier, a short explanation, and any information that helps us assess the concern. Do not include unnecessary sensitive material. Do not use Mahanu reporting for emergencies: contact local emergency services when someone faces immediate danger.

2. What happens next

We acknowledge reports, protect reporter information where possible, assess the report against the relevant policy, and take a proportionate action or explain why we cannot. The effective service must publish target acknowledgement and resolution times by severity; those targets are service goals, not guarantees.

Possible actions are described in the AUP. We may preserve relevant records, seek clarification, restrict a public surface while reviewing it, or make an emergency safety/security intervention. We generally do not disclose private project content, a reporter’s identity, or another person’s personal data while resolving a report.

3. Notice and appeal

Where practical and lawful, we notify the affected person or project of the action, the rule involved, and the available review route. An affected account owner, project owner, guardian, reporter, or sponsor may ask for review through [email protected] within [appeal window]. State the decision identifier, the reason for review, and any new information.

An enforcement action that began as a conduct-bot flag or escalation is reviewable in the same way as any other decision. A different trained reviewer considers the appeal where feasible. The effective policy must state review targets, any external dispute route required by law, and how a person may complain to a competent authority. An appeal is a request for reconsideration; it does not automatically restore hosted access or public listing.

4. Transparency and misuse

Mahanu will publish the transparency information required by applicable law and may publish voluntary aggregate information when it cannot expose reporters, children, or private projects. Knowingly false, abusive, or automated reports may be limited or enforced under the AUP, without discouraging good-faith reports.