Community Guidelines

Last updated: [DATE] These Guidelines are incorporated into the AXIS Launch Terms of Service and apply to the forum at /community, comments on listings, and every other place people talk on the Site. Breaking them can mean edited posts, removed comments, locked threads, or a ban — see the Enforcement Ladder below.

Defined Terms

• "Community" — the /community forum, listing comments, and any other discussion surface on AXIS Launch.
• "Member" — anyone with a Site account who participates in the Community.
• "Moderator" — the admin and the invited moderators named on /community/about.
• "Structured Format" — the required template for certain thread types (see "Threads that require a format").
• "Bump" — any reply to your own thread whose main purpose is to resurface it.

The Spirit of the Rules

Plain English: This is a working community for people who build, audit, fund, and buy AI-generated apps. Be useful, be honest about who you are and what you're selling, and argue about the work — not the person. Every thread and comment is reviewed by a human moderator before it goes live.

We built this forum for real founders and real operators. A post that wouldn't help a real AI founder doesn't ship. Moderators publish, hold, or reject every submission — Squarespace has no public posting, and we treat that as a feature: the moderation queue is the front door.

Rule 1 — Criticize work, not people

Tough, specific feedback on an app, a pitch, or a valuation is what this place is for. Attacks on the person are not. No harassment, hate speech, slurs, threats, doxxing (posting someone's private information), or sustained pile-ons. Disagree with the code, the metrics, the price — never with someone's right to be here.

Rule 2 — No soliciting securities investment. Ever.

Plain English: You can talk about fundraising. You cannot raise here. No "invest in my startup," no equity offers, no SAFEs, no tokens, no revenue-share deals, no "DM me to get in on the round."

The Investors & Fundraising category exists for raise preparation, investor introductions as a topic, and term questions — not for making or fielding offers. Prohibited on every surface of the Site:

• Offering or soliciting investment in equity, stock, membership interests, convertible notes, SAFEs, tokens, or revenue-sharing arrangements.
• Posting terms of an open round, allocation amounts, or "how to invest" instructions.
• Using the Community to move an offering conversation off-platform ("DM me for the deck" in an investment context).

This mirrors the platform-wide rule: AXIS Launch transacts only in asset sales and IP licenses — never equity or anything that may be a security. Violations skip the ladder: immediate removal, and the account may be banned on the first offense.

Rule 3 — Disclose your conflicts

Plain English: Selling something related to what you're posting about? Say so, in the post itself.

If you have a commercial interest in the subject of your post, disclose it plainly at the top or bottom of the post. Examples:

• An auditor answering a security question who also sells audit services: "Disclosure: I offer paid audits."
• A seller commenting on valuation norms while their own auction is live: "Disclosure: I currently have a listing in auction."
• A tool vendor recommending their own tool: name it as yours.

Undisclosed promotion is treated as spam (Rule 5). AXIS staff and moderators follow the same rule — editorial threads are authored under named, disclosed staff identities, never fake "organic" personas.

Rule 4 — Threads that require a Structured Format

Co-founder and investor-topic threads must use the published templates. Moderators will send an edit request (or reformat with your permission) before publishing a non-conforming thread.

Find a Co-founder threads must include, in order:

1. Skills — what you bring (and what you're looking for).
2. Project & stage — what exists today: idea, prototype, revenue.
3. Commitment — hours/week, full-time timeline, vesting expectations.
4. Location/time zone — and remote preferences.

Investors & Fundraising threads must include, in order:

1. Topic — the question or discussion point (not an offer — see Rule 2).
2. Stage & context — where you are (pre-revenue, MRR band) without soliciting.
3. What you're asking the community — specific and answerable.

Auditors & Security: auditors introducing themselves must state credentials and disclose that they sell services (Rule 3).

Rule 5 — No spam; one bump per week

• One Bump per thread per week, maximum. Edits to add substantive updates are always fine.
• No link-dropping without context, no mass cross-posting, no engagement farming, no "congrats"-only comment chains.
• Show & Tell is for build logs and launches with substance — not bare promo. Your listing page is the promo surface; the forum is the conversation.
• No fake accounts, sockpuppets, or purchased engagement. Profiles represent a real individual person.

Rule 6 — Stay legal, stay honest

No content that is illegal, infringing (post only what you have rights to), deceptive (fabricated metrics, fake social proof, impersonation of any person or of AXIS staff/moderators), or that shares someone else's confidential information — including anything covered by an auction NDA. NDA-covered material posted in the Community is removed immediately and reported to the admin; it is also a Terms of Service breach.

Rule 7 — Nothing here is professional advice

Answers in M&A & Exit Readiness, Investors & Fundraising, and everywhere else — including admin-answered threads — are general discussion, not legal, tax, investment, or accounting advice. The valuation rule of thumb (3–5× annual profit for micro AI apps) is guidance, never advice. Talk to your own professionals before acting.

Enforcement Ladder

Plain English: Four steps, in order, with human judgment: we ask you to fix it → we remove the comment → we lock the thread → we ban the account. Serious stuff (securities solicitation, harassment, fraud, NDA leaks) skips the line. Every action is logged with a reason.

• Severe violations skip steps: securities solicitation (Rule 2), harassment or threats, doxxing, fraud or fabricated metrics, NDA-covered leaks, and illegal content go straight to removal and possible ban.
• Logging: every moderation action is recorded in the moderation log with the action, reason, and date.
• Appeals: reply to the moderator's notice or email [CONTACT EMAIL]; the admin reviews appeals and the admin's decision is final.
• SLAs (what to expect from us): new-thread queue decided within 1 business day; comment approval same day; flag review within 24 hours.

Moderators and Seeded Content — our side of the deal

• Moderators are named on /community/about. Admin responses on listings are posted under real, disclosed identities.
• Editorial and knowledge-base threads seeded by AXIS are labeled as such (e.g., "Asked by makers — answered by AXIS"). We do not create fake community members, and we hold ourselves to Rules 3 and 5 like everyone else.