Moderator Code of Conduct

AdminPepUnfiltered · November 1, 2026, 12:51am

Last updated: November 2, 2026 · Version 7

The Viking Translation

Mods are members with extra keys to the hall, so the bar is higher.
Same rules for everyone. No favorites, no grudges.
Never judge a fight you’re in.
Secrets stay in the war room. Never reveal a reporter, never leak, never unmask anyone.
No gold from vendors. Disclose any vendor ties to the admins.
Outside ties don’t rule you out. A mod somewhere else, an affiliate or a reseller can still be a mod here. Disclose it and leave it at the sign in.
Your life off PepUnfiltered is yours. But a proven report of derogatory behavior off platform gets looked into.
Stay anonymous. Use your team email. Never your real name, personal email or phone.
Legal threat? Don’t reply. Forward it to [email protected] and tell an admin.
New rank? Read the Mod Packet first. You get 7 days to type your name and accept. Your rank changes only when you do.
Break the code and you lose rank or the keys. Abuse the power and you lose the ship.
Lose a rank, wait it out. 90 days after a demotion, 180 days after removal. Appeal with proof, not feelings.

If this short version and the official version below ever seem different, the official version wins.

The official version

Our moderators are members too. They volunteer their time, and they are held to a higher standard than everyone else. This code is public so every member knows what to expect from the team. Every moderator, at every level, must accept it before using any moderator tools, and again whenever it changes.

Team ranks

Clan Chief (Admin): full control of the site. Enforces everything, up to suspensions and bans, and handles appeals and settings. Only the Clan Chief can give or change anyone’s rank.
High Warlord (Super Mod): full admin abilities except changing ranks. Enforces everything, up to suspensions and bans.
Battle Warlord (Mod): full moderator. Handles flags and the mod queue, approves and denies signups, warns, silences, and suspends for up to 30 days. Bans and rank changes go to a High Warlord or the Clan Chief.
Elder Warrior (Sr Mod): accepts new signup requests. Denials are referred to a High Warlord or the Clan Chief. Gives low level violations only, such as a 10 minute chat mute, and escalates anything bigger to a High Warlord or the Clan Chief.
Young Warrior (Jr Mod): helps keep the boards tidy and watches chat. Flags problems for an Elder Warrior or above. No member punishments and no approvals.

Every new rank starts with the Moderator Packet. When the Clan Chief offers someone a rank, they get the Moderator Packet in their private messages and by email: the site rules, what we expect from the team, and a step by step guide for their rank with examples. They must type their full legal name and choose Accept or Decline within 7 days. Their rank changes only when they accept. If they don’t choose in time, the offer is withdrawn automatically.

The screen guard covers the team too. Screenshots, recordings and printing are blurred or blocked for every rank below admin, and attempts by team members are kept in their own list that only the admins can see.

1. Lead by example

Follow every Community Rule on PepUnfiltered, all the time, including in private messages and chat.
Stay calm, kind and respectful in public, even when someone is rude to you.
Disagree with other moderators in the private staff areas, never in front of members.

2. Be fair and consistent

Use the Enforcement Levels exactly as written. Same violation, same response, no matter who it is.
No favorites. Friends, Den members, longtime members and new members are treated the same.
Never moderate a dispute you are part of, or one involving someone you have a personal conflict or close friendship with. Hand it to another moderator or an admin.
Explain every action: which rule, which level and why.
Record every action and its reason on the member’s account.

3. Stay neutral on vendors

Never sell, broker or promote anything on PepUnfiltered, and never accept payment, free products, codes or perks for moderator decisions.
Disclose any connection to a vendor, brand or other community (rep, affiliate, owner, staff, paid tester) to the admins before you start, and as soon as it changes.
Never use moderator tools to help or hurt a vendor or a rival community.
Leave your own outside loyalties at the door. Your other communities, favorite vendors and their rivalries never affect a moderator decision.
Outside ties don’t rule you out. Being a moderator or admin in another community, or a contracted affiliate or reseller, does not by itself make you ineligible to moderate here. Disclose it to the admins, and leave it at the sign in.

4. Protect privacy and confidentiality

Never reveal who reported someone.
What you see through moderator tools, including flags, reports, signup answers, emails, account details and staff discussions, stays inside the team. Do not share it, screenshot it or talk about it outside the staff areas, during or after your time as a moderator.
Look at private information only when you need it to handle a report.
Members’ legal names, dates of birth, phone numbers and declarations are only for verifying members and spotting conflicts of interest. Never contact a member using them, and never use them for anything else.
Never use moderator access to find out who an anonymous member really is.
What happens in PepUnfiltered stays in PepUnfiltered applies to moderators twice over. Never share anything from the community or the staff areas outside it.

5. Use your powers only for the job

Moderator tools are for keeping the community safe, never for winning an argument, settling a score, silencing criticism or punishing someone who disagrees with you.
Don’t edit a member’s post except to remove content that breaks the rules, and say what you removed.
Don’t change site settings, categories or permissions unless an admin asked you to.

6. Respect the appeal process

Members may appeal any action you take. Never pressure, threaten or retaliate against a member for appealing or for reporting you.
Accept admin decisions on appeals gracefully, even when they overturn yours.

7. Be present and honest

Tell the admins if you need a break or want to step down. Inactive moderators may be returned to regular members with thanks.
If you make a mistake, say so and help fix it.

8. Off platform conduct

What you do on other platforms is your business, as long as you leave it at the sign in. None of it comes into PepUnfiltered.
The exception: if a moderator is reported for acting in a derogatory manner off platform and the report is substantiated, the admins will investigate. Moderators are expected to carry the character of PepUnfiltered wherever they are known as part of the team.
Outcomes follow the table below.

9. Use your team email and reply on the platform

Every team member gets a team address: [email protected]. Mail sent to it lands in your private team inbox here on PepUnfiltered.
Always read and reply on the platform. Replies sent from the site go out under PepUnfiltered, never from your personal email.
Your personal email only receives notifications. Never reply to anyone about PepUnfiltered from your personal email, and never move a conversation to your personal email, phone or social accounts.
Never share your real name, personal email, phone number or social accounts with anyone you contact for PepUnfiltered.
If you think your personal information was exposed, tell an admin right away.
You’re a volunteer, and we protect you by keeping it that way. Never make legal promises, admit fault, or negotiate for PepUnfiltered. Never reply to a legal threat or a lawyer. Forward it to [email protected], tell an admin, and step away.

When a moderator breaks this code

If a report that a moderator violated their role is substantiated, the moderator is moved down a rank where possible, or loses their moderator credentials. Every report is checked first; an unproven report has no effect on a moderator’s rank.

Level	What happens
1. Coaching	An honest mistake with no violation found. An admin talks it through privately.
2. Demotion	Moved down one rank, where a lower rank exists. Recorded on the moderator’s staff record. 90 days before they can be considered for a higher rank again.
3. Removal of moderator role	Returned to regular member. The regular member rules and levels still apply to anything that broke a Community Rule. 180 days before they can apply to be a moderator again.
Immediate removal and ban	Abuse of power, leaking reports or private member information, revealing a reporter, unmasking a member, or taking anything of value for a moderator decision.

Waiting periods start on the day of the change. They are a minimum, not a promise: the Clan Chief decides after they end.

Moderators can appeal a rank decision within 14 days through Appeal a Decision or the Report, Dispute or Appeal form. The burden of proof is on the moderator: they must send facts and proof that show they did not violate this code. The Clan Chief decides, and the decision is final.

Members can report a moderator privately through Appeal a Decision in the sidebar, or Report a problem and choose A moderator’s conduct. These reports go only to the admins, never to the moderator team.

PepUnfiltered Admin Team