Acceptable Use

Acceptable Use Policy

Last updated: September 17, 2026

This Acceptable Use Policy explains how SourceBoard may and may not be used.

It applies to accounts, public pages, APIs or automated interfaces made available by SourceBoard, uploads, links, Store activity, points, reactions, source-resolution systems, and any attempt to interact with SourceBoard infrastructure.

1. General rule

Do not use SourceBoard in a way that is unlawful, deceptive, abusive, harmful, exploitative, or materially disruptive to other users or the Service.

2. Access controls

You must not:

• bypass authentication;
• bypass blocks;
• bypass suspensions or bans;
• circumvent account restrictions;
• defeat security checks;
• evade access controls;
• access private or friends-only content without authorization;
• obtain moderator or administrative access without authorization; or
• use another person's credentials without permission.

3. Rate limits and service stability

You must not intentionally overload, degrade, or disrupt SourceBoard.

This includes:

• request flooding;
• denial-of-service activity;
• abusive crawling;
• excessive automated refreshing;
• deliberate resource exhaustion;
• malformed traffic intended to cause failures; or
• repeated behavior designed to evade service limits.

4. Automation

Automation is not automatically prohibited.

However, automated access must not:

• bypass restrictions;
• conceal abusive behavior;
• create deceptive engagement;
• farm points;
• fabricate source consensus;
• mass-create accounts;
• scrape private information;
• ignore published technical restrictions;
• overwhelm the Service; or
• interfere with ordinary users.

SourceBoard may provide separate rules or machine-readable instructions for crawlers, indexing, feeds, or automated systems.

5. Scraping and indexing

Publicly accessible content may be accessed by search engines, researchers, journalists, archival tools, and automated systems subject to applicable law and SourceBoard's published restrictions.

Automated access is not permission to:

• access non-public data;
• circumvent controls;
• evade rate limits;
• misrepresent the origin of data;
• create a competing login-gated copy of private SourceBoard content;
• use credentials obtained without authorization; or
• republish content in a way that infringes third-party rights.

6. Account networks and ban evasion

Do not create or coordinate multiple accounts primarily to:

• evade enforcement;
• manipulate votes, reactions, reports, source states, or reputation;
• simulate independent agreement;
• farm points;
• harass a user from multiple identities; or
• artificially amplify content.

7. Points and reward manipulation

Do not manipulate SourceBoard's points, reputation, achievements, or Store systems.

Examples include:

• self-interaction through alternate accounts;
• coordinated reciprocal farming;
• repeated low-value posting solely for rewards;
• scripted engagement;
• abusing retries or race conditions;
• exploiting duplicate rewards;
• intentionally triggering erroneous balances; or
• trading accounts for point value.

SourceBoard may reverse rewards associated with ineligible or abusive activity.

8. Source manipulation

Do not attempt to obtain Accepted Source or Verified Source status through fraud, coercion, collusion, or fabricated evidence.

Do not impersonate an original creator or publication in order to manufacture provenance.

9. Malicious code and harmful files

Do not upload, link to, distribute, or attempt to execute:

• malware;
• ransomware;
• credential stealers;
• malicious scripts;
• exploit payloads;
• deceptive installers; or
• files intended to compromise users or infrastructure.

Security research must follow the Security & Abuse Reporting policy.

10. Credential abuse

Do not:

• phish for passwords;
• collect authentication tokens without authorization;
• sell stolen credentials;
• test leaked credentials against SourceBoard;
• impersonate SourceBoard support to obtain account access; or
• encourage users to disclose secrets.

11. Privacy abuse

Do not use SourceBoard to:

• identify anonymous users through unauthorized technical means;
• collect private personal information unlawfully;
• stalk users;
• correlate private account data across services without a lawful basis;
• publish sensitive private data for intimidation; or
• circumvent privacy settings.

12. Upload and media abuse

Do not use SourceBoard primarily as:

• an unrelated bulk file host;
• a malware distribution service;
• a piracy repository;
• a hidden asset CDN for unrelated services; or
• a storage location for content that violates SourceBoard policies.

13. Deceptive interfaces and links

Do not create content that falsely appears to be:

• a SourceBoard system message;
• a moderator instruction;
• a security notice;
• a verification badge;
• an official SourceBoard page; or
• an authentication prompt.

14. Commercial abuse

SourceBoard may permit lawful discussion of products, companies, creators, and services.

Do not use the Service for:

• unsolicited bulk promotion;
• deceptive affiliate spam;
• fraudulent advertising;
• fake giveaways;
• paid manipulation of source states; or
• undisclosed coordinated campaigns intended to fabricate organic consensus.

15. Security research

Good-faith security research should avoid:

• accessing other users' data;
• persistence;
• destructive testing;
• service disruption;
• public disclosure before reasonable reporting; and
• exploitation beyond what is necessary to demonstrate the issue.

Researchers should use SourceBoard's official security reporting channel.

16. Enforcement

SourceBoard may limit or block activity that appears to violate this Policy, including before a full review when necessary to contain security, fraud, or abuse.

Enforcement may include:

• rate limiting;
• request blocking;
• content removal;
• account restrictions;
• reward reversal;
• suspension;
• ban;
• session invalidation; or
• other measures reasonably necessary to protect the Service.

17. Changes

SourceBoard may update this Policy as abuse patterns, product features, and operational needs evolve.