CanuckDUCK Community Guidelines

Why we're here

CanuckDUCK exists to give Canadians a place to discuss civic issues substantively—not to score points, not to perform outrage, but to actually work through the hard questions together.

These guidelines exist to protect that space.

The basics

Discuss issues, not people. Attack arguments, not the person making them. "That policy would hurt seniors on fixed incomes" is discourse. "You're an idiot" is not.

Engage with substance. "This is wrong" isn't a contribution. Tell us why you think it's wrong. What's the tradeoff? What's the alternative? What are we missing?

Assume good faith. The person disagreeing with you probably isn't evil. They might have different information, different priorities, or different life experiences. Start there.

Stay on topic. Threads have purposes. If a discussion about pension policy drifts into unrelated grievances, we'll redirect it. There's probably a better forum for your point.  Use it.

No partisan cheerleading. This isn't a space to campaign for parties or politicians. Discuss policies, not personalities. "The UCP's pension proposal has these risks" is fine. "Smith is destroying Alberta" is not.  It's noise.

What will get you moderated

• Hate speech and dehumanization. Targeting people based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics. Zero tolerance.
• Threats and harassment. Direct or implied. Against individuals or groups.
• Deliberate misinformation. Knowingly spreading false information to manipulate discussion. Good-faith mistakes are fine—we'll correct them together.
• Spam and self-promotion. This isn't your marketing channel.
• Derailing and bad-faith engagement. If you're here to disrupt rather than discuss, you won't be here long.

How moderation works

We use a combination of AI-assisted screening and human review. Flagged content may be temporarily hidden pending review. If your post is removed, you'll be told why.

We believe in transparency. Our moderation decisions aren't made in back rooms. If you think we got it wrong, you can appeal. We'd rather explain ourselves than hide behind "community standards."

Your responsibilities

You're not just a user.  You're a participant in a civic experiment. That means:

• Report problems. See something that violates these guidelines? Flag it.
• Contribute constructively. Every post either raises the quality of discourse or lowers it. Choose wisely.
• Represent yourself honestly. Sock puppets and astroturfing undermine everything we're trying to build.

A note on anonymity and pseudonymity

You can participate without using your real name. We believe privacy is essential to honest discourse—people should be able to discuss controversial positions without fear of professional or social consequences.

But anonymity is not a shield for abuse. Your pseudonymous identity carries a reputation. Build one worth having.

The bottom line

We're trying to build something different here: a space where Canadians can discuss hard issues without the toxicity that poisons most online discourse.

That only works if you help us protect it.

Welcome to CanuckDUCK.