FAQ
Q: How is this site anonymous?
A: Here are some ways:
- To start with, users should register with us using a disposable email, such as https://10minutemail.net/
- The email address is converted into a number that represents the user ID, so user ID is not sequential - when someone registers means nothing. But, because of this design, email address can't be changed.
- We do not store cookies or anything else on user's machines.
- The phone number that is used to activate the account is not in any way connected to that account. We store the phone numbers in a separate database of only phone numbers, where they are stored non-sequentially. The only thing associated with a phone number is the month that it was used (so it can be removed after some time).
- Most importantly, we have generated hundreds of fake accounts. This inserts various random phone numbers into our database, meaning that if your phone number is in it, then it doesn't mean anything. You have total deniability. Those fake accounts are indistinguishable from the real ones. They're created with sophisticated algorithms that randomize times of day, rates, and delays between emails and texts. We're still making them, now at slow rate.
Q: Why is anonymity required? Why can't I say who I am?
A: One of the reasons is that it protects us from possible lawfare. One of the biggest legal threats are defamation lawsuits and we have no way to prevent someone from pretending to be someone else. The main reason, however, is that we want the arguments to be based on reason alone.
Q: Can I use references?
A: If your reference claims to be an "expert", has ties to the government or academia, or is famous, then you can use that reference ONLY as supportive evidence. Appeal to authority is forbidden here. You may not suggest that your argument should be taken more seriously because some "authority" agrees with you. Posts that "appeal to authority" will be removed.
Q: Why can't I post responses in which I agree?
A: If you agree with a post, you can and should show your support for it by upvoting it. Unlike other forums, we do not allow people to post positive responses, for the following reasons:
- we must avoid creating an echo chamber
- there would be too much information for people to parse through
- because there is no place for such posts in the structure that we need and designed. The structure we need must enable a person to click through the top-rated posts of opposing viewpoints as if they were listening to a conversation.
Q: Why can't I post pictures or links to videos?
A: These posts are intended to stay on forever. We can't have someone respond to or upvote a picture or a video, and have the link to that external content stop working years later. It wouldn't be fair for those who replied to such posts and eventually, it would make this site cluttered with garbage. We intend to allow pictures in the future, for users with a substantial amount of total upvotes, but they will have to be uploaded to our servers. This will happen when we have the money to finance the extra servers and storage.
Q: Can I be sued for defamation if I criticize someone powerful?
A: Anonymous speech is protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which recent rulings by the US Supreme Court reaffirm. For example, see 1995 Supreme Court ruling in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission. If that doesn't reassure you, then do consider that it's hard to prosecute someone who can't be identified. If you use a disposable email to register with us, then it shouldn't be possible to identify you.
Q: Why can I post only 3 times per day?
A: We decided to put a limit on the number of postings members can make per day to encourage them to make their posts count - to put more thought and effort into them. This number starts out low, but increases with upvotes. More upvotes people get = more posts per day they can make.
Q: How does reporting work?
A: Every post that is reported by regular users gets reviewed by an admin. Admins can either accept the post or reject it. If rejected, the post and its replies will no longer be visible to anyone but their respective authors. If accepted, the post will no longer be reportable by regular users. However, special law enforcement accounts will still be able to report posts accepted by regular admins. Posts reported by those accounts can be reviewed only by "super-admins" (legal team) to see if they expose us to liability. Posts accepted by the "super-admins" can no longer be reported by anyone.
Q: Why must I accept the Terms of Service every time I visit this site? It's so annoying!
A: We must inflict it on unknown visitors in order to protect ourselves from lawfare. We can't use cookies as they could potentially compromise the identities of our members. However, simply joining the site (even without verification) is enough to avoid having to accept them repeatedly (it's enough that they are accepted once during the signup process). Sadly, no cookies also means that users must sign in with email and password every time they visit. We regret that this inconveniences our users, but it's a very big deal that requires a large amount of money and resources to handle properly (which we don't have).
Q: How come you don't have a topic on such and such?
A: We are a small startup that's challenging the Narratives of some powerful people. We hope that the laws written to protect other social media outlets will protect us, but ultimately, we are at the mercy of the very same people that we are poking. You are welcome to offer topic suggestions by emailing us, but we will only post ones that shouldn't get us in too much trouble.
Q: What if I want to join but your site says that my phone number was already used?
A: Email us at support@arguefreely.com and explain the situation.
Q: What if I lost the email or password to my account?
A: Then you will not be able to access it again. Because of the steps we took to protect your privacy, there is no way to recover those things once lost. So don't lose them. You might argue that knowing an account post history should be pretty strong proof of account ownership, but we can't be sure that the account owner didn't share their post history on some other platform. Anything we do in this area can open us to liability (because money will eventually be involved), so we will do nothing. Don't lose your email/pass.
Q: Why was my post removed with message "too far from topic"?
A: As a debate rages, we need to remember to stay on topic at least somewhat. If assertions made in a post stray too far from the original topic, then we need to remove that post to keep things tidy. Otherwise, before long, every topic will cover everything.
Q: What can I do if my post is removed?
A: You can ask a "super-admin" to review it, but if he/she determines that the regular admin's judgement was correct, then you will get an additional strike on your account. You can also post your post on some other social media platform to show the world how oppressive we are.
Q: I got a message saying "Invalid characters detected. Please use the ASCII alphabet.". What does this mean?
A: This can happen when a character typed is outside of the "printable characters" for ASCII. The most common culprits can be specialized quotation marks.
Q: How do I get other help?
A: Contact us at our email: support@arguefreely.com