📚 TownSquare Help Center

TownSquare is a social discussion platform where quality matters more than popularity. We use a dynamic ELO-based reputation system to ensure that thoughtful, well-reasoned content rises to the top, while low-quality content is filtered out.

Unlike traditional social media, your reputation score directly affects the weight of your votes and your visibility on the platform. This creates a meritocracy where users who consistently contribute high-quality content gain more influence over time.

Creating an account is simple:

• Click the "Sign Up" button on the home page
• Choose to sign up with email or Google
• Verify your email address (if using email signup)
• Complete your profile (username, bio, avatar)
• Start posting and engaging!

Note: You must be at least 13 years old to create an account.

TownSquare is built on these core principles:

• Be Respectful: Treat others with courtesy, even when you disagree
• Be Thoughtful: Contribute meaningfully with well-reasoned arguments
• Be Honest: Post accurate information and cite sources
• Be Constructive: Engage in good-faith debate, avoid personal attacks
• Be Safe: Don't share harmful content or engage in harassment

Violations may result in warnings, content removal, reputation penalties, or account suspension. See our Terms of Service for full details.

TownSquare uses an ELO-based reputation system similar to chess rankings. Every user starts with 1000 ELO points.

How reputation changes:

• When you post or comment, other users vote on its quality (not just agree/disagree)
• Positive quality votes (Insightful, Funny, Well-sourced, Respectful) increase your reputation
• Negative quality votes (Misleading, Off-topic) decrease your reputation
• The amount you gain/lose depends on the voter's reputation (higher reputation voters = bigger impact)
• Reputation slowly decays over time if you're inactive

Why it matters: Your reputation affects your vote weight (higher reputation = votes count more) and your visibility on the platform.

Trust Level badges are awarded based on your reputation:

• 👤 Newcomer 0-999 reputation
• 🎯 Member 1000-1199 reputation
• ⚡ Veteran 1200-1499 reputation
• 👑 Trusted Contributor 1500+ reputation

These badges appear next to your name on posts and comments, signaling your track record of quality contributions.

To view your complete reputation audit log:

• Go to your profile page
• Click on your current reputation score
• View detailed history of all reputation changes
• See which posts/comments gained or lost reputation
• Track your progress over time

The audit log provides full transparency into how your reputation has changed, including dates, amounts, and reasons for each change.

Yes, reputation can decrease in several ways:

• Negative quality votes: Posts marked as "Misleading" or "Off-topic"
• Inactivity decay: Reputation slowly decreases if you don't engage for extended periods
• Moderation penalties: Severe violations may result in manual reputation reduction
• Vote manipulation: Detected attempts to game the system result in significant penalties

The system is designed to reward consistent, quality contributions over time, not one-time viral posts.

Sentiment Votes (Agree/Disagree):

• Express whether you agree or disagree with the content
• Do NOT affect reputation
• Help surface diverse perspectives
• One vote per post/comment

Quality Votes:

• Rate the quality of the contribution, not your opinion
• DO affect reputation (both voter and author)
• Types: Insightful, Funny, Well-sourced, Respectful, Misleading, Off-topic
• Multiple quality votes allowed per item

Example: You might disagree with someone's political opinion but still vote it "Well-sourced" if they cite credible sources.

Positive Quality Votes:

• Insightful: Provides valuable perspective or new information
• Funny: Genuinely humorous or entertaining
• Well-sourced: Backs up claims with credible sources
• Respectful: Maintains courtesy even in disagreement

Negative Quality Votes:

• Misleading: Contains false or misleading information
• Off-topic: Doesn't relate to the discussion

Vote Weight: Your reputation determines how much your votes count. Higher reputation = bigger impact.

When you cast a quality vote:

• The author's reputation changes based on the vote type and your reputation
• Your vote is weighted by your current reputation
• Your own reputation changes slightly based on how others vote on the same content
• The content's visibility may change based on its total score

This creates a feedback loop where accurate voters gain reputation, making their future votes more influential.

To create a post:

• Click the "Create Post" button in the main feed
• Write your post (up to 500 characters - quality over quantity!)
• Optionally add hashtags for discoverability
• Choose to post to a specific community (optional)
• Click "Post" to publish

Tips for quality posts: Be clear, cite sources, stay on topic, and engage respectfully.

Communities are topic-based groups where users can discuss specific interests:

• Browse communities on the "Communities" page
• Join communities that interest you
• Create your own community
• Appoint moderators to help manage
• Post directly to communities

Community moderators can remove content and ban users from their specific community, but platform admins have final authority.

Send private messages to other users:

• Click on a user's profile
• Click "Send Message"
• Type your message and send
• View all conversations in the "DMs" section
• Search your message history

Important: DMs are private, but we reserve the right to review them if reported for violations. Don't use DMs for harassment or spam.

Following users lets you see their content in your "Following" feed:

• Visit a user's profile
• Click the "Follow" button
• View followed users' posts in the "Following" tab
• Unfollow anytime from their profile

Followers are notified when you reach milestones (1000, 1500+ ELO posts).

Yes! Save posts for later:

• Click the bookmark icon on any post
• Access saved posts in the "Bookmarks" section
• Remove bookmarks anytime

To report a post, comment, or user:

• Click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the post/comment
• Select "Report"
• Choose a reason (spam, harassment, misinformation, etc.)
• Optionally add details
• Submit the report

All reports are reviewed by moderators. False reports may result in penalties.

Mute:

• Hides a user's posts from your feed
• They can still see and interact with your content
• Best for reducing noise without cutting off communication

Block:

• Prevents all interaction between you and the user
• They cannot see your posts, comment, or message you
• You won't see their content anywhere

To mute or block: Click the three-dot menu on any of their posts.

Depending on the violation severity:

• Warning: First-time minor violations
• Content Removal: Violating posts deleted
• Reputation Penalty: Significant ELO reduction
• Temporary Suspension: 3-30 days (can't post or comment)
• Permanent Ban: Account terminated

You can appeal suspensions through the platform. Appeals are reviewed within 7 business days.

We collect data to operate the platform and improve user experience. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Key points:

• Authentication data (email, password hash)
• Profile information (username, bio, avatar)
• Content (posts, comments, votes)
• Usage analytics (anonymized)
• Device/browser info for security

We never sell your personal data to third parties.

Yes! Under GDPR, you have the right to data portability:

• Go to Settings → Privacy
• Click "Export My Data"
• Receive a downloadable JSON file with all your data
• Includes posts, comments, votes, messages, and profile info

To permanently delete your account:

• Go to Settings → Account
• Click "Delete Account"
• Confirm deletion (this is irreversible!)
• Your posts/comments may remain visible but will be anonymized

Note: We retain some data for legal compliance, but your personal information is permanently deleted.

For help or questions:

• Email: support@townsquare.com
• Response Time: 24-48 hours
• Bug Reports: Use the "Report Bug" feature in Settings

For legal inquiries: legal@townsquare.com