Moderation, Sanctions and Appeals#

This page explains who moderates the Workshop, what they can do, how sanctions and strikes work, what you are told and how to appeal. It is part of the Workshop Terms.

1. Who moderates#

Staff never act on their own content, on reports they filed, or on people they have a personal conflict with. Every staff action is logged with its reason.

2. Tools and automation#

• automated checks of every map file (format, size, audio and image decoding, chart limits);
• exact matching of uploaded audio against files removed earlier;
• matching of artist names against the list of artists who do not allow their music on the Workshop;
• a word filter that blocks or replaces some words in comments and flags others for staff;
• automatic hiding of a comment reported by 3 established accounts within 24 hours, until staff review it;
• review of a new uploader's first maps before they appear publicly;
• no links in comments from accounts younger than 24 hours;
• upload quotas and rate limits;
• explicit maps hidden in listings unless a player chooses to see them;
• automatic upload limits at 2 and 3 active strikes, each reviewed by an admin within 72 hours.

Automated tools never sanction an account on their own, except the strike limits above. Anything automation hides, refuses or limits comes with a statement of reasons and can be appealed to a person.

3. What we can do to content#

• ask for a fix within 7 days;
• edit a map's details or content marks;
• reject a first upload, or approve it without its audio;
• remove a map from featured;
• remove a map's audio or cover;
• turn off a map's downloads (the page stays and its comments are locked);
• hide or delete comments and descriptions, and lock the comments on a map;
• delete a map.

4. Sanctions ladder#

4.1 Choosing a level. We consider how serious the breach was, how often it happened, your history and the context. If your previous sanction ended less than 180 days ago, the next one is usually one level higher.

4.2 Serious breaches skip levels. Graphic or sexual content, targeted hate and publishing someone's personal data start at level 4. Sexual content involving minors, credible threats, malware and extortion start at level 7.

4.3 Lower levels. Staff can choose a lower level when that is fair, and record why.

4.4 Targeted limits. Instead of or in addition to a level, staff can: suspend uploads for a period (for example 30 days) or end upload access; suspend report privileges for 30 days; remove ratings after manipulation; reset a profile colour; or block a linked Minecraft account from signing in to the Workshop.

4.5 Evasion. Using another account or another Minecraft account to get around a sanction is sanctioned at level 7 and restarts any appeal waiting time.

5. Uploads#

5.1 First maps. Maps from accounts younger than 7 days, or from uploaders without a public map, wait for approval. Reviewers check the cover, details, marks, content and rights. They do not approve hosted audio that appears to be a commercial release unless it is a Library track, the credits name a licence or permission, or the artist allows it. In that case they approve the map without its audio, which is not a sanction, or ask for changes. A rejection comes with a statement of reasons.

5.2 Small problems with the cover, details or marks: a fix request with 7 days. If nothing changes, staff fix or remove that part, without a sanction.

5.3 Borderline song content. The first time, the audio is removed or you are asked to replace it, without a sanction. If it happens again, the audio is removed and a sanction of at least level 2 follows.

5.4 Featuring needs a clear basis for the audio: a Library track, no hosted audio, or a licence or permission a curator has checked. A map leaves featured automatically when a new version replaces its audio or charts. Removal from featured for a rule reason comes with a statement of reasons.

6. Strikes#

6.1 A strike is added when we remove a map's audio or cover, or turn off its downloads, because of a copyright notice (Copyright and Illegal Content). Removals for breaking the rules are not strikes.

6.2 Removals based on notices we receive before we send you a strike statement count together as that one strike, however many maps or notices they involve.

6.3 A strike expires 12 months after the removal, and is removed earlier if the content is restored after a counter-notice or an appeal.

6.4 2 active strikes: no uploads or new versions for 30 days. 3 active strikes: upload access ends. You can still browse, download, play, comment and rate.

6.5 These limits apply automatically, and an admin reviews each within 72 hours. When a strike is removed or expires, any limit it caused is lifted if you are back below that threshold.

6.6 Forged permissions or licences, and uploading ripped albums, end upload access immediately.

6.7 Linking a Minecraft account that was used by an account without upload access sends your uploads to review and may be treated as evasion.

6.8 Every strike statement shows your active strikes and what happens at the next one.

7. Statements of reasons#

7.1 When you get one. Whenever we restrict you or your content: sanctions from level 1; removed audio or cover; turned-off downloads; deleted maps; rejected first uploads; fix requests; significant changes to your map's details or marks; removal from featured for a rule reason; hidden or deleted comments, including automatic hiding; strikes; upload, report or rating limits; a blocked Minecraft account; and uploads refused because of a blocked file or artist. Internal notes (level 0) do not produce a statement.

7.2 What it says. What was restricted, where and until when; the facts, and whether they came from a report, a notice, our own review or automation; any automated tools used; the rule (with a link) or the law relied on, and why it applies; the case reference, if any; and your options: appeal, and for copyright removals a counter-notice, as well as going to court.

7.3 Privacy. We never tell you who reported you. For copyright notices we include the notifier's name or organisation.

7.4 Where. Statements arrive as notifications and are listed in Account, Standing, which only you and staff can see.

7.5 If an authority requires confidentiality, a statement can be delayed for as long as that requirement applies.

8. Appeals#

8.1 How. Open Account, Standing, and choose "Appeal this decision". Appeals are free. Explain why the decision is wrong in 20 to 5,000 characters and add evidence such as a licence. One appeal per decision. If you cannot sign in, e-mail dragon4ik.QwU@gmail.com with the case reference or the date of the statement.

8.2 Time limits. Appeal within 6 months of the statement. A level 6 restriction or level 7 termination can be appealed from 3 months after the statement, and again every 3 months after that; explain what happened and why it will not happen again. If a restriction hit the wrong account or is an obvious mistake, write to dragon4ik.QwU@gmail.com straight away.

8.3 Who decides. A staff member who was not involved in the decision and who holds at least the role the decision required (an admin for legal cases, strikes and levels 6 and 7). If no such person is available, the person who made the decision may review it only with a written explanation, which you will see.

8.4 How fast. We confirm your appeal immediately and aim to decide within 14 days.

8.5 Outcomes. Upheld, reversed or partly reversed, always with reasons. A reversal undoes the action, for example by restoring content or lifting a sanction, and you receive a new statement.

8.6 Other options. You can also go to court, or complain to the Digital Services Coordinator of the EU country where you live. For copyright removals, see counter-notices in Copyright and Illegal Content.

9. Borderline votes#

When it is unclear whether content fits the rules, for example a cover or a song, a curator, moderator or admin can open a staff vote:

• at least 3 staff members vote; the content stays if at least 70% vote that it is allowed;
• the vote closes 72 hours after the last vote, or 7 days after it opened;
• the map cannot be featured while the vote is open;
• the result stands unless the content changes significantly;
• an admin may overrule the result, with written reasons.

A result against the content comes with a statement of reasons and can be appealed.

10. Report abuse#

False reports, or mass reporting to get someone punished, lead to a warning, then to a 30-day suspension of report privileges during which your reports are ignored. Misuse of legal notices is covered in Copyright and Illegal Content.

11. Staff accountability#

• Staff follow an internal code of conduct and keep reports and reporters confidential.
• Every staff action is recorded and can be reviewed.
• Complaints about a staff member go to dragon4ik.QwU@gmail.com. They are read by the person who runs QwU World, not by the staff member concerned.
• Staff who misuse their tools lose them.

12. Records#

QwU World is one person, so the EU Digital Services Act exempts it from annual transparency reports (Article 15(2)) and from the Section 3 duties for online platforms (Article 19). We publish statements of reasons and decide appeals anyway, because they are the point of this page, not because we must.

How we process personal data is explained in the Privacy Policy at https://qwu.world/privacy.

13. Changes#

• Version 2 (18 September 2026). Wording only: the Russian text was tidied up so it reads more plainly. No rule, sanction level or deadline changed.
• Version 1 (17 September 2026). First version.