Content policy

Mycellula is a shared garden. Cells are only alive or dead, but alive and dead cells can spell words and draw pictures — so the same rules apply here as anywhere people publish for each other. Abstract, strange, provocative and political art is welcome. Using the garden to hurt people is not.

Not allowed

In any automaton that others can see (public or unlisted), in titles, descriptions, program names or code:

• Hate. Attacks, slurs, symbols or dehumanising content aimed at people for their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, caste, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or illness.
• Harassment. Targeting, insulting or intimidating a specific person; sharing someone's personal data (names with addresses, phone numbers, documents…).
• Sexual content. Nudity, sexual acts or explicit drawings. Any sexualisation of minors is removed immediately, the account is banned, and it may be reported to the authorities.
• Violence and extremism. Threats, incitement, glorifying violence or terrorism, extremist propaganda or symbols.
• Illegal content. Anything illegal where it is published, including others' copyrighted work or trademarks used to deceive.
• Spam and deception. Ads, scams, links in disguise, impersonating people or Mycellula.

Hidden or delayed content counts

Automata are deterministic programs, so content doesn't have to be visible at generation 0 to be yours. All of these are treated exactly as if the content were drawn directly:

• rules written so that text or images emerge after some number of generations;
• content that only appears when the automaton is connected to another one, or that a connection injects into someone else's automaton;
• content that only shows with a particular theme, speed or at a particular size.

Because every viewer sees the same history, moderators can replay any automaton to any generation and see exactly what a reporter saw.

Connections

Two-way connections let your culture affect another person's. Using them to push unwanted content into someone else's automaton breaks this policy. If something arrives through one of your edges, you can remove the connection from your editor at any time, and closing your borders stops new two-way connections.

Reporting

Every automaton has a ⚑ Report button next to its playback controls (also in full screen). It pauses the automaton and saves the generation you were looking at plus a copy of the world you were watching, so the moment can be replayed even if it was brief or the owner changes the automaton afterwards. You need to be signed in to report; reports are private and the owner doesn't see who sent them.

What happens next

• When several different people report the same automaton, it automatically leaves the home page, the garden and Explore, and its page shows a warning, until a moderator reviews it.
• Moderators replay the reported moments and can also scan an automaton's whole history as a time-lapse. They may keep it, remove it (it then disappears for everyone except its owner, and stops affecting connected automata), or suspend the account. Serious or repeated violations lead to suspension.
• Automata from accounts created in the last day show up in Explore and by link right away, but only join the home page and the garden after that.
• Reporting in bad faith (to silence someone, or en masse) is itself a violation.

Appeals and contact

If you think a decision was wrong, contact the site's administrators.

By creating an account or publishing an automaton you agree to this policy. It may change as the garden grows. Back to the garden.