Community Guidelines – ComicBooked!

ComicBooked! Community Guidelines

Welcome to ComicBooked!

ComicBooked! is a private, worker-owned social platform for comic book professionals—free from AI, ads, and algorithms. This is a space by and for Black creators, Indigenous creators, creators of color, LGBTQIA+ professionals, disabled industry workers, and allies who respect and uplift these communities.

Before anything else, know this: All are welcome, but when you are here, you are a guest of the Black community, the Indigenous community, and the many other communities of color, as well as the LGBTQIA+ and disabled communities. If you are not comfortable with that, leave this site.

If you join and then harass, threaten, or disrupt any members or staff, you will be permanently banned.

Our Mission & Purpose

Our mission is to foster a vibrant, evolving community that respects individual preferences and adapts to the changing needs of our members. These guidelines exist to:

Provide safety and comfort by creating a private, inclusive space where professionals can connect without fear of harassment, trolling, or algorithmic manipulation.
Create stronger connections through an organic infrastructure that supports creators, retailers, publishers, and event organizers, making the comic book industry more efficient, prosperous, and equitable.
Cultivate a welcoming environment where all users feel supported, valued, and empowered to participate.
Evolve with feedback—these guidelines will grow and adapt alongside our community.

Community Standards

1. Respect & Cultural Stewardship

Center Marginalized Voices: ComicBooked! is a space where Black creators, Indigenous creators, and other marginalized groups set the cultural standards. All participants engage as guests in this community.
Use Inclusive Language: Avoid slurs, stereotypes, or language that marginalizes or erases any group.
Respect Intellectual Property: Do not steal, plagiarize, or distribute others’ work without permission.

2. Safety & Accountability

Zero Tolerance for Harassment: Harassment, threats, doxing, or coordinated attacks—especially against Black women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, or disabled creators—will result in immediate, permanent bans.
No Hate Speech or Extremism: Content that promotes racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or other forms of discrimination will be removed, and offenders will be banned.
No Illegal or Exploitative Behavior: This includes:
- Distributing child sexual abuse material or any content sexualizing minors.
- Engaging in human trafficking, sexual exploitation, or predatory behavior.
- Trading illegal goods or substances.
- Hacking, scamming, or phishing.
- Stealing or distributing private personal information.
- Circumventing moderation (e.g., creating new accounts to evade bans).

3. Professional Integrity

No AI-Generated Creative Work: ComicBooked! is a human-first platform. Submitting AI-generated artwork, writing, or other creative content as your own original work is not permitted. Violators will be removed and banned. Discussion of AI’s impact on the industry is welcome—the prohibition is on passing AI-generated work off as human-made.
No Predatory Business Practices: Exploitative contracts, unpaid labor, or theft of intellectual property are strictly prohibited.
No Misinformation: Do not share misleading content about elections, public health, or other critical topics.
No Unsolicited Pitches, Scripts, or Decks: Do not send unsolicited scripts, pitches, decks, or project proposals to other members via private message, activity posts, or any other platform feature. If you want to collaborate with another member, introduce yourself first and ask if they are open to it. Sending unsolicited creative or business materials is a form of professional harassment, can expose both parties to legal risk, and will be treated as a conduct violation.

4. Content Ratings & Mature Content

ComicBooked! is a professional platform that serves members across every sector of the comic book industry, including creators whose work spans all ages and content levels. We believe in creative freedom and we recognize that mature, adult, and explicit content has a legitimate place in comics. This policy exists to ensure that content reaches the right audiences, that public-facing areas of the platform remain welcoming to all, and that members have clear guidance on how to share their work responsibly.

The ComicBooked! Content Rating System

All member-posted content—including posts, media, portfolio work, and any material shared on member profiles—must be labeled with one of the following ratings. These ratings align with the industry-standard vocabulary already familiar to comic book professionals.

All Ages — Appropriate for all readers. No violence beyond cartoon or slapstick, no profanity, no suggestive themes.
T (Teen, 12+) — Mild violence, mild language, and/or mildly suggestive themes. Appropriate for general audiences.
T+ (Teen Plus, 15+) — Moderate violence, moderate profanity, graphic imagery, and/or suggestive themes. Not appropriate for younger readers.
M (Mature, 17+) — Intense violence, extensive profanity, nudity, sexual themes, and/or other content suitable only for older readers.
18+ (Explicit/Adult) — Sexually explicit content appropriate for adults only. This rating carries the strictest placement rules on the platform.

Where Each Rating Is Permitted

The table below describes where content at each rating level may appear on the platform. The public directories and job board are restricted to All Ages and T-rated content only, regardless of membership tier. The Indie Comics Library permits T+ titles with a required content warning, as the Library is a catalog of published works. Blog and editorial spaces may include T+ and M-rated content with a required content warning. 18+ content is never permitted in the Library, public directories, job board, or blog and editorial spaces.

Rating	Member Profiles	The Bullpen	Public Directories	Indie Comics Library	Job Board	Blog/Editorial
All Ages	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
T (12+)	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
T+ (15+)	✓	✓ with content warning	✗	✓ with content warning	✗	✓ with content warning
M (17+)	✓	✓ with content warning	✗	✗	✗	✓ with content warning
18+ (Explicit)	✓ designated sections only	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗

Content Warning Requirements

Any content rated T+ or above shared in the Bullpen—including activity feed posts, group posts, and messages to groups—must be accompanied by a content warning that clearly identifies the nature of the mature content before it is visible. ComicBooked! will be implementing a content warning toggle feature that will allow members to blur or hide T+, M, and 18+ content behind a click-through confirmation. Until that feature is live, members are required to lead any such post with a written content warning in the post text itself, clearly stating the rating and a brief description of the mature content (e.g., “CW: M-rated — graphic violence”). Failure to label mature content appropriately is a violation of these guidelines and subject to enforcement under Section 6.

18+ Content — Additional Restrictions

18+ content may only appear in designated sections of a member’s profile—not in the general activity feed, groups, forums, or any area visible to logged-out users.
It is never permitted in any public-facing area of the platform, including the directories, Library, job board, or editorial spaces.
Members who post 18+ content are responsible for ensuring it is restricted to the appropriate profile section. Posting explicit content outside of designated areas is a serious violation subject to immediate content removal and possible account suspension.
ComicBooked! reserves the right to implement age-gating or membership tier requirements for access to 18+ profile sections as the platform develops.

Prohibited Content — Regardless of Rating

No content rating permits the following, which are prohibited on ComicBooked! under all circumstances and are subject to immediate permanent removal and account termination:

Sexual content involving minors in any form, real or fictional.
Non-consensual sexual scenarios presented approvingly.
Content that sexualizes real, identifiable individuals without their documented consent.
Content designed to harass, demean, or target specific individuals under the guise of creative expression.

Member Responsibility

Members are responsible for accurately rating their own content. Deliberately mislabeling mature content as a lower rating in order to circumvent these rules is a violation of these guidelines and subject to enforcement. When in doubt, rate higher rather than lower. Moderators may re-rate content that has been inaccurately labeled and will notify the member when they do so.

5. Content & Conduct

No Excessive Violence or Gore: Depictions of extreme violence, torture, or non-consensual acts are not allowed.
No Impersonation: Misleading impersonation of individuals or organizations is prohibited.
Follow Group-Specific Rules: Some forums or groups may have additional guidelines. Failure to follow them may result in restrictions.

6. Reporting & Enforcement

Report Violations: If you encounter harassment, hate speech, or other violations, report it immediately using our confidential reporting system.
Consequences for Violations: ComicBooked! uses a graduated enforcement approach rooted in restorative justice principles. Consequences are proportionate to the nature and severity of the violation.
- Content Removal: Individual posts, messages, or other content may be removed without further action for minor or first-time violations.
- First Offense (non-severe): Written warning and mandatory review of community guidelines.
- Repeat or Escalating Violations: Temporary suspension from the platform, ranging from 48 hours to 30 days depending on severity and history.
- Severe or Zero-Tolerance Violations: Immediate and permanent ban. Zero-tolerance violations include harassment, threats, doxing, coordinated attacks, hate speech, and any conduct listed under No Illegal or Exploitative Behavior.
- Appeals: Members who believe a moderation action was applied in error may submit an appeal to info@comicbooked.org within 14 days of the action. Appeals are reviewed by the moderation team and, where appropriate, escalated to the board. All appeal decisions are final.
Transparency: Major moderation decisions will be communicated to the community, respecting privacy where necessary.

7. Community-Led Moderation

Our moderation team follows trauma-informed, restorative justice principles, prioritizing education, accountability, and harm prevention.
We rely on community feedback to evolve these guidelines. If you have suggestions, share them at info@comicbooked.org.

8. Library & Community Partner Standards

Indie Comics Library Conduct

Submit in Good Faith: All title submissions to the ComicBooked! Indie Comics Library must be accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge. Submitting fabricated, plagiarized, or deliberately misleading records is a violation of these guidelines and will result in removal of the submission and possible account action.
No False Credit Claims: Only claim credits on titles you genuinely contributed to. Falsely claiming authorship, art, lettering, coloring, or any other creative credit on a title you did not work on is a serious violation and will result in immediate suspension or permanent ban.
Corrections in Good Faith: Suggesting corrections to existing Library records is encouraged and valued. Corrections submitted with the intent to vandalize, erase, or misrepresent another creator’s record are a violation of these guidelines.
Directory Submissions: The good faith submission standards above apply to all ComicBooked! directories, including the Business Directory, Events Directory, and Icons! Directory. Listings must accurately represent the member, organization, or individual being listed.

Community Partner Standards

Same Standards Apply: Community Partners—organizations and brands with a presence on ComicBooked! through the Community Partners Program—are held to the same community standards as individual members. Partnership status does not exempt any organization or its representatives from these guidelines.
Partner Accountability: If a Community Partner organization or any of its representatives violates these guidelines, ComicBooked! reserves the right to suspend or terminate the partnership, remove partner content, and take any other action consistent with these standards.

Final Notes

Together, we are ComicBooked! Let’s build a comic book industry that is just, equitable, and liberating for all.

These guidelines are living documents and will evolve with our community. When significant changes are made, members will be notified and the updated guidelines will be posted at comicbooked.org/community-guidelines/. Continued use of the platform constitutes acceptance of the current version.

By using ComicBooked!, you agree to uphold these standards and contribute to a safe, empowering, and inclusive space.