Why can't I post links on a new account?

Link posting unlocks once your email is verified and your account is 24 hours old. It is the single most effective spam control we have, and it costs a genuine new member one day.

Why is my thread not showing up in Google?

Discussions are hidden from search engines until at least two different people have replied, and questions until at least one substantive answer exists. A page with nothing on it is a dead end for whoever finds it, so we do not ask search engines to send anyone there.

Was my post removed, or did it never appear?

If a moderator removed it you will see a notice on the page saying so, with the reason. First posts from brand-new accounts are read by a moderator before appearing publicly, which usually takes a few hours and only happens once.

How do I appeal a moderation decision?

Reply to the notice on the removed content, or contact us from the account that was actioned. Every moderation action is logged with a reason, so an appeal is reviewed against that record rather than against memory.

Do you sell my posts or my data?

Your posts are public if you post them publicly — that is the point of a community. We do not sell personal data. The full data-handling position is in our privacy policy, which is under legal review.

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Guidelines

Community guidelines

Short version: post from your own experience, say what you actually did, and disclose anything you are paid for. Everything below is the detail.

The rules

Speak from experience. Recommend hardware you have owned and games you have played. Saying “I have not used it, but” is fine — pretending otherwise is not.
Disclose money. Affiliate links, sponsorships, free review units, and anything you are paid for must be disclosed in the post. Undisclosed commercial posting is removed and repeated offences are a ban.
No personal information about anyone. Real names, addresses, workplaces, or accounts of people who did not publish them. This is removed on sight, without warning.
Attack arguments, not people. Platform, brand, and franchise arguments are welcome. Harassment of a person is not.
No hate speech. Not as a joke, not ironically, not in a username.
Do not manipulate votes. Voting rings, alternate accounts, and asking a group chat to upvote you all get the votes discounted and the accounts reviewed.
Answer the question. On question pages, “just google it” and “why would you want that” are removed as low-effort.

What happens when you report something

Reports go into a queue ordered by potential harm, not by arrival time. The categories at the top are looked at the same day; the ones at the bottom may take a couple of days.

Self harm
Doxxing
Illegal content
Hate speech
Harassment
Sexual content

We will never tell you what action was taken on someone else’s account. That protects the person who was reported when a report turns out to be wrong, and it protects you when it turns out to be right.

Things we do not decide ourselves

Some reports are not a moderator’s call. These are escalated to a specialist or to counsel rather than resolved by community judgement:

Self harm
Illegal content
Copyright
Defamation
Underage account

If someone is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services. In the US you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

What you unlock, and when

Nothing is hidden. New accounts can post and reply immediately; the restrictions are on the actions that spam and abuse depend on.

Trust levels and privileges
Level	Requires	Adds
New	Nothing — you can post straight away	post, reply, report
Verified	1 day old, verified email	vote, post-links, edit-own
Established	7 days old, verified email, 50 reputation, 3 useful contributions	post-images, skip-first-post-review, suggest-tags
Trusted	30 days old, verified email, 500 reputation, 15 useful contributions	mark-duplicate, flag-for-review-with-weight, edit-tags

Common questions

Why can't I post links on a new account?: Link posting unlocks once your email is verified and your account is 24 hours old. It is the single most effective spam control we have, and it costs a genuine new member one day.
Why is my thread not showing up in Google?: Discussions are hidden from search engines until at least two different people have replied, and questions until at least one substantive answer exists. A page with nothing on it is a dead end for whoever finds it, so we do not ask search engines to send anyone there.
Was my post removed, or did it never appear?: If a moderator removed it you will see a notice on the page saying so, with the reason. First posts from brand-new accounts are read by a moderator before appearing publicly, which usually takes a few hours and only happens once.
How do I appeal a moderation decision?: Reply to the notice on the removed content, or contact us from the account that was actioned. Every moderation action is logged with a reason, so an appeal is reviewed against that record rather than against memory.
Do you sell my posts or my data?: Your posts are public if you post them publicly — that is the point of a community. We do not sell personal data. The full data-handling position is in our privacy policy, which is under legal review.