Content Policy

OpenStand is a platform where independent writers publish essays, investigations, reflections, and ideas — and where readers support that work by unlocking individual pieces. This policy exists to protect readers, creators, and the integrity of the platform.

We believe anyone should be able to publish. We also believe readers deserve to trust what they find here. This policy explains how we balance those two commitments.

How OpenStand works

Any creator can sign up, write, and publish on OpenStand. Published work is immediately live at its own URL and can be shared with anyone.

Discovery is earned, not automatic. New creators' work does not appear on the home page, in curated collections, in recommendations, or in email digests until we've reviewed their first published piece. Once verified, all current and future work enters full discovery. This is a one-time review — we don't re-review every piece.

Readers unlock individual pieces, usually by spending from their balance. Because real money flows through the platform to creators, we hold ourselves to a higher standard than free platforms. Readers who unlock a piece are trusting that they'll get something worth their time and money.

Layer 1: Platform rules

These are the hard lines. Violating any of these may result in content removal, loss of discovery access, or account suspension.

We do not allow:

Harmful content. Content that threatens, encourages, or incites violence against any person or group. Content that promotes self-harm. Content that exploits or endangers minors in any way.

Hate. Content that promotes violence, harassment, or hatred against people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, age, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. This includes content that dehumanizes, degrades, or calls for the exclusion or segregation of people based on these characteristics.

Harassment and doxxing. Content that bullies, threatens, or targets specific individuals. Publishing private information (home addresses, phone numbers, financial records) to intimidate or expose someone. Non-consensual intimate imagery.

Plagiarism. Publishing work written by someone else and presenting it as your own. This includes republishing articles, essays, or substantial excerpts from other sources without permission and attribution.

Fraud and deception. Impersonating another person or organization. Publishing deliberately false information presented as fact with intent to deceive. Creating fake accounts, self-unlocking your own content, or artificially inflating unlock counts through any means.

Spam and manipulation. Bulk-publishing low-effort content designed to extract money rather than provide value. Gaming the platform's recommendation or discovery systems. Repetitive self-promotional content with no substantive value.

Illegal content. Content that facilitates illegal activity or violates applicable law.

Sexually explicit content. Pornographic material or content created primarily for sexual gratification. (Thoughtful writing about sexuality, health, and relationships is welcome.)

Layer 2: Discovery standards

These are what we evaluate during your first-piece review. Not meeting these standards doesn't get your content removed — it means your work stays at direct-link-only visibility until the standards are met. We'll tell you specifically what needs to change.

We look for:

Original thought. The piece should contain your own ideas, analysis, perspective, or experience. We're looking for writing that couldn't have been written by anyone else — not because it's perfect, but because it's distinctly yours.

Human authorship. Your work should be substantially written by you, not generated by AI. We don't prohibit AI assistance for editing, grammar, or brainstorming, but the ideas, structure, and voice should be recognizably human. If the majority of the text reads like it came from a language model, it won't qualify for discovery.

Substantive content. The piece should offer genuine value to a reader — an argument, a story, a framework, an investigation, an insight. We're not looking for a specific length, but we are looking for depth. Listicles, SEO-optimized content, and thinly repurposed social media posts don't meet this bar.

Honest representation. The title, subtitle, and preview should accurately represent what the reader will find after unlocking. Because readers commit money before seeing the full piece, misleading framing — clickbait titles, bait-and-switch previews, or wildly oversold promises — is a particular concern. If a piece is freely available elsewhere (on your blog, another platform, etc.), that context should be visible to readers — for instance, in the subtitle or creator note. Readers who unlock a piece and later find it available for free experience a real trust erosion, even if the content itself is excellent.

Not primarily promotional. If the piece exists mainly to sell a product, service, or course, it's not a fit for OpenStand's discovery surfaces. Writing that mentions your work, your company, or your offerings in the context of a larger argument or story is fine. Writing that is the sales pitch is not.

Craft. The piece should be readable — coherent structure, reasonable grammar, clear expression. We're not expecting literary perfection, and we value diverse voices and styles. But the work should demonstrate effort and care.

Sensitivity and context. If your piece covers graphic, intense, or potentially distressing material — detailed accounts of trauma, violence, addiction, etc. — we encourage you to provide context in your subtitle, preview, or a brief note at the top of the piece. This isn't a rule; it's a norm we value. On a platform where readers commit money before seeing the full work, giving them enough context to make an informed decision is part of respecting their trust.

Layer 3: Reader trust commitments

These are our promises to readers about what they'll find on OpenStand.

What you unlock is what was represented. The preview, title, and tags should give an honest picture of the full piece. No bait-and-switch.

Discovery surfaces are reviewed. Every creator whose work appears on the home page, in collections, or in recommendations has been reviewed. If you find work through OpenStand's discovery features, a human has read that creator's first piece and judged it to meet our standards.

Direct links are unfiltered. If someone shares an OpenStand link with you, that creator may not have been reviewed yet. The piece is still subject to our platform rules (Layer 1), but it hasn't necessarily been evaluated against our discovery standards (Layer 2).

Your unlocks are yours. Every unlock is a deliberate decision — we never auto-charge you. Once you've unlocked a piece, it belongs in your library permanently. If a creator later leaves the platform, unpublishes a piece, or has it removed for a policy violation, the copy you already unlocked stays in your library. It may disappear from the storefront, but your access doesn't change — and there's nothing to refund, because you keep the piece. The one exception is content we're legally required to take down: illegal material, content that endangers minors, or a valid copyright claim. In those cases we must disable the content itself, including your copy, so you lose access through no fault of your own — and we return whatever you paid for it. If you unlocked the piece with a free pass, no money changed hands, so there's nothing to return.

Enforcement

How we handle Layer 1 violations

• Content is removed from the platform
• Creator receives an email explaining the specific rule that was violated
• First violation: content removed + warning
• Repeated or severe violations: account suspended, all content removed from discovery, publishing ability revoked
• Egregious violations (threats of violence, content endangering minors, fraud): immediate account suspension, no warning
• Readers who already unlocked the piece keep their copy — removal takes it off the storefront, not out of their library
• If we're legally required to take the content down (illegal material, content that endangers minors, or a valid copyright claim), the copy is disabled everywhere, including readers' libraries, and we return whatever those readers paid

How we handle Layer 2 gaps

• Creator receives specific, constructive feedback explaining which standards weren't met (see the criteria table below)
• Content remains live at its direct URL — readers who have the link can still access it
• Creator can revise the piece and we'll review again, or publish new work that meets the standards
• Once any piece from the creator meets discovery standards, all their work enters discovery

Your options if we take action

If your content was removed for a Layer 1 violation: You can email us at support@openstand.co to discuss the decision. We'll explain our reasoning. If we made a mistake, we'll restore the content.

If your work didn't meet discovery standards: The feedback email will tell you specifically what to improve. You're welcome to reply with questions. We want you to succeed — our goal is a platform full of great writing, and that means helping creators get there.

Reporting

If you encounter content on OpenStand that you believe violates this policy, use the Report link on the article page. Reports are reviewed manually. We don't take automated action on reports — a human reads the content and makes the call.

Copyright and DMCA

We respect intellectual property, and we expect our creators to as well. If you believe content on OpenStand infringes your copyright, you can ask us to remove it, and we'll respond under the process below. This follows the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Reporting infringement (takedown notice)

Send a written notice to our Designated Agent (below) that includes all of the following:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work you say has been infringed.
3. Identification of the material on OpenStand you say is infringing, with enough detail for us to find it — including the URL of the piece.
4. Your contact information: name, mailing address, phone number, and email address.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use of the material is not authorized by you, your agent, or the law.
6. A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.

We'll review a valid notice and, where appropriate, remove or disable access to the material and notify the creator who posted it. We aim to respond within 5 business days.

Designated Agent

Copyright notices must go to our Designated Agent:

Copyright Agent
OpenStand, Inc.
1524 Sixth Avenue, Belmont, CA 94002
Email: support@openstand.co

Counter-notification

If your content was removed and you believe it was a mistake or misidentification, you can send a counter-notice to the Designated Agent that includes all of the following:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the material that was removed and the location where it appeared before removal.
3. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification.
4. Your name, mailing address, and phone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court for your district (or, if you're outside the United States, any judicial district in which OpenStand may be found), and that you'll accept service of process from the person who filed the original notice.

If we receive a valid counter-notice, we may restore the material in 10–14 business days, unless the original complainant tells us they've filed a court action to keep it down.

Repeat infringers

We will, in appropriate circumstances, disable or terminate the accounts of creators who repeatedly infringe others' copyrights.

Review criteria and feedback templates

When a piece doesn't meet discovery standards, we provide specific feedback. Here are the criteria we evaluate and the messages we send:

What this policy doesn't cover

We don't evaluate ideas. Whether we agree with your argument is irrelevant. We'll feature provocative, controversial, or unpopular viewpoints as long as they're presented thoughtfully and don't violate our platform rules. Intellectual diversity is a feature, not a bug.

We don't require credentials. You don't need to be a professional writer, a published author, or an expert in your subject. We care about the quality of the work, not the resume behind it.

We don't impose exclusivity. Your work on OpenStand is yours. You can also publish it elsewhere — on your blog, on Substack, wherever you like. We don't claim any rights beyond what's needed to display and distribute your work on our platform. If you do cross-post, we ask that you be transparent about it with readers (see "honest representation" above).

This policy is a living document and will evolve as the platform grows. Significant changes will be communicated to all creators. Questions or concerns: support@openstand.co