Forum Topics

How Forum Topics Are Curated and Moderated

A structured, ethical, and geography-aware approach to civic conversation.

Forums are one of the most important elements of CanuckDUCK.
They’re where residents exchange ideas, raise concerns, ask questions, and contribute to community solutions.

But forums can also be where conversations drift, escalate, or become overwhelming — especially when civic topics touch on sensitive or emotionally loaded issues.

To keep discussions meaningful, safe, and rooted in real communities, CanuckDUCK uses a multi-layered curation and moderation system grounded in:

geography
taxonomy
user consent
ethical AI screening
slow, deliberate human moderation
transparency
structural safeguards

This chapter explains exactly how that system works.

1. Geography First: Topics Are Always Anchored to Place

Unlike traditional forums where topics float freely, CanuckDUCK treats forums as place-based conversations.

A user lands in a forum only after choosing a location:

/ca/ab/calgary/sunnyside/forums

From that moment forward, everything in that forum is scoped to:

that province
that municipality
that community

This ensures:

conversations remain relevant
discussions maintain local context
topics don’t drift into unrelated areas
users know exactly what civic environment they’re speaking within

This geographic anchoring is one of the strongest tools for keeping discussions organized and meaningful.

2. The “Museum Model”: How Topic Navigation Works

Once a user enters a forum category, CanuckDUCK uses the museum and exhibit metaphor (conceptually, not in UI text).

Entering a forum = entering a curated civic space.

Inside this space, users see:

D1 level: national or provincial parent category
D2 level: topic subcategories
D3 level: the actual discussion threads

This three-tier structure creates:

organized conversations
clear thematic grouping
predictable navigation
consent-based engagement (users must “enter the museum” intentionally)

It also ensures that sensitive topics are not stumbled into — they are chosen deliberately.

3. Curation Through Taxonomy: Topics Never Get Lost

Every forum thread is tied to a strict taxonomy tree.
This means:

a topic cannot drift into another category
the path always leads you back where you came from
context is preserved
navigation remains repeatable

If a topic belongs to Education → Youth Athletics → Academic Balance, it always lives there.

This solves one of social media’s biggest failures:
topic fragmentation and loss of context.

4. Ethical AI Screening: Protecting Users From Over-Disclosure

Because CanuckDUCK is built around anonymous civic participation, users may occasionally share:

excessive personal details
identifying information
information about others
sensitive health or legal content that shouldn't be public

To protect residents, CanuckDUCK uses AI screening with strict rules:

The AI checks:

signs of personal identity disclosure
names, addresses, personal workplaces
legal case details that could harm someone’s privacy
doxxing or accusations
suicidal or harmful statements

The AI does not:

judge opinions
censor political viewpoints
rewrite content
infer identity
flag based on disagreement

The AI flags, but never acts alone.

A human moderator reviews any flagged items.
This is intentional.
Moderation must be thoughtful, not automated and punitive.

5. Slow Moderation: The Anti-Algorithm Approach

CanuckDUCK rejects the “instant moderation” model used by major platforms.

Instant moderation fuels:

rage amplification
knee-jerk bans
culture wars
inconsistent enforcement

Instead, CanuckDUCK is designed to be slow, calm, and thoughtful.

Flagged content flows to a queue where moderators:

take their time
review context
assess geography
evaluate civic impact
communicate back when necessary

This reduces:

false positives
emotional escalations
misunderstandings
reactionary moderation
weaponized reporting

The goal is not “control” — it is stability.

6. Community Signals and Resident Input

Moderation also allows for resident input.

Users can flag:

misinformation
harassment
threats
inappropriate content
off-topic drift

Flags are not “vote-to-delete.”
They’re signals, not verdicts.

Moderators use these signals as:

indicators of community discomfort
potential misunderstandings
invitations for clarification
prompts for content review

This reinforces a civic model where residents help maintain their forums — not through punishment, but through care.

7. Role-Based Moderation Across Subdomains

Because identity is pairwise pseudonymous, moderation roles also exist per subdomain.

A moderator in Pond does not automatically gain rights in:

Communities
Consensus
Flightplan
Ducklings

Each subdomain has its own moderation structure, tailored to its purpose.

For example:

Communities focuses on local civic issues
Pond hosts national and provincial policy debates
Consensus handles research-focused discussions
Ducklings has youth-friendly safeguards
Flightplan covers development projects and public notices

This ensures moderation expertise matches the topic area.

8. Topic Evolution: How Threads Grow Without Collapsing

Discussions naturally evolve.
But they should never “run away.”

To maintain coherence:

The system detects when a thread is diverging.

If a subtopic grows large enough:

moderators may branch it into a new thread
the taxonomy is updated
the discussion retains its lineage
the old thread receives a pointer to the new one

This prevents:

sprawling mega-threads
heated arguments overtaking calm discussions
a single conversation swallowing an entire category

Topic evolution is managed intentionally — not impulsively.

9. Transparency by Design

Moderation logs are not hidden behind corporate walls.

CanuckDUCK embraces transparency:

moderators operate with clear guidelines
actions include contextual explanations
users can request clarification
the community trusts the process

Because the platform operates in civic space, not commercial space, moderation must follow civic ethics:

responsibility
fairness
patience
clarity

10. The Philosophy Behind Moderation

CanuckDUCK exists to strengthen communities — not to amplify noise.

Forums are designed to feel:

safe
respectful
structured
purposeful
calm

They are not arenas for:

outrage
viral drama
anonymous hostility
rapid-fire content streams

By combining geography, taxonomy, ethical AI, slow moderation, and privacy-preserving identity, CanuckDUCK aims to elevate civic conversation rather than diminish it.

This is not “social media.”
This is civic infrastructure.