When two real people disagree, the network has a job. When one of them refuses to be named, the network has a different job.
We are not a review site, a court, or a mob. We are a public, named group of humans who can vouch, witness, mediate, and — when private repair has been refused — disclose. Quietly when possible. Permanently when necessary. Bullying, name-calling, and anonymous attacks do not belong here and will not be tolerated.
What this network actually does
Three jobs, in this order, on every case: stand with the verified person, stand with the verified business, and stand against whoever refuses to be named. The order matters. Most cases end at job one or two and never become public.
Who do you advocate for?
The verified person against unaccountable platforms that lock people out with no human to call. The verified business against drive-by anonymous reviews from people who never paid. And both sides against the next party who refuses to be named.
Grounded in: EU DSA Art. 17 & 20 · UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 · US FTC Act §5 · Canada CPA / PIPEDAWhat about bullying, harassment, or name-calling?
Not tolerated. Idealism is for the idealist; this is real life with real receipts. A verified member who harasses another verified member loses vouching weight publicly on the first warning and loses network status on the second. The network is built so people can disagree firmly, in their own name, without it becoming a fight.
Enforced under: Network Conduct Standard · published on /reconcile/rulesWhat will you never do?
We will not host anonymous complaints — no receipt, no claim. We will not take money to hide a disclosed case, ever. We will not pretend criminal matters belong on a website: fraud, threats, and assault go to the police first and the network second.
Money rule: /reconcile/rules · Criminal triage: see /helpThe real laws this work stands on
Every claim a verified researcher files cites a statute, regulation, or platform policy that already exists. Nothing here is invented. The full map lives on the laws page; the short version is below.
Right to your own data, even when you are locked out
Lockout does not suspend your right to a copy of your data, in machine-readable form, within 30 days. The platform must respond. The regulator does enforce it.
EU/UK GDPR Art. 15 & 20 · California CPRA §1798.100 · Canada PIPEDA Principle 9 · Australia APP 12Right to a written reason for any restriction
A platform that disables or restricts an account must, in writing, tell you why — not in a templated email, in a "statement of reasons" specific enough to challenge.
EU Digital Services Act Art. 17 · DSA Art. 20 (internal complaints) · DSA Art. 21 (out-of-court settlement)Right not to be deceived by the terms-of-service
A platform that markets an account as recoverable and then makes recovery practically impossible is engaged in unfair or deceptive practice. Same legal idea, four different names in four different countries.
US FTC Act §5 · California CLRA §1770 · UK CRA 2015 Part 1 · Canada Competition Act §52 · Australia ACL §18Who is in the network
Anyone with a VID can join. Vouching weight grows with verified time, signed receipts, and resolved cases. It shrinks — publicly, with a dated note — when a vouch turns out to be wrong. The cost of being trusted is the cost of being honest about the times you weren't.
How do I join?
Three steps, in order:
- Open a free VID-anchored account at upgradeai.net/signup.
- Get two verified people to vouch for you, in person or on a Wall call.
- Pick a piece of work: witness a Wall call, write a plain-language template, mediate a case, contact a journalist, or join the researcher track.
Why three sites and not one
Identity, work, and money live on three separate sites by design, so a single failure does not topple the others. The interchange page explains the wiring. The short version: this site is the people, localpayments.io is the receipt, and upgradeai.net is the free account that anchors both.
Read the foundation → · See where the root lies · Become a researcher