When we first started this place, it was open.
Anyone could post anything. We saw Threads that didn't quite make sense. Threads about rabbits, obscure cookbooks, ██████, strange shapes in static, you name it. It was weird, and really hard to navigate. Then topics began disappearing. Whole discussions blinked out mid-sentence. At first, we blamed ourselves—server errors, maybe, or a prank.
But when it kept happening, our small moderator team of three decided to test it. We trimmed down voluntarily—thank you to Mun and LikeTheTree—so I could be sure nobody was tampering with the board. Even then, topics vanished. No logs, no deletions. Just gone. We learned the hard way that some things cannot be spoken here, almost as if the forum itself will not allow them.
So, for a long time, our “investigations” stayed light. We documented, we observed, and we avoided pushing too far. We lost users, too. Some came asking for help and never came back. I told myself it was for safety’s sake—better to stay ignorant than disappear ourselves.
But after much consideration, group deliberation, and in light of recent events, that’s changing.
Red Thread is moving toward a more proactive approach.
From now on, if you know something, share it. If you can keep someone safe, do it.
We’ve added a [ REDACT ] feature (no spaces). Use it. Protect sensitive details, but share what you can. The rest of us will find ways to fill in the blanks without triggering deletions. We’re adapting.
That said, the old precautions still stand: mirrors, timestamps, messages from “friends”, you know the drill. Follow them. If you notice new phenomena tied to posting or layout shifts, document them safely and let me know in the anomaly section. If you see a post that needs to be vaulted, rather than post in that topic, post in the anomaly section.
Understand that this next stage will get messy. Strange advice will circulate. People will contradict each other. That’s fine. Common sense is your only real weapon here.
Trust will matter more than ever. I will vouch for certain users based on history. Don’t take it personally—this is an old-school space. You earn it through time and what you post. And I may need help moderating in the future.
The goal hasn’t changed: we keep each other safe, we keep the truth from rotting.
Everything else… we’ll figure out as we go.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Re: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
This post has been added to our permanent Welcome To the Darkness thread, but as comments are not allowed on that, and this is a huge change, I've also included the announcement here.