Community Guidelines

HotMic was built for the kind of conversations that don’t happen in comment sections — face-to-face, real-time, with people who actually care about the topic.

• Hot takes you’d actually say out loud.
• Debates that change minds — or at least sharpen them.
• Fandoms going deep on their thing.
• Voices that get talked over everywhere else.
• Curiosity, humor, and listening.

Every room is hosted by a person and joined by people who showed up to talk. Treat both like it.

• Disagree with the take, not the human.
• Don’t derail rooms you joined to disrupt.
• If a host sets a tone, honor it. Their room, their rules within ours.
• If you wouldn’t say it in your own room, don’t bring it into someone else’s.

You can argue with anyone about anything. You can’t target, dehumanize, or threaten people for who they are.

• No slurs, dehumanizing language, or hate-based attacks — including on protected characteristics like race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, or immigration status.
• No coordinated harassment, pile-ons, or brigades.
• No threats of violence, intimidation, or wishing harm.
• No content that glorifies violence against a group of people.

Live changes the stakes. Words land harder when there’s a real face on screen. Rooms work when hosts, panelists, and the audience all operate in good faith.

• Don’t broadcast nudity, sexual content, graphic violence, or self-harm imagery on camera.
• Don’t use live to harass an individual or coordinate against them.
• Hosts can mute, remove, or ban participants from their own rooms at any time.
• If you bring a guest on camera, get their consent — including for clipping.

Real identity makes the rooms real. We don’t require everyone to use their legal name, but we don’t allow accounts that exist to deceive.

• No impersonating other people, brands, or public figures.
• No fake accounts created to manipulate conversations.
• No undisclosed bot or AI-generated participation in rooms meant to feel human.
• Don’t pretend to be a member of a group you don’t belong to in order to inflame conversation about that group.

Some content is off the table entirely — not because we’re squeamish, but because it causes real-world harm.

• Zero tolerance for content that sexualizes minors. Reported to authorities and removed immediately.
• No content promoting or organizing real-world violence, terrorism, or extremist groups.
• No content encouraging self-harm, eating disorders, or suicide.
• No buying, selling, or trafficking people, drugs, weapons, or other illegal goods.
• No non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) of any kind.

HotMic is about live takes — but live doesn’t mean consequence-free. Don’t use the platform to weaponize lies.

• Don’t spread medical misinformation that could cause physical harm.
• Don’t spread false content designed to suppress voting or intimidate voters.
• Don’t share manipulated media (deepfakes, synthetic audio) designed to deceive viewers about real people or events.
• Don’t coordinate inauthentic activity to push a narrative.

Bring your work into rooms where it fits. Don’t flood them.

• No mass-DMing, automated posting, or follow-spam.
• No off-topic promotions in other people’s rooms.
• No engagement manipulation (buying, trading, or faking activity).
• Affiliate links and sponsored content must be clearly disclosed.

When something breaks the rules, we don’t want to be a black box. Here’s how enforcement works.

Action depends on what happened, whether it’s a first offense, and the impact on other people in the room.

If a room or person on HotMic is breaking the rules, tell us. Reports stay private and go straight to our trust & safety team.

The fastest way to act is to report from inside the room you’re in. You can also reach us anytime here.