Trust & safety — operator orientation
Orientation for anyone who touches safety@, moderation, or user distress—separate from the media licensing track but sometimes linked (e.g. harassment built around a letter).
Golden line: Dear Nobody is not a crisis service, not a court, and not a substitute for law enforcement when someone is in immediate danger.
Public anchors
- Community Guidelines — what belongs in the Mailbox and what does not.
- Contact — safety@ for “Privacy & Safety” with priority response expectation.
- Crisis resources — share with users in distress; you are not their clinician.
- Law enforcement guidelines — for agencies, not for arguing with users.
Intake habits
- Acknowledge receipt when your process requires it (even a short “we received this”).
- Do not promise outcomes you cannot control (“we will definitely remove…”); say you’re reviewing per Guidelines/Terms.
- Preserve context—thread ID, timestamps, URLs—especially if counsel or LE may become involved.
- Separate emotional support from policy: be kind, then be accurate. Link Crisis when appropriate.
When safety overlaps media
Example: a writer reports a YouTube video that reads their letter in a harassing context. That may involve safety@ triage and a check in media@ for whether a license ever existed. Use Escalation matrix; do not let two teammates contradict each other in separate threads—internal coordination first.
CSAM / imminent harm
Follow your legal obligations and the site’s CSAM & mandatory reporting section. If you are not trained for this, your only job is to notify the designated person immediately and preserve material per policy—do not investigate alone.