Although rare, sometimes people post things online that suggest they’re either suicidal, may harm someone else, or are in physical danger.

Emergencies: Call 911

If you believe it’s an emergency- that someone is in immediate danger- call 911.

Non-Emergencies: Contact Admin/ Report to Us

If you see something to this effect and it is not an emergency, please use the report button or send an email to Just Asking. You may also report anonymously by logging out of answerMug and using the Contact Admin link at the bottom of a page.

In accordance with our privacy policy, we perform our own internal investigation and may make a determination to contact the authorities and supply them with information as needed. We also work with law enforcement agencies as they contact us for information.

That said, we also value privacy immensely. We can’t tell you what actions we’ve taken, nor can we provide you with personal info about other Muggers.

Suicide Risk

We’re not mental health professionals, so we cannot advise on mental health concerns. However, you may find the following resources helpful…

24-Hour Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Suicide Prevention Lifeline Website: www.SuicidePreventionLifeline.org

Lifeline Live Chat: www.SuicidePreventionLifeline.org/Chat

Links for Someone Considering Suicide: www.Metanoia.org/Suicide, www.HelpGuide.org

Non-Emergency Online Counseling (Discount Rates for Low-Income Individuals): BetterHelp.com           

Global Directory of Emergency Resources: www.BetterHelp.com/GetHelpNow

Risk to You or Others

Don’t assume someone is trolling if they’re talking about causing harm to others or say they’re in danger. If someone is threatening you or you have details on the individual making worrisome remarks, it may be beneficial for you to get in touch with a local law enforcement agency in addition to notifying answerMug. You may also find the following resources helpful…

Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

National Network to End Domestic Violence: (NNEDV) Safety Net Project: www.nnedv.org/safetynet

Safety Net Resources on Online Safety: www.techsafety.org/resources

Safety Net’s Technology Safety Materials: www.nnedv.org/safetynetdocs

Meet the Mods

Just Asking Site Owner/ Admin

Just Asking is available via email to answer questions and can help you with any issues you have around the site. She is the primary contact, no matter what issue you're facing. You can also use the report buttons by any piece of content or th Feedback tab to notify the admin if you see content that violates our TOS.

answerMug also has volunteers who help moderate specific areas of the site when they are online. They are regular members who have kindly agreed to assist. From time to time, you may receive feedback from the following people:

 

We do have a training program for moderators accept new "apprentice mods" as site demand necessitates. Tenured members with accounts in good standing (no suspensions or reprimands) who are interested in volunteering as a site mod may contact Just Asking to inquire about further requirements and present openings.

answerMug moderation may be different than some of the sites you are accustomed to. Each branch of the site may have a different moderation team and we rely on community feedback/ reporting to catch any potential issues.

Who Moderates the Site

Main Areas

Any of the main areas of the site, such as Q&A, are moderated by the answerMug admins. At this point, this only includes Just Asking. The admin team is responsible for all public areas, as well as any AM-sponsored group, such as Adultia, Free-for-All, and the Debate Room. Because of the amount of data on the site, it's not possible for the admins to see everything all the time. If you see something that you feel violates the site's rules, please send use the report button or send Just Asking a message so it can be investigated.

 

Features

Chat, blogs, photos and videos can each have individual moderators as well. For issues within any of these areas, you may contact Just Asking or use the report button. However, other admins and mods may also be on hand at times to manage content as they use the site. For a full list of current mods and admins, as well as which areas they manage, check the relevant FAQ/help page.

 

Groups

At one time, groups could be created by any member of answerMug and the group's creator became that group's admin, and he or she was responsible for all content management within the group. While we generally do not allow members to admin their own groups now, some of our prior group admins have been grandfathered in. You can check the members tab of any group to see if a group admin is identified. If one is listed, you may speak with that group admin about issues within the group. However, general site administrators are also available to help mediate issues and will take over administration of groups with no other admin and in cases where an acting admin is absent or non-responsive. 

 

We don't see everything on the site, so we really rely on YOU to help us keep answerMug a positive and welcoming place to be. Please notify us via the report buttons or email if you see offensive posts or personal attacks directed towards any member. Thanks! 

Consequences for Violations

Should you be found in violation of policy, the following consequences apply:

 

In Chat

Unintentional (we all slip up sometimes): 1st time - warning, 2nd time- 15 minute chat suspension, 3rd time- 1 hour chat suspension, 4th time- 24 hour chat suspension, 5th time- 2 day site suspension.

 

Intentional (all attacks on other users are considered intentional): 1st time- warning, 2nd time- 1 hour chat suspension, 3rd time- 24 hour chat suspension, 4th time- 48 hour site suspension. *Please note that if you are on a Main room/ Clean chat suspension, you are still permitted in the other chat rooms and on the rest of the site. However, should you continue to violate policy while already on a chat suspension, you will receive a 48 hour site suspension immediately.

 

Elsewhere on answerMug

We do not presently have the ability to move adult discussions to Adultia or Free-for-All. Please take this into consideration when you decide where to post your questions, as once a moderator has deleted content, it is gone forever.

 

Posting inappropriate content- Your post will be deleted and you will receive a note to place the content in a more appropriate area. If we believe the offense was intentional or it becomes habitual you will receive:

1st offense- Warning, 2nd offense- 48 hour site suspension, 3rd offense- suspension length will be determined by a vote of the moderators and may include permanent ban from answerMug.

 

Kindly keep in mind that we're all here to enjoy each others' company and hopefully learn a thing or two. The moderation team would prefer to not have to enforce any policies and we ask that you monitor yourselves so we don't have to.

 

It's also important to note that as answerMug grows, policies may change and moderators may have to make judgement calls and issue independent decisions as issues arise. Our moderators are volunteers who want answerMug to be a pleasant experience for everyone.

 

Please enjoy your Mug responsibly.

At this point in time, the Mug does not make a profit and is not operating as a traditional business does. Our moderators are volunteers and most of the site's funding is paid by the site admin. However, like any other "business" we have fees to pay to keep our lights on and keep up with development projects. 


We earn revenue from a few different areas. At this point in time, our biggest generator is the Taboola ads, which link to content around the web. You'll often see them on the bottom or side of a page and we get paid each time someone clicks on a story.


We also have banner ads that you'll see on the tops of pages, which work on a bidding system. Advertisers tend to look at our traffic and then decide what they're willing to pay for a day of advertising. So, in these cases, you help us pay our bills just by being here and using the site normally.


Members may also purchase credits to buy virtual gifts. We don't encourage this, though- we'd prefer that people earn credits by using the site. However, the can be bought fairly inexpensively for those who want to help the Mug and spread some joy around the site.


From time to time, we dabble in sponsorship as well. If you run a business and would like to advertise on answerMug or sponsor us, please use the link at the bottom of the page to contact the site admin.


Lastly, we also accept donations. These are processed by PayPal, so it's safe and secure. They protect your data and answerMug never even sees your credit card information. You don't need to have a PayPal account to help, and any amount is greatly appreciated. You can access the donation portal here.

When you interact in the Q&A, you'll notice that members have a number below their profile photos. This represents the number of posts they've made.

The Feedback tab can be used anytime you want to speak directly with the admin. It gives you the equivalent of a private inbox, where you can talk about your thoughts, ideas, or concerns and the admin will respond by either changing the status or commenting back to you.


You can use the Feedback tab for reporting issues as well, but please be sure to include a link to the troublesome content if you do.

Benedict Arnold was a no-good, dirty, rotten, traitor who deflected during the Revolutionary War.


Ooh... you mean here on answerMug? That's the account name that becomes associated with content when someone closes their account or gets deleted by an admin. Sure, we could just call them "deleted members" or "former members," but where's the fun in that?


If you'd like to read more about the traitor, feel free to browse the Wikipedia page about him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Arnold

There is no 100% accurate way to tell who is online at any given time, due to privacy settings. You can see who is available for private chats, as well as the total number of people logged into the instant message chat, but it's not a reflection of who is on the site or who is in the chatrooms.


We also have "Active Now" boxes throughout the site and you can search the Member Directory, but neither of these will show Muggers who have opted to go incognito on the site. 

Of course freedom of speech applies on answerMug, but a whole lot of people don't understand what that really means. It is a right guaranteed to Americans in the First Amendment of the Constitution. It reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

In other words, the Constitution promises Americans that Congress won't prevent you from speaking freely, but there are still caveats to this. For example, you can't yell "fire" in a public place when there is no danger. You also can't use "fighting words" or threats. This has been upheld by the courts repeatedly. You can be charged with a crime if you call someone a name and you can face legal consequences for it. There's more information on the exceptions to the First Amendment here: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/95-815.pdf.



With all that said, answerMug is a privately-owned site, and we're obviously not congress. We can place restrictions on the type of content we allow, and we do.


Our rules are a whole lot like the exceptions to the First Amendment. You can speak freely, but you need to be respectful of others and focus on the topic, not the people involved in the discussion. More guidelines are provided in our Terms of Service.

In short, you can't. We rely on our members to help keep answerMug a fun and inviting place to be, and we ask all members to report issues when they see them. 


Content is never removed because it was reported. Although our reporting system can alert a mod/ admin when something needs to be checked, the final decision is always made by a mod/ admin. Content may be removed after a report is made and checked by a mod/ admin or it may be removed if a mod/ admin saw the material during his/ her normal use of the site. If someone tipped us off about problematic content, we won't reveal the source.
 

If there was an issue with your content, an admin or mod should have notified you of what was removed and how it violated the TOS. Although we cannot reinstate content we've deleted, you may still contact the admin if you feel there was an error you'd like addressed or if you didn't receive a message from a mod/ admin about the removal of your content. 

If you look at someone's photo on their profile page and see an icon or image in the lower right corner, it's probably a gift.


Members can earn credits to send their friends virtual gifts. The member can choose to highlight one gift they've received by adding it to their profile photo.

In short, the community runs answerMug. The site was founded on the principles that everyone should feel safe expressing their opinions, and that by providing a welcoming environment for all, everyone would become better informed. Respect for each other and exchanging of knowledge are the most important things and anything else, aside from potential legal issues, can change depending on what the community wants.

On a more official scale, the site is privately owned by "Just Asking," the admin. Long-term members with proven track records for fairness and ethical behavior also help moderate specific areas of the site. These people are unpaid volunteers who help keep an eye on things during their normal use of the site, so we don't give them official duties or jobs. We're just glad that they're here. 

Regular members of answerMug also help out by reporting issues, providing feedback, and voting for improvements or policy changes as things come up. We make a point of including everyone and welcome feedback because we simply wouldn't be here if there weren't wonderful people like you. :)

Our Mission at answerMug:

To bring people of different interests together from around the world while striving to surpass our members' expectations through peaceful interactions, integrity, innovation and trustworthy services.

Start by signing up.  There may be a brief period of time while your account is waiting authorization from an admin before you can begin posting, but you will receive an e-mail as soon as you're approved. Once that happens, jump in wherever you'd like. It's not a bad idea to browse the FAQ some more and review the tutorials while you wait.

Anyone who is over the age of 14 and promises to uphold the community standard of maintaining a positive environment can join answerMug. Trolls will be shot on sight.

AnswerMug is more than a question and answer website. We are a community dedicated to sharing knowledge through positive interaction. Asking and answering questions is a given, but we also offer social networking, blogging, video/picture sharing chat (group chat, private instant messaging, video chat and voice chat), special-interest groups and more. Membership is free, though we do ask Muggers to remain respectful and help maintain the positive juju we have going on here.

The best place to learn all of the rules is on our Terms of Service page, but here's a quick rundown to get you started:

 

Please respect all other muggers and their beliefs. Yes, we're a diverse bunch, but there's no reason we can't get along peacefully.  It's ok to disagree- perhaps even healthy, but it's never ok to attack or belittle any individual or group.

 

All of the main areas are intended to be fun for everyone. This is why we don't allow cursing, discussions of a sexual nature or discussions promoting illegal drug use in the Q&A, the Main/clean chat, the blogs, the pictures or the videos. Pornography and nudity is not permitted either. Yet, we understand that muggers sometimes need to let loose and this is why we offer adultMug and Free-for-All.

 

Should you be found in violation of policy, the following consequences apply:

 

In Chat

Unintentional (we all slip up sometimes): 1st time - warning, 2nd time- 15 minute chat suspension, 3rd time- 1 hour chat suspension, 4th time- 24 hour chat suspension, 5th time- 2 day site suspension.

 

In regards to cursing in chat (drum-roll, please...): Censored cursing is permitted, provided you only use the first letter and asterisks on the rest and not to excess, excess being defined as no more than three times in a five minute period.  Not following these guidelines is subject to the aforementioned penalties and is considered an intentional violation of the chat rules.

 

Intentional (all attacks on other users are considered intentional): 1st time- warning, 2nd time- 1 hour chat suspension, 3rd time- 24 hour chat suspension, 4th time- 48 hour site suspension. *Please note that if you are on a Main room/ Clean chat suspension, you are still permitted in the other chat rooms and on the rest of the site. However, should you continue to violate policy while already on a chat suspension, you will receive a 48 hour site suspension immediately.

 

Elsewhere on answerMug

We do not presently have the ability to move adult discussions to Adultia or Free-for-All. Please take this into consideration when you decide where to post your questions, as once a moderator has deleted content, it is gone forever.

 

Posting inappropriate content- Your post will be deleted and you will receive a note to place the content in a more appropriate area. If we believe the offense was intentional or it becomes habitual you will receive:

1st offense- Warning, 2nd offense- 48 hour site suspension, 3rd offense- suspension length will be determined by a vote of the moderators and may include permanent ban from answerMug.

 

Kindly keep in mind that we're all here to enjoy each others' company and hopefully learn a thing or two. The moderation team would prefer to not have to enforce any policies and we ask that you monitor yourselves so we don't have to.

 

It's also important to note that as answerMug grows, policies may change and moderators may have to make judgement calls and issue independent decisions as issues arise. Our moderators are volunteers who want answerMug to be a pleasant experience for everyone.

 

Please enjoy your Mug responsibly.