Signal Publishing Rules
Signal Publishing Rules
Signal is where users publish and read local business information — observations, professional views, local updates, and Task-derived findings. It works because authors take real responsibility for what they publish. This page sets out what makes a Signal useful, what an author is responsible for, and how comments, corrections, and other contributions fit into it. It does not restate Community Rules or Prohibited Activities; for broader conduct expectations and the specific list of what's not allowed, see those pages.
What Makes a Useful Signal
A useful Signal is grounded in something the author actually knows or has directly observed, placed into one of six fixed categories — industry knowledge, local updates, market updates, opportunities and needs, practical experience, and professional views — and written clearly enough that a reader unfamiliar with the specific situation can understand it. A Signal may be public or restricted to subscribers, where that access setting is available; either way, its value comes from being specific, current, and honestly sourced rather than vague or recycled from elsewhere.
Publish What You Know
Authors should publish content they honestly believe is accurate, based on what they actually know or can support — not speculation dressed up as fact. If a Signal describes a Task-derived finding, that Task-derived provenance is limited to what the underlying Task evidence actually observed and its stated boundaries — not a broader claim about the situation. Material uncertainty should be identified rather than smoothed over, and content that turns out to be materially inaccurate should be corrected or withdrawn.
Observation, Opinion and Inference
A Signal should make clear what is direct observation, what is the author's opinion, and what is inference drawn from limited information — readers rely on that distinction to judge how much weight to give it. Presenting an inference or a guess as an established fact, or an opinion as something everyone would independently confirm, misleads readers even when the underlying information is genuine.
Observation
Direct observation.
Opinion
The author's opinion.
Inference
Inference drawn from limited information.
Sources and Provenance
Where a Signal relies on a source — a document, a conversation, another publication, a Task finding — the author should be clear about what that source actually supports. Fabricating a source, or citing one that doesn't actually say what the Signal claims, is not permitted.
Provenance or source-context labels describe the available source or evidence basis and its scope; they are not a guarantee of universal truth, completeness, or ongoing accuracy, and ONETO does not use popularity, follower counts, or upvotes as a substitute for these labels.
Commercial Interests
If an author has a material commercial interest in what they're publishing — they sell the product, represent the company, stand to benefit from the outcome — that interest should be disclosed rather than concealed. A Signal is not the place to promise investment returns, guaranteed commercial outcomes, or undisclosed paid promotion; readers are entitled to know when they're reading a professional observation versus a pitch.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Authors are responsible for the privacy and confidentiality implications of what they publish. Personal, private, or confidential information about another person or organization should not appear in a Signal without the authority to disclose it, and a Signal must not be used to expose private information, unlawfully track someone, or misuse personal data about them. Where an author owes a duty of confidentiality — to an employer, a client, or under a professional obligation — that duty is the author's responsibility to observe, not something ONETO screens for before publication.
Professional and Regulated Information
Signals are informational content, not professional advice. Unless a separately engaged, lawfully authorized professional is expressly providing services under applicable rules, a Signal is not investment, legal, tax, financial, medical, or regulatory advice, and ONETO does not guarantee its accuracy, completeness, or suitability for a reader's situation. An author with a reviewed professional qualification may reference it accurately, but platform review of that qualification is limited to display purposes — it is not a license to give regulated advice through Signal, and readers should verify anything they intend to rely on with a qualified professional or the relevant registry.
Comments and Contributions
Signal supports several structured ways to contribute beyond a plain comment, plus one level of threaded replies. These exist to make a Signal more useful over time, not to argue with the author's right to have published it. Comments should stay relevant, honest, and civil, consistent with Community Rules; comment authors are responsible for what they contribute in the same way Signal authors are responsible for the original content.
Corrections and Updates
If new information changes what a published Signal says, or the author realizes something was materially wrong, the responsible thing is to correct or update it rather than leave a stale or misleading Signal standing. Suggested corrections from readers are one of the structured comment types; the original author remains responsible for deciding whether and how to act on them.
Translation
Public Signal content may be translated automatically by an external provider so it can reach readers in other languages. This applies to public content only; Signal does not automatically translate private messages.
Automated translation can be wrong — the original content remains authoritative, and readers relying on a translated Signal for something important should check the original or a qualified human translation.
Paid Access / Subscription Boundary
Some Signal content can be restricted to subscribers, and the product includes a subscription offer, pricing, and entitlement structure for that. Today, this is not cash-live, and a subscription record or UI access state should not be treated as proof of a real payment. Real-money subscription capability depends on a separately approved, connected payment integration that is not deployed today.
Current boundary
- Not cash-live
- No real charge
- No creator payout
- No subscription commission
- No live payment integration
Records and Traceability
A published Signal, its edits, comments, and reports are kept as platform records, which supports understanding what was published, when, and by whom. These records document platform activity — they are not an independent guarantee that the underlying content is true, complete, or will remain accurate over time.
Problems and Reporting
Signal content and Signal comments can be reported in-product for a specific reason — spam, privacy or confidential information, an unsupported accusation, harassment, a malicious link, or another concern. See Reports & Appeals for the current scope of what's supported and what isn't yet built.
Available today
In-product reporting for Signal content and Signal comments, recorded for review where operationally supported.
What a report does not do
Submitting a report does not itself remove content or establish that something was wrong with it; today, the only removal action available directly in the product is the author removing their own Signal or comment.
Signal works because authors take real responsibility for what they publish, and readers treat it as informational rather than a guarantee. These rules describe how to publish well; for broader conduct expectations across ONETO, see Community Rules, and for what's not allowed anywhere on the platform, see Prohibited Activities.