Curation

Guide to operating Lighthouse as a content curator.

What is a Curator?

A curator is a trusted entity that:

Reviews incoming content
Applies moderation rulesets
Signs verification decisions
Publishes decisions for others to consume

Curators are the "human filters" in the Web of Trust model.

Becoming a Curator

Prerequisites

A Nostr identity (npub/nsec)
A Lighthouse instance
Understanding of the content you're curating
Commitment to consistent moderation

Setup Steps

Configure Strict Trust
```
trust:
  depth: 0  # Whitelist only
```

Enable Tag Filtering (optional)

indexer:
  tag_filter_enabled: true
  tag_filter:
    - movies
    - tv

Import or Create Rulesets
Start Processing Content

Rulesets

Rulesets define moderation policies. There are two types:

Censoring Rulesets

Deterministic blocking rules. Rejections always take priority.

Code	Description
`LEGAL_DMCA`	Documented DMCA takedown
`LEGAL_ILLEGAL`	Manifestly illegal content
`ABUSE_SPAM`	Spam or flooding
`ABUSE_MALWARE`	Malicious content

Semantic Rulesets

Quality and classification rules. Aggregation policy applies.

Code	Description
`SEM_DUPLICATE_EXACT`	Exact duplicate (same infohash)
`SEM_DUPLICATE_PROBABLE`	Same files, different event
`SEM_BAD_META`	Incomplete metadata
`SEM_LOW_QUALITY`	Below quality threshold
`SEM_CATEGORY_MISMATCH`	Wrong category

Creating Rulesets

Ruleset Structure

{
  "name": "Movie Curation Ruleset",
  "type": "semantic",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Quality rules for movie torrents",
  "author": "npub1...",
  "rules": [
    {
      "id": "min-size",
      "name": "Minimum Size",
      "type": "threshold",
      "field": "size",
      "operator": "gte",
      "value": 100000000,
      "reason_code": "SEM_LOW_QUALITY",
      "priority": 10
    }
  ]
}

Rule Types

Pattern Rules

Match against text fields.

{
  "type": "pattern",
  "field": "name",
  "operator": "contains",
  "value": "CAM",
  "reason_code": "SEM_LOW_QUALITY"
}

Operators: equals, contains, starts_with, ends_with, regex

Threshold Rules

Compare numeric values.

{
  "type": "threshold",
  "field": "size",
  "operator": "gte",
  "value": 100000000,
  "reason_code": "SEM_LOW_QUALITY"
}

Operators: eq, ne, gt, gte, lt, lte

List Rules

Match against lists.

{
  "type": "list",
  "field": "tags",
  "operator": "contains_any",
  "value": ["spam", "fake"],
  "reason_code": "ABUSE_SPAM"
}

Operators: contains_any, contains_all, contains_none

Available Fields

Field	Type	Description
`name`	string	Torrent name
`size`	integer	Size in bytes
`category`	integer	Torznab category
`tags`	array	Nostr tags
`pubkey`	string	Publisher's npub
`created_at`	timestamp	Publication time

Importing Rulesets

Via UI

Go to Curation page
Click Import Ruleset
Paste JSON content
Review and save

Via API

curl -X POST http://localhost:9999/api/rulesets \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @ruleset.json

From URL

curl -X POST http://localhost:9999/api/rulesets/import \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com/ruleset.json"}'

Verification Decisions

When content is processed, a decision is created:

{
  "decision_id": "abc123",
  "decision": "accept",
  "reason_codes": [],
  "ruleset_type": "semantic",
  "ruleset_version": "1.0.0",
  "ruleset_hash": "sha256...",
  "target_event_id": "nostr_event_id",
  "target_infohash": "aabbccdd...",
  "curator_pubkey": "npub1...",
  "signature": "ed25519_sig...",
  "created_at": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"
}

Decision Flow

Content → Censoring Rules → Semantic Rules → Decision → Sign → Publish

Signing Decisions

Decisions are signed with your nsec:

signature = Ed25519.Sign(privateKey, decisionHash)

The signature proves:

You made the decision
The decision hasn't been tampered with
The exact ruleset version was used

Publishing Decisions

Decisions can be published to Nostr relays.

Enable Publishing

curator:
  publish_decisions: true
  publish_relays:
    - "wss://relay.example.com"

Decision Event Format

Decisions are published as Kind 30172 events:

{
  "kind": 30172,
  "content": "{decision_json}",
  "tags": [
    ["d", "decision_id"],
    ["infohash", "aabbccdd..."],
    ["decision", "accept"],
    ["ruleset", "semantic", "1.0.0", "sha256..."]
  ],
  "pubkey": "curator_pubkey",
  "sig": "signature"
}

Handling Reports

Curators receive reports from users.

Report Flow

User submits report → Report queued → Curator reviews → Decision updated

Review Process

Go to Reports page
Review pending reports
Acknowledge report (marks as seen)
Investigate if needed
Resolve or reject

Report Categories

Category	Description
`dmca`	DMCA takedown request
`illegal`	Illegal content
`spam`	Spam or flooding
`malware`	Malicious content
`false_info`	Incorrect metadata
`duplicate`	Duplicate content
`other`	Other issues

Appeals

Users can appeal decisions.

Appeal Flow

User submits appeal → Appeal queued → Curator reviews → Decision reconsidered

Handling Appeals

Review appeal evidence
Re-evaluate original decision
Update decision if warranted
Respond with resolution

Best Practices

Consistency

Apply rules consistently
Document your policies
Use versioned rulesets
Communicate changes

Transparency

Publish your ruleset publicly
Explain rejection reasons
Respond to appeals fairly

Specialization

Consider focusing on specific content:

Movie Curator - Film-focused rules
Linux Curator - Open source software
Music Curator - Audio releases

Collaboration

Share rulesets with other curators
Coordinate on legal takedowns
Build reputation through quality

Ruleset Examples

Basic Quality Filter

{
  "name": "Basic Quality",
  "type": "semantic",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "rules": [
    {
      "id": "min-size",
      "name": "Minimum Size (100MB)",
      "type": "threshold",
      "field": "size",
      "operator": "gte",
      "value": 100000000,
      "reason_code": "SEM_LOW_QUALITY"
    },
    {
      "id": "no-cam",
      "name": "No CAM Releases",
      "type": "pattern",
      "field": "name",
      "operator": "regex",
      "value": "\\bCAM\\b",
      "reason_code": "SEM_LOW_QUALITY"
    }
  ]
}

Anti-Spam Filter

{
  "name": "Anti-Spam",
  "type": "censoring",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "rules": [
    {
      "id": "spam-tags",
      "name": "Spam Tags",
      "type": "list",
      "field": "tags",
      "operator": "contains_any",
      "value": ["spam", "fake", "virus"],
      "reason_code": "ABUSE_SPAM"
    },
    {
      "id": "spam-names",
      "name": "Spam Names",
      "type": "pattern",
      "field": "name",
      "operator": "regex",
      "value": "(\\bFREE\\b.*\\bDOWNLOAD\\b|\\bCLICK\\s+HERE\\b)",
      "reason_code": "ABUSE_SPAM"
    }
  ]
}

Metrics

Track your curation effectiveness:

Metric	Description
Decisions/day	Volume processed
Accept rate	% accepted
Appeal rate	% decisions appealed
Overturn rate	% appeals resulting in change

Next Steps

Federation - Multi-curator deployment
Web of Trust - Trust system
API Reference - Automation

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