Code of Ethics & Community Standards

ReaderMagnet exists to help indie authors build genuine readerships. That only works if every review on this platform is honest. Here is exactly how we operate, what we enforce, and how our AI moderation system works.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon or Kindle Direct Publishing.

Our Six Principles

KDP & Amazon TOS Compliant

ReaderMagnet is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Amazon or Kindle Direct Publishing. All features are designed to comply with Amazon's Terms of Service. We never facilitate, encourage, or enable the exchange of reviews for compensation — direct or indirect.

Zero Tolerance for Fake Reviews

We have a strict zero-tolerance policy for fake, incentivized, or coordinated reviews. The Reading Circle's 8-prompt feedback system is craft feedback — it is explicitly not a review exchange. Authors are encouraged to leave honest reviews on their own time, independently, without any expectation of reciprocity.

No Quid-Pro-Quo

The Reading Circle operates on a community goodwill model. Claiming a book does not obligate the author of that book to read yours. Submitting feedback does not entitle you to feedback in return. Participation is voluntary and contribution-based.

Honest Craft Feedback Only

The 8-prompt response system is designed to produce honest, constructive craft feedback — not marketing copy or review content. Responses are shared privately between authors. Authors choose whether to make anonymized responses public.

Community Standards

All members agree to treat fellow authors with respect. Harassment, plagiarism, and bad-faith participation result in immediate removal. We reserve the right to remove any member who violates these standards without refund.

Transparency in Promotion

Featured shelf placement is a paid marketing feature — not an editorial endorsement. Featured books are clearly labeled. We do not claim to curate or vouch for the quality of featured titles.

Acceptable Use

What You Should Do

  • ✓Read books you genuinely want to read
  • ✓Leave honest, constructive craft feedback
  • ✓Participate in good faith
  • ✓Report bad actors to our support team
  • ✓Leave independent reviews on Amazon/Goodreads on your own time
  • ✓Write specific, detailed ARC reviews that mention plot, characters, or writing style
  • ✓Disclose that you received a free ARC copy when posting your review

What You Must Never Do

  • ✕Exchange reviews for reviews
  • ✕Leave reviews in exchange for Reading Circle participation
  • ✕Coordinate review campaigns with other members
  • ✕Post fake, AI-generated, or misleading reviews anywhere
  • ✕Use ReaderMagnet to game Amazon's review system
  • ✕Ask ARC reviewers to leave only positive reviews
  • ✕Submit copy-paste or generic reviews that could apply to any book
  • ✕Create multiple accounts to inflate your reviewer trust score

How Our AI Moderation Works

ReaderMagnet uses an AI-powered behavior scanning system to proactively detect policy violations before they harm the community. Here is exactly what it scans for and how it works.

Review Text Analysis

Every review submitted through ReaderMagnet is scanned by our AI moderation engine before it counts toward a reviewer's trust score. The system checks for AI-generated text patterns, generic non-specific language, review swap solicitation, and incentivized review language.

Behavioral Pattern Detection

Our system monitors reviewer activity over time for velocity abuse (multiple reviews submitted within hours), copy-paste patterns across campaigns, and suspicious clustering. Reviewers with unusual patterns are automatically flagged for human review.

Author Campaign Scanning

ARC campaign instructions are scanned before publication to detect requests for biased reviews, review swap solicitation, or coercive language. Authors whose campaigns contain manipulation language are notified and required to revise before the campaign goes live.

Human Review of All Flags

AI flags are never acted on automatically. Every flag is reviewed by a human moderator before any action is taken. We believe in due process — users are given the opportunity to explain their behavior before a warning or ban is issued.

Important: Our AI scanner scores reviews on specificity, length, and relevance — not sentiment. A well-written 1-star review will pass. A generic 5-star review may not. We are enforcing quality, not positivity.

Enforcement Process

1

Automated Warning

Tier 1

First-time low-severity flags trigger an automated educational notice explaining the policy and what needs to change. No account restrictions.

2

Formal Warning

Tier 2

Repeated or medium-severity violations result in a formal warning from our moderation team. The specific behavior is documented and the user is informed.

3

Feature Restriction

Tier 3

High-severity violations or repeated warnings result in temporary restriction from specific features (e.g., ARC campaigns, Reading Circle) while the account remains active.

4

Permanent Ban

Tier 4

Confirmed fake review schemes, harassment, or repeated serious violations result in permanent account termination. Bans are not eligible for refund.

What ReaderMagnet Is NOT

ReaderMagnet is not a review service. We do not sell reviews, broker reviews, guarantee reviews, or connect authors with paid reviewers. We are fundamentally different from services like Pubby, BookReverb, AuthenticBookReviews, or Gemsy.

Paid Review Services

  • • Charge readers or authors per review
  • • Guarantee a certain number of reviews
  • • Create a marketplace for review exchanges
  • • Incentivize positive reviews with credits/rewards
  • • May violate Amazon's Terms of Service

ReaderMagnet (What We Do)

  • • Helps authors distribute ARC copies to readers
  • • Manages email lists and reader magnets
  • • Provides tools for newsletter swaps and promotions
  • • Educates reviewers on Amazon's Code of Conduct
  • • Never guarantees, incentivizes, or brokers reviews

ARC reviews are legitimate. Amazon's Community Guidelines explicitly permit reviews of products received for free, provided the reviewer discloses this and shares their honest opinion. An ARC review is not a paid review — the reviewer receives a free copy of a pre-release book and is under no obligation to leave a positive review (or any review at all). This is the same process used by every major publisher in the world.

See Something? Say Something.

If you witness a member violating these ethics — fake reviews, quid-pro-quo arrangements, or harassment — please report it. We investigate every report within 48 hours.

Report a Concern

Last updated: May 2026 · ReaderMagnet is operated by Taciturn Studios LLC · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service