Reporting An Advertiser

This page explains how ads can be reported, flagged, and—when necessary—removed from the network. It also covers the economic incentives that discourage abuse while rewarding honest moderation.

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1. Purpose

The reporting system protects users and the platform by providing a community-driven mechanism to flag ads that violate policy during an active rental period. It balances three goals:

1. Fast reaction to harmful content.

2. Economic deterrence against malicious or frivolous reports.

3. Fair remediation for advertisers who are incorrectly flagged.

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2. Key Variables (Admin-Configurable)

Variable	Description
Report Fee	Small fee paid per report to discourage spam.
Report Threshold	Number of reports required before an ad can be forcibly removed.
Removal Deposit	Stake the reporter must lock when calling removeFlaggedAd. Ensures only confident reporters act.
Successful Removal Reward	Bonus paid to a reporter when a valid removal is confirmed.

All four values are on-chain variables that can be adjusted through an adminSetConfig instruction.

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3. Lifecycle Overview

flowchart LR
    A[Advertiser wins auction & starts rental period] --> B[reportCount = 0]
    B --> C[Users may submit reports (pay Report Fee)]
    C -->|reportCount ≥ threshold| D[removeFlaggedAd may be invoked <br> (reporter locks Removal Deposit)]
    D --> E{Admin review}
    E -->|Ad OK| F[Return full escrow + Removal Deposit to Advertiser]
    E -->|Ad violates| G[Return Removal Deposit + Reward to Reporter]\nSend remaining escrow to Treasury

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4. Detailed Workflow

4.1 Rental Period Begins

• The advertiser wins an auction and sends rental payment to an escrow account.

• reportCount for that advertiser’s slot is reset to 0.

4.2 Submitting Reports

• Any wallet can call reportAd(adSlot).

• The caller pays the Report Fee (burned or sent to treasury).

• On success, reportCount += 1 for the current rental period.

4.3 Reaching the Threshold

• When reportCount ≥ Report Threshold, the ad becomes flagged.

• Flagged status alone does not remove the ad; it only unlocks the next step.

4.4 Initiating Removal

• Any wallet may now call removeFlaggedAd(adSlot).

• The caller must attach the Removal Deposit.

• If the instruction is accepted:

  • The remaining rental time is forfeited.

  • A new auction for that slot begins immediately.

  • Remaining escrowed funds from the original rental are moved to a holding escrow controlled by the admin.

4.5 Admin Review

The admin periodically batches flagged ads for manual review:

Outcome	Funds to Advertiser	Funds to Reporter	Funds to Treasury
Ad wrongfully removed	100 % of remaining escrow + Removal Deposit	—	—
Ad legitimately removed	—	Removal Deposit + Successful Removal Reward	Remaining escrow

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5. Economic Rationale

• Report Fee deters low-effort spam but is small enough not to block genuine users.

• Removal Deposit ensures only reporters confident in a clear violation will escalate.

• Successful Removal Reward motivates community policing and covers gas costs.

• Escrow Forfeiture penalizes advertisers for policy violations, offsetting the cost of disrupted inventory.

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6. Edge Cases & Notes

1. Threshold Reset – reportCount resets to 0 automatically at the start of every new rental period (i.e., when an auction is won).

2. Multiple Removals – If multiple users race to call removeFlaggedAd, only the first successful transaction locks the Removal Deposit; others fail.

3. Admin Failure to Review – Until an admin decision is recorded, funds remain safely in the holding escrow.

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7. Instruction Reference

Instruction	Signers	Key Arguments	Description
reportAd	reporter	adSlot	Submit a single report and pay Report Fee.
removeFlaggedAd	reporter	adSlot	Escalate a flagged ad by staking Removal Deposit.
adminSetConfig	admin	reportFee, removalDeposit, removalReward, reportThreshold	Update any economic parameter.
adminResolveRemoval	admin	adSlot, decision	Finalize funds flow after manual review.

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8. Example Timeline

1. T0 – Advertiser A wins Slot #1 for 7 days.

2. T+1 d – 3 users each call reportAd. reportCount = 3 (threshold).

3. T+1 d 5 min – User X calls removeFlaggedAd and stakes 1 SOL deposit.

4. T+1 d 5 min – Slot #1 auction restarts; Y wins it later.

5. T+3 d – Admin reviews and confirms ad violation.

6. Outcome – User X receives 1 SOL deposit + 0.2 SOL reward; treasury keeps remaining escrow.

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9. FAQ

Q: Can advertisers dispute a removal before admin review?

Not on-chain—their funds are already isolated. They may reach out off-chain to supply extra context for the admin decision.

Q: Why not automate the review?

Content violations often require human judgment. Manual review minimizes false positives.

Intended design (based on your description):

• ✅ Suspending user puts up ad_removal_deposit

• ✅ All advertiser's remaining funds go to suspension escrow

• ✅ Admin moderator decides: funds → advertiser (wrongful) or treasury (justified)

• ✅ If justified: treasury gets advertiser funds + suspender gets deposit back + reward

• ✅ If wrongful: advertiser gets funds back + suspender's deposit

1. Security: Fixed critical vulnerability where ads could be suspended without meeting report thresholds

2. Financial Model: No more incorrect refunds - proper deposit/escrow system with admin review

3. Open Bounty: Anyone can suspend (not just group members) if they pay deposit and threshold met

4. Immediate Reset: Auction resets immediately for new cycle - no state preservation needed

5. Proper Compensation: Suspenders get rewarded for justified suspensions, advertisers get compensated for wrongful ones