Migration Slot — rules

Each active shutdown page carries exactly one labeled "Sponsored migration partner" slot. It is the only paid surface on this site. The factual data — deadlines, export steps, migration options, datasets — is never for sale and never affected by sponsorship. Sponsorship ≠ endorsement.

Pricing (outbid-style)

• Floor price: $5. Every subsequent claim costs the current price + $1.
• A claim holds the slot until someone outbids you or until the event's shutdown date, whichever comes first. The slot dies with the event.
• Payments are non-refundable placement fees (the single exception: moderation rejection, refunded manually). There is no hold guarantee — being outbid does not refund you; it emails you a one-click reclaim link.
• The current price is public. The floor price is the only synthetic number on the slot; every other price shown reflects a verified transaction.

Activation & moderation

• After a verified claim you submit your link + one-line pitch at /shutdowns/sponsor/activate.
• New sponsor domains are human-reviewed before going live; until then the slot shows "sponsor pending review". Previously-approved domains go live instantly.
• Rejected categories: crypto, adult content, malware/phishing, impersonation (including anything flagged by our own scam data), illegal goods, misleading financial schemes. Rejection ⇒ manual refund and the slot reverts.

Integrity

• We never bid on, seed, or shill a slot.
• Slot content never appears in data.json, data.csv, changes.xml, structured data, or llms.txt.
• Sponsor emails are transactional (slot status only), capped, with List-Unsubscribe.

Shutdown Watch tracks vendor announcements and public deadlines; it is monitoring assistance, not legal or migration advice.