AI image policy

• AI images are allowed as labeled design ideas, not as fake carvings.
• Every AI image carries a visible ✨ AI label, everywhere it appears.
• AI images are excluded from the leaderboard, all rankings, and the contest.
• If you upload an AI image, you must declare it. Undeclared AI images are removed.

We accept AI images that work as genuine carving inspiration. That means they must be:

• Actually carvable. The design has to be something a person could realistically carve into a pumpkin: no impossible geometry, floating pieces, or detail no blade could produce.
• Realistic. It should look like a photograph of a carved pumpkin could look. Obvious renders, cartoon output, and uncanny mashups are rejected.
• Declared. The uploader checked the AI box on the upload form, or the image was published by the site itself.

Every submission, AI or not, still goes through human moderation and the community guidelines before it appears publicly.

AI images are marked with a ✨ AI badge on gallery cards and feeds, and an “AI concept” notice on their detail page. The label travels with the image on every surface of the site; there is no context where an AI image appears unlabeled. Concept images published by the site itself appear under the @ai_concepts byline rather than a personal account.

• No rankings. AI images do not appear in the leaderboard’s main boards, the trending or top-rated rankings, season awards, or carver statistics.
• No contest. AI images are not eligible for the annual carving contest, its standings, or any prize, regardless of when they were uploaded.
• No pretending. An AI image may not be presented as a photo of a real carve, in its title, description, or comments.

AI images do get one board of their own: the leaderboard has a separate “Top AI concepts” section, ranked by hearts, that never mixes with the real thing.

The upload form has a checkbox for AI-generated images. Checking it is all you need to do; your image gets the label and stays out of the rankings automatically. Uploading an AI image without declaring it is a violation of this policy: when we identify one, we remove it, and repeated or deliberate violations can lead to a ban, consistent with our terms of use.

Not sure whether your image counts? Photo edits like cropping, color correction, or removing a background from a photo of a real carve do not make it AI. An image whose pumpkin was never physically carved does.

Some designs nobody has carved yet, and a realistic concept image is often the spark that gets one carved for real. We treat AI concepts as idea fuel: browse them, save them, then go carve one and upload the photo. The real carve is what competes.

If you spot an unlabeled AI image, use the report button on its page or email [email protected]. We review every report.