Anti-DDoS queue
Wait page in front of the login form. Holds visitors for 20 to 60 seconds. Rate-limits automated credential-stuffing.
Bond
Refundable deposit posted by a new vendor before the first listing goes live. Returned after clean probation.
Captcha URL match
Comparing the onion address baked into the login captcha image against the URL bar. Catches most phishing clones on first check.
Dispute
Formal disagreement over an order. Moderator reads both sides, cosigns with whichever they judge correct.
Escrow
Payment arrangement where funds sit in a multisig contract until both buyer and vendor agree the trade is done.
Finalisation
Marking an order complete, which releases coin from escrow to the vendor. Do not finalise before delivery.
Finalise early (FE)
Marking an order complete before delivery. Drops escrow protection. Almost always the wrong move.
Guard node
The first Tor relay in your circuit. Long-lived for anonymity reasons.
Mirror
Distinct onion address resolving to the same storefront backend. Same account, same balance.
Mnemonic seed
Human-readable phrase issued at registration for account recovery. Paper only.
Multisig (2 of 3)
Payment contract with three keys held by buyer, vendor, platform. Any two release.
Onion address
56-character v3 Tor hidden service address. Only Tor Browser resolves it.
Operator key
The WeTheNorth operator PGP public key. Signs every rotation. Has not rotated since launch.
PGP signature
Cryptographic signature over a message. Proves origin and integrity when verified against the corresponding public key.
Signed rotation
PGP-signed operator announcement listing current mirror addresses.
V3 onion
Current generation of Tor onion addresses. Ed25519-based, 56 characters.