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aceeccentricWrote up the draft for the community safe space and accessibility policies. In the actual community this'll be one of the first posts, will be linked to in the profile and the sidebar, and won't be behind a cut. Thanks to sciatrix for feedback on the draft.
Please leave comments! Especially if there's something you need added to the accessibility policy.
One big section still up for debate is the issue of whether to delete or freeze material that violates the policies. I've heard good arguments for either, and if there's a tie in opinion I'll split it, but I wrote up policies for each option that you can read under the cut.
The argument for freezing mostly centers on record-keeping and transparency; if someone protests being banned we can link them to the offending material. If the material is in a post the mods can put it under a cut, but we can't do that with comments, and removing/hiding material is one of the arguments for deletion. If people want to delete things instead, the deleting mod willtake print screens (thanks for pointing out the accessibility fault in that, codeman38) copy the text for record-keeping and then upload them somewhere all the mods can see (probably Google Docs, which would also allow the mod to delete the print screens from their own computers).
ETA: It looks like there's no longer a setting for mods to edit the content of posts, so putting things behind a cut in a frozen post wouldn't work.
Read the sections on freezing/deleting under the cut and let me know what you think.
YET TO DO:
Membership policy post (tomorrow or this weekend, depending on my energy levels)
Results of the name poll (voting's slowed down but I'll give it another day)
My goal is to get the community up by the end of next week, but we'll have to see how that goes. My new semester starts Monday and I'm not sure yet how much time my classes will take up; I'm taking one more this semester than I did in the Spring.
Safe Space & Accessibility Policy
As this community was created because Tumblr had become a frequently unsafe place for ace people, the safe space policy is very important. Community members and moderators want very much for the space to be welcoming and comfortable and not somewhere people have to worry before speaking, interacting with members or the community space, or reading through the community's content.
The accessibility policy is likewise in place so that all members will have access to the community. The accessibility policy is discussed in detail below.
Contents:
Behavior
Age and Content Notes
Trigger Warnings and Explicit Content Notes
Trolling
Accessibility Policy
Discipline
Contacting a Mod
Behavior
Fellow community members will be treated with respect. Slurs, other harmful language, and personal attacks will not be tolerated and may prompt warnings, actions to [freeze or delete] content, or being banned from the community. The policy for the implementation of these measures is discussed below.
Examples of language that would constitute a problem include: anti-ace, anti-trans, anti-GSM (gender and sexual minority), racist, classist, ableist, sexist, identity policing, slut shaming, threats, rape jokes, etc. Members will be trusted to use their own judgment about what constitutes a violation -- putting a harmful quote behind a cut and then discussing it, or asking for support while mentioning having been attacked, are different than attacking another member, for example. Moderators will take complaints seriously.
Since Dreamwidth is a large site with spaces other than this particular community, conflict that takes place outside of the community should be reported to the Dreamwidth staff (FAQ here).
Most of all, try to be kind to each other. Assume good faith if you can. The point of this community is so we can be here for each other.
Age and Content Notes
Dreamwidth's Terms of Service state that members need to be 13 to use the site.
For community purposes, a post that a member feels would be inappropriate for people younger than 18 should be marked as such. When making a post, in the drop-down "Age Restriction" section, the "Viewer Discretion Advised" option should be selected.
Trigger Warnings and Explicit Content Notes
Trigger Warnings
Triggering material is material that can provoke a harmful response in a person (ex. flashbacks or the urge to self-harm). Failure to hide and make note of material may prompt warnings, actions to [freeze or delete] content, or banning from the community. The policy for the implementation of these measures is discussed below.
If posting or discussing content that could be triggering, members are required to include easily visible trigger warnings in their posts and to put the material behind a cut. Instructions for making a cut are in this FAQ.
If discussing potentially triggering material in a comment on a post that does not have a trigger warning for that material in it already, include an easily visible trigger warning in the subject line of your comment or in the first line of your comment.
Explicit Content Notes
Explicit content should also be placed behind a cut with a note about what is under the cut. Instructions for making a cut are in this FAQ. Due to the nature of this community, some members will be repulsed by sexual material, some members may be viewing it in a workplace or another unwelcoming environment (some people only have Internet access at public libraries, for example, or may be sitting in an airport killing time), some members may experience heightened dysphoria when they see explicit content, some members may feel they're too young to explore some content, and some members will just not want to see explicit content.
Members are trusted to use their judgment about what constitutes explicit content and to err on the side of caution to keep the community a safe place for all members. Complaints will be taken seriously. Failure to hide and make note of material may prompt warnings, actions to [freeze or delete] content, or banning from the community. The policy for the implementation of these measures is discussed below.
Trolling
Part of the reason this community was created is because Tumblr was particularly susceptible to trolls, either attacking individual people or spamming ace-related tags with harmful material. Trolling, including concern trolling, will not be tolerated. As trolls are trying to create harm, engage with them only with extreme caution and report them to moderators. Moderators will take complaints seriously and trolling content will be frozen or deleted, and trolls will be banned. The policy for the implementation of these measures is discussed below.
For purposes of clarity, some definitions from the Wikipedia entry on trolling are included below. Definitions came from the article on August 8, 2011.
"…a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community […] with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion. The noun troll may refer to the provocative message itself, as in: 'That was an excellent troll you posted.'"
"A concern troll is a false flag pseudonym created by a user whose actual point of view is opposed to the one that the user claims to hold. The concern troll posts in web forums devoted to its declared point of view and attempts to sway the group's actions or opinions while claiming to share their goals, but with professed 'concerns.' The goal is to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt within the group."
Accessibility Policy
We want the community to be accessible to all members. Disregarding the accessibility policy may prompt warnings, [deletion or freezing] of content, or banning from the community. The specific policy for the implementation of these measures is discussed below.
Image Descriptions
Image descriptions for images included or linked to in posts and comments are mandatory. Here is a guide for writing image descriptions. The description does not have to be extremely detailed or long, but needs to give an idea of what the image is. (Ex. "a picture of a laughing woman, seen from the side, text reads: 'I love knock-knock jokes!'" vs. "a picture of a person with some text.")
Video Descriptions
Video descriptions for videos included or linked to in posts and comments are mandatory. Even if a video has captions, the video may be inaccessible to people. The description does not have to be extremely long. Just describe the video well enough that a person has an idea of what it's about without having to watch and listen to it. (Ex. "a funny video of a cat sitting in a sink" vs. "a video of a pet.")
A transcript is a nice addition if available, but not required.
Flashing or Animated Images
Image descriptions are still required, but flashing or animated images in particular need to be placed behind a cut with a note about what's under the cut. These types of images could severely distract a person or induce a seizure.
Discipline
Warnings
Warnings will be left when a post or comment violates the safe space or accessibility policy, unless the violation is extreme enough to immediately warrant another action, which will be left up to the judgment of the mod who spotted the violation or responded to a complain (ex. someone leaving a death threat or posting a large flashing graphic outside a cut that could induce seizures). The mod will inform the person that they have violated the safe space or accessibility policy and further violations will put them in danger of being banned. If the accessibility policy has been violated, the mod will ask for corrections to be made. Records will be kept so that mods know how many warnings a person has received.
[Freezing/Deleting] Content
FREEZING OPTION: Content that violates community policy will be frozen. This is to prevent harmful posts or threads from continuing while leaving them intact for record-keeping purposes, and evidence that members facing being banned from the community have actually violated the community policies in the past.
DELETING OPTION: Content that violates community policy will be saved in a separate location for record keeping purposes and deleted from the community. The files will be saved somewhere all mods can access them. If the accessibility policy has been violated, mods will have likely asked for corrections to be made prior to deletion. Deletion will take place if the member has not responded to the mod request within two days. Members will be told if they have the option to repost material later, with the accessibility concerns addressed.
This is to remove material that could be triggering or harmful from the eye of the community, to prevent harmful posts or threads from continuing while leaving them intact for record-keeping purposes, and to serve as evidence that members facing being banned from the community have actually violated the community policies in the past.
Banning from the Community
Three warnings will result in being banned from the community. A severe violation of the community policy (death threats, trolling, or other things more than one mod judges are severe) may result in a member being banned before three warnings have been issued.
A mod issuing a third warning and banning a member will contact the other mods so that all mods are informed of the situation. A mod who spots or is made aware of a severe violation will contact the other mods, but may use their own judgment for banning a member before a third warning has been issued.
A member who violates Dreamwidth's Terms of Service will also be reported to the Dreamwidth team.
Contacting a Mod
A community-specific e-mail account has been set up so that all mods have access to it. The address is [decided upon name of community]@gmail.com. Members should e-mail here if they have concerns that don't need to be addressed by a particular mod. Mods will be listed in the profile as well. If a specific mod needs to be contacted (or avoided) please use Dreamwidth's PM system.
[Draft Note: I'm (aceeccentric) pretty sure at this point that I won't be the only mod.]
sciatrix for feedback on the draft.Please leave comments! Especially if there's something you need added to the accessibility policy.
One big section still up for debate is the issue of whether to delete or freeze material that violates the policies. I've heard good arguments for either, and if there's a tie in opinion I'll split it, but I wrote up policies for each option that you can read under the cut.
The argument for freezing mostly centers on record-keeping and transparency; if someone protests being banned we can link them to the offending material. If the material is in a post the mods can put it under a cut, but we can't do that with comments, and removing/hiding material is one of the arguments for deletion. If people want to delete things instead, the deleting mod will
codeman38) copy the text for record-keeping and then upload them somewhere all the mods can see (probably Google Docs, which would also allow the mod to delete the print screens from their own computers).ETA: It looks like there's no longer a setting for mods to edit the content of posts, so putting things behind a cut in a frozen post wouldn't work.
Read the sections on freezing/deleting under the cut and let me know what you think.
YET TO DO:
Membership policy post (tomorrow or this weekend, depending on my energy levels)
Results of the name poll (voting's slowed down but I'll give it another day)
My goal is to get the community up by the end of next week, but we'll have to see how that goes. My new semester starts Monday and I'm not sure yet how much time my classes will take up; I'm taking one more this semester than I did in the Spring.
As this community was created because Tumblr had become a frequently unsafe place for ace people, the safe space policy is very important. Community members and moderators want very much for the space to be welcoming and comfortable and not somewhere people have to worry before speaking, interacting with members or the community space, or reading through the community's content.
The accessibility policy is likewise in place so that all members will have access to the community. The accessibility policy is discussed in detail below.
Contents:
Behavior
Age and Content Notes
Trigger Warnings and Explicit Content Notes
Trolling
Accessibility Policy
Discipline
Contacting a Mod
Fellow community members will be treated with respect. Slurs, other harmful language, and personal attacks will not be tolerated and may prompt warnings, actions to [freeze or delete] content, or being banned from the community. The policy for the implementation of these measures is discussed below.
Examples of language that would constitute a problem include: anti-ace, anti-trans, anti-GSM (gender and sexual minority), racist, classist, ableist, sexist, identity policing, slut shaming, threats, rape jokes, etc. Members will be trusted to use their own judgment about what constitutes a violation -- putting a harmful quote behind a cut and then discussing it, or asking for support while mentioning having been attacked, are different than attacking another member, for example. Moderators will take complaints seriously.
Since Dreamwidth is a large site with spaces other than this particular community, conflict that takes place outside of the community should be reported to the Dreamwidth staff (FAQ here).
Most of all, try to be kind to each other. Assume good faith if you can. The point of this community is so we can be here for each other.
Dreamwidth's Terms of Service state that members need to be 13 to use the site.
For community purposes, a post that a member feels would be inappropriate for people younger than 18 should be marked as such. When making a post, in the drop-down "Age Restriction" section, the "Viewer Discretion Advised" option should be selected.
Trigger Warnings
Triggering material is material that can provoke a harmful response in a person (ex. flashbacks or the urge to self-harm). Failure to hide and make note of material may prompt warnings, actions to [freeze or delete] content, or banning from the community. The policy for the implementation of these measures is discussed below.
If posting or discussing content that could be triggering, members are required to include easily visible trigger warnings in their posts and to put the material behind a cut. Instructions for making a cut are in this FAQ.
If discussing potentially triggering material in a comment on a post that does not have a trigger warning for that material in it already, include an easily visible trigger warning in the subject line of your comment or in the first line of your comment.
Explicit Content Notes
Explicit content should also be placed behind a cut with a note about what is under the cut. Instructions for making a cut are in this FAQ. Due to the nature of this community, some members will be repulsed by sexual material, some members may be viewing it in a workplace or another unwelcoming environment (some people only have Internet access at public libraries, for example, or may be sitting in an airport killing time), some members may experience heightened dysphoria when they see explicit content, some members may feel they're too young to explore some content, and some members will just not want to see explicit content.
Members are trusted to use their judgment about what constitutes explicit content and to err on the side of caution to keep the community a safe place for all members. Complaints will be taken seriously. Failure to hide and make note of material may prompt warnings, actions to [freeze or delete] content, or banning from the community. The policy for the implementation of these measures is discussed below.
Part of the reason this community was created is because Tumblr was particularly susceptible to trolls, either attacking individual people or spamming ace-related tags with harmful material. Trolling, including concern trolling, will not be tolerated. As trolls are trying to create harm, engage with them only with extreme caution and report them to moderators. Moderators will take complaints seriously and trolling content will be frozen or deleted, and trolls will be banned. The policy for the implementation of these measures is discussed below.
For purposes of clarity, some definitions from the Wikipedia entry on trolling are included below. Definitions came from the article on August 8, 2011.
"…a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community […] with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion. The noun troll may refer to the provocative message itself, as in: 'That was an excellent troll you posted.'"
"A concern troll is a false flag pseudonym created by a user whose actual point of view is opposed to the one that the user claims to hold. The concern troll posts in web forums devoted to its declared point of view and attempts to sway the group's actions or opinions while claiming to share their goals, but with professed 'concerns.' The goal is to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt within the group."
We want the community to be accessible to all members. Disregarding the accessibility policy may prompt warnings, [deletion or freezing] of content, or banning from the community. The specific policy for the implementation of these measures is discussed below.
Image Descriptions
Image descriptions for images included or linked to in posts and comments are mandatory. Here is a guide for writing image descriptions. The description does not have to be extremely detailed or long, but needs to give an idea of what the image is. (Ex. "a picture of a laughing woman, seen from the side, text reads: 'I love knock-knock jokes!'" vs. "a picture of a person with some text.")
Video Descriptions
Video descriptions for videos included or linked to in posts and comments are mandatory. Even if a video has captions, the video may be inaccessible to people. The description does not have to be extremely long. Just describe the video well enough that a person has an idea of what it's about without having to watch and listen to it. (Ex. "a funny video of a cat sitting in a sink" vs. "a video of a pet.")
A transcript is a nice addition if available, but not required.
Flashing or Animated Images
Image descriptions are still required, but flashing or animated images in particular need to be placed behind a cut with a note about what's under the cut. These types of images could severely distract a person or induce a seizure.
Warnings
Warnings will be left when a post or comment violates the safe space or accessibility policy, unless the violation is extreme enough to immediately warrant another action, which will be left up to the judgment of the mod who spotted the violation or responded to a complain (ex. someone leaving a death threat or posting a large flashing graphic outside a cut that could induce seizures). The mod will inform the person that they have violated the safe space or accessibility policy and further violations will put them in danger of being banned. If the accessibility policy has been violated, the mod will ask for corrections to be made. Records will be kept so that mods know how many warnings a person has received.
[Freezing/Deleting] Content
FREEZING OPTION: Content that violates community policy will be frozen. This is to prevent harmful posts or threads from continuing while leaving them intact for record-keeping purposes, and evidence that members facing being banned from the community have actually violated the community policies in the past.
DELETING OPTION: Content that violates community policy will be saved in a separate location for record keeping purposes and deleted from the community. The files will be saved somewhere all mods can access them. If the accessibility policy has been violated, mods will have likely asked for corrections to be made prior to deletion. Deletion will take place if the member has not responded to the mod request within two days. Members will be told if they have the option to repost material later, with the accessibility concerns addressed.
This is to remove material that could be triggering or harmful from the eye of the community, to prevent harmful posts or threads from continuing while leaving them intact for record-keeping purposes, and to serve as evidence that members facing being banned from the community have actually violated the community policies in the past.
Banning from the Community
Three warnings will result in being banned from the community. A severe violation of the community policy (death threats, trolling, or other things more than one mod judges are severe) may result in a member being banned before three warnings have been issued.
A mod issuing a third warning and banning a member will contact the other mods so that all mods are informed of the situation. A mod who spots or is made aware of a severe violation will contact the other mods, but may use their own judgment for banning a member before a third warning has been issued.
A member who violates Dreamwidth's Terms of Service will also be reported to the Dreamwidth team.
A community-specific e-mail account has been set up so that all mods have access to it. The address is [decided upon name of community]@gmail.com. Members should e-mail here if they have concerns that don't need to be addressed by a particular mod. Mods will be listed in the profile as well. If a specific mod needs to be contacted (or avoided) please use Dreamwidth's PM system.
[Draft Note: I'm (
aceeccentric) pretty sure at this point that I won't be the only mod.]
