E-Democracy.Org has not updated our forum rules in a number of years.
Together, our revisions will help us deepen our second decade of
e-democracy activity in your community and in more places around the
world.
While our rules and forum facilitation are central to our model for
citizen-to-citizen online civic discussion, you the participant -
posters and readers alike - create the real value. With out your
diverse participation and viewpoints, this forum would have no power.
Our rules are intended to keep our forums in the center of real
community life. What do you think of our rules? Are the proposed
changes in tune with what you think works? Have we gone too far or
not far enough?
We want your positive and negative comments on our updated rules
draft by July 1, 2004 please. With your input, the Board should be
in a position to take final action in August.
For contextual links (to the old rules, etc.) and the full text in
HTML, see:
http://www.e-democracy.org/center/draftrules.html
Once you finish or as you read the rules, please comment via the web:
http://e-democracy.org/townhall/viewforum.php?f=8
Or send a private comment to our Board and active volunteers:
http://e-democracy.org/comments.html
Because this only comes around every few years, we've included the
full text below with a special bonus link at the bottom for those who
like to read the fine print.
Thank you for being a part of E-Democracy.Org.
Steven Clift
Board Chair, http://E-Democracy.Org
E-Democracy Forum Rules - Draft
Draft 2.0 for Public Comment - Comments requested by July 1, 2004
http://www.e-democracy.org/townhall/viewforum.php?f=8
These rules are the basis for all E-Democracy.Org-sponsored citizen-
to-citizen discussion forums - including e-mail discussion lists, web
forums, and other online events.
The purpose statement in each forum charter defines that forum's
scope. A charter may define additional rules and highlight essential
rules.
Based on a decade of experience, these rules provide a citizen-based
foundation for online civility, a focus on public issues, and
effective public agenda-setting. These online public spaces are more
about the sharing of ideas and information than being right with
one's ideology. Our forums are NOT designed for debating abstract
political philosophy, "winning" online arguments, or ridiculing
others for their beliefs, backgrounds, or speculated motivations.
You have a right to participate. The following rules of participation
define accountability and the limited power of forum managers and E-
Democracy.Org. As the legal forum host, E-Democracy.Org seeks to
exercise your public trust and responsibly mediate the inherent
conflict among members rights and expectations.
Participants are responsible for reading and understanding these
rules. If you do not accept these rules or the spirit of a forum's
purpose, please do not join or participate.
Comment on this Opening
http://www.e-democracy.org/townhall/viewtopic.php?t=16
Rules
1. Sign Posts - All forum posts must be signed at the bottom of
every message by the author with at least their real first and last
name, and city and/or neighborhood. The use of pseudonyms,
anonymous postings or the use/theft of other people's identities when
posting is strictly forbidden and has special penalties.
2. Limits on Posting - Depending upon the discussion technology and
total message volume concerns, a forum charter may limit the number
of posts allowed per person within specific time frames. These limits
must be strictly followed. Further, the charter with Chapter and
Board approval may specifically list topics not allowed on a
particular forum.
3. Stay Within Forum Purpose - Posting to the appropriate forum
(including non-E-Democracy.Org options) is essential - local topics
on local forums, national topics on national issue forums. Requests
by the Forum Manager to bring discussions within the scope of the
forum must be followed or warnings may be issued. The forum purpose
and scope is a contract under which all forum members joined. A
forum must not be used as a convenient way to reach people without
explicitly
connecting posts to the geographic area or topics related to the
scope of the forum.
Comment on Rules 1-3
http://www.e-democracy.org/townhall/viewtopic.php?t=17
4. Be Civil - No insults, name calling or inflamed speech for the
sake of argument. Personal one-on-one arguments, disagreements, and
personality conflicts must be taken from the public discussion forum
and dealt with in private. Attempts at humor or sarcasm should be
labelled ... ;-), :-), etc. The Forum Manager shall provide guidance
to infringing participants to further develop a practical sense of
what is appropriate and what is not allowed.
5. No Attacks or Threats - Personal attacks or public threats
against the safety or security of participants are not allowed. If
you feel you have privately received an illegal threat via e-mail, we
ask you to contact to appropriate legal authorities. The Forum
Manager may only issue warnings or remove participants based on their
public posts to a forum legally owned by E-Democracy.Org. If you
receive private communication from another participant that causes
you serious concern, you may communicate that to the Forum Manager,
but no action should be taken by the Forum Manager or E-Democracy.org
to intervene in private disputes among individuals.
6. Private Stays Private - Forwarding private messages to the online
forum is NOT allowed without the explicit permission of the original
author. This includes private replies you may receive based on your
public posts to the forum and other private or personal communication
including e-mail communication with public officials who may or may
not be forum members. Public officials and Forum Managers are
considered citizens with equal participation rights and
responsibilities in a forum.
Comment on Rules 4-6
http://www.e-democracy.org/townhall/viewtopic.php?t=18
7. Avoid False Rumors, Correct Yourself - All posts should be as
accurate as possible and never intentionally false. E-Democracy.Org
is not responsible or liable for the content posted to any forum.
Rumors heard in the community, even those carried by the media or
other web sites, must be within a forum's issue-based scope to be
appropriate. In rare cases, such postings will not be considered
rule violations if the private conduct of a public official(s) has a
direct bearing on public policy. Such topics must be cleared with
the Forum Manager before posting publicly to the forum. Further, if
you obtain factual corrections to your previous post that was not
shared in the discussion, ??? you should/must ??? issue a correction
(within the posting limit or via the Forum Manager if urgent).
8. Right to Post or Reply - Only those who are forum members may
post directly. The subject of a forum post has a right of public
reply once that individual or an individual representing that
organization becomes a forum member. Forum Managers may only moderate
discussion posts over a standard size/length, posts sent to multiple
addresses or forums, posts with attachments, posts from new members
to make sure they are not spammers, upon the notification of those
being moderated, or a temporary forum moderation period of 24 hours
applied equally no more than four times a year. The Forum Manager
may moderate, rename, clean headers, and/or ignore non-member
messages. Special time-limited online events, chats, and announcement
services may be moderated on a prior and post review basis if clearly
described in that service's charter.
Comment on Rules 7 and 8
http://www.e-democracy.org/townhall/viewtopic.php?t=19
9. Items Not Allowed in Forums - No attached files (on e-mail-based
forums), commercial product or service advertising, virus warnings,
or chain letters. Public event promotions and links to commercial or
non-profit online content related to the scope of the forum are
appropriate. Participant "signatures" providing links to the work or
projects of an individual are acceptable, but the display of specific
products for sale is not allowed anywhere. Text placed automatically
at the bottom of messages by free e-mail services are exempt. Public
discussions of forum management and posting public complaints about
potential rule violations are out of scope.
10. Public Content and Use - By sharing an original message, forum
members (authors) agree to distribute their intellectual property via
the Internet and inclusion of that content a permanent publicly
accessible online archive in perpetuity. A discussion forum posting
may only be removed from the public archives under a court order or a
case-by-case decision a Chapter or Board. With copyrighted material,
you may post quotations from articles or web sites with the source
URL. While forum posters (original authors) retain their personal
copyright, they grant others through E-Democracy.Org the right to
quote or forwarded their public forum messages to others as long as
the author's name and the forum's name or web address are cited or
linked.
Comment on Rules 9 and 10
http://www.e-democracy.org/townhall/viewtopic.php?t=20
Warnings and Suspension from E-Democracy.Org Forums
In our citizen-based forums, participants themselves keep the forums
relevant and on track. There is no government, political group,
corporation, or single individual controlling our self-governance
system.
You may lose your right to participate based on your behavior in a
forum. You may also regain your rights.
We know from a decade of experience, that volunteer-based forum
facilitation and management is essential. We make difficult
decisions and reign in rule violators in order to protect the public
mission of our forums and E-Democracy.Org's non-profit obligations.
We encourage those with different ideas about how online discussions
should be structured and managed to start and announce such forums
via our networks.
If at any point you feel these rules as written or generally applied
do not serve the stated mission or goals of E-Democracy.Org, you have
the right to petition the Board for specific changes.
Warnings and Complaints
1. Manager Warnings - Official warnings are sent to the infringing
member when a Forum Manager determines that a rule has been broken.
The Forum Manager may at their discretion send informal advisories to
encourage rule compliance. They may also at their discretion issue
and record official warnings. The Forum Manager is not required to
monitor every post.
2. Member Complaints - Forum members may send informal complaints
privately to the potentially infringing participant to encourage
citizen-to-citizen accountability. Any forum member may also file an
official complaint about a specific post directly with the Forum
Manager. They may not post their complaint publicly to the forum -
this distracts a forum from its purpose. The Forum Manager will
respond to complaints in a uniform fashion and maintain records of
all official warnings given.
3. Warnings Active - Official warnings last for one year. They must
be recorded by the Forum Manager and kept in case of an appeal.
4. Special Moderation - A Forum Manager may moderate the posts of
specific members upon notification to that member for up to two
months while dealing with rule compliance issues. This may be
renewed upon notification.
5. Managers as Citizens - Forum Managers retain the right to
participate in the forum under same rules as other participants.
They may express their opinions but not allow their political views
to influence specific forum management decisions. Complaints about
potential rule violations by Forum Managers must be sent directly to
the local E-Democracy Chapter or the E-Democracy.Org Board.
Note: If forum management responsibilities are split among a team, a
member of that team shall be designated to issue warnings and receive
complaints on a regular or clearly identified rotating basis.
Comment on Warnings and Complaints
http://www.e-democracy.org/townhall/viewtopic.php?t=21
Suspension and Removal
6. Removal Process - The warning process starts with probation and
results in removal periods that grow in length based on repeat
offenses. Warnings are specific to each forum. Due to variations in
forum purposes and management styles, similar conduct may not result
in the same sanction.
- Internal Phase (Private to avoid public member embarrassment - an
excessive sanction.)
A. First Warning - Each warning expires after one full year.
B. Second Warning - The second official warning results in
immediate suspension from the specific forum for two weeks. While
under suspension a member may not post nor ask others to forward
their comments to the forum. They may not receive forum posts via e-
mail. Another two week suspension may be granted should the initial
first warning expire before their third rule violation.
- Public Phase
D. Third Warning - A third warning within a year of the first
warning results in immediate suspension for six months from the
specific forum. Upon returning, the member remains on probation for
two months. Notification of the suspension of this member must be
sent to the local E-Democracy Chapter, the E-Democracy.Org Board, and
after any appeals at that person's request posted in a factual manner
to the forum itself without comment as to the cause. The Forum
Manager shall remind forum participants that public discussion of
suspensions violates the rule and shall offer links to appropriate
places for discussion of E-Democracy rules and administration.
[E-Democracy will create a web forum for ongoing and open rules
discussions among participants.]
E. Fourth Warning - A fourth official warning within one year of
the three other warnings results in full removal from all E-
Democracy.Org forums for five years. After any appeals are
processed, an announcement about the removal of this member will be
publicly posted to the forums of which that member belongs and sent
to the E-Democracy Chapter and Board. The removed member has the
option to provide an up to 500 word public statement. This will be
attached to an optional 500 word statement from the Forum Manager
about the causes for removal. This will be sent to the forum in
which the warnings were generated.
7. Web Access Allowed - While those suspended from forums may read
the postings from the web (not via e-mail), they may not forward
those posts to other E-Democracy.Org forums on which they maintain
full posting rights.
8. False Identity Process and Removal - If it is determined with
careful consideration by the Forum Manager/E-Democracy.Org that a
participant's actual identity is in question, E-Democracy.Org will
immediately suspend posting for that person on all forums until such
time that a one page letter including a photocopy of a government
issued ID with the full address and notarized signature (on the same
page) is delivered to E-Democracy.Org. If no proof of identity is
provided within two weeks, the e-mail address(es)/members accounts
shall be deleted and banned from all E-Democracy.Org forums.
Any identified individual found to have violated this rule will be
suspended from all participation in E-Democracy.Org forum's and
activities for five years. This includes any and all e-mail accounts
associated with that person whether real or falsified. If it appears
that fraud, forgery, identity theft, or computer crime laws have been
violated, E-Democracy will notify the appropriate legal authorities
in the political jurisdiction most closely associated with the forum.
The only exception to this rule/penalty is the case-by-case prior
approval by the Forum Manager, E-Democracy Chapter or E-Democracy
Board for the use of aliases by those under official court protection
or participation by individuals in countries where political
expression is illegal and the serious threat of oppression exists.
Further, the charters for special time-limited web-based online
events on sensitive topics may be designed to allow anonymous
participation with Board approval only.
9. Appeals and Due Process - Any third or fourth warning may be
appealed under our due process procedure to the local E-Democracy
Chapter or the E-Democracy.Org Board should a local forum management
oversight committee not exist. At that time, the validity of the
first or second warning may also be reviewed and the total number of
warnings reduced if a Forum Manager's warning is overturned. A forum
member's suspension shall remain in effect during the review process.
The review process may last no more than three weeks from
confirmation that the appeal was received.
10. Technical Removal - Technical maintenance, full e-mail inboxes,
or excessive bounced messages may cause a member to be temporarily or
technically removed from the forum or result in a delayed
distribution of their posts. In these cases, the member may rejoin
the forum at any time.
11. Mission Responsibilities - It is the responsibility of the E-
Democracy Board to develop and protect each forum as an
organizational initiative within the non-profit mission of E-
Democracy.Org. The E-Democracy Board reserves the right to remove
any participant upon careful consideration and stipulate the terms
and duration of that removal. Notices on such removals will be
posted on the E-Democracy.Org website.
Comment on Suspension, Removal and Due Process
http://www.e-democracy.org/townhall/viewtopic.php?t=22
BONUS POLL - Answer our short poll and/or comment in general:
http://www.e-democracy.org/townhall/viewtopic.php?t=15
Or comment/share information on related topics.
http://www.e-democracy.org/townhall/viewforum.php?f=8
Adopted 12 FEB 1996, Revised 1 APR 1997, Major Revision 28 JUL 1999
False identity process clarified, penalty added 30 AUG 2003
DRAFT Rules streamlined, guidance moved to another document, removal
process updated 14 APR 2004, Not yet adopted - Interim for the
Chicago Issues Forum
Released for public comment, June 16 - July 1, 2004. Board action
expected in August.
^ ^ ^ ^
Steven L. Clift - - - W: http://publicus.net
Minneapolis - - - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Minnesota - - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667
USA - - - - - MSN/Y!/AIM: netclift
Join my Democracies Online Newswire: http://dowire.org
EDem's Election 2004 Links: http://e-democracy.org/us
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