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After months of discussion and debate, the SF Indymedia Editorial
Collective has consented upon the following editorial policy. Your
thoughts, comments and suggestions are as always welcome. View / Add comments.
Fundamentals
The SF-IMC newswire operates on the principle of Open Publishing, an element essential to the Independent Media Centers (IMC) around the world. Simply put, Open Publishing is to news and information what open source code is to software. In practice, the Open Publishing newswire allows anyone to instantaneously self-publish their work on http://sf.indymedia.org, a web site accessible from around the world. People are encouraged to "become the media," to use their own skills and abilities of observation, writing, and creativity in posting text, analysis, videos, audio clips, photos and artwork directly to the website. The post is then viewable at the top of the newswire, and will move down the list as more people post news.
The use of, and belief in, Open Publishing rests on several central assumptions:
- People who post to the newswire will present their information in a thorough, honest, and accurate manner.
- Readers are intelligent and aware, skeptical and inquisitive of the posts they read and videos they watch, and are able to distinguish for themselves what is content of value and what is not.
- The SF Indymedia editorial Working Group will, at least in theory, refrain from removing any post, given that by doing so, the flow of information between poster and reader will have ceased to be free.
- The means to an end is as important as the end itself.
ConsensusFor purposes of this editorial policy and process, consensus shall be defined as written agreement with a proposal from four editorial working group participants, or no dissension or block within a four-hour period of discussion on the imc-sf-editorial list, after which time the post will be hidden. The post or comment may be re-displayed if principled dissent is later voiced by an editorial working group participant.
AdministrationThe editorial working group is reponsible for updating and maintaining several sections of the site, including the center column of the front page and various feature pages, and the newswire. While the center columns are compiled and edited by the editorial working group, the open-publishing newswire, on the other hand, is designated as an open, unedited space for publication of news, media, and commentary by SF-IMC readers, participants and organizers.
The newswire is divided into three separate sections:
1. Local News: this section contains posts that are local in nature. They are selected by a member of the editorial working group from posts the come in on the open newswire.
2. National/Global News: this section contains posts that are national or global in nature. They are also selected by the editorial working group from posts the come in on the open newswire.
3. Other/Breaking News (Open Publishing Newswire): this section is where a post will appear immediately after being published. If it is local or national/global in scope it will most likely be moved over to the local or national/global section of the newswire. This section is subject to editorial policy. See below for process and details.
The process for moving a post to the local or national/global news section
of the newswire is quite simple: any participant in the editorial working
group may do so based upon her/his understanding of the SF-IMC Principles
of Unity and her/his personal judgement. If a decision to move a post is
later questioned by another participant, the challenge must be based on said Principles of Unity.
Editorial ProcessWhile striving towards pure open publishing principles is the ideal, reality dictates that the editorial working group at times decide to edit or hide posts and comments. This is not a decision that is taken lightly, however, and the editorial working group does all it can to refrain from hiding/editing posts and comments. Our vision for the function of the newswire, and the general framework in which these decisions will be made, are as follows:
- The newswire is intended to be a community media resource, a space free from spam and abuse in general.
- That space will not contribute to the oppression of traditionally oppressed and marginalized groups.
Therefore, any proposal to hide/edit a post or comment by editorial consensus should be based on at least one of the following three points:
- The post or comment constitutes abuse of the newswire (see note below)
- The post or comment undermines the Principles of Unity of the SF-IMC
- The post or comment constitutes a spam attack (see below) on the newswire
Types of posts that are exceptions to the 4 person/4 hour consensus process and MAY be hidden immediately are as follows:
- All reposted corporate media articles
- Duplicate posts or comments
- Posts uploaded with technical problems
- Explicitly pornographic material
- Posts from a previously recognized spammer
- Test posts
- Product advertisements
Upon hiding/editing a post, the member of the editorial working group who did so will also add a comment explaining the basis upon which the decision to edit/hide was made.
In addition, all hidden posts and comments will continue to remain publicly accessible one click away from the front page on a page listing only hidden posts. The link to view all hidden posts is located at the bottom of the newswire.
CommentingCommenting on posts is an essential feature to the democratic nature of Indymedia. It allows points to be refuted, ideas to be expounded upon, arguments to be had, and discussions to be hashed out. If you disagree with the content of a particular post that someone has posted or can provide further relevant information, you can say so by commenting via the "add your own comments" link at the bottom of each post.
The process for hiding and editing comments will be the same as that for posts. Special care will be taken to not stifle debate and dialogue. To be clear, flame wars are not generally considered debate and/or dialogue, while cogent arguments and analyses are.
Spam AttacksA spam attack is defined as a pattern of abuse of the newswire by a particular poster or posters. If the editorial working group reaches consensus (at a meeting or on the mailing list) that an individual is launching a spam attack on the SF-IMC newswire, the spammer's posts and/or comments may be hidden from the newswire by a member of the editorial working group. Alternately, the posts may be linked together so as to occupy only one spot on the newswire.
Each instance of recognized spam will be considered individually, and the reason why the editorial working group perceives the post(s) as spam will be stated on the editorial mailing list, as well as in a comment on the hidden post itself. When a member of the editorial working group hides a post, (s)he shall immediately notify the editorial working group via the mailing list.
In cases of recognized spam, editorial working group members are empowered to immediately hide the post or comment, though notification via the mailing list is still necessary.
ContactContact the SF-IMC
editorial collective if you have any questions or comments.
Notes:
- The phrase "abuse of the newswire" is necessarily vague. Editorial working group participants each have different conceptions of what this means, so each proposal to hide/edit posts or comments will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
- The term "post" refers to anything that is self-published by a reader/participant and which appears on the newswire in the right hand column of the front page and feature pages.
- This document, as are all SF-IMC policies, is constantly up for review and debate. The editorial working group invites suggestions, comments, criticisms and ideas to improve this editorial policy.
Last updated Thu, 13 Feb 2003 09:42:05 +0100
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