Description

* 0. Document status * 1. Преамбула * 2. News posting * 3. Mission and functions of Belarus Indymedia Team * 4. How to join Belarus Indymedia Team * 5. Policy of moderation for extreme cases o 5.1 Item hiding o 5.2 Complete deletion of item from database o 5.3 Content moderation * 6. Content usage terms

Document status

Current policy version 1.0 (revision 2005-05-11) includes only formal corrections applied for previous revision 2005-03-03 of policy v.1.0 voted by Belarus Indymedia Team. Any further corrections, that ever a little change the sense and idea of policy, require additional discussion and voting in Belarus Indymedia Team. In case of successful vote, they will be included in the next version of policy.

0. Document status

This document is an unformal social agreement between Belarus Indymedia Team and resource users. This document is not in any way a legal contract.

This issue describes principles of work of Belarus Indymedia web resource, and social обязательства, that Belarus Indymedia Team members promise to follow to while working on the project.

This document development, changes and addictions are in the field of vote of Belarus Indymedia Team.

Current policy version 1.0 (revision 2005-05-11) includes only formal corrections applied for previous revision 2005-03-03 of policy v.1.0 voted by Belarus Indymedia Team. Any further corrections, that ever a little change the sense and idea of policy, require additional discussion and voting in Belarus Indymedia Team. In case of successful vote, they will be included in the next version of policy.

1. Преамбула

Indymedia is a collective of independent media and journalists, that provides uncommercial look at the news and up-to-time information channel, that is open for collaboration with and between indymedia resource users.

Belarus Indymedia is one of hundreds Independent Media Centers over the world, that are united in the international initiative called Indymedia.

Mission of Belarus Indymedia

1. Creation of media field for support of belarusian libertarian activists, and for open interaction between such groups. 2. Support society with free and up-to-time information, that is not distorted by state, commercial or political censorship. 3. Providing possibility for everyone to take part in spreading of news and analitycal information and for open discussion.

Belarus indymedia can not be "official voice" of any political party in any way.

Our main principles are -- to be open and not to be discriminative. We are ready for collaboration with anyone who shares this points.

2. News posting

Belarus indymedia accumulates news, that are provided both by members of Belarus Indymedia Team (BIT) and by any user of resource. For this needs Belarus Indymedia provides open publishing engine with ability for discussion of every item.

Note:

Коллектив белорусской индимедии стремится к наиболее полной верификации размещенных новостей. В то же время наша принципиальная позиция такова: главным критерием достоверности любой информации являются ее открытое обсуждение. Ценность любой информации зависит в первую очередь от ее критичного осмысления и результатов публичной дискуссии.

For navigation convenience any news items could be groupped by topics. Помимо общей ленты новостей, отсортированной в хронологическом порядке, ресурс представляет возможность просмотра последних новостей в таких группах. Наличие любой заметки в сводке “горячих” обновлений определяется лишь фактом ее привязки к какой-либо общей теме, и не может трактоваться как присвоение одним сообщениям более высокого “рейтинга”, чем другим.

Белорусская индимедия категорически и в любой форме отвергает политическую либо иную идеологическую цензуру.

В то же время, в целях эффективного противодействия давлению государственных органов и иных авторитарных группировок команда белорусской индимедии вынуждена в особых случаях удалять либо скрывать от просмотра в общей ленте новостей отдельные сообщения.

Список таких случаев строго определен, и содержится в главе 5.

3. Mission anfd functions of BIT

Помимо участия в формировании ленты новостей наравне с обычными пользователями, участники команды индимедии в добровольном порядке выполняют ряд технических функций:

1. Technical support and work on futher development of resource 2. участвуют в дежурствах по наблюдению за содержанием ресурса, оперативным пресечением информационных провокаций. 3. участвуют в голосованиях команды по тактическим и стратегическим вопросам развития белорусской индимедии

BIT promises to keep direct contact and discussion with users in one of next ways:

1. Periodical meetings and seminars on wide field of questions with free access, that should be announced on Belarus Indymedia Web site. 2. Support of discussion maillist with free subscription.

4. How to join BIT

BIT is open for new participants. New participants join the team in their own will. Participation means: * а) Taking part in works on support and development of Belarus Indymedia * б) Have a vote in all decisions that requires BIT voting

Any participant have a right not to take part in implementation of team decisions he doesn't agree to, but he has no rights for active resistance to such implementation.

Any participant have a right to start team voting for revoking any team decisions.

Any participant have a right for leaving BIT in his own will. It means he loses both принятых обязательств and right to vote. Any former participant have a right to re-join BIT in any time as usual newbie.

For starting voting on joining of a new member, candidate should:

* а) Connect any BIT member by e-mail or any other way * б) Inform BIT about his/her motivation, her/his real abilities for work and his/her own wish to join the BIT.

Since this moment and until end of voting candidate have a right to access all BIT discusion about her/his participation and to forward to all BIT members his/her comments on this discussion.

5. Policy of content moderation in extreme cases.

Here and later "moderator" means BIT member, who take duty on supervising resource content integrity and preventing provocations.

In extreme cases, described in this part, some news items could be hided from common newsline, or modified, or completely deleted from database.

5.1 Hiding from common newsline.

When item is hidden from common newsline, in can be readed without restrictions, when web interface option "show hidden items" is switched on (it's switched off by default).

Next kinds of items sould be hidden:

1. Destabilisation items, i.e. that include uncorrect information about real facts and actions. 2. Items, signed by name of real person, but in fact not authored by this person.

5.2 Complete deletion from database

When moderator has deleted item from database he/she must inform anoter BIT members about action done and give full inform about reasons for this decision.

For preventing provocations, moderator can delete items:

1. That includes direct угрозы смерти и физического насилия. 2. Items, that are itself provocating armory collisions with human victims.

For preventing offtopic flood, moderator can delete next kinds of items:

1. Items, that have main point in abuses, rising of race or national hateful, discrimination of gender,race or sexual orientation. 2. Commercial advertising 3. Commercial pornography

Note:

There are many other web resources that provide hosting for such kinds of content. Полное исчезновение таких ресурсов является одной из глобальных целей Белорусской Индимедии.

Белорусская Индимедия рада предоставить свои мощности под любую информацию, не подпадающую под приведенные определения.

For preventing offtopic flood, moderator can delete next kinds of items::

1. Duplicate items 2. Empty, broken or not-readable items.

5.3 Content moderation

If item include private information about any living person, that doesn't know about fact of such publication, or didn't agree to publish this private information, moderator have a right to delete such information from item text, with no difference of news source.

In this case moderator must leave a comment about action done.

6. Content usage terms

Belarus indymedia encourages free reprinting, citating and redistributing in any other way content of the web resource. News items can be redistributed under conditions of any license listed below: GNU General Public License, GNU Free Documentation License, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. Publishing news items on Belarus Indymedia web resource means that author of an item accepts this content usage terms.