Bristol Indymedia Editorial Guidelines

Open Publishing

The content of the Newswire (the right-hand column on the website) is generated by anyone who wants to contribute. The Open Publishing Guidelines below have been created to ensure the integrity of the site. These guidelines are under constant review, if you would like to have input into this process then attend one of the Monthly meetings which are advertised on the calendar.

Occasionally we must hide postings that do not adhere to the Open Publishing Guidelines. Note that these hidden articles should be viewable by clicking on "show hidden stories" but a software bug prevents this. A temporary fix allows users to see hidden comments here. Very rarely volunteers may also decide to delete articles posted to Bristol Indymedia. Because of the 'real time' nature of the Newswire it is not possible to monitor its contents 24 hours a day, but we aim to hide offensive material as soon as possible.

Participants are welcome to notify the volunteer collective of any articles they feel should be hidden through contacting us.

Newswire Open Publishing Guidelines

Please note that the following are guidelines, not rules set in stone, and volunteers make every effort to consider each posting on its own terms and in relation to the spirit of the guidelines overall. Inevitably no list of guidelines can cover every eventuality. Posted articles or comments (referred to here as 'posts') will be hidden if they are considered one or more of the following:

Disruptive:Contributions by individuals who habitually publish content which the below guidelines discourage.

Repeat posting: content that is re-posted or text that was originally a comment posted as a 'new' article.

Elections: For our reporting position during elections, in relation to the hierarchy guideline above, please consult our recent feature article on the subject.

Non-Bristol/South West: posts which have no clear relation to these geographical areas. Whilst the Bristol Indymedia collective acknowledges that national/world events have an impact upon the people of Bristol/the South West of England, the purpose of Bristol IMC is to share local news. We aim to raise awareness of the role of UK IMC as an open forum for national news, and the role of other IMCs, as relevant, as open fora for international news. NB: This does not include articles which analyse the impact or potential impact that national/world events have upon Bristol/the South West of England - postings which articulate such connections are welcome.

For example:

• a posting about the situation in Iraq would be hidden
• a posting from someone from Bristol relating their experiences in Iraq would not be hidden
• a posting discussing how the amount spent by the UK on bombing Iraq could have funded x amount of hospital care for people in Bristol would not be hidden

The second and third examples make clear the link between local and global concerns.

Discrimination: posts using language, imagery, or other forms of communication promoting racism, fascism, xenophobia, sexism or any other form of discrimination.

Inaccurate: posts that are clearly inaccurate or misleading. Where it is uncertain that the intention of the posting was to mislead, the inaccuracy may be questioned or amended via a Comment, rather than the article being hidden.

Advertising: posts with personal or product promotions. Occasional posts for independent and/or not-for-profit events, benefits etc. may be permitted.

Hierarchy: The newswire is designed to generate an open news resource, and is not a notice-board for political parties or any other hierarchically-structured organisation. One purpose of this guideline is to prevent the website becoming dominated by any particular group. Occasional postings announcing a public meeting or local campaign may be permitted.

Respect: Bristol indymedia is intended to represent the world we are striving to create, rather than the world we live in. A cornerstone of this principle is respect for others, therefore articles or comments that are abusive rather than relying on force of argument are not acceptable.

Blog guidelines

The blogs aggregator is on the left-hand side of the site.

Inclusion: For a blog to be included to the BIMC system it must be emailed to the BIMC group with the URL of the blog and details of the blog including how it meets at least one of the following criteria:

• Blogger is based in the South West
• Blog is mostly about the South West

And not any of the following:

• Blog is not a commercial blog, i.e. established to promote a product or service
• Blog or blogger promotes a view that breaks the guidelines, e.g. racism, sexism etc.

All blogs are discussed by the group and a consensus is reached over inclusion. Once a blog is included, all it's posts are aggregated. If the blog's content includes more than 3 posts over a single month that break the guidelines, or if there is a single post that is deemed a sufficiently serious violation, then the BIMC group will review the status of the blog on the agregator and, after discussion, may remove it.

Banning Usernames

Moderating abusive comments takes a considerable amount of time and energy from the project. If a username breaches the discrimination and/or respect guideline 5 times in 1 month (taken from the date of the first hidden post, running a calendar month forward) they are temporarily banned. This generally covers comments which are abusive, and not comments which are hidden for being off-topic. However, repeatedly posting off-topic material after warnings have been issued to stay on-topic, may also result in a ban on the discretion of the collective. An Indymedia volunteer will try to email/post a comment warning the user prior to a ban. Banned users may contact the collective to appeal this or use our grievance procedure if they feel unfairly treated.

Banning Procedure

• A temporary ban is initiated. The individual is contacted where possible informing them of this. The ban is lifted at the next meeting if the individual displays a willingness to abide by guidelines.
• If the individual cannot be contacted directly, then a temporary ban is automatically lifted at the next meeting, if disruption abates in the intervening period.
• A permanent ban is implemented if further disruption occurs after lifting a temporary ban, or if the individual does not display a willingness to abide by guidelines after being informed of the temporary ban.

Indy-Jargon: What the various 'bits' of the website are called

1. Newswire (right-hand column)
   Bristol Indymedia adheres to the open publishing ethos. Everybody is free to post on the Newswire or to add Comments to Newswire articles. However, Bristol IMC volunteers will hide postings which contravene the Open Publishing Guidelines above.
2. Comments
   Everybody can add their own Comments at the end of each article. Comments are also subject to the above Open Publishing Guidelines. A Comment may be used to:
   - State an opinion about any given posting.
   - Add information/rectify misinformation.
   - Correct inaccurate or malicious information.
   Corrections and rectifications can be given prominent status by contacting the main Bristol IMC list with the qualified accurate information.
3. Features (middle column)
   Bristol Indymedia volunteers administer the site and collaborate in the production of Features, which are presented in the middle column of the website. The Features on Bristol Indymedia reflect postings to the newswire, and exist to highlight a specific issue.
4. Blog aggregator
   The blogs aggregator is on the left-hand side of the site. The aggregator automatically lists recent articles from the set of subscribed blogs. These links navigate away from the site to the blogger's own site. Guidelines for a blog to be included on this site are described above.

Other Indy-Jargon

The terms Indymedia and Independent Media Centre (IMC) tend to be used interchangeably by participants within the IMC network to describe both the international network of websites and the many collectives of volunteers that administer it. Unlike many of the IMCs, Bristol Indymedia does not currently have a physical open-access space, but the website does serve as an open-access virtual media centre. The term participant is used to refer to anyone taking part in the Indymedia project, whether submitting material or browsing. Whilst anyone can become a volunteer and contribute to Bristol Indymedia in this way, all participation in the website is considered an active and useful role.

There is more information about using the site on our help and how to publish pages.

Legal Disclaimer

Bristol Indymedia is an interactive site offering inclusive participation. All postings to the open publishing site are the responsibility of the individual authors and not of Bristol Indymedia. Although Bristol Indymedia volunteers attempt to ensure accuracy of the Newswire, they take no responsibility legal or otherwise for the contents of the open publishing site. Any mention of external web sites or services is for information purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. See our legal page for more information.

Anti-Copyright: Free for Re-Use

All content is free for reprint and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere, for non-commercial use, unless otherwise noted by the author.

Last Revised 20 Dec 2004

For more information, contact us or if you have a complaint, see our complaints page.