We’re currently working on changing the rules of this community, because we feel there are some gaps in the current rules.
This is what we have so far:
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- Be nice! Don’t personally attack someone else. Racism and bigotry are not tolerated. Don’t use offensive language, swearing is allowed within reason. Trolling is also not allowed, go back to reddit for that.
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- Sources should be as unbiased and reliable as possible Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion.
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- No bots, spam or self-promotion Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.
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- Post titles should be the same as the article used as source Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title is wrong / incorrect, the post will be deleted.
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- Post should be news Don’t post obvious opinion pieces, very dated news or things that are simply not news. Posts will be removed at the mods discretion.
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- No duplicate posts If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.
We are looking for any feedback you guys might have, including grammer/spell checks (:
If you agree with the rules, they will go in effect in 24 hours.
We are aware, but we’re just humans, so we’ll moderate as fair as we can. I’ll be compiling a blacklist, with sources that are not accepted here, and people can let us know if they don’t agree with any of the sources on that list.
Maybe something like:
Another idea: have a rule that says “No disinformation or propaganda”, to frame things slightly differently.
I like this wording - with emphasis on focused - even most credible sources provide some analysis and opinions, so enforcement is bound to be somewhat subjective - but as mods its our job to be as fair and impartial as possible. I expect there will be opportunities along the way for the broader community to provide feedback which will be carefully considered.
For a worked example of why “unbiased” is undesirable, take a look at any news site that reports on issues relevant to a particular population — such as LGBTQ+, Christians, or Black Americans.
An LGBTQ+ news site is not going to be “unbiased” on, say, marriage equality. It’s going to have a viewpoint. However, it can still report true news stories.