ISE-logo-acorn-with-leaves

Community Agreements

In order to ensure a respectful environment that aligns with the values of social ecology, we ask that all participants in ISE programs and spaces (in-person and online) adhere to the following community agreements:

I. Be Comradely & Assume Positive Intent 

We are all here together because we share common values and goals, and we should be respectful to one another. We expect all members to act in good faith. Personal attacks and insults are not acceptable. We will assume others’ good intentions until there is clear reason to believe otherwise. This means adopting a “call in” rather than “call out” approach for resolving conflicts or situations in which one member has caused hurt to another, by bystanders and moderators. Private dialogue to understand intent and clarifying impact is almost always preferable to public shaming.

II. Inclusivity and Creating a Domination-Free Environment

We are a community dedicated to advancing freedom and equality, which requires dismantling social structures of domination and oppression. We don’t tolerate behavior or speech that reinforces systems of oppression based on gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, body size and physical appearance, disability, race, ethnicity, caste, color, religion, national origin, class, or age. Harassment will not be tolerated, including: slurs, hate speech, physical or verbal intimidation, stalking and unwelcome attention, inappropriate physical contact, etc. Personal insults make our spaces less welcoming to other comrades – be welcoming and kind to all, especially new members stepping into our community.

III. Be Mindful of the Space We Take

We encourage everyone to be mindful of the dynamics of how much space we take up in person and online. Try to keep the expression “step up/step back” in mind: if you often find yourself taking a listening role, consider stepping up into a speaking role, and if you tend to speak a lot, consider stepping back to make sure there is enough time and space for everyone to be heard. We practice “progressive stack” to facilitate participation by historically marginalized groups. Remember that we come from different backgrounds and traditions with different norms of expression. Even in digital spaces with theoretically unlimited space, there are still concrete ways in which some voices may come to drown out others online.

As our ISE Discuss email list goes directly to hundreds of inboxes, it should be reserved for substantive discussion. Posting random article links clogs everyone’s inboxes and wears people out, so please respect our rule of no “naked” links, ie no posts without at least some commentary or explanation of why it is relevant to social ecology. This encourage higher quality discussion by requiring a bit more time and thought before asking fellow members to engage.

IV. Respect Privacy and Security Culture

We will respect our comrades’ privacy and not reveal personally-identifiable information or disseminate our communications outside of our forums without permission. If you’re unsure, ask the person/group in question. We do not have the ability to screen participants, this means our spaces should be treated as public forums.

V. Upholding Community Guidelines

We reserve the right to remove individuals and groups that violate our community guidelines. Violations will be met first with a warning, followed by a second warning where the offending member will be asked to step back for 48 hours. Further violations will lead to a ban. Bans may be lifted only after going through a process with moderators and affected parties if they consent to participate, a reaffirmation to abide by the community guidelines, and possible additional conditions. If a problem has occurred and no one has detected it, please alert an ISE facilitator or moderator to bring it to their attention. Should you witness any of the above behaviors and feel comfortable, please speak up to respectfully remind other members of our community agreements.