SouthCoast IMC Editorial Guidelines

The following is a brief outline of the editorial guidelines for publishing on SouthCoast IndyMedia.

South Coast Indymedia is an open-publishing platform for news, issues, actions and analysis reporting on grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial social justice, environmental and political issues. South Coast Indymedia is dedicated to the open publishing ethos. This policy explains how content on the site is generated and how you can contribute.
Southcoast IMC volunteers administer the site and collaborate in the production of features. Anyone can become an IMC volunteer. Content on the newswire and calendar is generated by anyone who wants to contribute. The open posting guidelines below have been created to ensure the integrity of the site.
Occasionally we are forced to hide postings offending the open posting guidelines. Because of the "real time" nature of the newswire, it is not possible to monitor its contents 24 hours a day. We would be grateful if you could help us maintain the quality of the information posted by reporting to Imc-uk-southcoast@lists.indymedia.org any posting or comment that you believe infringes upon the guidelines below.
The following types of newswire postings may be hidden by the editorial collective:
  1.. Repeated: content that is reposted or text that was originally a comment posted as a report.
  2.. Not relevant to the purposes of the site as expressed in the first paragraph of this editorial policy: posts which are clearly unrelated to a relevant recent event, action or issue.
  3.. Discrimination: posts using language, imagery, or other forms of communication promoting racism, fascism, xenophobia, sexism or any other form of discrimination.
  4.. Inaccurate: posts that are clearly inaccurate or misleading.
  5.. Advertising: posts with personal or product promotions.
  6.. Hierarchy: The newswire is designed to be a news resource, not a notice-board for political parties or any other hierarchically structured organization.
  7.. Disruptive: Contributions by individuals who habitually publish the above-mentioned discouraged content, if the editorial collective does not have the resources to deal with the posts individually.
  8.. Not relating to the South Coast IMC area: the South Coast IMC newswire is a local resource.  

Newswire (right-hand column). South Coast IMC adheres to the open publishing ethos. Everybody is free to post on the newswire or add comments to newswire articles. However, the South Coast IMC volunteers will hide postings which offend the open posting guidelines above. Hidden postings and comments are visible via this link: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/viewallposts.html You can click to read them and usually an explanation of why the posting was hidden.

Comments. Everybody can add their own comments at the end of each article. Comments are subject to the guidelines for hiding. They can be used to:

  1.. State an opinion about any given posting.
  2.. Add information.
  3.. Correct inaccurate or malicious information.
  4.. Rectify misinformation.

Corrections and rectifications can be given prominent status by contacting the South Coast IMC collective with the qualified accurate information.

Calendar. Please list all announcements and upcoming events on the Calendar. Just click the calendar link on the right-hand column, on top of the newswire.

Features. The features on the middle column of the South Coast IMC website reflect postings to the newswire. Features are highlighting specific issues to make them more accessible. They are put together by volunteers communicating on the Features list (Imc-uk-southcoast@lists.indymedia.org).

Any individual can join the features list and propose a new feature for the middle column. A proposal can take the form of an idea or a completed feature. Completed features are usually between 50 and 80 words and include at least one link to the newswire, preferably also links to background information. If no active member of the editorial collective objects to the feature proposal within 24 hours, and if it is completed, it will be uploaded to the middle column. The 24-hour rule ensures that everybody can contribute to the middle column and allows time for collaborative improvements and considerations.

During special events the middle column may be updated rapidly and without discussion on the features list by a delegated team of the editorial collective. A decision to do this will be approved as described in the above features process.

Legal disclaimer. South Coast IMC is an interactive site offering inclusive participation. All postings to the open publishing newswire are the responsibility of the individual authors and not of South Coast IMC. Although South Coast IMC volunteers attempt to ensure accuracy of the newswire, they take no responsibility legal or otherwise for the contents of the open publishing site. Mention of external web sites or services is for information purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation.

SouthCoast IMC, 24.01.2005 10:39