IMC UK Editorial Guidelines
UK Indymedia (Independent Media Centre or IMC UK) is an open-publishing platform for news, issues, actions and analysis reporting on grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial social justice, environmental and political issues. IMC UK is maintained by a collective of media activists. UK stands for United Kollektive.
IMC UK is dedicated to the open publishing ethos. This page explains how content on the site is generated and how you can contribute.
IMC UK volunteers moderate the site and collaborate in the production of features. Contents on the newswire are generated by anyone who wants to contribute (within these editorial guidelines).
We are likely to hide articles and comments that don't meet 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. All articles, hidden and showing can be inspected via the View all posts page.
Concerns about editorial guidelines or queries about moderation are dealt with on the imc-uk-moderation list. These issues are not dealt with through the newswire, and newswire posts or comments on these topics will be hidden.
Please refer to the privacy policy for information regarding IP address logging, cookies and personal information.
Newswire Open Posting Guidelines
Articles may be promoted for the following reasons:
The promoted newswire highlights posts that meet the guidelines.
In general, posts meeting the following guidelines will be promoted:
- original, first hand reports on actions and other events
- good, original analysis
- re-posts from other sources (blogs etc)
- announcements of events
Articles and/or comments may be hidden for the following reasons.
These are neither mandatory nor comprehensive:
- Repeated: content that is reposted or text that was originally a comment posted as a report.
- Non-news: posts which are clearly purely comment, opinion or rants unrelated to a recent event or action etc.
- Discrimination: posts using language, imagery, or other forms of communication promoting racism, fascism, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia or any other form of discrimination.
- Inaccurate: posts that are inaccurate or misleading.
- Advertising: posts with personal or product promotions.
- Hierarchy: The newswire is designed to generate a news resource, not a notice-board for political parties or any other hierarchically structured organisations.
- Disruptive: Contributions by individuals who habitually publish above mentioned discouraged content.
- Reposts: Articles that are simply pasted from corporate news sites. Please write something original, by all means link to articles elsewhere and quote from them but don't just copy them.
- Personal attack: Articles and/or comments that contain abusive language against other activists or site users. Please make your point without resorting to personal abuse.
- Posts in languages other than English: This guideline aims to stop the spamming of the newswire by articles that are published entirely in other languages than English. Please feel free to publish reports in the language of your choice *providing that* they include a full translation into English language, or, at least, a comprehensive summary in English about what the posting is about.
On very rare occasions, some content may be fully deleted. Past instances have included pornography and personal details.
Sections on UK indymedia
- Newswire (right-hand column): UK indymedia adheres to the open publishing ethos. Everybody is free to post on the newswire or add comments to newswire articles. However, IMC UK volunteers are likely to hide postings and comments which break the open posting guidelines. Hidden articles and comments are visible in the View all posts section.
- 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:
- State an opinion about any given posting.
- Add information.
- Correct inaccurate or malicious information.
- Rectify misinformation.
Corrections and rectifications can be given prominent status by contacting the IMC UK moderation list with the qualified accurate information. - Features: The features on the middle column of the IMC UK website reflect postings to the newswire. Features highlight specific issues to make them more accessible. They are put together by volunteers communicating on the IMC UK features list.
Any individual can propose a new feature for the middle column on the features list. A proposal can take the form of an idea or a completed feature. Completed features should include at least one link to the newswire, preferably also links to background information. If no one objects to a complete feature proposal within 24 hours, 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.
Legal disclaimer
IMC UK is an interactive site offering inclusive participation. All postings to the open publishing newswire are the responsibility of the individual authors and not of UK indymedia. Although IMC UK 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.
Last updated 16 February 2014
IMC UK, 04.11.2006 17:25