CHARTER

Introduction

Indymedia, a contraction of independent media, is a world-wide network of individuals organised in local collectives (IMC Indymedia Center) proposing an internet support for a different information. This document, named ‘Charter’ presents goals and directions of the collective Indymedia Grenoble. Elaborated during the launching of the collective, it will be led to evolve. These evolutions will be integrated to the charter after a consensus decision of the collective.

I. Presentation of the collective IMC Grenoble

The collective IMC Grenoble is a grouping of individuals whose goal is to allow the broadcasting of open and autonomous information. The collective is open to all those who wish to participate according to the internal working rules as proposed by the IMC Grenoble charter, the latter can be modified according to the reviews made and adapted by consensus by the collective. Self-financed, this collective is not affiliated/depend to any trade union or political, religious or other organization, or to any grant or sponsorship. Participation within the collective is done individually and not as a member of an organisation.

II. The goals of IMC-Grenoble

a. Allow the broadcasting of information concerning social struggles and movements happening in Grenoble and its surrounding region. The collective wishes to counter media formatting and the tools of official propaganda. It does not pretend to be politically neutral. It wishes to promote other points of view on the news and hopes to echo the social struggles that are so often ignored and/or warped.
b.To take part in a world network of alternative media. While taking part in the network indymedia, IMC Grenoble ties similar bonds with other collectives, all around the world, with rich, varied, confirmed experience in alternative media rich. Such a network allows an interesting link local-global, as well as invaluable exchanges and solidarity between collectives, in a context where this kind of attempts can quickly be fragile and isolated.
c. Short-circuit the traditional mechanisms of media production in particular based on sensationalism and the division of people into journalists (active) and consumers (passive). IMC Grenoble is not site of information specialists. The collective makes an IT tool available to those fighting against all forms of domination; this tool allows information to be openly published whilst encouraging a critical approach to the ideological function of information production. Other broadcasting means are not excluded (written, radio…).
d. Not to endanger individuals through its use of information. The collective refuses to collaborate with authorities and respects people’s refusal to be filmed or photographed or to allow defamatory or compromising documents to be broadcasted.
e. The members of IMC Grenoble are in charge of moderating the zone of open publishing according to the editorial policy of the collective.

III. Internal functioning

a. Organisation.
The collective is composed of people participating regularly in the physical meeting (and/or virtual) of the collective such as defined in this charter. All the members of the collective are moderators. IMC Grenoble is a structure that has no judicial status.
b. Collective autonomy.
In no instance is the collective allowed to be involved the institutional economic and political party. There can be no advertising on the website. The collective’s name cannot be used commercially. The collective cannot associate itself to an entity whose vocation is to make profit nor can it officially support any organisation or candidate. Its members cannot speak in its name without having first been mandated by the collective.
c. Self-organisation and fighting against domination
The collective hopes to put into practice the principles of self-organisation and of resistance against all forms of domination. It aims at taking decisions in a non-hierarchic and equal manner. The collective aims at avoiding situations of leadership, professionalisation and specialisation in its midst. It wishes to spread the skill necessary to its functioning. It encourages exchanges of learning, of writing skills, etc. during regular meetings.
d. Decisions and debating
Decision making is based around a timetable of fortnightly meetings. According to events, extraordinary meetings may be organised; these may be decisional. The collective endeavours to take all decision by consensus (consensus being a process by which no decision may be taken until it is accepted or converged onto by all present participants). Each decision is taken after some time devoted to information, thought and debate, so that all views may be heard and so that each participant may take a decision in full knowledge of the situation. Decisions taken may be subsequently questioned during following meetings. The collective shares in the view that debates should be egalitarian, everyone participating; the most assertive should not monopolize the debate and should not overpower the others. We are open to experiments with different games and debate forms, discussing them to find out which is more suited to each situation.
e. Sanction
A sanction towards a member is possible if the actions and remarks of the said member are in contradiction with the principles of the charter. The decision to punish a member can only be done after discussion and dialogue with the said member and between the members of the collective. The applicable sanction is the refusal for this member to take part of site moderation (withdrawal of the rights - login/password- of moderator).
f. Criticism of intellectual property.
All the documents published on the website are copyleft. The authors who publish on the website agree to let their documents be subsequently quoted or re-broadcasted. The collective adheres to the resistance movement against IT ownership and promotes the use of development of free programs ‘free information, free information technology, open publishing, open programming!’

IV. Presentation of the website

The first and foremost support of IMC Grenoble is its website. This site, accessible to all internet users, has three sources of information: the brief contributions, the in-depth articles and the agenda.
a- The brief contributions: Open publishing. Any website visitor has the opportunity of ‘posting up’ a contribution (‘post’ or ‘brief’) according to the principle of open publishing. Thanks to the interface that has been set up, the visitor can publish any text, photo, sound, which will be immediately put on-line and are visible on the web-site. Thoughts, analyses, articles, reactions, commentaries…. Everyone can be involved IMC Grenoble allows itself to moderate (censure) the contributions that do not respect the principles of the charter (cf V – the principles of moderation). The contributions appear on the right-hand side of the website (or ‘newswire’) by chronological order. Whilst publishing, the visitor is able to select the themes corresponding to his or her contribution. All the accepted contributions remain accessible thanks to a database.
b. Indymedia Grenoble site proposes then a space of open publication (right-hand side column of, "brèves" or posts) and a leading space (central column). It is in this leading space, this central column, that Grenoble IMC proposes to publish articles known as "de fond", who bring another glance, a catch of retreat on a given event, some analysis elements and of reflexion. Writings or simply validated by the collective, they can take again the posts. Any person can propose one or more articles to be diffused in this central column; the collective reserves the choice of the publication (see V ImcNantesPrinciples of moderation). Just like the posts, the meaning articles are organized according to subject and them files are accessible to very surfers. The collective is due particularly to this basic work that miss in the media on a side, and to freedom open publishing of the other. It is this complementarity that makes the richness of such media.
c. The agenda.
The agenda presents the various local events to come. Visitors may add events to the calendar.
d. Projects and goals.
As everyone knows internet access is still the privilege of a few. IMC Grenoble considers using other broadcasting methods in the short or long term : paper publishing, organisation of events, radio, meetings, debates, festivals… based upon indymedia world-wide network experience.

V. The principles of moderation.

As with any media, the editorial line of the collective depends on the personal or political commitments and engagements of its members. The members of the IMC Grenoble are neither journalists nor information specialists. They put on line and (insure the mutualisation of)make available new sources of information whilst respecting their own commitments. Articles are selected by consensus according to the present charter
a. Moderating a contribution.
According to the principle of open publishing, a contribution is immediately broadcasted on the website (right hand side). The collective commits itself to moderating a contribution as soon as possible. The status of a contribution is clearly notified to visitors by a system of colour coding that appears above the contributions. – green light: the contribution has been moderated and accepted by the members of the collective. – orange light: the contribution is being moderated (has not yet been moderated or in dispute) – red light: the contribution has been moderated and not accepted by the collective (no consensus) and is therefore hidden.
b. Moderating an article in the centre space.
The centre space, which is dedicated to in-depth articles, is supplied by contributions made to the IMC Grenoble collective (by e-mail, broadcasting lists, paper…) or by the on-line contributions. The publication of an article is discussed according to the terms of this charter (consensus) before it is published during the physical fortnightly meetings.
c. The moderation of the agenda.
Any visible event in agenda of the Grenoble indymedia site will have to be validated by the collective according to criteria's defined in this charter.
d. Moderators.
All the members of the collective are moderators. A moderator can modify the status indicators (red, green, orange lights). Among these moderators, three are designated every week as ‘registered moderators’. These make sure the process of moderating takes place during the said period. Non-registered moderators continue to be able to moderate during the said period.
e. Moderation and censure.
The following criteria are applied to all contributions. The contributions displaying the following characteristics or senders are unacceptable:
- Contributions of a discriminatory character: racist, homophobic, sexist, anti-Semite… and the list is long.
- Advertising for commercial companies or links to such companies.
- Religious organisations.
- Right-wing revisionist organisations.
- Contributions whose sole goal is propaganda or proselytism for a political party (adhesion forms, voting calls) or for a religion.
- Publipost – spam
- Illegible or incomprehensible – the IMC Grenoble collective is French-speaking and can only guarantee moderation for francophone contributions.
f. Role of the moderators.
Two favourable notices are necessary to authorize the publication of a contribution, which then gains the status of ‘moderated – accepted’. Certain contributions divide the opinion of the moderators. If the contribution does not break the rules for publication (cf. V) but does not correspond to the editorial line of the collective, it will then be ‘moderated – refused’. The said contribution is then hidden and placed on a web-page that is not directly accessible; the visitors will have to take certain steps to gat access to it. Only one moderator is needed to hide a contribution. If a contribution creates a dispute between moderators, it can, after consensus, change status (accepted or rejected). During the discussions concerning the said contribution, its status is non-moderated. The collective commits itself to comment on rejected contributions to explain its decision. A contribution containing at least one of the elements stated in V. must be immediately throw away (dustbin) by a moderator. This contribution will no longer be accessible to the visitors. However moderators will still have access to this dustbin for a period of 15 days to allow verification (past this period all messages are deleted).

VI. Contacts

The exchanges between members of the IMC Grenoble collective are done thanks to a mailing list. This list is opened to everyone (discussions, critical, rendez-vous...) and all e-mails are archived and accessible. The physical meetings are opened to all too, the dates being diffused on the link-page. This page, accessible to all in reading and writing, contains also meeting minutes, the documents founders of the collective and the agenda of the next meetings.
imc-france-grenoble@lists.indymedia.org
http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/ImcGrenoble

-- StephImc - 05 Oct 2004
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