IMC UK Collective Editorial Guidelines

In the following proposed editorial guidelines the differences from the existing ones can be seen in this revision — references to United Kollectives has been changed to IMC UK Collective.

See also UkCollectiveMissionStatement.

Proposed Editorial Guidelines

IMC UK Editorial Guidelines

The Independent Media Centre (IMC/Indymedia) 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 network of media activists and groups. IMC stands for Independent media center.

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 are moderating the site and collaborate in the production of features. Contents on the newswire and calendar are generated by anyone who wants to contribute. The open posting guidelines below have been created to ensure the integrity of the site.

Occasionally we choose 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. 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 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 is to show the best of the newswire. Moderators will promote any good posts. The guidelines below cover common practice, but are neither mandatory or comprehensive.

In general, posts meeting the following guidelines will be promoted:

• original, first hand reports on actions and other events
• good, original analysis

In general, the following types of posts will not be promoted:

• re-posts from other sources (blogs etc)
• announcements of events (unless with significant background/news content)

Articles and/or comments may be hidden for the following reasons:

• 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 organizations.
• Disruptive: Contributions by individuals who habitually publish above mentioned discouraged content. Posts where topical or regional selections disrupts the utility of the sub pages (ie spamming regional and topic selections).
• 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 other languages 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 take the liberty to hide postings and comments, which are offending the open posting guidelines. Hidden articles and comments are visible in the View all posts section. Admin volunteers: please notify imc-uk-features when you hide a post, with the reason of the hiding.
• 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 features list 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 IMC UK 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 imc-uk-features list.
  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 one 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.

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.

Possible Amendments

Some amendments that the next meeting might consider making, these are based on the IMC Sheffield Editorial Guidelines.

Reposts

Change Reposts to Reposts from Corporate / Mainstream Media.

Pro-Establishment Disinformation

Add a new guideline after Posts in other languages than English:

• Pro-Establishment Disinformation: Articles or comments which are designed to undermine criticism and critiques of the ruling class agenda.