IMC Sheffield Editorial Guidelines
Features
The articles in the centre column of the web site are refered to as features.
Any user of the site or member of the Sheffield list may suggest a centre column feature article by posting to the IMC Sheffield list (you do not have to be a member of the list to post to it).
Ideally a feature should consist of:
- A meaningful and sensible length title.
- A photo, ideally a web address of one that has already been posted to the newswire.
- An introductory paragraph with links to newswire articles and external web sites, ideally HTML formatted.
- Further text and links, ideally HTML formatted.
The better quality a proposed feature is the easier you make it for it to be added to the site. Unless a feature is very urgent it should not get posted to the site for 24 to 48 hours to allow list members to comment on the feature if they wish to. If there are no objections the feature can be posted to the site by people with admin accounts.
Newswire
The open publishing column on the right hand of the site is refered to as the newswire.
Purpose
The newswire is for:
- Original reporting.
- News not covered elsewhere.
- Audio, text, photos by people on issues that affect their lives.
- Ideas/views that can't be heard elsewhere due to the limitations of the corporate media.
- Items that promote DIY alternatives to global capitalism, including practical aspects and problem solving.
- Posts written in a way that is open and accessible to a wide range of people, for example, avoiding jargon, technical and specialist vocabulary.
Reasons for hiding posts
The Sheffield Indymedia Collective reserves the right to hide posts on the newswire if they contravene any of these following guidelines:
- 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. Comments should be posted as comments and not as newswire articles.
- Discrimination : posts using language, imagery, or other forms of communication promoting racism, fascism, xenophobia, sexism 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 organization.
- Impersonation : Articles or comments which impersonate other indymedia users by adoption of their names or regular pseudonyms.
- Reposts from Corporate / Mainstream Media : 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.
- Comments on editorial policy : Users can appeal for or against deletions by contacting the IMC Sheffield list.
- Pro-Establishment Disinformation : Articles or comments which are designed to undermine criticism and critiques of the ruling class agenda.
- Disruptive : Contributions by individuals who habitually publish above mentioned discouraged content.
Requesting that a post be hidden
Any user of the site or member of the IMC Sheffield List may point out a post that they consider could be hidden by sending an email to the list with the web address / id number of the post and the reasons why it should be hidden.
It is then up to people on the list and people with admin accounts to discuss and act on the request as they see fit.
Hiding of posts
People with admin accounts may hide posts. If they do, they should then notify the list that they have been hidden and explaining why, or if they are not sure about hiding the post they can notify the IMC Sheffield list and put a deadline of 6 to 48 hours for a decision depending on how urgent the matter is.
Hidden posts may be found via the view all posts page.
These guidelines were agreed at the Sheffield IMC meeting on 26th November 2010
