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Community guidelines

Our commitment is to make SPACES a safe, civil and welcoming community that is void of the vitriol typically found in comment threads on traditional social media platforms.

In order to maintain discussion forums that are inclusive, respectful and represent a diverse range of voices, please read and agree to the following rules.

Furthermore, we encourage all members to monitor our spaces and report any post or comment that could be considered to be offensive, inappropriate or breaks the following guidelines in any way.

Together we will build a positive community, one space at a time.

  1. Do not incite violence, hate or harm to another user or demographic group.
  2. Harassment, personal attacks, name calling, threats and verbal abuse directed at another individual will not be tolerated. Comments will be removed. The offending commenter may be banned from commenting in the future.
  3. Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. Attacking an individual or group of people for their gender, gender identity or expression, sexuality, race, physical appearance, ability or culture or belief(s) will not be tolerated. We encourage members to flag any comments that are or could be interpreted as racist, transphobic, xenophobic, homophobic, or that could be considered hate speech of any kind.
  4. Profanity, derogatory language, slurs and foul language will be removed.
  5. Messages promoting commercial entities are not allowed unless otherwise noted.
  6. Trolling: Commenters will be banned if there is an attempt to derail a conversation or post inflammatory comments. Please stay relevant and on topic.
  7. Misinformation will be removed from our platform. Libelous or defamatory statements or comments that include false or unsubstantiated allegations will be removed.
  8. Offensive usernames: If your username includes words that are offensive or abusive, your account will be blocked.
  9. Graphic photos are not allowed. No images depicting violence, nudity or disturbing content of any nature will be prohibited. If you find yourself asking "is this appropriate to post" it probably isn't. Do not share it on SPACES.
  10. Posts promoting illegal activities will be banned; piracy, illicit drug use or any unlawful conduct will be removed.
  11. Criticism should be constructive and aimed at improving our community, as opposed to disparaging or belittling another user. Be mindful to direct criticism toward the problem or issue that is being discussed, and not the person discussing the issue.
  12. Anything that endangers the wellbeing of our members, including content that may be considered triggering.
  13. Content that violates the safety of children is not tolerated.
  14. Content that promotes suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders, that is intended to shock or disgust, or that poses a considerable risk to viewers.
  15. Do not post any content or images of which you are not the original owner without proper credit and attribution. If you cannot properly credit the source, do not post it in SPACES. If available: ask for permission to post first.
  16. No commerce is allowed on SPACES. SPACES is not a platform for buying/selling/trading of goods or services or any interaction that is transactional in nature. Garage sales are allowed, provided that they are posted as an event with a start and end date.

Members should feel empowered to report any behaviour that goes against these community guidelines. If you think we've missed something in this list, let us know.

Adapted from Village Media's Community Guidelines:

Account Basics

Your SPACES account allows you to participate in discussions in the SPACES environment (including posting, reacting and commenting). Your account must be created using a valid email address, and only one account per person is permitted.

Your SPACES account is a privilege, not a right. If SPACES suspects your account is fraudulent, or is being used to harass, defame, spam, or is breaking laws, or is breaking the rules listed above, your account will be temporarily or permanently suspended.

Never forget that even behind a username and without providing any personal information, you are still NOT anonymous online. SPACES or your internet provider can and will be subpoenaed for your information should you be caught defaming someone or conducting illegal activities online.

Account Security

You are solely responsible for actions taken under your account, and you should not disclose your login information to anyone else. If you suspect your account has been compromised, change your password immediately. If you are unable to access your account, use the "Forgot Password" feature to have a reset link emailed to you.

Data Ownership

When you submit data (including text, photos, etc.) to the SPACES platform, you retain ownership of it. By submitting this data to SPACES.CA (or any city-specific domain), however, you grant SPACES unlimited use of that data, including republishing, use in news coverage, reusing on Village Media news sites, and for marketing and advertising purposes on and off platform.

Abuse

SPACES in its sole discretion may remove any posts or comments immediately and without notice if:

Please help us keep SPACES.CA an enjoyable and positive experience. If you see something posted that violates our Community Guidelines, please contact [email protected].

General Disclaimer

The views expressed by our members in SPACES do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of SPACES, Village Media, its staff or contributors.

SPACES reserves the right to change these Guidelines at any time.

These guidelines have been created by members of Village Media's editorial staff, including the publisher, managing editor, reporters, and members of the community, incorporating feedback from our moderators and users.

Feedback

We welcome your thoughtful feedback on the user experience and quality of discussion on SPACES. If you have any questions or suggestions, send a note to our Community Manager, [email protected].