Facebook
Online blogging communities are a great resource because they can help you stay abreast of the latest news, share your perspective on different issues with others (and hear their perspectives) and they can also help you connect with other people who have similar interests. I posted this video of AFY_Brian who sometimes posts on Amplify because I think the work that he does and his willingness to post to Amplify is an excellent example of the community we are all building here and what we hope to maintain.
I am so grateful to be apart of the AmplifyYourVoice.org online community because I believe that we are a network dedicated to youth activism especially around issues of reproductive health and sexual health education. I also feel very privileged to have the opportunity to learn from all of you, the issues you care about and those issues that are affecting you. I have come to rely on this website as a place where I can share what is going on around me and my perspective on things and get helpful comments from others. I also really like this community because I constantly feel inspired by all the amazing work some of you are doing in your communities both here in the US and abroad. I am happy to be able to learn from you and learn from your perspectives on the latest news and events in both your communities and in the world at large. It is also quite refreshing to be able to talk openly about sex and gender with like-minded people in a world where it can sometimes feel like I am the only one trying to be body-positive, sex-positive and aware of the larger constructs such as heteronormativity, cis-gender bias and gender roles that many people often take for granted.
However I think for this to work well, we have be rigorous about maintaining standards in our posts and comment areas. We also have to make sure that we are using and not abusing AmplifyYourVoice.org as a resource in our lives. It is so nice to have a place where we can have honest and open discussions about gender and sexuality. In order to maintain Amplify as a comfortable place for everyone, I thought it would be nice to post a quick reminder about what this website is all about and also a few key points about the Terms of Use. Although you can read the expanded version here, I would just like to highlight a few important points:
2) DO NOT PERSONALLY ATTACK PEOPLE WITHIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY. If you disagree with something that has been posted, address the argument or statement that the person has made, but do not attack the individual on a personal basis. We expect all of our members behave civilly, as you can surely engage in healthy debate without resorting to name calling.I believe that this point is quite relevant especially in the past few weeks here at Amplify. Some people have used Amplify as a platform to attack others who have made points they may not agree with. Although, it is clear that many of these issues can touch upon very personal chords in all of our lives, it is quite unproductive for everyone if we can not act civilly towards each other.
This is not to say that there should not be any disagreement or argument at Amplify. I think we all can agree that constructive criticism is extremely beneficial because not only can it share new perspectives but it can also help with fact-checking and other important matters. However, there is a clear difference between presenting a dissenting opinion and casting judgment or personal attacks that are not focusing on an argument but instead on someone's personal identity or character.
6) Users are strongly encouraged to back up all assertions with facts (and preferably links to supporting materials) whenever possible. Diaries which engage in wild speculation without any proof are strongly discouraged. Repeatedly posting diaries consisting largely or entirely of wild speculation is an abuse of site policy. Bear in mind that that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. We also reserve the right to correct false information within your posts and comments.Fact-checking and resource-linking are extremely important in this day and age. Because we are constantly being barraged with facts and news on the internet and 24-hour cable news, it can sometimes be overwhelming. As a result many people may not be able to double check the facts that you write in our articles which makes it really important for you to do so. If not, you could be potentially contributing to spreading misinformation on quite a large scale as this website recieves a considerable amount of traffic.
Also as the Terms of Use states, there is the potential that other Amplify posters or Advocates for Youth staff may correct any misinformation in the comments. Please recognize that they are not posting that to personally insult you or your work but just to make sure that the many people out there who read this blog will have the benefit of a good information source.
With all that being said, I think its quite clear that we have a really great community here and that any violation of these Terms of Use is normally an exception and not the rule. However that does not mean that we can not strive to improve our community and try to limit problems as much as we can.
What do you think about this? It would be nice to hear what other Amplify visitors or bloggers would have to say about all of this.
Disagreement is GREAT-it can be very productive. When people make claims without backing them up or personally attack someone it takes away from the discussion.
Thanks Vanessa for writing this and I wish more online communities worked as hard on this tough issue as Amplify.
It's usually very clear when someone is using a personal attack as opposed to a strong-minded opinion. We will always welcome vigorous debate and argument, no matter the social, political, or cultural issue being considered.
Trolling and blatant ad hominem attacks, though, won't be accepted, since they almost always lead to a monopolization of the conversation...