Principles aid strong human judgement. We are building a community together striving
for unparalleled commitment to equity, inclusion, and belonging. Using these principles
to guide our moral and ethical agreements with one another, we agree to be our best
collective selves. As a community, we acknowledge that fallibility is to be human.
Person, First
Please do remember the human. Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that
you follow with friends, in a classroom, at a public park, in the real world. We are
all humans that are going to make mistakes when communicating. Even the most thought-out
words may not across as you intend.
Be Helpful
Listen, learn, and assist your peers. Support others through careful listening, communication,
and response. The strength of our community will come from the strength of our members
building one another up.
Thoughtful & Purposeful Content
Well written and interesting content can be based on quality facts or quality opinion.
We encourage you to be clear with your statements. If you are posting an opinion or
fact, say so. Finally, remember to pause before post to ensure you don’t say something
in the heat of the moment that you might regret.
Civic Dialogue
Each Fellow has a right to their opinions. This space is for critical questions, dialogue,
and debate on the issues, legislation, and policies. This is not a platform to campaign
or fundraise for an elected official, one seeking political office, or for a specific
ballot measure (i.e., Vote for XXX person or Vote for XXX bill). This can and should
be a place for robust discussion that helps bring perspective, facts, and personal
experience to the forefront on a myriad of social, policy and economic issues.
Challenge & Improve Upon the Idea, not the Individual
Think before you type. It’s okay to challenge ideas, but don’t attack an individual
for their views. Focus on the merits of the content, not the traits of the person.
Seek clarification by asking questions or offering a counter-post with your facts,
perspective, or considerations that improve the discussion. It’s okay not to settle
every opinion “out loud” or “publicly.” We have all been frustrated by the internet
at some point, but knee-jerk contradictions, name calling, and escalation hurts innocent
people too often; such posts or comments will be removed.
How California Volunteers Will Communicate Challenges or Concerns with Partner Campus
Our first responsibility to our community is to ensure your own personal safety and
that of your peers. In situations where mental, emotional, or physical safety are
at risk, California Volunteers will immediately contact your campus program support
team so that assistance can be offered to you immediately.
If the situation continually undermines the intent and spirit of the moderation guidelines,
warnings will be shared first with the fellow(s) involved and secondly with the partner
campus staff after the first “infraction.” A fellow will receive written notification
of the situation; notification will also be sent directly to the campus program team.
If a fellow continually engages in behavior that goes against the Code of Conduct,
they will be removed from the platform and the campus program staff will be notified.
Campus staff will then determine what next steps need to be taken.
California Volunteers reserves the right to escalate situations regarding fellow behavior
that violates the Code of Conduct to the relevant partner campus staff.
Sharing Feedback & Content
Mighty Networks is a vehicle for fellows to routinely provide helpful feedback, reflections,
and ideas in the form of quotes, comments, image uploads, ideas, polling, emojis and
so forth. California Volunteers will aggregate feedback and attribute content anonymously
(unless otherwise requested by the Fellow) to share with California Volunteers, partner
campus, and community host partners.
California Volunteers is committed to indicating clearly which channels or areas of
the Mighty Networks platform are shareable (anonymously or otherwise) to help strengthen
and/or inform program design and decision-making while honoring and strengthening
the trust-building between fellows and California Volunteers.
