Code of conduct and community guidelines for e-lectorate platform

All users of the e-lectorate platform are bound by this Code of Conduct (“CoC”) and community guidelines. Any user who is found to be in breach of these guidelines can have their account restricted, suspended or deleted in full at the discretion of the administrators of the platform. 

e-lectorate is a democratic research project. 

Principles

Respect

Users shall respect the thoughts and opinions of other users of the platform. If a user presents an opinion that significantly differs from your own, you can challenge them respectfully. Deliberately being mean, vicious, and insulting to people is not an acceptable behaviour on the platform. Please do not engage in this behaviour. If you see someone engaging in this behaviour, please down-vote their post and add a comment “We don’t do that here…”. 

Free speech

e-lectorate is a free speech platform. This means that users are free to post their thoughts and feelings openly. Administrators of e-lectorate will allow any form of free speech on the platform except speech or actions that promote violence or seek to exploit vulnerable groups. If someone’s views differ from your own, please engage with their content to express your views. You may see triggering content on the platform, please be rational and objective in your consumption of this content. Remember that everybody has the right to free speech but if you invoke this right you must be prepared to allow other people’s right to free speech and to follow the ‘Respect’ principle when engaging on the platform. Just because you have the right to free speech it does not mean other people are obligated to listen and agree with you. 

Spirited debate

We believe that great things come from great discussion. We encourage spirited debate that follows our ‘Respect’ and ‘Free speech’ principles. You should be welcome to seeing different views to your own. If people agree with you they will up-vote your content, if they disagree with you they will down-vote your content. You need to accept this and any comments other users make that follow our ‘Respect’ and ‘Free speech’ principles.

Community

Everybody on the platform has a common interest. We are a community. Please be kind and courteous to the whole e-lectorate community.

Feedback

We all want to be better. That sometimes means hearing some ‘hard truths’. Please be open to feedback, both good and bad. Use the negative feedback as an opportunity to grow and shout about the positives. When giving feedback to other users or the e-lectorate project itself, please ensure it is objective and constructive. All platform users have a choice whether to embrace or reject feedback. 

Right to remove

The e-lectorate platform administrators reserve the right to remove profiles or content that promotes illegal activity, harms vulnerable people or groups, or, is not in keeping with any of the above principles. Any decision to remove content is at the sole discretion of the e-lectorate administrators and there is no right to appeal.