COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
Tinfoil is a place where we can talk about digital security, privacy, and journalism. We aim to make it a comfortable environment for everyone who is interested in these topics. Our basic guidelines are…
• Consider peoples’ needs—not just security needs
• Be nice, don’t not be nice
• Criticize ideas, not people
• If you see a problem, flag it
• Know about informal rules
Consider peoples’ needs—not just security needs
Some people in the community may look for security advice or guidance. For many, security is not the end goal, but instead, a way for them to accomplish something else they care about. Consider the other things they care about.
• Consider what the person wants to accomplish and their circumstances.
• It’s possible they can’t share details about their situation. Don’t probe too much.
• They know their situation better than we do.
• Be accepting of pushback.
Be nice, don’t not be nice
What we mean by this:
• No harassment of any kind. This is too often a problem at security conferences - don't be that person.
• Be generous in giving and accepting criticism.
• Respect people’s boundaries.
• Don’t make it personal.
Criticize ideas, not people
People here won’t always agree with each other. That’s expected, but please keep the conversation about ideas, not the people who express them. We hope you will avoid anti-social actions including:
• Insults
• Threats
• Slurs
• Posting pornography
• Spam
• Bullying
• Copyright infringement
• Impersonation of someone else
• Violating someone’s privacy
If you see a problem, flag it
When you see bad behavior, please don’t respond to it in public. Bad behavior can be encouraged by acknowledging it, consuming your energy, and wasting everyone’s time. As much as we all like a good internet fight, just flag it. We’ll take notice, and where appropriate, take action.
Know about informal rules
We will not spend all day long enforcing them, but we encourage you to abide by some informal rules to make the forum more efficient.
• Try to put new posts in the appropriate category
• Avoid cross-posting the same thing in multiple topics
• Avoid posting no-content replies such as “I agree!” or “+1!” – just use the Like button
• Avoid diverting a topic by changing it midstream – use the Reply as a Linked Topic option
• Please don’t sign your posts — every post has your profile information attached to it
Moderators may add or change the category for new posts. Otherwise, if a moderator moves or alters your content, they will let you know.
Please give us feedback in the forum, on Twitter at @tinfoilpress, or send us an email (at tinfoilhelp on gmail) if you think the system could be done better. These guidelines are loosely adapted from the Coral Project community guidelines.