Online Community Moderation Guidelines

These guidelines govern how we moderate Indy Hall's online spaces — Discord and any future platforms. They build directly on the Indy Hall Code of Conduct, which applies fully to all online spaces.

Foundation: The Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct is the primary set of rules. These moderation guidelines describe how we enforce it — not what the rules are. The short version:

We expect members to take care of themselves, each other, and this place.

• Be kind. Create opportunities to collaborate. Leave spaces (online and offline) better than you found them.
• Treat others with the professionalism, warmth, and respect with which you would like to be treated.
• Offline rules apply online. Don't say anything online you wouldn't say to someone's face.

Harassment is never tolerated. The Code of Conduct includes a detailed list of behaviors that constitute harassment — from offensive comments and threats to deliberate intimidation, stalking, unwelcome contact, and outing someone's identity without consent. If you're unsure whether something crosses a line, it probably does. Ask.

Nothing is too small or too large. If something or someone has made you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, report it to the Response Team at report@indyhall.org. You can be as involved as you want in what follows, and you can report anonymously via this anonymous form.

Netiquette

A few norms specific to online spaces:

• Post with context. Don't just drop links — share what it makes you think or feel, who might find it useful, or what question it raises. A link without context is like running into a room, saying a random sentence, and walking away.
• Ask before sharing screenshots. IH spaces are member-only by default. If you want to share a screenshot of what someone said or a group photo, ask permission first. Most people will say yes, but some have good reasons for keeping their presence private.
• Content warnings matter. If sharing something potentially disturbing (violence, difficult news), use spoiler tags or content warnings so members can opt in.

The Approach

Indy Hall's online spaces are extensions of the Clubhouse. The same culture applies: be kind, be curious, be generous with your attention and your benefit of the doubt.

Most moderation here looks like a conversation, not an enforcement action. Members know each other. A quiet check-in almost always resolves things before they escalate.

Moderation Team

• Alex Hillman
• Adam Teterus

If the person you're reporting is on the team, they will recuse themselves.

For challenging or frontier decisions — situations that don't have a clear precedent — we counsel with trusted members of the community before acting. This isn't moderation by committee, but we believe the best decisions come from more perspectives, not fewer.

As the community grows, we may invite trusted members to help moderate. Priority goes to voices that broaden the perspectives on the mod team.

Goals

• Enforce the Code of Conduct consistently across online and offline spaces
• Handle issues quickly and quietly when possible
• Be transparent and proportional in moderation decisions
• Protect the most vulnerable members of the community
• Talk to people like neighbors, not like a compliance department

How We Handle Things

Step 1: Talk first

Whenever possible, a moderator will reach out privately before taking any action. The goal is to give the person a chance to self-correct. Most of the time, this is all it takes.

A check-in is a consideration, not a punishment. Receive it that way.

Step 2: "No action needed"

Not every report requires moderation. If someone doesn't like a particular person or topic but there's no Code of Conduct violation or clear harm, we may suggest muting, blocking, or adjusting notification settings.

These reports get marked as resolved.

Step 3: Clear violations

When something clearly violates the Code of Conduct — harassment, hate speech, doxxing, spam, illegal content — a single moderator can act immediately: remove the content, issue a warning, or restrict the account.

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

Step 4: Ambiguous situations

When it's unclear, two moderators discuss before acting. If we need more context, we'll ask for it. Notes are kept so future decisions are consistent.

Possible Actions

Scaled to severity:

1. Private conversation — A DM to check in and give the person a chance to adjust. This is the default first step for anything short of egregious behavior.
2. Warning — A formal note on record. No restrictions, but documented in case of repeat issues.
3. Temporary restriction — Muted or restricted from certain channels for a cooling-off period.
4. Removal — Banned from the community's online spaces. For serious or repeated Code of Conduct violations, this may extend to Clubhouse membership as well.

Three-strike guideline

For lesser violations that don't individually warrant removal, three documented warnings may lead to removal. This is a guideline, not a rigid rule — context matters.

Reporting

• Response Team: report@indyhall.org
• Anonymous reports: this anonymous form
• Direct contact: DM Alex or Adam on Discord

We will respect confidentiality. At our discretion, we may publicly name someone or warn third parties if we believe it increases member safety. We will not name reporting parties without their explicit consent.

Appeals

We're human and we can get things wrong. If you think an action was unfair, reach out to Alex or Adam directly. We'll review it.

Attribution

Adapted from jawns.club moderation guidelines by Alex Hillman and Nelson Chu Pavlosky, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Code of Conduct based on suggestions from IH members, the Geek Feminism wiki (Ada Initiative), and the MediaWiki Code of Conduct.