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community guidelines

community guidelines

these community guidelines have been adapted from the community covenant available here: https://community-covenant.net/
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1. our goals

  • at somos, we're dedicated to creating an inclusive space that is welcoming and supportive for everyone!
  • we want a platform:
    • with everything teachers and course creators need to build their online teaching business or language project in a healthy and sustainable way.
    • where language learners can use somos to improve their skills, make friends, and connect with one another in multiple languages.
  • above all:
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2. applicability and scope

  • we want to make our community spaces (including public channels, private channels, threads, direct messages, voice rooms, comment sections and live events) a fun and welcoming place for everyone!
  • to help out, please make sure to abide by our community guidelines.
  • if we find that someone has violated them, our administrators may choose to take appropriate action. thanks for being part of the community!
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3. toward a welcoming and safe environment

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positive behaviour
  • we hope to create an environment in which diverse individuals can collaborate and interact in a positive and affirming way.
  • examples of behaviour that contributes to creating this sort of environment include:
    • using welcoming and inclusive language
    • being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
    • gracefully accepting constructive criticism
    • focusing on what is best for the overall community
    • showing empathy towards other community members
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respecting privacy
  • please do not:
    • record any video or audio of any other person without their explicit consent.
    • take any screenshots of any other person without their explicit consent.
    • share any personal information of any other participants, including photos, videos, audio recordings, contact information, social media accounts, etc.
    • share any information or materials obtained from somos online language courses with any third parties
    • use any images or videos of other participants without their permission.
  • please do respect the privacy of others, and do not enter any video or audio sessions without permission.
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conduct on camera
  • be friendly and welcoming to others
  • use appropriate language and be respectful of other participants
  • remain focused on the topic of discussion
  • mute your microphone when not speaking to avoid background noise
  • members of the community are expected to be respectful and fully clothed at all times.
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4. anti-harassment statement

  • this community will not tolerate harassment of any kind. examples of harassment include:
    • offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, pregnancy status, veteran status, political affiliation, marital status, body size, age, race, national origin, ethnic origin, nationality, immigration status, language, religion or lack thereof, or other identity marker. this includes anti-indigenous/nativeness and anti-blackness.
    • unwelcome comments regarding a person's lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, relationships, drugs, and employment.
    • deliberate misgendering, using inappropriate pronouns, or use of "dead" or rejected names.
    • gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behaviour in spaces where they're not appropriate.
    • physical contact and simulated physical contact (e.g. textual descriptions like "hug" or "backrub") without consent or after a request to stop.
    • threats of violence.
    • incitement of violence towards any individual or group, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or to engage in self-harm.
    • deliberate intimidation.
    • stalking or following - online or in the physical world.
    • harassing photography or recording, including logging online activity for harassment purposes.
    • sustained disruption of discussion.
    • unwelcome sexual attention.
    • patterns of inappropriate social contact, such as requesting/assuming inappropriate levels of intimacy with others.
    • continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease.
    • deliberate "outing" of any aspect of a person's identity without their consent (except as necessary to protect vulnerable people from intentional abuse).
    • publication of non-harassing private communication.
    • jokes that resemble the above (such as "hipster racism") still count as harassment even if meant satirically or ironically.
  • if you have questions or concerns about these issues, please feel free to message an admin or ask for an opportunity to explore the issue with a moderator and volunteers.
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5. reporting

  • if you are being harassed by a member of our community, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact the administrators via support@somos.education.
  • if the person who is harassing you is on the admin team, they will not be involved in handling or resolving the incident.
  • if you don't get a response in a timely manner, please prioritize your safety and well-being, and consider logging out and/or contacting the admins by email at support@somos.education.
  • we take all reports of harassment seriously, including those outside our spaces and those that happened in the past. the abuse team reserves the right to exclude people from the community based on their past behaviour.
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6. enforcement process

  • every violation report will be taken seriously and with care.
  • if a member's safety or security is in immediate danger, an individual admin may take the necessary action - including temporarily banning the offender from the community.
  • for less urgent situations, two admins will discuss the offense, mutually arrive at a suitable response, which will be shared with the offender privately.
  • the decision of the admins involved in the violation case will be considered final.
  • we respect confidentiality requests to protect victims of abuse.
  • at our discretion, we may:
    • publicly name a person about whom we've received harassment complaints, and/or
    • privately warn third parties about them,

      • if it may increase the safety of our members or the general public.

  • we will never name harassment victims without their affirmative consent.
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7. consequences

  • participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately.
  • if a participant engages in harassing behaviour, the administrators may take any action they deem appropriate, including expulsion from the community and identification of the participant as a harasser to other members.

🤔 frequently asked questions

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what happens if someone violates the rules?

if someone violates the rules, they may be asked to leave the community and their account may be suspended without a refund.

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what happens if i need help?

if you need help, please reach out to an admin or email us at support@somos.education.

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registered in england & wales with company number: 13657044.