Get Involved!

The Indymedia concept rests entirely on the willingness of people to make their own media. We want to make this IMC (Independent Media Center) a vibrant and relevant source of information for people. We need you to help us. Below you will find our Points of Unity, our Mission Statement, and our Editorial Policy. At the bottom of the article we have attached the recent meeting minutes and agendas for all to see and review. If you believe in our points of unity and mission then please come to a general meeting and join the mailing list.

Points of Unity

The following statement is decided upon upon by a consensus of Colorado Indymedia (COIMC) members. All COIMC members and working groups are not-for-profit. All volunteers donate their time and have agreed to receive no personal monetary gain. In other words, nobody gets paid.

• All working groups recognize the importance of process to social change and are committed to the development of non-hierarchical and anti-authoritarian relationships, from interpersonal relationships to group dynamics. Therefore, they shall organize themselves collectively and be committed to the principle of consensus decision-making and the development of a direct, participatory democratic process that is transparent to those involved.

• All working groups recognize that the contribution of an individual's labor is a prerequisite for participation in the decision making process of a working group or at a Colorado Indymedia general meeting. Individuals who are not committing tangible labor to a COIMC working group are encouraged to share their views but may not "block" a consensus.

• All working groups are committed to caring for one another and their respective communities both collectively and as individuals and will promote the sharing of resources including knowledge, skills and equipment.

• Whenever possible, all working groups shall be committed to the use of free software and open source code, in order to develop the digital infrastructure, and to increase the independence of themselves by not relying on proprietary software.

• Openness: All working groups shall be committed to the principle of human equality, and shall not discriminate based upon race, spiritual belief, gender, age, class or sexual identity. Working groups are committed to the ideal of building diversity within their activities.

Mission Statement

COIMC exists to...

• Encourage a world where globalization is not about homogeneity and exploitation, but rather, about diversity and cooperation.

• Cover local events that are ignored or poorly covered by corporate media.

• Provide edited audio, video, and print stories of the above for independent media outlets and the general public. Please note: We are not an event planning group nor are we community organizers.

• Network with and provide information about alternative media, research, and activism.

• Seek out and provide coverage underscoring the global nature of people's struggles for social, economic, and environmental justice directly from their perspective.

• Offer community education for training in Internet and media skills.

• Serve as and encourage, facilitate, and support the creation of independent news gathering and organizations dedicated to independent non-corporate reporting.

Editorial Policy

The open publishing newswire is an essential aspect of the Indymedia project and COIMC Center. It was set up to provide a globally accessible space for anyone to quickly self-publish breaking news, articles, commentary, and other media. People volunteer to moderate the newswire to keep it free of spam and other things that are against our editorial policy. The newswire is meant to be a vital space of progressive and radical breaking news, commentary, articles, and announcements. There are no easy or perfect solutions to moderating an open newswire, while maintaining a rich healthy diversity of views. COIMC has come to a consensus on the following guidelines to help us decide what postings are appropriate and what are not. We believe that these guidelines will help to make the moderating process a clearer one for COIMC volunteers, and for anyone who self-publishes.

We Encourage Individuals to Publish:

• Well researched, timely articles.

• Eyewitness accounts of under reported or misreported events.

• Coverage not just of Denver issues but any issue relevant to Colorado and the region we occupy in the world community.

• Media analysis.

• Investigative reports exposing injustice.

• Stories on events affecting underrepresented groups.

• Media produced from within underrepresented groups.

• Local stories with national or global significance.

• Stories on people or projects working towards social and economic justice.

• Original, under-reported stories of local, regional, national, or global importance.

When May a Post Be Deleted?

Much of the abuse seems to be juvenile in nature; and in other cases it amounts to a deliberate attempt to destroy the project. What's more, an unsystematic and ad-hock moderation policy may have confused other readers, who might not be aware of what constitutes abuse and what does not. In order to maintain the integrity of the newswire and the media commons it creates for our community of participants, may delete posts to the newswire when the content disregards the guidelines that have been put in place (see below). We make it our policy to leave up any post unless it is explicitly not allowed by our editorial policy. In the case of an emergency, moderators may delete content that isn't explicitly forbidden in the policy. The following types of content are not allowed and will be immediately deleted upon our finding them:

• Spam posting, i.e., posts deliberately designed to disrupt the newswire and its basic ability to function. These are posts that are deemed to be devoid of content or analysis and appear to be published with the sole purpose of disruption. An example of this kind of post would be one that advertises discount shoes or one that sells products or services and is an advertisement.

• Posts the author has requested requested be deleted—note that if you post anonymously we have no way to know who the author is and will not be able to delete the post if you request it.

• Posts which are obviously incorrect or misleading. This includes attempts to spread disinformation or to impersonate another individual. For example, if you post an article written by someone else and with your byline this is misleading and will be deleted.

• Posts that contain generalized and negative assertions about any race, nation, creed, class, ethnic group, sexual orientation, etc.

• Posts that advocate the mass physical elimination of a specific race, nation, creed, class, ethnic group, sexual orientation, etc, or that link to websites that advocate the same. There have been several post by Nazi groups or sympathizers posted on the newswire which contained a link to a neonazi websites and was accordingly deleted. That said, while we deeply abhor both racism and antisemitism, such opposition does not automatically entail the complete or partial acceptance of the national agenda of any particular state.

• Posts that advocate or encourage people to inform on others.

• Posts that treat the newswire as a personal "bulletin board" with non-political or socially irreverent content directed at one or another newswire participants. There are several comments on the newswire that fall under this category regularly.

• Unreadable formats (i.e. photos posted as text), posts titled "test.", duplicate posts (including duplicate photographs), advertising of products or for-profit services, and pornography (excepting sexually explicit satire).

• Content that is obviously defamatory, libelous, or otherwise illegal such as content that advocates specific illegal acts or violence against specific individuals, groups, or entities or content that violates copyright law.

Within the above guidelines, we welcome posts that disagree with the opinions held by the editors of this website.

Review

COIMC will annually review comments that have been deleted, and further the COIMC collective will review this policy, as well as a sampling of posts deleted during the previous year. We would also like to emphasize that if any collective member disagrees with the deleting of any post, he or she may contact the editorial listserver or request to discuss the matter at a general meeting.

Contacting Us

Members of the COIMC collective do their best to moderate the newswire in the manner described above. However, sometimes we miss something, and sometimes we make mistakes. We welcome anyone that has comments or questions about newswire moderation to post their concerns to the listserve. We can use your help on lots of things. Here are a few of them.

• Contribute Content: By far the best way to help out this effort is to contribute your own stories. It could be a summary of an event you went to, your opinion on an issue going on right now, a review of a film. Whatever! You can even re-post other articles you liked as long as you include the original source and that the posting does not violate copyright law.

• Tech Support: We need people to help maintain the site. Though a background in computers always helps it is definitely not necessary. We manage the site using a program that is very easy to use and we'll show you how. We also are always looking for media equipment such as cameras, video cameras, computers, servers, broadcasting equipment, tapes, etc. Email webmaster@coimc.org if you're interested in helping out

• Outreach: Spread the word! Email people the link to the site, tell your friends about it, share it with groups and organizations you know, include a link to the site from your own web page, repost articles from here, or pass out fliers at rallies or table events (get in touch and we'll get you some materials).

• Organizing: We have some great resources here in Denver and around Colorado we can use to train people in film, radio, print and photo production. If you're interested in organizing trainings or get trained yourself get in touch!

• Media Skills: Write articles yourself? Know how to shoot and edit film? If you have a skill that applies to media work we'd love for you to share it. You can collaborate with others to create media or just do it on your own. Take your skills and share the knowledge with other people.

• Feedback: Tell us what you think. If you have any suggestions or ideas of ways we can improve the site, add new projects or any other tips you have to offer we want to hear it. Better yet, help us improve on things with us!

• Editorial: We need people to help promote stories to the front page, clean up articles, and add images. If you've been at the site for a while as an active member, contact webmaster@coimc.org to be added to the editorial team.

• Legal: As journalists, COIMC and its members may be attacked using the legal system from time to time. Because we provide a place for everybody to speak their mind, this sometimes results in people having a problem with that people say. We need lawyers to answer questions for us and help us if we are attacked.

Don't forget to join our mailing list at http://mail.coimc.org/mailman/listinfo/all_coimc.org! This is just the start. If you have other ideas of ways to contribute we want your help. Visit our contact page and get in touch.

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