New Policy re Mental Health-Related Posts

[jesse_the_k]

We've created a new policy for posts regarding mental health issues in this community.

Copying the changes from our profile page

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This community accepts a variety of cognitive styles and welcomes everyone. You are in charge of maintaining your own safety as much as possible. Mental health issues are challenging.

Content notices/warnings/advisories/cues/clues are helpful, but there are also limitations
- the poster must understand what sort of issues need caution
- the readers must recognize what they need to avoid

Therefore: POSTING RULES re Mental Health Issues
These are rules. Err once, you're publicly warned. Err twice, you're banned for two weeks.
Moderator decisions are arbitrary and final.
ETA: These decisions are at the mods' discretion and are final
1. Use very specific titles.
not "Gloomy themes" but "Suicide in RPGs"

2. Start with brief overview
describe topic, what kind of discussion you want, what's your goal

3. Place the entire remaining post under a cut

Ask questions by messaging a mod if needed.

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We hope this works for everyone, and we encourage you to comment here.

ETA to change "arbitrary" decision to "discretionary"

Comments

Well...

[ysabetwordsmith]

If I see things like "arbitrary"
and "banned" related to a rule
or warning that's not common,
it tends to make me not want to
post in that community. I'm in
a lot of different places and
it's hard to remember widely
varied rules. The ones that
overlap are easier -- pretty much
everyone wants a warning for
major character death, for instance.

Re: Well...

[sasha_feather]

The language has been changed, per your and other's concerns, to:

These decisions are at the mods' discretion and are final.

We are very leery of banning people and will only do it temporarily unless behavior is particularly egregious or making people unsafe.

[littlebutfierce]

Is this intended to address the last post in this community? If so, I am not sure it addresses the v. valid points brought up in comments about why frequent posts seeking advice for fic is not welcome by some comm members.

[jackandahat]

Yeah, I don't know if it's intentional or not because mindreading is not among my superpowers, but the timing seems like a specific dig.

[chordatesrock]

Do you feel that it would be best to discuss that?

Fic Discussion Policy under Review

[jesse_the_k]

The mod team is deliberately (i.e., slowly) crafting a community policy to address the concerns recently raised.

Re: Fic Discussion Policy under Review

[neolithicsheep]

Is the mod team also.considering discussing priorities of the community with members? I.e. who should be getting public Slapdowns when a person who makes other people feel unsafe, as reported to mods previously, continues to engage in same behavior and is called out by a crip who's tired of it?

Y'all changed the beta rules after the last time this was brought up. I don't think piecemeal rule alterations is the way to go here.

I know I'm not the only one who has problems with a non-disabled person repeatedly trying to use a disability-centric community as a forum for research. I'm just a real easy scapegoat for mods, because I will get confrontational.

If no mods are willing to address someone who has become a problem, but are willing to repeatedly cut and paste condescending warnings to me, even when I go out of my way to actually educate someone as to what the problem with their behavior is, then perhaps y'all need to find someone for the mod team who is less conflict-avoidant. Transparency on what process the mods intend to use would be nice, too. Lack of transparency fosters distrust rather than engagement.

Finally, this policy of "you are responsible for avoiding offensive material and if you don't respond in a way we find acceptable, we will ban your ass on arbitrary and discretionary grounds which you may not appeal" is a) ugly and b) given the timing feels like an asshole passive aggressive threat aimed directly at me. If you would prefer I leave the community rather than asking mods to step up and take responsibility and when they don't, telling the non-disabled person who thinks we're here for her pleasure to knock it off, say so. If no one is comfortable saying so, See previous note regarding getting a mod who is capable of tactful confrontation.

Re: Fic Discussion Policy under Review

[sasha_feather]

Access-fandom is not a safe space that is only for PWD. It is a learning and teaching space for everyone. There are other disability communities that are safer spaces.

Assuming someone's disability status (as if you can tell whether they are disabled or non-disabled) is rude and I object to it.

I actually don't care what you think about me personally. I do get that you are upset. But it is not OK to make such assumptions about the OP.

Re: Fic Discussion Policy under Review

[jackandahat]

I would say the question isn't whether it's a PWD-only space, but if it's a space where PWD in general can feel comfortable.

You seem to keep taking this personally, when this is an issue that's been raised in the comm before.

While the rules do say not to "assume", when someone continually speaks about disabled people as the other then it seems clear that they don't identify as part of that group.

First line of the profile: "Use this space for free-ranging discussion about [...] how to make fandom more disability-friendly,"

One starting point to that would be listening to the needs of people with disabilities. All people, rather than the ones specifically toeing the party line.

Re: Fic Discussion Policy under Review

[(Anonymous)]

Assuming someone's disability status (as if you can tell whether they are disabled or non-disabled) is rude and I object to it.

If it makes a difference to anyone, I've been linked to entries by that poster before all this happened and I've seen them identify as disabled. Regardless of the appropriateness of the post(s?) in question, this doesn't seem to be a case of non-disabled people invading disabled spaces.

(frozen) Re: Fic Discussion Policy under Review

[neolithicsheep]

Funny, there's a whole manifesto written by this person on how they were miraculously cured of a disability and are in fact not disabled. You can find it at http://accessportrayal.dreamwidth.org/1763.html

If the OP is now claiming to be disabled after being told they're being a dick to crips, well. That's interesting, isn't it.

(frozen) FINAL warning

[sasha_feather]

Debating or speculating upon a member's disability status is not an appropriate use of this community. I am freezing this thread and issuing you a final warning.

(frozen) Re: Fic Discussion Policy under Review

[neolithicsheep]

Happily, I am not making any assumptions about chordatesrock, as they have a huge manifesto publicly available stating they are not disabled: http://accessportrayal.dreamwidth.org/1763.html

I agree that it's wrong to make unfounded assumptions about someone's disability status, and that's why I did no such thing. Instead, I respected the OP's right to self-identification.

Perhaps you would now care to extend me an apology for your own rash assumption? Or do expectations of good manners not extend to mods?

(frozen) Re: Fic Discussion Policy under Review

[sasha_feather]

Talking about having a disability go away does NOT mean that a person is non-disabled. People can have MORE than one disability! Wow.

I am really fed up with your bullying and lack of respect.

(frozen) Re: Fic Discussion Policy under Review

[sasha_feather]

In that link the poster says "I don’t think of myself as CND (currently nondisabled). "

Are we reading the same thing?????