Code of Conduct for Online Community Engagement

This document is a code of conduct for engaging members of the Apogaea community through Internet based tools. As leaders in the community, the Apogaea Board of Directors and Ignition members set an impressionable example for the entire Apgoaea community. This is at least equally true when engaging the community in online spaces such as social media platforms, email correspondence, and our own website. Because of the widespread exposure and longevity of data, online engagement of community members carries special considerations. This document provides a code of conduct for managing the special considerations of online community engagement.

Purpose of Engaging The Online Community

Apogaea, like Burning Man, is a radically inclusive community. As such, Apogaea attempts to connect with the larger online community on every reasonable platform. Apogaea uses these platforms to engage, educate, and influence the community. We engage our community, most of all, to listen to the community. We educate the community by providing clear and coherent information and updates as effectively as possible. We influence the community by setting an example that we each feel best represents the 10 principles as well as the extended ethos of burner culture.

Three Realms: Tabernacle, Garden, Boondocks

When addressing the online community, there are three realms where engagement will occur. We can use the analogy of a Tabernacle, a Garden, and the Boondocks to help understand these three realms.

The Tabernacle is our sacred home. This is where we maintain the most restrictive behavior. Our Tabernacle should always serve as a clean and coherent platform to educate the community. This space includes, but is not limited to, our own website. It might also include a stricter section on a public forum. Behavior is restricted to maintain the most useful signal to noise ratio possible. This is not the space for radical self expression nor any actions based on personal motivation.

The Garden is our greater community. This is where the Apogaea Board of Directors and Ignition members engage and interact with the open community on topics related to Apogaea and Burning Man. In alignment with the ethos of Burning Man, we impose as few rules as possible to still ensure a stable and viable environment. Keep in mind, a lack of rules should not imply a lack of responsibility. Every action a board or ignition member takes online will be seen as an example. Help maintain a healthy garden by setting a healthy example to follow.

The Boondocks are beyond the scope of Apogaea’s concern. This may be a completely unrelated forum on an unrelated topic in some far corner of the Internet. This may be the blog of a board member that is completely unrelated to the board member’s role as a board member. Even in the lawless expansion of the boondocks, board and ignition members should always bear in mind a sense of respect for their roles in and representation of the Apogaea and Burning Man organization.

Codes of Conduct

Codes of conduct for the following zones are inherited as you move closer to the Tabernacle.. That is to say, any codes for the Boondocks apply to both the Garden and the Tabernacle and codes for the Garden also apply to the Tabernacle.

The Boondocks

• Always be mindful that the information you disclose does not bring Apogaea and it’s volunteers into disrepute.

• If you post on the topic of Apogaea, please disclose your position as a board or Ignition member. This remains relevant, even if you have other positions related to the larger Burning Man organization.

The Garden

• Be Aware of the 10 Principles

• Take extra care when handling controversy as you would with kerosene, dynamite and

• hydrogen bombs. (taken directly from the overall Apogaea Code of Conduct)

• Be Impeccable With Your Word: If, as a representative of Apogaea, you publicly state an intention, you should make sure you follow through on that intention.

• Be a Good Listener: Read the existing conversation before posting. If you did not fully follow the conversation, read it again. If you feel inhibited in your ability to listen, do not engage.

• Be Transparent: Always post under a verifiable identity. Take public responsibility for bans, deletions, edits, etc.

• Be Humble: Everyone makes mistakes. Own them publicly, quickly, and concisely. Do not let them fester into poison that could harm the garden.

• Be Radically Inclusive: To the extent that no voice is smothered, give everyone a chance to be heard. If you feel the need to pluck a weed, be sure the weed is truly a weed. Most plants in the garden have value and some require more attention than others.

• Be Accurate: Verify your information before posting. When possible, link to information on the website. If that information does not exist on the website, consider getting the website updated before responding.

• Bring Value: Evaluate everything you post. If your post is void of value, it only serves to create noise and reduce signal strength. If it’s a weed in the garden, pull it. If the only value is entertainment and engagement, be sure there exists an actual need for that value at the time of your posting.

• Don’t Take Anything Personally: There are always trolls in the garden; you will be baited. Remember, you’re setting an example as a leader. Don’t feed the trolls or they’ll multiply.

• If it gives you pause, then pause. (if anything feels at all wrong, stop)

• Don’t use online tools to convince, only to inform. (This is taken directly from an entry in the overall Apogaea Code of Conduct in regard to email. It is only more viable in other online spaces.)

• Do not feel obligated to respond/react. Often times, the community can solve it’s own problems. Rarely will you be the only representative of Apogaea qualified to respond. Ultimately, community members should be encouraged to look to the Tabernacle for a more definitive response to any issue.

• Do not make assumptions.

• Do not bring internal concerns to public attention needlessly. Remember, “praise in public, punish in private.” There is no value in public criticism.

The Tabernacle

• Be Proactive: Regularly visit and examine resources that are part of the Tabernacle. Report any problems you see. Engage where you can.

• Focus On Your Area of Expertise: No one knows your stuff better than you. Make sure content related to your responsibilities is accurate. Respond to questions you are best informed to respond to.

• Be Firm: Unlike the garden, there’s no room for chatter or noise inside the Tabernacle. Remove all posts and content that do not serve a greater purpose and provide ongoing value. Move conversations that should continue out to the garden. Keep the Tabernacle sacred.

• Bring Only Value: The Tabernacle serves the whole of the community and is no one individuals platform of personal expression. Content created for sites and platforms within the Tabernacle should be rich in value, void of fillers, and easy to consume and digest.

• Avoid tones of dominance, resentment, criticizing, or stonewalling. Content you may wish to create, once published to the Tabernacle, represents Apogaea as a whole. Be an oracle.