Post by mainstreet on Jun 15, 2015 3:38:12 GMT
Due to recent issues that have occurred, I feel it necessary to discuss the overall mission of WyvernIRC, how it varies from traditional IRC networks, and how that impacts our users. To put this in context, we must look at the history of this network, and the lessons our staff has learned from that history.
EpsilonIRC was the initial forerunner network to WyvernIRC, founded in 2008. The network was initially founded in order to create a space for a specific community, but with an eye to growing membership into other areas too. Our staff were both young and inexperienced in their positions, and in the desire for this growth, little thought was given to the impact of incoming communities beyond the increase in userbase - in this fashion, it was by and large quite similar to the vast majority of IRC networks.
After a time, we found another small network in a similar position, and the decision was made to merge the two. While some concerns were voiced, the vast majority of the staff of both servers were fully in favor of moving forward in the interests of growth. Thus, ZetaIRC was born.
ZetaIRC lasted for a while, but as time went on, problems started to become apparent. WyvernIRC was founded in 2011 when the component networks that had formed ZetaIRC split once more. The events that necessitated this split included increasingly sexist and demeaning behaviour from one of the staff that had originally come from JasonIRC towards the female users of the network, especially the female staff. WyvernIRC took most of the userbase with it, and as a result, ZetaIRC folded shortly thereafter.
What we learned is that growth is not the be all and end all of an IRC network, or perhaps, that is doesn’t have to be. It put us in the position of deciding, definitively, whether numbers were more important than protecting the more vulnerable parts of our userbase.
Most IRC networks prioritize size. They aim to attract communities, and then leave those communities to police themselves as desired, refusing to intercede unless pressed - and sometimes not even then, unless illegal conduct is involved. They have little actual involvement in who is allowed to roam the server, or the quality of the communities that congregate there.
The consequences of this are that, especially outside of one or two “official” channels, the experience one has on a network can be very mixed, and depends largely on which parts you wander into. Many rooms degrade entirely into the usual “slums” of the internet, filled with hostile and even cruel behaviour. Other rooms still, while not so obviously bad, nonetheless cultivate an environment which is hostile to many minorities, including women, people of color, LGBT+, disabled people, rape survivors… the list goes on. It is not unusual for such minorities to find themselves feeling unwelcome and/or uncomfortable, as those showing hostile behaviours face no consequences and are allowed to remain.
We at WyvernIRC are not disinterested in growing our userbase - quite to the contrary, we would love to have more communities join us. However, what we are, is more interested in quality rather than quantity. We strive to provide a network on which people can be respected, regardless of which part of the network they happen to stumble upon. We do not believe that those who consistently engage in demeaning, harassing or otherwise hostile behaviour, especially towards minorities, are a valuable addition to our network. We also do not believe that it is worth keeping such individuals around in order to appease communities that think the inclusion of the person in question is more important than everyone else’s right to basic respect.
The network staff do not interfere in channel moderation. If you, as a channel owner, do not want someone in your room, we will not repeal that. We do not apply channel moderation such as kicks or channel bans. We will not interfere with moderators enforcing their channel rules.
However.
Basic respect and decency is something that we demand as a network. If complaints of harassment or hostile behaviour reach us, as network staff, we will endeavor to end that behaviour. Our first preference is to work with channel staff towards this end, but if the problem spans multiple channels and/or the channel staff can’t or won’t act to end the problem, we will apply network moderation as necessary.
The network rules apply to everyone in every channel, channel owners and moderators included. No-one is punished for disagreeing, or arguing, or not necessarily getting along. However, we don’t think that basic respect for your fellow human beings is too much to ask. Everyone has a right to exist and live their lives. We aim for WyvernIRC to be a place where they can do this without harassment.
Racism, sexism, transphobia and other such views might be considered merely having an opinion to some, and so it is. However, we have no obligation to provide a platform for those opinions to be aired, especially at the expense of many of our other users. There are plenty of places on the internet that will allow you to do so instead. No-one will be removed for merely having these opinions, but we do ask that you not air them here, and that you respect the network staff if you are warned that your behaviour is out of line. We are willing to work with people and extend every courtesy we can, but only if they are willing to work with us in turn.
Thank you for choosing WyvernIRC.
EpsilonIRC was the initial forerunner network to WyvernIRC, founded in 2008. The network was initially founded in order to create a space for a specific community, but with an eye to growing membership into other areas too. Our staff were both young and inexperienced in their positions, and in the desire for this growth, little thought was given to the impact of incoming communities beyond the increase in userbase - in this fashion, it was by and large quite similar to the vast majority of IRC networks.
After a time, we found another small network in a similar position, and the decision was made to merge the two. While some concerns were voiced, the vast majority of the staff of both servers were fully in favor of moving forward in the interests of growth. Thus, ZetaIRC was born.
ZetaIRC lasted for a while, but as time went on, problems started to become apparent. WyvernIRC was founded in 2011 when the component networks that had formed ZetaIRC split once more. The events that necessitated this split included increasingly sexist and demeaning behaviour from one of the staff that had originally come from JasonIRC towards the female users of the network, especially the female staff. WyvernIRC took most of the userbase with it, and as a result, ZetaIRC folded shortly thereafter.
What we learned is that growth is not the be all and end all of an IRC network, or perhaps, that is doesn’t have to be. It put us in the position of deciding, definitively, whether numbers were more important than protecting the more vulnerable parts of our userbase.
Most IRC networks prioritize size. They aim to attract communities, and then leave those communities to police themselves as desired, refusing to intercede unless pressed - and sometimes not even then, unless illegal conduct is involved. They have little actual involvement in who is allowed to roam the server, or the quality of the communities that congregate there.
The consequences of this are that, especially outside of one or two “official” channels, the experience one has on a network can be very mixed, and depends largely on which parts you wander into. Many rooms degrade entirely into the usual “slums” of the internet, filled with hostile and even cruel behaviour. Other rooms still, while not so obviously bad, nonetheless cultivate an environment which is hostile to many minorities, including women, people of color, LGBT+, disabled people, rape survivors… the list goes on. It is not unusual for such minorities to find themselves feeling unwelcome and/or uncomfortable, as those showing hostile behaviours face no consequences and are allowed to remain.
We at WyvernIRC are not disinterested in growing our userbase - quite to the contrary, we would love to have more communities join us. However, what we are, is more interested in quality rather than quantity. We strive to provide a network on which people can be respected, regardless of which part of the network they happen to stumble upon. We do not believe that those who consistently engage in demeaning, harassing or otherwise hostile behaviour, especially towards minorities, are a valuable addition to our network. We also do not believe that it is worth keeping such individuals around in order to appease communities that think the inclusion of the person in question is more important than everyone else’s right to basic respect.
The network staff do not interfere in channel moderation. If you, as a channel owner, do not want someone in your room, we will not repeal that. We do not apply channel moderation such as kicks or channel bans. We will not interfere with moderators enforcing their channel rules.
However.
Basic respect and decency is something that we demand as a network. If complaints of harassment or hostile behaviour reach us, as network staff, we will endeavor to end that behaviour. Our first preference is to work with channel staff towards this end, but if the problem spans multiple channels and/or the channel staff can’t or won’t act to end the problem, we will apply network moderation as necessary.
The network rules apply to everyone in every channel, channel owners and moderators included. No-one is punished for disagreeing, or arguing, or not necessarily getting along. However, we don’t think that basic respect for your fellow human beings is too much to ask. Everyone has a right to exist and live their lives. We aim for WyvernIRC to be a place where they can do this without harassment.
Racism, sexism, transphobia and other such views might be considered merely having an opinion to some, and so it is. However, we have no obligation to provide a platform for those opinions to be aired, especially at the expense of many of our other users. There are plenty of places on the internet that will allow you to do so instead. No-one will be removed for merely having these opinions, but we do ask that you not air them here, and that you respect the network staff if you are warned that your behaviour is out of line. We are willing to work with people and extend every courtesy we can, but only if they are willing to work with us in turn.
Thank you for choosing WyvernIRC.