Free Speech Means Protection from Tyranny
We mention this up front but it bears repeating. We are not a free speech instance.
We're proponents of free expression. We are one thousand percent onboard with the idea that governments have no right to tell you what to say or what to think. I mean, we're adventurers with a strong grasp of history and human nature; we know how giving governments the power to restrict "bad" speech always ends.
But you know what? We're not a government, Steve. We're a band of misfit adventurers with a virtual speakeasy. And we're not inclined to offer a soapbox to every shitty little person who wants to spout their own stupid David Guetta remix of tired old bigoted tropes.
Basically, this is our collective Speakeasy. You're in our house now, bitch. If you're being a shitty guest, well, enjoy your trip to the bin.
Bigots Not Welcome Here
We absolutely reject bigots, racists, homophobes, transphobes, and any other, similarly shitty type of person. You are not welcome in our feeds, on our timelines, and definitely not in our private messages. If you decide to 'hur hur' your way into our lives anyway because you're "just asking questions" or you have an overwhelming desire to be right, then do us a favor?
Get in the bin. Get in the bin and light it on fire. With kerosene.
Don't Be A Creep
Do not harass, dox, stalk, or otherwise act like a creepy weirdo toward anyone, speakeaser or no. We have a zero tolerance policy for those things. If we feel it egregious enough, we may even track your ISP, Registrar, whatever down and do our best to make your existence on the Internet that much harder.
Don't. Be. A. Creep.
Content Warnings Are Bae
We're pretty chill in the speakeasy most days, but we do get passionate or inappropriate at times. Out of respect for our misfits and guests, we make liberal use of content warnings (CW) and hashtags. Sometimes we / you / we all need a break from Today's Breaking Bad News or Dio's sad, thirsty whining about how super spicy she's been feeling because the wind was blowing and it made her horny.
We require that you content warn and tag the following:
- Nudity or Strongly Suggestive Pictures & Video - If what you're posting would make the average someone panic and quickly close their fediverse app if they were browsing from work, it should probably be content warned and you should use the sensitive media marker too. If it's truly spicy, please also tag it with the #nsfw tag so people with filters can filter it out if they choose.
Recommended Hashtags: #nsfw, #nudity, #erotica - Politics - There's a lot of stuff going on, okay? And some of us are involved in it more than you probably know. But we always tag our political posts with at least a #politics tag and we absolutely drop it behind a content warning. We ask that you do the same if you're a speakeaser; we want to respect our fellow mifits' mental health. This goes for boosts too; please copy and paste the link and content warn it so you're not putting the rest of us on blast!
Recommended Hashtags: #politics, #XXpol (where XX is the country in question, aka #USPol, #UKPol, #DEPol), #CandidateName (Sub in the candidate.) - News - General news (weather, local events, etcetera) doesn't need a content warning, but bad or stressful news, especially if it affects a minority or disadantaged group, should always be content warned and tagged so people can choose to engage when or if they choose. Basically if it make you rage, despair, or fear then you should really consider a content warning.
Recommended Hashtags: #news, #war #CurrentEvent (find the trending tag for it) #Violence #GunViolence #AISlop - Mental Health - Okay look, we love our speakeasers and we want them to be happy, but sometimes we just don't have the silverware to handle the extra load. That's true of the fedi in general too; people want to be helpful but sometimes, they're just not in the right state of mind. So please, content warn your mental health posts so they have the time to prepare, okay?
Recommended Hashtags: #MH, #MentalHealth
Here to Socialize, Not Advertise
We love the creativity of our fellow Speakeasers, and we want them to feel comfortable posting their work. So we not only allow, but encourage you to share!
But...
This is a community, not a marketplace. Please remember that you're here to be a member of the Speakeasy. As long as you're talking to people, interacting, and being reasonable with your shares, we're okie with you sharing. If it seems like you're just here to promote whatever, you might be better off elsewhere.
Technicalities are Technically Trash
You know those people who go around trying to find the loopholes in 'the rules' so they can act like fetid waffles? Yeah, we don't really play that here. If you think you're going to quote our rules at us to get away with violating one of our core tenets, then you're going to have a pretty bad time. We're about the spirit, not the letter; we're a common law jurisdiction of chaos and we have thousands of years of precedent just itching to send 'but actually' boys away.
That doesn't mean that you can't ask questions if you don't understand. If you're 'just asking questions' I mean, no thanks, but if you're generally curious about something like if nudity is allowed (it is, just content warn) or whether critiquing a government is racist (it is not) then please ask!
We Post What We Want
This is our collective speakeasy and we want our speakeasers to feel welcome. As long as we're following the Core Tenets above and we're not posting anything that is blatantly illegal, we're free to post whatever we like. We might post spicy stories, political rants, food pictures, silly jokes... the floor is open for anything and everything! Essentially, we operate on the principle of The Good Guests. We are all each others' guests, so we treat the Speakeasy like we'd treat a good friend's home.
On that note, please don't bother reporting a speakeaser because they said a thing you don't like. If it isn't breaking our Core Tenets or our Supplemental Rules, we're not going to censor or censure them.