Policies and Procedures
SFWA Events happen virtually and in-person, and in all cases we abide by a core set of rules and expectations to improve the experience for everyone in attendance. Our Moderation Policy is in effect for all SFWA spaces, and it stresses the importance of remembering the human. This doesn’t just mean that we strive for kind, thoughtful, and constructive conduct; it also means that we recognize our fallibility. Sometimes people with different communications styles, experience sets, perspectives, and conflict resolution strategies will clash and disagree – and we might not always communicate our disagreement in an ideal way. This doesn’t mean we condone personal attacks (ever); it means that we take a curious and restorative approach to resolving disputes and other hurtful encounters as they happen.
Strategies for navigating complex conversation spaces involve a) giving ourselves and others a bit of grace with tough topics, b) recognizing that a time-out can be an incredibly helpful tool to lower intensity, and c) allowing good-faith readings of conflict to win out as often as possible. Moderator decisions are final, but they are always discussed as a team with the aim of de-escalating tension so we can regroup and try again.
Oh, and it’s also a good idea to remember that just because “Someone Is Wrong On the Internet” doesn’t mean the responsibility for healing the rift lies with you! Please write to our Moderation Team at discord@sfwa.org for any concerns that arise on Discord, or reach out to office@sfwa.org for guidance on filling out an incident report for in-person events. We’re delighted to be developing new conflict resolution and mediation strategies to further support our members in the coming months, and a new Harassment Policy will be replacing our current one in due course.
But really, at the end of the day, it’s as simple as this: Remember the Human. The world is hard enough, and a writing community like ours is a wonderful place to build something just a little bit kinder. Thank you for everything you do to make this space better for us all.