[Imc-uk-features] Possible new guidelines that could be drawn from the recent imc-uk-features discussion

[Chris]

Hi

Lots of emails have been sent in regard to the "Browns
'Bombs'?" feat and I thought that perhaps documenting some
of the suggestions from the emails might help form part of
an agenda for the planned meeting -- my understanding is
that some people would like additional guidelines along
the following lines to be considered:

- The 24 hour rule for features applies for week days only
  - if a feature is proposed after 6pm on a Friday 48
  hours should be allowed before it is posted.

- Features must link to first hand grassroots reports of
  protest that have been originally posted to Indymedia
  and these reports must have first been promoted.

- Features can, on occasion, address political issues,
  'realpolitiks' or theoretical issues but only if there
  are first hand reports from people who have direct
  experience of the issue - features should not consist of
  opinion or comment.

- Comments - Indymedia is not a discussion forum, it is
  not a place for debate, it is a place of action.
  Comments should be used to add to articles and not for
  users to abuse our open publishing facility for their
  own purposes.

Personally I don't favour any of the above, I think there
are many features that have been published in the past
that would fall foul of this -- I'll try to go through the
archives and compile a list of past features that would
not have been allowed with the above rules in place.

I appears to me that some people want to steer Indymedia
down a NPOV [1] road, I think this is a mistake and it
flies in the face of "radical, accurate, and passionate
tellings of the truth" [2] and "While the mainstream media
conceal their manifold biases and alignments, we clearly
state our position. Indymedia UK does not attempt to take
an objective and impartial standpoint: Indymedia UK
clearly states its subjectivity." [3] 

If we go down that road it would mean that indymedia
wouldn't be an "open-publishing platform for news, issues,
actions and analysis reporting on grassroots,
non-corporate, non-commercial social justice,
environmental and political issues" [4] and also it would
contradict the claim that "reports cover a wide range of
issues and social movements - from neighbourhood campaigns
to grassroots mobilisations, from critical analysis to
direct action." [3]

Chris

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view

[2] http://www.indymedia.org/en/static/about.shtml

[3] http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/static/mission.html

[4] http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/static/editorial.html 

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