The Ten Comments
Be kind.
This is a room full of people making things and learning things out loud. That only works if it is safe to be new at something. So, ten lines - the Ten Comments. They are the terms.
- Be loving. Assume the person on the other side of the camera is trying. They usually are.
- Be smart. Think before you post. Read it back. If it would sting to receive, it stings to send.
- Be OK with everything you are learning. Nobody here has it all worked out. Getting it wrong in front of people is how you get it right. Let others do the same.
- Never put someone down for their belief. Not their faith, their politics, their music, their team, their way of living. You can disagree. You cannot make someone small for it.
- Let life be OK. Not every moment needs a fight. Some of the best things said in this room were said quietly.
- Calm and centre. If you are angry, step away from the camera for a minute. The room will be here. It has a brb for exactly that.
- Be kind. When in doubt, this one. It covers the rest.
- Say it in the room, not about the room. If you have something to say about somebody, say it to them - here, or in a private window with Help pressed. Not behind them.
- Share what you make. Ask before you take. Your beat, your words, your picture: post them proud. Somebody else's: ask first, and say whose it is.
- Leave it better than you found it. A room is only what the people in it leave behind. Leave a good line, a star, an answer.
What the house does
Somebody who forgets these gets a word, privately - press Help in any private window and a person from the house comes in. Somebody who keeps forgetting gets muted, or their camera turned off, or shown the door. That is done by a person, not a program; the room's helper never moderates anyone. If something is happening to you, press ? or Help. You will not be told to just ignore it.
What the room keeps about you: a name you typed, a face you picked, how long you have been here, and the stars people gave you. No account, no email, no address - the room hashes the connection the moment it arrives and never keeps it. Private words are kept for a day, files for two weeks, and then they are gone.