Fanlore:Ethical Standards for Community & Content

Policy:	Ethical Standards for Community & Content
In summary:
Related Policies:	Deceptive Practices, Managing Conflict, All Policies.

Fanlore Ethical standards

Fanlore is committed to upholding the following ethical standards regarding fans, fanworks, and fan communities.

Truthfulness

We will do our best never to lie, deceive, or misrepresent the words and works of fans and fan communities. To this end, our editorial policy and citation policy are designed to provide clear guidelines and expectations for Fanlore contributors.

Inclusiveness

We welcome all fannish viewpoints. Fanlore’s plural point of view (PPOV) helps to ensure that different fannish perspectives on a topic are heard, whether those views are popular or unpopular within the community.

Harmlessness

We will endeavor to do the least possible harm to fans and fan communities. Fanlore's policies and guidelines are intended to protect fans, their communities, and their works from unwelcome public attention and scrutiny, while also providing a space in which to discuss and reflect upon fandom, in context.

Helpfulness

We will treat fans and fan communities with integrity and respect; we will respond to their needs and concerns; we will try to do the greatest possible good for fans and their communities.

Fanlore content standards

Fanlore policies ensure that the following standards are met regarding the accuracy, timeliness, coverage, authority, and objectivity of Fanlore content:

Accuracy

We strive for accuracy of information, which is why we have a citation policy and guidelines for contributing material which adds to the wealth of information. We will not knowingly post speculation where we do not have facts.

Timeliness

We aim to provide up-to-date information where possible, or else indicate where it is not current or where we would like more information in order to have better coverage.

This does not mean we will replace old/historical documents with new ones; it means that we will try to reflect things as they happen, and if we can't keep up, we'll acknowledge that there is more current information out there which we simply have not yet edited in.

Coverage

We want our coverage of information to be as rich and diverse as possible, attempting to represent as much of the broad fan community as possible, allowing each community and contributor to determine the worth or triviality of their own information. We define our area of interest as "fan communities that produce and consume transformative works", though we are obviously starting with what we know and working on reaching out.

Authority

Our plural point of view policy means that we believe that every fan, each with his or her own unique individual knowledge and experience, has something valuable to contribute to the wiki, and we welcome contributions from all fans. Fanlore administrators respect and foster this attitude. They do not claim authority over the material beyond the policies and guidelines, which have been established to encourage and respect the experience and expertise of contributors, while making sure that the material contributed is accessible. The administrators and the associated Organization for Transformative Works do not own information, just provide a space for group ownership to occur. In other words: we're here to help, not to boss you around.

Objectivity

The wiki administrators make no judgement on the correctness or relevance of material contributed as long as contributions adhere to policies and guidelines. Similarly, our plural point of view and other policies ensure that contributors do not inappropriately remove content or otherwise pass judgment upon the contributions of others, etc.