Prison Journalism Project seeks to help bring transparency to the world of incarceration and give incarcerated writers a voice in discussions about criminal legal reform. One way we do this is by posting stories by incarcerated writers. 

We believe in open communication and value the conversations that are fostered through our social media communities. Readers are encouraged to connect, share, discuss, and discover ideas through our social networks. 

To keep these conversations focused and ensure a safe, inclusive online community for everyone, we’ve established a few rules of engagement. If you post on one of our social media channels, or otherwise respond to or comment on one of our posts, you are agreeing to abide by these guidelines. We monitor our comments on various social media platforms to the best of our ability. 

If you cannot tolerate stories by incarcerated writers, please do not follow Prison Journalism Project. 

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

  1. Be a good human. Prison Journalism Project has zero tolerance for racism, violence, bigotry, bullying, trolling, hate speech, slander, harassment or intimidation (e.g. threats, doxxing, cyberbullying, offensive images, excessive use of all caps). We reserve the right to remove any posts that don’t adhere to our guidelines and to block anyone who violates them repeatedly. Persistent abusive behavior may be reported to the platform itself.

    Specifically, we do not tolerate posts that are:
    • Hateful in language targeting race/ethnicity, age, color, creed, religion, gender, sexual preference or orientation, nationality or political beliefs
    • Abusive, harassing, stalking, threatening of violence, or attacking others
    • References to purposefully upset or distress subjects
  2. Stay on topic. Your comments should be related to the topics posted on our social networks. We reserve the right to delete off-topic content that includes the following:
    • Spam or fraudulent links
    • False, inaccurate or misleading information
    • Text, pictures or images that could be described as offensive, obscene, profane, vulgar, offensive or sexually explicit
    • Promotional material 
    • Intentional repetition of the same content
  3. Respect copyright. Only post content if you have the proper permission from its rightful owner.
  4. Refrain from posting personal information. We care about the safety of our community. Please do not post personal information, such as addresses or phone numbers, about anyone on our social media accounts.  Comments containing personal information will be deleted.

COMMENT MODERATION AND RESPONSE

Prison Journalism Project reserves the right to remove any comments or content that don’t adhere to these guidelines or with any other applicable Terms and Conditions, rules or laws. We may also block users who violate the rules or otherwise abuse our online communities. 

Please reach out on the platform service to alert us to any harassment occurring in the comments section. You can also email our audience media team at audience@prisonjournalismproject.org.

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