By becoming a member, posting, or otherwise engaging in Organic Seed Commons, setting up a profile in our community, or reaching out to community members directly via the platform, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to abide by the Mighty Networks Acceptable Use Policy, and accept these Community Guidelines. The Community Guidelines are designed by the Organic Seed Commons Advisory Committee to ensure that all Organic Seed Commons members are treated with dignity and respect.
Who We Are
Organic Seed Commons is a social ecosystem within which the “seed community” can evolve and amplify itself through grassroots relationships, shared knowledge, and educational experiences that coalesce to shape collective action in the seed movement.
As we work toward our vision of ethical seed systems, we renew our commitment to grow a diverse and inclusive community. As we celebrate the life-sustaining diversity of seed crops in our research fields, we also honor the many individuals and intersectional differences that enrich our myriad seed communities.
Core Values
- Collaboration
- Diversity
- Equity
- Fairness
- Growers’ Rights
- Human and Environmental Health
The Organic Seed Commons Advisory Committee will do our best to keep these values front and center and will use them to inform all our conversations and decisions.
Community Agreements
All Organic Seed Commons members are asked to contribute to and uphold the following agreements:
- Cultivate a safe and positive experience for all
- Engage in the commons in a spirit of co-creation and mutual benefit.
- Share content in a manner consistent with the Creative Commons concept.
- Properly attribute shared content to the original author(s) or creators, both within the Organic Seed Commons and when sharing material found here outside the community
- Care for this space as the shared resource it is. Help us improve it with detailed feedback.
- Before posting, ask yourself; is it necessary, is it true, is it kind?
Posts that Violate Community Guidelines
If the advisory committee believes your post is harmful, not relevant to the goals of Commons, or qualifies as hate speech we reserve the right to remove it from the network, and/or revoke member privileges.
“Hate speech in any form will not be tolerated. The term hate speech is understood as any kind of communication in speech, writing or behavior, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender or other identity factors.”
United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech.
While we will do everything in our power to moderate this network, it is up to individual members to take screenshots of anything they feel violates our guidelines. First, we ask members to make a good faith effort to resolve disputes directly with other members, if that is possible. If this isn’t successful or possible the Organic Seed Commons Advisory Committee will consider the next steps and reserves the right to remove posts and, in the case of repeated or egregious violations, members.
Legal Notices / Indemnification
The Organic Seed Commons (OSC) is stewarded by the Organic Seed Alliance (OSA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and is hosted on a platform provided by Mighty Networks. The Organic Seed Commons Advisory Committee (OSCAC) is a group of volunteers that generously contribute their time to support the mission and functionality of the OSC. Members and other users of the OSC are referred to as “User.”
- The OSCAC, the OSA, Mighty Networks, and persons acting on their behalf: (a) assume no responsibility for the content posted by Users on the OSC and (b) make no representation or warranty regarding the quality, accuracy, or usefulness of any content posted on OSC.
- Each User of the OSC is urged to exercise their own independent judgment and/or seek the advice of qualified experts with respect to the uses, benefits, and risks of any product, service or agricultural-related practice that is mentioned, described, or recommended in content posted on the OSC. The OSCAC, the OSA, and Mighty Networks do not endorse or recommend any product, service, or agricultural-related practice that may be mentioned or described in content posted on the OSC; and they expressly disclaim any liability with respect thereto.
- In consideration of being permitted to access and participate in the OSC, each User hereby waives any claims they may have against the OSCAC, the OSA, Mighty Networks, and all persons acting on their behalf with respect to such User’s participation in the OSC or use of the content appearing on the OSC.
- Indemnification by User. Each User of the OSC agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Organic Seed Commons Advisory Committee and its members and the Organic Seed Alliance and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any and all third-party claims, actions, losses, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) arising from any negligent or willful act or omission by such User.
These Community Guidelines will periodically be updated as needed. All users will be notified upon changes to these guidelines.
Last updated March 12th, 2021