So we’re getting close to launching Digg’s Next Big Thing Or Two — a series of products and features we hope you’ll find to be smart and interesting takes on Internet conversation, oriented around the stories and videos that make it onto Digg.  (ICYMI, Justin Van Slembrouck, Digg’s Design Director, recently previewed what’s coming next.)

As Digg gets ready to welcome our users’ thoughts and observations and arguments and points and queries and comments and corrections and provocations and so forth, we need policies that strike the right balance between free self-expression and basic civility.  Lots of companies have tread this ground before, so what follows shouldn’t seem new or revolutionary.  Rather, Digg’s Community Guidelines are intended to embody a fundamentally moderate approach: to encourage very open debates, very free discussions, and very searching dialogue, while setting some straightforward limits that establish Digg as a place that values civility and mutual respect.  Our aim here is to adopt a handful of clear rules that we will enforce in a predictable and reliable way.  These guidelines will undoubtedly change as Digg’s conversational products expand, grow and evolve, and we’ll want, and humbly request, your advice and counsel along the way.

Without further ado, here’s version 1.0 of Digg’s Community Guidelines.

– Andrew, Digg CEO

Digg Community Guidelines

Digg is a place for lively conversation, discussion, inquiry, and debate.  On Digg, you can – and we hope you will – offer an opinion, express a point of view, challenge a claim, ask a tough question, and provoke a response.  We’re building features like Digg Dialog so that you can, for example, ask an investigative journalist to explain the deep background behind her reporting, debate the conclusions she’s drawn, and share your own knowledge about the subject.

Broadly, we believe in self-expression and the free and open exchange of opinions, thoughts, and ideas. We also believe in civility; a rudimentary level of respect is essential to sustain dialogue over time. To that end, Digg enforces a set of community guidelines.  

Our aim is to have a small set of clear rules that we consistently and impartially enforce. We’d love your feedback and advice on how to write and implement them better.

What’s Not Allowed On Digg

Here are the categories of stuff we don’t allow users to post on Digg – in whatever form, whether words, images, avatars, or links to webpages that contain it:

Hateful abuse:  Slurs, epithets, and hateful speech that denigrates people based on race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, gender expression, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation.

OK: “I respectfully disagree!”

Not OK: “I respectfully disagree, you dirty *#$%!”

Threats and calls to violence: Threats and encouragement to commit acts of violence against others.

OK: “This article on puppy abuse makes me want to throttle someone.”

Not OK: “This article on puppy abuse makes me want to kill someone, so let’s all d0xx, stalk, and assassinate the author.”

Abusive names: Usernames, screen names, bios, or avatars that are abusive, fraudulent, racist, demeaning, hateful, needlessly inflammatory, overtly sexual, or impersonating in a way that’s not obviously a parody.  Basically, Digg’s username space should be rated G or PG.

OK: fakeDonaldTrump

Not OK: realDonaldTrump (unless you really are The Donald himself)

OK: AndrewMcLaughlin

Not OK: AndrewMcLaughlinSuxDonkeyButt (even if you believe in good faith that he does)

Gratuitous sexual explicitness: Words or images that are sexually explicit in a way that’s off-topic or out-of-context.

OK: [In a discussion on sex education] “It’s time we started teaching teens about blowjobs.”

Not OK: [In a discussion on North Korea] “It’s time we started teaching teens about blowjobs.”

Trademark and copyright infringement: Speech or links that infringe someone else’s legally protected trademark or copyright, recognizing that fair use is a fundamental element of free speech.

OK: Quoting a few sentences from an article to critique it.

Not OK: Copying and pasting 100% of someone else’s piece of writing without permission.

Spam:  Off-topic, fraudulent, or deceptive commercial pitches.

OK: [In a discussion of shower beer] “Heineken?!? PABST. BLUE. RIBBON!”

Not OK: [In a discussion of shower beer] “Best price$ on \/1@GrA!”

OK: “I recommend this article on the unpredictability of bovine supinity.”

Not OK: “I recommend this article on the unpredictability of bovine supinity.”

Harassment: Repeatedly attacking, bullying, or trolling someone in a targeted, ad hominem, or otherwise over-the-top way.

OK: “You are mistaken.”

Not OK: Following someone around and attacking his/her every comment, or attacking him/her every time s/he makes a comment.  “You are an idiotic and worthless waste of biological mass.” “You are an idiotic and worthless waste of biological mass.” “You are an idiotic and worthless waste of biological mass.” “You are an idiotic and worthless waste of biological mass.” Etc.

Privacy violations: The posting of someone’s personal or private information.

OK: Referencing someone by their screen name or Twitter handle.

Not OK: Referencing someone by their credit card number.

Illegal speech: Illegal content of whatever sort, like fraud or phishing.

False flagging: The abusive mis-flagging of comments or users by falsely claiming violations of these guidelines.

What Happens When We Find Something Not Allowed

We will take down any comments or posts, and disable any usernames or screen names, that violate these guidelines.  When we take action like that, we will attempt to notify the person who posted it, via email or our web interface, to give her/him a chance to fix the issue or to argue back in case we’re getting it wrong.  Where someone repeatedly violates the guidelines, we may restrict, suspend, or terminate the account.

We will do our best to be abundantly clear and consistent in enforcing these rules, to be open and honest about it, and to honor the guidelines in their implementation. Of course, as our lawyerly besties have advised us to state explicitly, we reserve the right to enforce, or not enforce, our community guidelines in our sole discretion.  These rules create no duty or contractual obligation for us to take any particular action.