Community Standards

Here at Current, our community has the power to shape the content on the site and, by extension, on Current TV. It's like the comic book said: with great power comes great responsibility.

In return you're responsible for helping us keep it safe and civil. We believe in the power of discourse, and while we encourage the members of our community to openly share opinions with one another on Current, there are a few behaviors that are unwelcome in the community. We put together a list, and we aim to keep it short. We hope you'll agree with these, but if you don't, drop us some feedback (feedback [AT] current.com) and give us your suggestions.

Otherwise, if you happen upon any of the following please click on the flag icon, give us a brief description, and we'll take a look:

• * Racism or bigotry
• * Hate speech
• * Physical threats of any kind
• * Harassment
• * Libel or defamation
• * Copyright infringement
• * Gratuitous profanity/nudity/sexualized content - the key here is gratuitous.
• * Obscenity
• * Solicitation
• * Spam

The ugly truth is, we have to delete items from time to time. When this happens it is usually for a good reason and will always be accompanied by an email from us explaining the reason behind the removal. Sometimes these emails get lost due to an overaggressive spam filter, so if you don't get one check your spam settings and please feel free to send us an email. Also feel free to contact us if you want further clarification on the reasons for removal, to tell us whether or not you disagree, or you are unsure if there was a misunderstanding.

Here are some tips, suggestions and information to keep handy when commenting, contributing and participating on the website:

Flagging content. Community members have the option to flag your posts if they believe something may be in violation of our community standards. Once a flag has been sent in, we carefully review the item in depth before taking action. We reserve the right to remove your posts, comments, and profile from the Current website community immediately, whether it was flagged by a community member or identified as a violation of community standards by Current staff. If the flagged item is deemed a violation, we will contact the poster with a warning and remove the post. We will also respond to the person who sent in the flag letting them know the outcome. Remember, the flag button is not a toy, so please don't repeatedly flag the same item.

Spam. We all know this isn't referring to processed meat in a can, but yet questions remain. Most people think spam is just those annoying robotic emails for "male enhancements", but there's more to it. Advertising, self-promotion and repeatedly posting the same content, even a well thought out comment, are all considered spam on Current. This isn't just limited to the news stories, blog posts, and videos that you post on the Current website, it also includes your activity in private messages and sharing.

Personal attacks. We cannot stress this enough: we encourage discussion and debate on Current.com, but personal attacks on others are not acceptable. An opposing opinion on a sensitive subject is not an attack, but ridiculing someone for sharing a different point of view is. If someone shoots a barb your way, don't retaliate. Instead, send us a flag. We're not down with the "they did it first" excuse, so take the high road. Current is a diverse community with a variety of views and opinions. Please respect these views, even if they are different from your own. Mom had it right: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.

Misunderstandings. We often find the following equation to be fairly accurate. Debate + Sarcasm = Misunderstanding. It's typically best to leave snide remarks and responses at the door, but if you feel the need to get a little snarky, it might not be a bad idea to include a disclaimer. Then again, everyone will always understand the intent behind your comments because, you know, sarcasm translates so well on the web. </sarcasm>

Ganging up/Harassment. It takes courage to voice an opposing point of view, so please don't gang up on anyone brave enough to post a dissenting perspective. Opposing opinions help spur discussion, so simply look at it as a chance to better understand an item or issue in ways that you may not have thought about before.

Sharing. Sharing is a great way to tell other community members about things you like or have posted on Current. However, with a community as diverse as ours, it's only natural that community members would have different interests, so please keep this in mind when sharing items. If a community member asks you not to share with them, please respect their request and don't continue to share with them. As mentioned before, sharing, particularly over-sharing, can be seen as spam. Just exercise a little restraint when you're pressing that share button and you should be fine.

Off Topic Comments. Like any conversation, comments and discussions can get off topic, we understand that other community members' comments can irk you and distract you from the discussion at hand, but if it doesn't have to do with the topic, then that probably isn't the place for your comment. We realize that conversations can veer off onto tangents, and that's okay, but if the tangent is getting out of control, it's probably best to take a step back and consider if this is the best place for it. You can always start a new topic if you would like to continue your discussion or question.

Entitlement. We may have levels and badges, but when it comes down to it, no one is exempt from our community standards. We reward our most prolific community members, but being an active participant in the Current community doesn't give someone carte blanche to operate outside the community standards. In fact we hold ourselves to the same standards and we look to our active and long standing community members to help us set an example for everyone else.

Scams and general safety. Unfortunately, community members should watch out for phishing emails in their Current mailbox as well as posts on the site. Phishing is a type of scam where a perpetrator sends out an email or post trying to get a person to respond and give out personal information. If you receive mail or see a post on the site from a user you don't know, and it seems "phishy", then flag it and send the email/post along and we'll take care of it.

Password protection. You're responsible for any activity that happens under your username. Thus, you are responsible for keeping your password safe and secret.