HRWiki:Youth protection

From Homestar Runner Wiki

[edit] Overview

The Homestar Runner Wiki is open to editing by users of any age, providing that they conduct themselves in accordance with the purposes of the project and the standards of the community. This raises several issues, two of which are:

• Appropriateness of content: For the most part, the Homestar Runner Wiki is a family-friendly, kid-safe place to be; however, there are several exceptions where the site may contain images, text, or links that some users find offensive. These exceptions are material to the project and are clearly marked. In addition, due to the nature of a wiki, objectionable material in the form of vandalism may be briefly visible until such time as it is removed. Parents of minors may wish to prohibit their children from using the Homestar Runner Wiki, or they may wish to limit, restrict, or monitor that use, in keeping with their own family standards.

• Disclosure of information: The Homestar Runner Wiki does not ask its users (editors) to state their age or any other personal identifying information, either upon registration or at any other time. However, as noted at HRWiki:User space, some users include personal identifying information on their user page. Sometimes, a user may also disclose some personal identifying information other than on their user page, such as on a discussion page. This disclosure raises special concerns in terms of our younger users, particularly when the user identifies themselves as being a child. Unfortunately, some younger users have occasionally confused us for a social networking site, and this has resulted in the disclosure of certain information as well as other conduct that is inappropriate for the project of building a knowledge base.

[edit] Guidelines

In order to balance the privacy interests of our younger users with their ability to use the wiki (when so permitted by their parents or guardians), the following guidelines are in place:

• No editor who identifies themselves as being a child (age 12 or younger) may post any personal identifying information about themselves.
• "Personal identifying information", for purposes of these guidelines, includes:

  Real last name (surname)

  Telephone number

  Home address

  Email address

  Any kind of login information that could be traced back to the user, including:

  Screen name for any messaging service

  User name for any other site, including video-sharing sites and other wikis

  Handle or profile name for any social network

  Date of birth

  School name

  Images that include any of this information

• A user who is a child should not post a photograph of themselves on the wiki. If such a photo is or has been posted, and the photo clearly depicts a person who is a child, the user should be considered a self-identified child regardless of whether they have actually specified their age.
• Similarly, a user who posts information about their grade level in school, or name or characteristics of that school or other activities, that indicate that the user is a child, will be considered a child regardless of whether they have actually specified their age.
• In keeping with the above regulation, no self-identified child should edit under a user name that contains their last name (or surname).
• No editor (of any age) should post personal identifying information about a self-identified child, nor should any user seek to elicit any personal information from any self-identified child.

[edit] Comments

• Editors of all ages who edit constructively and within the bounds of policy are encouraged to continue to edit the Homestar Runner Wiki; this policy in no way is meant to discourage such editors from contributing to the project.
• The above definition of "personal identifying information" is intended to include all information that a reader could use to discover the identity and real-world location of a child.
• This policy does not apply to child users who do not self-identify as children, as we have no way of knowing anyone's age except their own statements.
• Without other information, a first name is not considered personal identifying information.
• Similarly, without other information (excluding a first name), a general location (e.g. Chicago, Ill., or Liverpool) is not considered personal identifying information.