The following was amended and approved by the Streets.mn Board October 15, 2016
Streets.mn has established these common sense guidelines which will be applied by the Editorial Council when reviewing posts.
To comply with the Streets.mn Editorial Policy, posts:
- should further the Streets.mn mission of fostering positive connections and inclusive conversations about better places in Minnesota. Posts may range from public policy to first person accounts about streets or neighborhoods; but other topics (sports, religion, etc.) should be linked to transportation or land use.
- should be relevant to Minnesota. Writing about projects in other locations or about comparative urban form may be appropriate, but the post should contain at least some tie back to Minnesota.
- should contain no factual errors. Streets.mn does not have a fact-checker. We expect authors to be factually correct and clearly differentiate fact from opinion. If there is something that is contested factually please note this and provide sources. Data and statistics should also be supported with a source. Streets.mn relies on its Commenters to call out mistakes or errors.
- should not contain ad hominem attacks on individuals or organizations; libel is not permitted.
- should not be campaigning. Streets.mn is a non-profit 501c(3) organization and does not endorse political candidates or directly advocate for specific decisions on issues.
- shall adhere to Streets.mn photo and text copyright and licensing policy. Writers should properly credit any photos and images that are not their own work. All posts are licensed under a Creative Commons license.
- should be ready to publish. Streets.mn’s Editorial Council reviews and lightly copy-edits posts, but we expect authors to ensure posts are ready for publication before submitting for posting.
- should not criticize individuals by name for doing their jobs. Identifying public servants or community members by name as present at a meeting or as author of a document is appropriate; organizational positions should not be attributed to individuals representing those organizations.
- should be Safe for Work. Links to any pages that are Not Safe for Work should be clearly identified as such.
- should not engage in self-promotion. Streets.mn anticipates writers will post about their projects and experiences; however, this should not be intended to promote or sell projects or positions.
- may be cross-posted to and from other blogs or publications, but should not include references relevant only to the other posting locations (e.g., if the post refers to “this blog”, it must be a reference to Streets.mn, rather than to another source where the post originated).
- should link to previous Streets.mn posts on the topic where possible to fulfill the Streets.mn mission to expand the conversation on our own site.
- should be written as an individual, not as a representative of an organization or from an organizational perspective.
- shall comply with Streets.mn’s conflict of interest disclosure policies. Any writer who accepts and keeps free products, services, travel, event tickets or other forms of compensation from companies or organizations is required to disclose this relationship and receive approval for any resulting blog post from the Streets.mn Board. Authors who are believed to be selling links will be considered to be in violation of editorial policy, and links may be removed by the judgement of the Editorial Council.
- shall not plagiarise or substantially repeat verbatim text written by others, even if properly cited. All significant text under the author’s byline must be written by the author.
- shall not discuss the internal issues, policies, and procedures of the Streets.mn website or organization without approval of the Streets.mn Board or its designee.
- should be written with the understanding that Streets.mn is read by mulitple audiences including decision-makers, interested citizens, students and professionals.
- are written and posted using a real full name, not a pen name. There are exceptions with express permission of the Streets.mn Chair of the Editorial Council or Board Chair. Streets.mn prefers authors use their real names, and we recognize that is not always possible. Due to employment or issues relating to gender/sexuality, age, health or financial status, some contributors may face discrimination or retribution if using their real name. Streets.mn will consider pen names on a case by case basis so it is possible for these writers to share thoughts. If you have concern for your safety or privacy, contact the Chair of the Editorial Council. They approve and facilitate the anonymous posting process. Editors emphasize screening for personal attacks, campaigning, and conflicts of interest in pen name posts.
Streets.mn does not accept “guest posts” written to generate links to other websites, or to sell links.
Failure to comply with the Editorial Policy may result in more editorial oversight of posts at the discretion of the Chair of the Editorial Council or Streets.mn Board. Posts are published at our sole and absolute discretion. Streets.mn reserves the right to remove a published post at any time, for any reason, and without notice. Continued noncompliance may result in the permanent refusal to publish work. If authors are sued for their post, authors agree to indemnify and defend Streets.mn.