Two of them, one much bigger than the other. Since we already have a First Amendment, I guess that makes these:
The Second Amendment, or, the Badfic Amendment
Current text:
21. Feel free to shamelessly plug stories, websites, or anything else to your heart’s content, if you think they’ll be of interest to the PPC in general. We’re in dire need of entertainment and good fanfic.
22. Also feel free to share links to badfics you find, if you think they’re worth telling us about. Sometimes we need a good laugh, sometimes we want to offer constructive criticism, sometimes we need something to kill for a mission. Not all badfic needs to be mentioned by itself, though — you can just post it directly to the List of Unclaimed Badfic, or add it to an already existing badfic thread on the Board. (And if you’re replying to a badfic plug, or reviewing it, remember Rule 3!)
23. The Board in particular is a fairly small space for the number of people we have, so before you post, see if someone else is already talking about your pet topic. Got a fic you want to plug? Add it on to an already-extant badfic or goodfic thread — there’s usually one floating around. In accordance with Article 9, if someone breaks this guideline a few times, be nice! You may have seen it a hundred times before, but they probably haven't.
Proposed Amendment:
21. Feel free to shamelessly plug stories, websites, or anything else to your heart’s content, if you think they’ll be of interest to the PPC in general. We’re in dire need of entertainment and good fanfic. Before you post, though, see if someone else is already talking about your preferred topic - no-one will object if you add to a relevant thread instead of starting your own (in fact, we often prefer it)!
22. The PPC has always been about having a good laugh at badfic, so feel free to talk about it, and post links if you find something you think is worth sharing. That said, we don't want badfic threads to overwhelm the Board, so if there's a thread about badfic on the top half of the front page already, please add to that rather than starting your own. (And when replying to a thread about badfic, or reviewing a badfic, please remember Article 3!)
Explanation:
This is a consolidation, clarification, and expansion amendment. It consolidates 3 articles into 2, clarifies the times when you should add to an old thread, and expands 'badfic threads' to include 'threads about badfic'. Overall, a fairly minor change.
Unlike this:
The Third Amendment, or, the Dispute Resolution Amendment
Link:
The Third Amendment. It covers Articles 1-10, though the document includes the rest of the Constitution as well, in order to update the numbering.
Explanation:
The Dispute Amendment is a major restructuring (again) of the first part of the Constitution. In summary, I've tried to:
-Separate dispute resolution out from the rules you can actually break.
-Clarify the treatment of people you accuse of breaking the rules - ie, don't flame, give them an actual chance. It was already in there, but this I think is clearer.
-Expand on the responsibilities of the community. Instead of 'If this doesn't resolve the situation, you will be backed up', the Amendment states, 'any and all uninvolved community members have a responsibility to back up the person who is in the right, or to defuse an unclear situation.'.
-Clarify the way to react to misunderstandings.
-Highlight that ignoring an apology or valid explanation is a form of persecution.
Controversial changes:
Most of what I've done is rewording and reshuffling, but there are a few pieces that might be controversial:
-I have stated that, ' It is never wrong to ask a third party to comment on a dispute - but try to find someone uninvolved; you want an honest comment, not just someone to say you’re right.' I think it's important, if badly-phrased, but do we rather want people to look first for someone who can convince the other person they're wrong?
-'8. Wilful ignorance is not an excuse. If someone is ignoring the Constitution and claiming that they’re not really doing anything wrong - despite explanations to the contrary - that may constitute using up their chance. However, wilful ignorance on the part of the accuser is also not an excuse. If someone clarifies a genuine misunderstanding, continuing to push for an apology may count as persecution on your part.' This is the new 'wilful ignorance' clause. Are we happy with saying that repeatedly claiming you don't know what you've done wrong (in face of explanations) is no defence? And are we happy with the final sentence (with emphasis on 'may')?
-Related to the above, Article 5 now states: 'Equally, if there has been an honest misunderstanding, accept the mistake and move on. Apologies for making a mistake, and for being unclear, are recommended, but should not be demanded.'. If the latter point above is unwanted, how should this be changed?
-'if you find yourself being harassed or bullied by another PPCer, please make the community aware!' Are we happy with this? Do we want to clarify how you should do so?
I suspect the Badfic Amendment will be relatively uncontroversial, so unless anyone objects to it, I intend to insert it when there's a fair number of replies here. The Dispute Resolution Amendment, however, I will keep in the works until we have a satisfactory version.
Please comment. Like the thing says, all opinions are welcome - and important!
hS