The Innovation Insiders: Community Guidelines Agreements

Our mission: To support educators and education stakeholders worldwide in building technology knowledge, skills, and confidence in a collaborative environment.

We prioritize the safety and well-being of all community members and recognize the importance of fostering a secure environment for valuable contributions. In light of this commitment, we have established the following guidelines.

While we will be actively moderating, we also encourage members to immediately report any content that does not comply with the rules stated in this statement.

As a global community, it is essential for all members to recognize and respect cultural differences. Members must take these differences into account and treat each other's perspectives with respect in our shared space. This commitment to mutual respect is crucial in maintaining a supportive and inclusive environment for all educators.

These guidelines help us embody our values:

• Community (kindness) over individuals

• Progress over perfection

• More is not always better

• Creative sparks

• Purposeful

• Passionate

• Fail forward risk taking

• Silver linings

• Empathy

• Authenticity

• Vulnerability

• Curiosity over judgement

By participating, you agree to these Community Guidelines and our Privacy Statement.

Let's create a space where innovation thrives through support and shared learning!

1. Cultivate Kindness, Respect & Support (Community, Empathy, Authenticity)

   1. Be Respectful: Treat all members with courtesy and professionalism. Constructive disagreement is fine; personal attacks, harassment, hate speech, discrimination, or bullying are strictly prohibited.

   2. Offer Encouragement: Embrace vulnerability (yours and others'). Support members facing challenges, remembering many join feeling overwhelmed or hesitant. Celebrate efforts, progress (not just perfection), and learning from setbacks ("fail forward," "silver linings").

   3. Practice Empathy & Curiosity: Seek to understand diverse perspectives. Ask clarifying questions before making assumptions. Assume positive intent in others' posts.
      

2. Keep it Focused & Purposeful (Purposeful, Creative Sparks)

   1. Stay On Topic: Discussions should revolve around K-12 education, educational technology (EdTech), innovative teaching practices, pedagogy, overcoming implementation challenges, and supporting fellow educators in these areas.

   2. Share Meaningfully: Post relevant questions, insights, experiences, and resources (see Rule #3 on promotion). Aim to spark ideas and purposeful action.

   3. Purposeful and Impactful Interaction: Prioritize meaningful conversations over quantity. Ensure contributions align with our mission of empowering educators, and that communication is relevant and constructive.
      

3. Strictly No Promotions, Sales, or Spam (More is Not Always Better)

   1. Zero Tolerance for Unsolicited Promotion: This is a non-commercial space. Do NOT post links to your own products, services, websites, books, courses, social media profiles, lead magnets, or other external ventures for promotional purposes.

   2. No Third-Party Selling: Do not promote others' products or services unless it's a non-commercial recommendation directly answering a specific member query within a discussion (use good judgment; ask if unsure).

   3. No Solicitation: Do not send private messages (PMs) to members to promote products/services or recruit them for other ventures or groups.

   4. No Spin-Off Groups: To maintain focus and community integrity (and avoid copyright issues), do not create or promote parallel groups (e.g., on WhatsApp, Facebook) for members of this community.
      

4. Respect Intellectual Property & Confidentiality

   1. Share Responsibly: You are welcome to share your own ideas and original content relevant to the community.

   2. Attribute & Respect Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons: Do not post copyrighted material (text, images, videos) unless you own the rights or have explicit permission.

      1. Always attribute sources properly.

      2. Materials shared by The Innovation Insiders co-founders, are protected by copyright and are intended for your personal use within this community only, unless specified through Creative Commons attribution at the bottom of certain types of content (e.g. template resources, guides, certain sketchnotes, etc). When in doubt, please contact the co-founders to ask about the authorized use, reproduction, or distribution of these materials outside of this community.

   3. Your Content License: By posting content (text, images, etc.) in the community, you grant The Innovation Insiders and Substack a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, reproduce, and distribute that content solely within the context of operating, promoting, and managing this community.

      1. You retain ownership and copyright of your original content.

   4. Maintain Confidentiality: Treat personal stories and potentially sensitive information shared by members with respect.

      1. Assume discussions are confidential to the group unless stated otherwise.
         

5. Platform Use (Substack): Adhere to Substack's Terms of Use and content policies.

   1. For technical issues with the Substack platform itself (logins, payments, site errors), please contact Substack Support directly.

   2. For community-specific support (e.g., guideline clarification, reporting issues), use our contact: [info+i2@educateonpurpose.com]
      

6. Guidelines for Compliance and Moderation of Violations: Moderation of these Community Guidelines, including abusive language, harassment, promotional posts, commercial advertisements, off-topic content, or disrespectful behavior, may lead to moderation actions including warnings, content removal, or community suspension.

   Because we prioritize a positive environment, we must enforce these guidelines consistently.

   Violations may lead to:

   1. Content removal.

   2. A formal warning.

   3. Temporary suspension.

   4. Permanent removal from the community (without refund where applicable).

      Community decisions are made by the co-founders at their sole discretion. They reserve the right to remove any content or member deemed harmful or disruptive, even if not explicitly listed here.
      

7. IMPORTANT LEGAL DISCLAIMERS & YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

   1. Your Responsibility: You are solely responsible for your posts, comments, interactions, and compliance with these guidelines. Participate ethically and thoughtfully.

      1. No Endorsement of Member Content: Views expressed by members are their own. The Innovation Insiders and its co-founders do not endorse, guarantee, or take responsibility for the accuracy, usefulness, or safety of member-generated content, advice, or opinions.

      2. Use Community Information At Your Own Risk: Your reliance on any information or advice shared within this community is entirely at your own risk. We provide the space for connection; we make no warranties about outcomes. Testimonials represent individual results, not guarantees.

      3. Limitation of Liability for Member Actions: You expressly agree that The Innovation Insiders joint venture, its co-founders, employees, and affiliates are NOT responsible or liable for any content posted by members, the conduct of any member (online or offline), or disputes between members. By participating, you release and hold harmless The Innovation Insiders and its co-founders from all claims, damages, losses, or liabilities arising from or related to member content or interactions.

      4. Indemnification: You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Innovation Insiders and its co-founders against any claims, costs, damages, or legal fees incurred due to your breach of these Community Guidelines, your violation of any law, or the content you submit.

      5. Platform Disclaimer: We are not liable for Substack's platform changes, outages, policy updates, or technical issues.

      6. "Lifetime Access": If offered, "lifetime access" means for the operational lifetime of The Innovation Insiders community product/service, subject to our right to modify or discontinue it. It does not refer to the natural lifespan of members or co-founders.
         

8. Dispute Resolution (Member vs. “The Innovation Insiders”): If you have a dispute with “The Innovation Insiders” (not with another member), we encourage you to contact us first at [info+i2@educateonpurpose.com] to seek an informal resolution.
   
   If we cannot resolve the issue informally, you agree that these Guidelines and the dispute shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales. You further agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales to resolve any legal matter arising from the Guidelines or your participation (that cannot be resolved informally).

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9. Updates to Guidelines: These Community Guidelines may be updated.

   1. Significant changes will be announced.

   2. Your continued participation signifies acceptance of the revised Community Guidelines.
      

10. Contact & Reporting: For questions about these Community Guidelines or to report a potential violation, please contact the co-founders at: [info+i2@educateonpurpose.com].
    

11. Agreement: Participating in this community certifies that you have read and agree with all of these Community Guidelines, and agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Innovation Insiders and its co-founders against any claims, costs, damages, or legal fees incurred due to your breach of these Community Guidelines, your violation of any law, or the content you submit.

Thank you for contributing positively to “The Innovation Insiders”!