?Historia Community and Content Guidelines

Historia is proposing the following community and content guidelines. We understand there is always a balance between free speech and abusive behavior, content, or comments.  Because the Historia blockchain protocol is an open source community application anybody can submit any content they want; in the BaseX system we had to put in mechanisms to hide or banned potential content that would be deemed inappropriate or abusive in nature. 

In this proposal we will define what is inappropriate or abusive content that will not allow for BaseX to publish or advertise. Most of these guidelines have been adopted from the Historia guidelines based on U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Any of the following content may have your proposal, record, archive, or comment removed.

Terrorism/Terrorist Organization

Terrorist organizations officially recognized by the United States are forbidden from using Historia. Support or marketing for any terrorist organization on Historia will result in a ban.

Examples:  

• FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization): The account is associated with, marketing, or advocating for a recognized FTO.
  
• FTO fact sheet: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/IF10613.pdf
• U.S. Department of States current list of published terrorist organizations
• The content qualifies for: 18 USC 2331 (Definitions of Terrorism) 18 USC 2331

Spam

Spam is repetitive content that does not contribute to the conversation. It often comes in the form of multiple posts of repetitive content that offer little to no value to the community and platform at large.

Examples:

• Soliciting advertisements or product recommendations on any post that is not your own.
  
• Posting or commenting any fraudulent content with the intention of taking advantage or scamming users.
• Repetitive comments or posts that are irrelevant to the conversation.

Unsolicited Advertisements

Advertisements asking for or promoting any product or service in the comment section of a post and not sponsored through any future BaseX advertising program are considered unsolicited advertisements.

Related Supreme Court case: PDR Network v. Carlton & Harris, No. 17-1705

Threats to Harm

Threats to Harm are use of incitements to violence that produce a clear and present danger or a personal assault with the intention of inviting the other party to fisticuffs.

Examples:

• Any direct and very personal insult with the intention of stirring and upsetting the recipients, i.e., words that would lead to violence if you were to speak in that fashion in person.
  
• Any visual representation of Threats to Harm.
• A threat of or advocating for violation against an individual or group. If you are unsure if your post is acceptable, replace the individual or group with another (i.e., race, group, celebrity, governing official, etc.) to gauge acceptability.

Related Supreme Court case: Terminiello v Chicago, 337 U.S. 1 (1949)

Blackmail

Blackmail is the extortion or coercion of value from a person by the threat of public exposure of information, criminal prosecution, or violence or harm in order to compel someone to do or not do something.

Examples:

• Demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them; or, demanding something from someone with a threat to expose compromising information or criminally prosecuting them.
  
• Related Supreme Court case: United States v. Nardello, 393 U.S. 286 (1969)

Pornography

Pornography is considered indecent according to clauses defined by the FCC.

Examples:

• Printed text description or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity. Pornography must meet ALL the following conditions:
  
• Pornography does not require nudity
• Can be an image, painting, art, or description
• It must be morbid or degrading in nature (prurient)
• Related Supreme Court Case: Roth v. United States (1957)

Indecency

Indecency is defined by the FCC under its Indecent Content Clause: Portrays sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that does not meet the three prong test for obscenity.

Obscenity

Obscenity is as close as the United States gets to a hate?speech law, but it is illegal. Obscenity is commonly defined using The Miller Test from the 1973 court case Miller v. California.

Examples:

Obscene content must meet ALL three of the following points:

• Sexual in nature. Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find it sexual
  
  • If the work is offensive
  • Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, historical, artistic, political, or scientific value
• Related Supreme Court Case: Miller v. California (1973)

Other

This includes:

• Doxing
  
• Content glorifying violence against animals
• Human or sex trafficking