Guidelines for Participation

Under construction

It is absolutely critical to have a group of people with good intentions, interpersonal skills and behavioral characteristics to work together. A group can be severely weakened by the presence of people who are not a good fit for the group because they will drive away good participants. Therefore there needs to be a set of guidelines for participation and a carefully designed vetting process.

None of us are perfect however we have to work with everyone else in our real jobs and at home. Here are some guidelines for being involved in the Javul.org project and any of the sub-projects. Most of them involve how to work with other people. These are numbered so they can be referenced in discussions:

1. There is always room for improvement in any situation whether that's a method, system, product or service. To propose that something is perfect and try to justify why it doesn't need to be changed or improved is a brave assumption that needs a lot of proof.
2. Question everything. This means when you're evaluating something to be valid or not, don't assume it is so because that's the way it has been in the past or thats the popular opinion. Understand why or why not it is invalid (in your view)
3. Strive for improvement not perfection.
4. The Javul.org website will always be under development. All of its documentation can be revised at any time. A lot of material in the documentation is only a suggestion. Anyone can improve ideas or contribute new ideas and new content to the documentation. Just be sure that if you add something, you add it to the right place.
5. New ideas / Creativity:
   1. Be bold in thinking about new ideas and developing them. Don't worry about failure or what people will think. Let your imagination and curiosity guide you.
   2. When trying out new ideas, dont let fear of failure be the driving factor. The only reason for rejecting an idea is that if it has been tried in exactly the same way in multiple situations. If there are perceived problems, we can deal with them when we get there. Don't resist trying something new because you think it might fail in some way in some situations.
6. Solutions:
   1. Develop the ability to evaluate/consider multiple solutions/ideas at the same time so you can compare pros/cons and see what can be improved. Maybe we have to mix ideas in order to arrive at the next stage of a solution.
   2. One solution doesn't have to fit everything. Often we need different solutions for different situations. Solutions can also be implemented partially.
   3. Solutions can have problems and still be acceptable with room for improvement later.
   4. Spend more time focusing on problems that happen more often or have a larger impact. At the same time small problems can often be generalized to fit larger problems.
   5. Be open to new ideas. Often new ideas are criticized in various ways because a mental effort is required to understand the idea and this mental burden makes a person uncomfortable because they have to make an effort to understand the idea from an objective point of view. It may also be uncomfortable to realize that people may have to change their ways or thinking because change is often resisted. Also, new ideas don't have to implemented globally at the same time. There can be smaller implementations for test, experimentation, validation and research. Expect to find ideas that you will disagree with, both here in the documentation and on any forums on the website.
   6. Become familiar with Solving Complex Problems
7. System design:
   1. Try to make systems inclusive instead of restrictive unless there's a really good reason.
   2. Make systems as democratic as possible and avoid giving anyone more power than they need. When possible decision power should be distributed among people (based on criteria like competence, experience and knowledge etc.)
   3. Work-arounds are not acceptable solutions for something that is essentially bad design (is it absolutely necessary for the product or service to behave that way?)
   4. Motivational systems should be reward-based. Punitive consequences should be reserved for extreme/repetitive cases with best attempts made for forgiveness.
8. Working With Others:
   1. Work together with others on a common goal
   2. When pointing out issues, try to provide constructive feedback if possible.
   3. No one is perfect and everyone has certain imperfections in their ideas or communications. We should be forgiving of people and try to see the kind of contributions a person can make and not disagree with all the opinions and actions of a person because of a few issues. Also, people can disagree on some things and thats ok. We all can agree that there are serious problems in the world that need to be solved. We have to find ways on how to improve the situation. Please find the area of your interest on this website and raise your concerns.
   4. During disagreements, avoid becoming hot-headed. You may have a valid point but when you become upset, people tend to avoid listening. Take a break and come back to it later.
   5. Do not be attached to your own ideas or point of view. Be open to the possibility that you may be wrong partially or completely and criticism may be valid. Keep in mind that the group moves forward with consensus.
   6. Someone's idea could be 100% wrong or only 1% wrong or anywhere in between. You should not have no resistance to finding out how wrong your own ideas may be. Stay open-minded.
   7. Be very careful about not shooting down new ideas from other people. Analyze well before you provide input and ask questions if you have to. Have constructive and objective inputs. Don't rush to tell someone that their new idea isn't valid. There's a high probability that they're trying to solve a valid problem. At the same time... :
   8. If someone analyzes your ideas and points out issues which you haven't through through yourself and you become defensive about it, this is obviously a negative personality trait. Please be aware of whether or not you have thought through an idea and be honest about it with others and be open to criticism.
   9. When people are working together to solve a problem and providing inputs, new ideas will usually be incomplete or they havent been fully fleshed out yet. Thats completely normal and thats how solutions work. We all contribute part of an idea and its unusual for anyone to provide a complete idea. When you come across a new idea, be aware that it may not be complete but it might be the first step for creating the best solution (among possible solutions). Or there may be other first steps that lead us to a better solution. Its important to consider all possibilities but be cautious about rejecting a first step because its not complete or has some issues with it.
   10. There will be people from all over the world contributing to the website whose native language will not be the same as yours. Keep in mind that anyone's knowledge of a specific language has little to no bearing on their intellect and quality of ideas and the work that they can perform. Focus on what is important and the message being delivered.
   11. Usually this is obvious and most people abide by it so its mentioned last: Do not engage in any kind of ad hominem while talking to others. This effects morale for everyone
9. Do not support a viewpoint only because that's the way it has been done in the past. If that's the only defense for supporting that viewpoint, the defense of such a viewpoint is invalid. Defending something only because thats the way it has been done in the past is the least intellectually demanding and least desired.
10. Evidence-based thinking:
    1. Respect subject-matter experts and the research and data they have created and compiled. If you disagree with their findings, be sure to find alternate research/data to support your claims. Realize that as an arbitrary person on the internet, your subjective opinions can be challenged by anyone and if you provide references to back up your claims, you will strengthen your argument.
    2. When making a claim, be aware of the difference between these three words: belief, evidence, facts. If you make a claim, be prepared to provide evidence for it when asked. Dont say something that is actually your belief and dont try to pass it of as a fact if you dont have evidence for it. This doesnt mean the claim shouldnt be made. In fact we really need a diversity of opinions. Science progresses because of experimentation and trying things that haven't been proven yet. Just communicate to others that what you are saying is a belief and when others ask for evidence, don't take it personally.
11. Use logical and rational arguments
12. Recognize when you've made a mistake and have a plan on how to improve yourself.
13. Needless to say no promotion or attempts to sell a product or service to attain direct or referral-related profits will be allowed. Also using this group's participation to grow your own social media outreach will be not be allowed. Any attempt to do these things will imply that you are not here with authentic intentions and are not a good fit for the group.

Discouraged Behavior

The following behavior is discouraged:

1. Suggesting that there is no solution (we need to consider all solutions and try then out before proposing that there is no solution)
2. Jumping to conclusions without looking at the complete argument
3. Misrepresenting what others are saying

Likewise anyone with any of the following qualities/characteristics is strongly discouraged from joining the project because their presence will be disruptive on the website:

1. Resistant to change
2. Not open to new ideas
3. Not willing to compromise and work with others
4. Supporting something because thats the way its been done in the past
5. The desire to be certain about things (see the Wikipedia article on this)
6. Pushing your own ideas onto the group
7. Suggesting arbitrary ideas/proposals just because they are new or novel and they cant be defended because they're just arbitrary ("based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.")

If anyone has any of the above characteristics, please do not join the website unless you are willing to understand how people work together and if you are willing to change so you can make positive contributions. If you are not willing to change, please don't join the website and let others do the work they want to do. We will keep refining our policies to deal with disruptive personalities in the best possible way. We will not have people stand in the way of progress and change. We already have enough of that in our current leadership systems.

1. Intentional and on-going trolling is not expected to happen often. However when it does, it will not be tolerated and will be dealt with swiftly.

Javul.org will have to come up with a system where people with the above characteristics can be swiftly detected and we will have to decide what to do in those situations.

If you have anger issues, become offended easily, have pre-existing biases and are unwilling to change please don't bring these things into your interactions with others. Take some time off to learn about yourself and learn how to work with others. Reach out for help at various self-help and mental health issues. As again, none of us are perfect. All of us have various personality flaws and we can always become better.

Disruptive Activity; what qualifies and how to deal with it

There are many issues where everyone is on the same page. For example most people agree that human rights need to be improved. However there are topics where people have different opinions. One person may strongly dislike a certain Unit and its Objectives. If they willfully try to disrupt the activities of that Unit, this cannot be allowed to continue because people who are working towards a common goal do not need disruptions. Such comments and activity should be removed from the Unit with a warning to the offending user. A user may be temporarily/permanently banned from participating in a Unit.

How do we know when a line has been crossed between providing feedback, respectfully disagreeing and being willfully disruptive? When its clear that the offending user has no intent of being constructive, when it is clear that they dislike the Unit and any of its goals. Give the user some time to express their opinions, remind them of the rules and ask about their intent and then take action when appropriate.

Everyone is reminded that they are free to create or pursue Units that are aligned with their views. Rather than spending energy in Units that one doesn't agree with, they should find Units that they support and see what they can do to contribute to the Units of their choice.

Guidelines for moderators/administrators

Everyone makes mistakes. Tempers flare, emotions rise, people feel passionate about something and lose their tempers. We need to be forgiving and allow people time to realize their mistakes and change their behaviors Any bans/suspensions should be temporary. Permanent bans/suspensions should almost never be used unless there's consensus and its an extreme situation and there have been repeated violations with no signs of improvement. Misuse of administrative rights will be investigated.

Training for working on the Javul.org platform

Training will be developed and made available for anyone who wants to work on the Javul.org platform. The training will teach people the following things:

• How to identify issues in society.
• How to develop an attitude that is always seeking to improve things.
• General approach towards problem solving (positive attitude, rational thinking, being open minded)
• Become aware of logical fallacies
• How to use the Javul website and its tools effectively
• How to maximize your earning potential (if funds are available). This can only be done by effective problem solving and high quality performance.
• Always be aware of the Guidelines for Participation while working on Javul.org
• How to contribute on a meta level: improving the Javul.org framework to (1) enable the best ideas to become more prominent (2) rewarding hard-work (3) increase engagement and popularity (4) reduce dysfunction (5) anything else that helps all Units on Javul to function better

Some of this training will be mandatory for new contributors (it will be short and basic).

Training may consist of powerpoint slides, audio/video and an ungraded questionnaire at the end. It will include approaches to avoid in problem solving.

Training will be available on an on-going basis to all users, new and old (for refreshing training information)