Weekly Seeds | September 8, 2023 | The Consent Download
Published by Noa Elan on
If you really knew me, you would know that I love talking about safety, repair, and community care. Today, I'm excited to share Bloom's perspective on consent and safety. TL;DR
Here are the 3 things you should know: 1/ You can reach us at safety@bloomcommunity.com 2/ Dick picks won't get you a date on Bloom 3/ Registration is open to the Gold Standard Apology workshop with Mischa Byruck. Sign up here.
Bloom Community believes that all people should be able to safely self-identify, self express, and organize. In order to to this, members need to feel safe in the Bloom’s platform; safe from shaming, safe from discrimination, and safe from harassment. Additionally, Bloom members should feel safe to speak up about harm that was created and trust that they won’t be penalized for doing so.
Bloom Community Values and Norms
Every community has its norms — these are not behaviors that are “right” or “wrong” in the absolute sense, but rather what’s expected and accepted in the community space. We seek to mitigate certain harmful experiences, and unwanted behaviors by sharing and holding participants accountable to a common set of values and standards.
Data! Data! Data!:
To make the norms point more tangible: On Bloom, dick picks are a no-go. They don’t align with our Consent value (and lead to removal from the platform*), and they are also not welcomed by the community. Dick picks might be welcomed on other platforms, and they might even be welcomed by our members in a different setting. But on Bloom- they are not. As a supporting data point, profile with dick picks have a 90% pass ratio, which is significantly higher than our average.
*Note: because dick picks go against our community guidelines we reach out to these account holders and ask them to remove these photos. If unaddressed, we will deactivate the account.
Bloom’s 2-pillar approach to making Bloom a safe platform
We recognize that non-consensual behavior and harm occur in all aspects of life. Upfront education, reporting systems, and consent policies help mitigate and address harm.
1/ SkillBuilding
We believe that upfront education is key to reducing harm in the future. Our best bet of creating the community we want, is to invest in teaching people the rules of conduct. We will be investing our resources in building a content library on our [consent hub], including offering free consent-related workshops every month.
2/ Reporting and Policies
We have automated systems, member-reporting systems, and moderator systems in place to identify, address, and act on harmful behaviors. I invite you to read the full reporting policy on our [consent hub], including why we wish (but can’t) follow restorative justice processes.
We are committed to building our members skills and knowledge. Bloom is partnering with key educators and are offering freemonthly consent and inclusion workshops. Sign up for our first one this month!
