Community Guidelines

Stocksy United is guided by the belief that content, and those who create it, make a vital contribution to our world. We stand for creative integrity, empathy, collaboration, inclusivity, and the opportunity for prosperity that this community deserves. To foster these principles, we strive for a culture of constructive collaboration and mutual respect for all of our members, which these guidelines will help us achieve.


COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

Stocksy United is guided by the belief that content, and those who create it, make a vital contribution to our world. We stand for creative integrity, empathy, collaboration, inclusivity, and the opportunity for prosperity that this community deserves. To foster these principles, we strive for a culture of constructive collaboration and mutual respect for all of our members—contributors, staff, and advisors alike.
These guidelines are a means to help us navigate how we put these values into practice and will apply to all Stocksy community members and elements, including the forums, support tickets, meetups, direct messages, or any other communications within the co-op, or while representing the brand outside of Stocksy. These guidelines will apply to all communications and activity going forward and will not retroactively apply to past behavior.

1. THE STOCKSY WAY

As co-owners of this cooperative, we are guided by Stocksy’s values and have a duty to uphold these values with our actions. As members, it is our shared responsibility to:

  • Represent Stocksy and our values to the best of your ability, both inside and outside the co-op.
  • Treat all fellow members of our Stocksy community with professionalism, respect, patience, and understanding, even when in disagreement. 
  • Make sure you express your opinions in respectful ways that come from a place of constructive collaboration rather than outward frustration—avoid aggressive, passive-aggressive, rude, or derogatory speech.
  • Respect the confidentiality of the co-op and the privacy of fellow members. Don’t share anything from Stocksy’s forums or any other form of members-only communication outside the co-op without permission. Do not reveal another person’s personal or private info without their permission (either within our creative community or outside of it).
  • Respect that as a co-op, we have limited resources including staff time and access to tools, that need to equitably benefit all members.


2. SAFE SPACES

Stocksy United is committed to promoting a safe and respectful environment, where every contributor, staff member, director, and client or partner is treated in a fair and respectful manner. We also pride ourselves on being a business that champions diversity and inclusion.

Bullying, harassment, and discrimination will not be tolerated within the co-op.

  • Bullying is a repeated pattern of deliberate, aggressive behavior toward an individual with an intent to cause harm. 
  • Harassment is any inappropriate conduct or comment by a person who knows or ought reasonably to have known the conduct or comment to be unwelcome.
  • Discrimination is any action that involves treating someone differently based on their race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or other such attribute. 


The following do not usually constitute bullying, harassment, or discrimination, when handled respectfully:

  • Debates, disagreements, or differences of opinion 
  • Constructive feedback
  • Single incidents (unless egregious)


HOW THE GUIDELINES WORK

OVERVIEW

In the simplest terms, if you see communications or actions that you believe go against the values and expectations above, you can send us your concerns along with as much info as you’re able to provide. An internal committee will review, investigate, and create a report with recommendations and outcomes. 

THE COMMITTEE

The committee consists of Ian Culbertson (VP People & Business Operations), and Margaret Vincent (VP Legal & Advocacy). Each member has experience mediating disputes and will strive to seek a balanced and fair approach when investigating and providing recommendations for any Community Guidelines claims.

REPORTING PROCESS

Any member can report incidents or complaints to [email protected], which is a private email accessible only to the members of the Guidelines Committee. Information provided will be shared with the committee and retained in a confidential file.

Please try to report issues as soon as they occur. This allows for a prompt investigation. Please provide as much information as possible in the report and include any supporting information, including documents, links, or screenshots.

INVESTIGATION PROCESS

Stocksy United will strive to conduct a confidential, thorough, fair, and time-sensitive investigation for all claims received. Over the course of any investigation, additional information or evidence may be requested from the involved parties and/or any witnesses.
Investigations will, in most cases, include a review of all submitted materials, communications with the people involved, review of any additional materials sought, and creation of a report providing the conclusions of the investigation and any corrective actions. We aim to review claims as quickly as possible following reporting; you can expect an update on progress and timing within three business days.

OUTCOMES

If the committee determines that no corrective actions are needed, the parties will be informed that there will be no further action taken. If corrective actions are required, they will generally be applied in a tiered fashion, unless the claim is so egregious as to require substantial actions immediately.

  • Tier 1: first-time claims or low-level concerns following investigation may result in a reminder of expectations and/or written warning. We understand bad days happen.
  • Tier 2: ongoing issues not resolved under Tier 1, repeated claims, or mid-level concerns may result in the loss of privileges or limits on your account or communications, including restrictions on forum posting.
  • Tier 3: ongoing patterns of issues without improvement following discussion or grave concerns may result in the loss of privileges or limits on your account or communications, including restrictions on forum posting, and/or your account being frozen and your content being pulled from sale for a period of time.
  • Tier 4: as a last resort for severe concerns or issues that have not been resolved under Tiers 1-3, your account may be subject to Stocksy’s membership termination process as outlined in our Co-op Rules, Section 1.10.


ADDITIONAL INFO

While we expect these Community Guidelines to be practiced by all members in both public and private communications, we do not monitor private sitemail. However, if a claim related to private messages is brought, we will request the necessary information from the member making the claim to complete the investigation, including screenshots as needed to verify the complaint.
If you are unwilling to agree to this policy or feel that you are unable to abide by these standards, continued membership may not be possible. Please contact [email protected] if this is the case. This policy may change from time to time. When it does, we will update all members.
We will be reviewing all feedback as we implement and use these guidelines and will incorporate what we learn.

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS

Supporting our community has always been and will always be a core function of Stocksy’s business and mission. We will continue to rely on the professional expertise, spirit of collaboration, and drive for innovation that our community exudes. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] or our Community Lead Ivar Teunissen if you have any suggestions, questions, or comments about these Community Guidelines.