'Sound Empathy' - Server Guidelines
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∅. The Basics...
Please follow Discord's 'Terms of Service' and 'Community Guidelines'. Thank you!
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I. Sound Understanding...
Emotions make life worth living. Regarding subjective matters, have empathy and respect others' feelings and unique perspectives by seeking to understand the validity behind them. Sound reasoning can grow our intellect and sharpen the inferences we make. With more objective topics, exercise prudent, charitable rationality in the pursuit of truth; those which are supported by science and widely accepted evidence.
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II. Unnecessary Emotional Harm...
Do not intentionally attempt to cause unnecessary emotional harm towards others. It is healthy to process and express feelings of sadness, frustration, or any other "negative" emotion that may arise. Unfortunately, sometimes certain personalities simply don't mesh well. However, actions that purposely attempt to make others feel unwanted emotions like numbness, apathy, or distress are hurtful and deconstructive. These behaviors are unhelpful and not the most effective ways to cultivate meaningful change.
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III. Seeing The Grey...
Avoid labeling people as inherently bad based on their actions or views. Focus on understanding the situation and context behind behaviors. When addressing perspectives that may cause harm, or of which don’t align with reality, do so without demonizing individuals. Fundamental attribution error can be really sneaky, charitable interpretation is often easy to forget too. Just try to be mindful.
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IV. Embrace Emotions...
Encourage each other to feel and express a full range of emotions. Happiness, anger, sadness, love, and anything in between are all welcome here. Be mindful of how our affects can affect others. Avoid promoting apathy or emotional numbness. The goal here is not to always feel good, but to feel. A healthy and regulated swing of positive and negative emotions—or as I say, hot and cold emotions—is a necessary component of the human condition. Feel safe in truly experiencing and embracing your emotions.
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V. Vulnerability Is Key...
Feel free to be your true self. Express honestly, show authenticity, embrace vulnerability. It is okay to share your personal experiences and emotions. It is important to be aware of how you may influence others. Usually it is best to avoid abruptly shifting conversations to heavy topics or overwhelming others with intense personal stories. Respect others' comfort levels and seek their consent before delving into deep or sensitive topics. Always honor each others' agency for heavy conversation.
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VI. Content Considerations...
It would be best to avoid sharing content that is obscene, disturbing, or not safe for work, including graphic violence, gore, or explicit sexual material. It’s okay to make light-hearted sexual jokes, discuss personal experiences, or even talk about potentially distressing topics so long as there is a purpose for the discussion to take place. Feel free in discussing anything if it is for the sake of understanding something, so long as the intention is not to make others uncomfortable.
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VII. Unhelpful Language...
Try to avoid offensive or hurtful language. Slurs, invalidation, or any serious insults are to be avoided if possible. If it is truly necessary in a conversation, please reference them as their leading letter (i.e F-Slur, N-Word, T-Slur). Any form of bigotry is not welcome here. Conversations that glorify harmful or misleading rhetoric—especially those surrounding wealth, age, ability, sex, gender, race, sexuality, religion—ought to not occur for the sake of maintaining an emotionally safe environment.
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VIII. Intended Purpose...
Please try to use channels for their intended purpose. For my own well being, try not to spam channels and engage with each part of this server for it's intended purpose. I want to cultivate an environment of empathetic, compassionate, rational, and supportive humans. The world can be a whole slew of things, but this home is here for us to make. We decide.
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Cheers and best wishes!
Love Suena