Code of Ethics

At Contra Syncretist, we try to be Lawful Good in our dealings with people, especially considering that money doesn’t trade hands around here; I don’t get paid to maintain this site or to write the blog posts or shoot the YouTube videos, so I do in fact have to hold down a day job and priorities must shift accordingly; I’d love to go cover every crossover contra that happens live, but unless I win the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes, in practical terms that’s just not happening. Meanwhile, this site wouldn't exist without others' help, and they deserve to be recognized for that and treated with respect for their privacy and safety.

Site Description

The Contra Syncretist web site at www.contrasyncretist.com focuses on the new trends in contra dancing, a form of American folk dance that has enjoyed resurgence since the 1970s. The form has recently become more experimental in mixing traditional choreography with contemporary music genres. Such events where this takes place go by many names, the most common of which seem to be “techno” or “crossover” contra dances. Contra Syncretist seeks to fulfill the following goals through its main features of a blog, forum, and YouTube channel:

the blog seeks to inform members of the community by hosting interviews of organizers, DJs, and musicians at these events, as well as review CDs of the musicians who incorporate modern music into their contra dance repertoires 2-3 times a week; it encourages discussion by allowing public commenting to visitors

the forum seeks to connect geographically disparate crossover contra dancers, organizers, and DJs/musicians who may wish to share experiences in organizing these events for the benefit of the entire community;
the YouTube channel posts weekly dance flourishes, as the dancing at these crossover contras tends to be more independent of the choreography as written than traditional contra dance; the series of short (1-4 min.) videos aims to teach flourishes to the crossover-contra-going public at large in a safe and simple manner, and thereby make the dance experience more fun for everyone.

Policies & Implementation

Blog Policies

Blog posts will adhere to the posted editorial schedule (every other Monday, every Wednesday, every Friday) unless some clear statement otherwise has been made. Posts may include featured links, site announcements, or actual articles about the crossover contra or related scenes (e.g., “electric folk” genre musicians, shows featuring morris and hip-hop dancing in combination).
The blogger (and any guest bloggers) will be honest and forthright about their affiliations and will identify and link to sources whenever possible. The blogger also will not plagiarize. While nobody will claim that writing about a folk dance scene is “hard” journalism, the blogger will make every effort to keep to ethical standards similar to common U.S. journalistic ethical standards.
When an interview or review goes live, the blogger will make a good faith effort to contact the interviewee/reviewee and let them know it’s there. Upon request, interviewees may read the interview article and approve its content (facts, quotations) before it is added to the editorial calendar. Reviewees may contact the blogger once the article is live to correct factual errors only as the point of a review is heavily steeped in the reviewer’s fact-based opinions.
Any conversation that goes off-topic or that an interviewee requests be “off the record,” will be so. Any request that advance notice of an event is to be kept quiet until an “official” announcement can be made will be honored, although it may be put into a draft of a blog post that will not go live until after the announcement of the event has been made to the public.
Interviews are voluntary, and interviewees may decline to be interviewed. Contra Syncretist will respect interviewees’ wishes with regard to privacy and willingness to be interviewed in the interest of maintaining goodwill in the contra community.
Helpers and contributors will be treated with respect. Contributors will be cited and thanked for their help.
The blog posts will have metadata keywords attached to them, which goes into a searchable list of keywords at the right of the blog page. These words are meant to be a navigation aid to the reader, and as such will be accurate and not solely exist to promote search engine optimization.
Anyone may comment on a blog post; unless the posts are needlessly profane, ad hominem attacks, or are clearly the work of a spambot, the posts will be approved and allowed through the moderation process. A written warning about these unpleasant behaviors and spambots may be found on the blog’s page. Factual errors and corrections from readers will be posted, with an errata addendum to the entry in question if further research proves this to be necessary.
Ideas for blog posts from other contributors must be negotiated with the primary blogger (me) before they’ll be posted. The blog is open to the idea of cross posts, if and only if all parties (author, other blog involved in the cross-post) approve. Ideas for guest blog posts will be evaluated for relevance and interest to Contra Syncretist’s readers before approval. Blog posts will either be by the primary blogger or will be cited as being written by a guest blogger, who must either use their screen name/handle (especially in the case of DJs, who frequently take on pseudonyms) or (preferably) their real name.
Viewpoints held by the blogger and interviewees are clearly identified as such. Views of the interviewees do not necessarily reflect the blogger’s viewpoint but are included as part of the ongoing dialogue about crossover contras and the new evolutions of the contra dance and other folk dance communities.
Posts may be linked to or quoted on social media, and in fact this is encouraged so long as they are attributed.

Forum Policies

Anyone who registers may comment in the forum, though anyone may view the forum discussion without registering; registration is possible by registering with the host or by linking in with one’s Facebook account. Registration is to try and block spammers and keep comments slightly less anonymous (and keep people accountable for their actions, to some degree) by making users at least attach their comments to a screen name.
All posts are signed, either with the poster’s real name or a screen name. Users may only create one registered screen name to use on the site.
There is a message at the bottom of the forum page advising users to behave in a respectful manner. Dialogues between people who disagree with one another are fine, so long as they are conducted in a respectful manner. Non-compliance will be caught by users who contact the webmaster, and the webmaster herself. Repeated offenses will be handled as outlined under the “Problem Resolution” section of this document.
Plugs for crossover contra and related events are allowed, so long as they don’t monopolize the site. This is left to the discretion of the administrator.

YouTube Channel Policies

The Contra Syncretist YouTube channel seeks to teach flourishes in a safe and simple manner for the general public. So far (July 2011) the videos have starred the blogger and her dance partner. In light of the public nature of these videos, a few ethical guidelines have needed to be put in place.

While dips and aerials can be a part of the contra dance culture, particularly with ambitious dancers who also dance other forms of social and ballroom dance (e.g., swing), Contra Syncretist won’t teach them on our videos as we do not feel that we can do so safely and further because there is no way to give dancers immediate feedback if their technique is off. It is possible to drop one’s partner during these moves, which has the potential for severe injuries (or concussions, or worse) for a dancer. Therefore we will not teach dips or aerials on the videos we make.
If there are flourishes where there is a possibility of harm to one’s dance partner (e.g., a move in which a lead might twist a partner’s arm the wrong way if done incorrectly), we will make an attempt to point these out and caution the viewer in hopes that they will not injure their dance partners.
There are plenty of other dancers out there that will teach the skills we won’t in workshops and ad hoc formats, and these face-to-face formats are better able to give immediate feedback (and spotters) to practicing dancers. Putting aside the possible legal liabilities, we’d feel horrible if something we produced led to a dancer getting hurt.
While contra dancers range in age from 8 to 80+, the YouTube channel will not feature dancers under 18 due to the potential privacy and liability concerns.
Dancers who help make instructional videos will be given credit for their work in both an end card and the commentary posted with the video on YouTube and on the blog post in which it is featured.
The web site will also adhere to YouTube’s copyright policies as set forth in their Terms of Service and do its best not to upload videos that infringe on others’ copyrights.

Problem Resolution

Contact related to technical or factual errors on the blog or YouTube channel will be attended to and resolved as quickly as is feasible.
Contact and complaints about a user’s behavior (or unpleasant/spamming behavior observed by the webmaster) will be investigated as quickly as is feasible. Follow-up with the offending user will occur if possible; repeated bad behavior will result in a screen name being banned from posting on the forum (or their comments on the blog not being allowed through moderation).
Users will not be banned simply because they disagree with another user or the blogger; they will, however, be banned if they do so in a way that involves name-calling, libel, or other unpleasant and disrespectful behaviors.
Forum users who create multiple screen names designed to circumvent policies around respectful behavior or to overrule an administrator’s ban will have the subsequent usernames banned as well upon discovery.
Plagiarized content or content whose copyright is held by others and posted without permission that manages to get past the good-faith efforts of the content posters will be remedied through citation or removal immediately, based upon the wishes of the copyright holder(s) upon discovery.