Rules and Guidelines

Rules and Guidelines

As of May 12, 2021

StarSister Rules and Responsibilities – For Members and their parents

Welcome! When you become a StarSister, you join a safe, supportive, respectful, and fun online community. And as with any community, engagement requires abiding by and respecting certain rules and responsibilities.

Some of these rules are dictated by federal law governing websites that are designed for children. Let’s look at those first.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA is a United States law that governs websites for children under 13. Because some members are under 13, every member must follow COPPA’s rules about what can and cannot be shared about an individual member. So first, let’s look at what can be shared:

OK to Share about Yourself on StarSisters

Things about yourself that aren’t considered personally identifiable information (PII). You can share your first name, nicknames and pseudonyms, personal pronouns, the country, state or province in which you are currently residing, your age and birth month, your preferences, thoughts and opinions, the type of school or camp you attend, generic names for camps or clubs (like 4H, art camp, or science club), what job your parents do, and more!

Not OK to Share about Yourself on StarSisters

Personally identifiable information is something that could allow others to specifically identify you. For example, on StarSisters, you cannot post: 

  • your last name
  • your address
  • city or any specific location where you live
  • where you go to school or camp or are staying for an extended period of time
  • phone number
  • email address
  • post office box
  • IP addresses
  • usernames or passwords, or social media account name or information
  • personal blogs or websites
  • Google Hangouts or the like

You also cannot post:

  • the name of your school or camp
  • specific names of clubs and organizations (for example Apple Valley 4H or Idyllwild Arts Camp)
  • your parents’ place of employment
  • known landmarks in your city

And please don’t ask other members to share that information with you!

 

In addition to COPPA compliance, StarSisters recognizes US Copyright law. Please don’t post any material that’s copyrighted or owned by someone else! This includes art, music, and writing. If you properly attribute it to the owner, it’s okay to post small pieces of copyrighted work — for example, favorite quotes from books (including the author’s name) or song lyrics. 

By participating in StarSisters, you are part of a diverse and varied community with many different backgrounds, opinions, and beliefs. So one of the responsibilities that guide how we interact with one another is to support and respect differences among our members, staff, and volunteers.

These responsibilities may seem self-evident, but just so we’re all on the same page, on the site we expect you to:

  • Treat others and yourself with respect
  • Refrain from bullying, name calling, or using racist, antisemetic, sexist, anti-LGBTQ+, or ableist language or jokes. This extends to any and all hate speech.
  • Not use profanity (even creative workarounds). In general, don’t use language that you wouldn’t use in front of your grandmother, teacher, or primmish neighbor down the street. Luckily, there are many other ways to express yourself in our rich language!
  • Be inclusive. We understand that certain discussions and role plays may be limited by the number of available characters or the start date. But, in general, try to keep discussions available to all members.

Moderators and mentors will contact both the member and their parents if a post contains mention of self-harm, suicidal ideation, threats from others or to others, or any other post in which the member’s wellbeing seems to be at stake.

It can be hard to know what is appropriate to say to another person online, so here are a few suggestions:

  • Always ask yourself if you would be comfortable saying something to another person’s face. If the answer is no, don’t say it on the website. If you’re unsure of the impact of a certain word, choose another. 
  •  Walk a mile in the other person’s shoes. Try to imagine someone else’s life, and/or to understand how someone can think, believe, or feel differently than you do.
  •  If another person’s viewpoint grates against yours, don’t respond immediately. Take a breath and think about it. It sometimes helps to write a response, but wait until the next day to send it. That way, you can take the time to reread and confirm that it expresses your point of view clearly and kindly.

 

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