Core Values Code of Conduct Terms and Conditions

These documents were drafted during the hic et nunc hicathon and got worked on since then by the Teia community. Those are “living documents” that have not been voted on yet and will be subject to changes made by the "core values" working group of the teia community until finalized by an official vote. However they are put in place until consensus is reached as they reflect the current state of the discussion and are the result of a wide and long process with diverse contributors.

If you want to add ideas/feedback - go to the #core-values-philosophy channel on the Teia Discord and bring your input there!

Table of Contents

1. Core Values

2. Code of Conduct

3. Terms & Conditions

3.1 Account Restrictions and Content Moderation

Core Values

PREAMBLE

TEIA is an open, digital platform of ideas and works of creativity. It is an artwork made of artworks; Artists and collectors coming together as equal lovers of creativity in order to emancipate and democratize art.

We want to elevate art, no matter how known or unknown the artist. We want to protect our art. We want to fill the blank canvas that is TEIA.

TEIA is a self sustaining organization managed by the community for the community.

TEIA is built and improved by its participants. We believe that we as a collective can be bigger than the sum of our members. We strive to improve TEIA in a decentralized manner. That means we can build and evolve everything at once, everything follows chaotic growth. This infinite process might at times look disorganized from the outside looking in, but it isn't: The community organizes itself; chaos creates beauty.

We want, however, to protect and preserve the spirit of Teia. Those core values should guide our decisions moving forward in this rapidly evolving space. This manifesto, collectively written, tries to put this spirit into words.

§1 Inclusivity

• 1.1 We believe in a community for all users and all art forms.
  • 1.1.1 Inclusive for everyone, no matter your race, ethnicity, religion, class, culture, national background and citizenship status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, or mental or physical disability, neurotype, health related issues, income level, mental health status or trauma
  • 1.1.2 Inclusive for all participants, no matter the social/economic status.
  • 1.1.3 inclusive for all art forms and mediums including but not limited to: digital, analog, graphics, vr, video, audio, music, fiber, physical and the ones to come.
• 1.2 We want to reach a parity in voice and contribution between people from all communities and sorts of privileges and locations. This needs to be reached through concrete action and leveraging power

§2 Respect

• 2.1 We believe in a community that respects one another’s dignity, ideas, thoughts and art.
• 2.3 We respect our community and value each person's contribution.
• 2.4 We understand that this is, and always will be, a work in progress and we are empathetic and patient with this process.

§3 Community/Solidarity

• 3.1 We are an egalitarian community. Our community is not about rank, status, or popularity. It’s about contributing, building together, fostering connections, encouraging community interactions, providing support, and growing together.
• 3.2 The community must ensure the freedom of the individual, but this freedom ends where it endangers the well-being of the community (see COC)
• 3.3 We want to
  • 3.3.1 Avoid displaying indications of rank, status, or popularity
  • 3.3.2 Build what benefits the whole community, not just a select few.
  • 3.3.3 Create systems that are inclusive to the community as a whole.
  • 3.3.4 avoid systems that could be exclusive in any shape or form.
  • 3.3.5 Protect the community and their intellectual property from threats.

§4 Decentralization

We believe in shared ownership on the platform, no one should have exclusive rights over others.

• 4.1 We believe in a platform that radically dismantles and democratizes the established art market and methods of distribution.
• 4.2 Teia should remain open source. We aim to create open solutions and look for ways to limit gate-keeping and share knowledge wherever possible.
• 4.3 We want to build a transparent platform that facilitates a rich ecosystem and integrates with the world around it. We encourage third party additions/tools for the Teia core as long they stay true to the spirit of Teia
• 4.4 We want to build a platform where important decisions are voted on in an open and fair process before being implemented. We want to
  • 4.6.1 Encourage and secure open and free discussions around community voting.
  • 4.6.2 Give all users fair rights in this voting process.
  • 4.6.3 Encourage and help all members to participate in community votes.
• 4.5 The community should respect and encourage all opinions, even if they are against the consensus. The individual should respect consensus reached by the community in the same way.

§5 Simplicity and accessibility

• 5.1 Teia should aim to be as accessible as possible. The creation of an account should be simple and fast and possible anonymously and without providing any personal information. Teia should not store or collect personal information about its members.
• 5.2 We want to provide a simple and easy-to-use platform for all users, including those with accessibility needs.
• 5.3 We want to help those without access to the platform to get the ability to participate. (i.e. via donations for people who can’t afford to mint)
• 5.4 We believe in providing access to useful tools for all members of the community

§6 Sustainability

We believe in sustainability. With technology evolving, we as a community need to evolve too and build towards a more viable future. We shall be mindful of the consequences of our actions and evaluate our decisions with that in mind, always pursuing the least destructive path.

• 6.1 Things that may look responsible now may be problematic for us and everyone in the future. Lifecycle impacts must be considered.
• 6.2 With that in mind, we should always be open to the possibility of changing the technological foundations of Teia in order to ensure it stays sustainable, transparent and accessible to everyone.
• 6.3 The community should ensure the security of all the data needed for the platform. This includes but is not limited to the data stored on blockchains. The media files of objkts should be stored in a decentralized and transparent way.

§7 Creativity

• 7.1 Creativity has no borders. We want to encourage and organize events that bring the global community together and create bonds and collaborations between us and contribute to shaping the future of art as whole.
• 7.2 We want to encourage and help the development of new forms and shapes of art through collaborations between the users.
• 7.3 We believe in providing an open and supportive space for all artists and collectors to express themselves freely and without limitations.
• 7.4 Creativity needs freedom, we want to make sure there are as few restrictions as possible in place to make Teia a place of creativity without limitations but also ensuring the intellectual rights of creators/artists.

Code of Conduct

Teia is a community of artists, creators, and collectors from all around the world, who come together to grow and inspire others. All participants in the community are expected to act lawfully, honestly, ethically, and in the best interest of the project. We want Teia to be a safe and productive environment for everyone. This Code of Conduct offers guidelines designed to keep Teia a respectful, supportive, and open space. Remember, Teia is what you make of it, and as a community we can create a great experience for everyone.

Respect

• We may have different values or viewpoints of the world but we have one thing in common: we love art.
• Be civil and respect each other. Don't harass, impersonate, or belittle others. Respect each others personal boundaries.
• Don't post spam or vandalize the space.

Contribute and help improve the community.

• Look for ways to contribute and find positive solutions. Stay open minded and empathetic around areas of improvements. And take initiative to help out where you can.
• Try to share your knowledge with the community.
• Your participation matters. If you feel that you or the group you identify with is underrepresented or does not have a voice in the community, know that you are welcome here. Be the first to fill that gap, invite your peers, and make yourself heard.
• Bugs and security flaws in the platform, blockchain or smart contract should be disclosed responsibly, according to regulations and best practices regarding those procedures.
• If you see something wrong, voice it and try to help people without a voice. ( see Reporting Guidelines)

Copyright and intellectual property

As artists and collectors of art, we want to acknowledge and protect intellectual property as it is crucial for our integrity and work but we also acknowledge that some forms of art need to use the works of others (i.e. remixes, tributes, quotes).

• Artists should avoid uses of existing copyrighted material that do not generate new artistic meaning, being aware that a change of medium, without more, may not meet this standard. [src]

• The use of a preexisting work, whether in part or in whole, should be justified by the artistic objective, and artists who deliberately repurpose copyrighted works should be prepared to explain their rationales both for doing so and for the extent of their uses. [src]

• Artists should avoid suggesting that incorporated elements are original to them, unless that suggestion is integral to the meaning of the new work. [src]

• We suggest not to mint content that is in the public domain or under other similar licenses that allow reselling without creative changes or using it as a way of artistic expression.
  While some content is free to be used and if specified in the license even commercially, there are problematic implications that come with minting unchanged content and selling it as a NFT, such as occurring double mints if multiple people mint the same public domain content (see Terms & Conditions).

• When creating a homage piece to somebody else’s work, an artist should seek consent from the creator of the original, clearly label it as a homage and name the original creator, unless there is an articulable aesthetic basis for not doing so (i.e. pastiche / sampling / collage / satire etc).

[src] see page 11 of Digital Commons

Fair play on the marketplace

• In order to make collecting a good experience for everyone, collectors should voluntarily refrain from using automated tools for collecting, from hindering other participants from collecting and from interfering with the smart contract in any way.

• Collectors should refrain from collecting excessively such as collecting large amounts of a “free” or low priced edition. Participants should apply their discretion as to what counts as “excessive”.

Terms and Conditions

Rules of the Teia Platform

• By agreeing with this Code of Conduct and Terms & Conditions you become a user of the Teia platform.

• By agreeing with this Code of Conduct and Terms & Conditions the User accepts responsibility for their activity on the sites and spaces associated with the Teia Community.

• Ownership of “NFT Token” belongs to the creator of “NFT Token”, prior to the transaction.

• Ownership of “NFT Token” belongs to the purchaser of “NFT Token”.

• The User agrees that the Code of Conduct can be changed to other official documents or updated versions thereof. Changes of Manifesto/Code of Conduct/Terms & Conditions will be announced through the official Teia Blog

• In case of replacement or change of this Code of Conduct with other official documents, User must either accept new official documents or refrain from using the Teia platform.

• This code of conduct/terms and Conditions and its related procedures also apply to unacceptable behavior occurring outside the scope of community activities when such behavior has the potential to adversely affect the safety and well-being of community members.

Limits of liability

• Use Teia at your own risk: Teia provides a User Interface for minting and trading, the users are fully responsible for their owned NFT Tokens and actions.

• The user agrees that the Teia marketplace does not bear any responsibility for failed transactions on the Tezos blockchain and in the ecosystem of accompanying services (including: wallets, etc.).

• Teia will not refund users for possible exploits and other losses directly caused by third parties or account restrictions.

Content Warning

The art on the Teia.art marketplace is user-created and some of it might not be suitable for all ages. If you are underaged, don’t use the platform without your legal guardians.

Unacceptable behavior

We do not condone harassment or abuse against any member in any community environment, online or offline, for any reason. Abusive actors can get banned from any Teia related spaces.

Harassment includes

• targeting individuals in a manner that makes them feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or afraid.

• offensive verbal, visual or text based comments related to gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, neurotype, health related issues, income level, mental health status, trauma, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion

• deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, sustained disruption of conversation.

• Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person.

• Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material outside of the context of artistic expression.

• Posting or threatening to post other people's personally identifying information ("doxing").

• Inappropriate photography or recording.

• Inappropriate physical contact. You should have someone's consent before touching them.

• Unwelcomed sexual attention. This includes sexualized comments or jokes; inappropriate touching, groping, and unwelcomed sexual advances.

• Sustained disruption of community events, including talks and presentations.

• Advocating for, or encouraging of any of the above behavior.

Abuse includes

• Using ones authority, reputation or knowledge to intimidate or threaten others.

• Maliciously causing someone to doubt their own perceptions, senses, or understanding with the objective to win an argument or force someone to behave the way you want.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

• Unacceptable behavior from any community member, including sponsors and those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated.

• Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.

• If a community member engages in unacceptable behavior, the community organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including a temporary ban or permanent expulsion from the platforms and spaces associated with the Teia community without warning (and without refund in the case of a paid event).

• If a community manager does not actively investigate and fight reported unacceptable behavior fairly, they will need to be held responsible and might be removed from their position.

Reporting Guidelines

If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behavior, or have any other concerns, please notify a community organizer as soon as possible either via the report form, the discord channel #report or a mail to "info@teia.art"

For reporting copymints, please use the discord channel #report-copyminters or the above mentioned mail address (If you report accounts via mail, please make sure to include: The full long form tezos address of the reported account, and evidence of unacceptable behavior.)

Additionally, community organizers are available to help community members engage with local law enforcement or to otherwise help those experiencing unacceptable behavior feel safe. In the context of in-person events, organizers will also provide escorts as desired by the person experiencing distress.

If you feel you have been falsely or unfairly accused of violating this Code of Conduct, you should notify Teia with a concise description of your grievance. Your grievance will be handled in accordance with our existing governing policies.

Content moderation

Restricted accounts on the Teia marketplace.

The Teia community reserves its right to moderate content and ban/restrict wallets from the marketplace to make Teia a fair and safe experience for all.

The content moderation team operates on the following Terms and work voluntarily to protect TEIA collectors and artists from copyminting and other types of malicious activity.

Please understand their role and that processes like this do generate mistakes. The team investigates when alerted through the #report-copyminters channel in the TEIA Discord or via mail. Please respect their work, and help them by being courteous and accurate with the information that will help your inquiry.

Various other Tezos marketplaces also use the TEIA restricted list of accounts, which means that once TEIA restricts an account, other NFT marketplaces will likely follow suit.

Note that other marketplaces, even those using the same minting contracts, may have different Terms and Codes of Conduct, and so account restrictions may sometimes differ between platforms that display the same works.

Since TEIA is a decentralized application, restricted OBJKTs are only superficially restricted on Teia's user interface, meaning that they are still available through APIs and on-chain data etc.

“Restricted account”

Accounts that TEIA restricts are labeled “restricted account,” and OBJKTs that a restricted account has minted are labeled “restricted OBJKT” on the marketplace.

“Account under review”

Accounts that are marked as “under review” have been flagged for further investigation or minor misbehavior or general red flags. Accounts under review can still trade on the Teia UI and will be reviewed. Users who's account has ben put under review are asked to come to the #report-copyminters channel on the Teia community discourse for clarification.

Reasons for an account restriction/review:

• Copyminting: Minting another artist(s) work without their consent. Copyminting can also include works based on another artist's work, with minimal filters or modifications applied

• Double minting: Minting the same work more than once without artistic merit or an apparent reference for prospective buyers. Of every piece of content there should be only one NFT. Double mints on multiple marketplaces, contracts or blockchains are treated as copymints. For pieces that are double mints on the hicetnunc minting contract, this rule is enforced for NFT Tokens minted after 01.01.2022.

• Infringed copyright: The use of artists' work in part or whole in a way that is not in line with the license/copyright of said work or not defendable through artistic merit.

• Plagiarism: Implying authorship of work created by others; i.e. by copying, reproducing or using other peoples work as a base without clearly citing the source and giving credit within the work itself or within the description associated with the NFT. Exceptions can be made if the artistic merit lies within the practice of repurposing content.

• Clear association with confirmed restricted accounts: Ample evidence of being a person that engaged in restricted behavior. i.e. by funding (sending an account its initial funds) of restricted accounts, being funded by a restricted account or other clear evidence of association with restricted accounts. Accounts restricted by association can be unrestricted if they provide believable evidence of not engaging in malicious behavior.

• Wash trading: Market manipulation through buying own NFTs directly or indirectly.

• Freeloading: abusing the services or infrastructure of teia in ways that put the platform in danger. Ie by minting excessive amounts of tokens in short periods of time. Cases like this don't necessarily result in a ban but Teia might need to reduce the impact on its infrastructure I. E. By unpinning the content.

• Illegal content: Minting material that glorifies human rights violations or is solely pornographic without artistic expression. This applies especially but is not limited to cases of copied or filtered pornographic content stolen from third parties. (Note that NSFW material is generally allowed for artistic expression if classified properly).

• Violating the Terms and conditions or Code of Conduct in other ways: Mainly if it is overtly abusive to another group, invokes violence, or intimidates, harasses or impersonates.

• Public domain content: Accounts that mint public domain content or content under C00 or similar licenses without changes or adding new artistic meaning might get restricted or those tokens might get restricted from getting sold, especially if they are not clearly indicating the original author and license in the description. This is due to the complexity to verify if such NFTs are complying with the license of the original content and the copymint team having only limited resources to do that.
  This rule might get lifted in the future with the implementation of new systems of verification or moderation. If your artistic practice involves using public domain work without change, it might help to notify the copymint team prior to minting and discuss the individual case.

• Missing classification of NSFW/Photosensitive content: The content moderation team might restrict accounts that mint NSFW or photosensitive material without properly classifying it upon mint, the team can also add mints and accounts to that classification after the mint.

Procedure if your Teia account has been restricted

If you are banned, please don’t create new accounts to circumvent the account restriction but request for an un-ban first, those accounts might get automatically banned. If you want to keep on minting, please discuss with the content moderation team first and discuss the way forward.

Contesting restrictions can be made through the #report-copyminters channel in the TEIA Discord. It’s important to notice that errors are possible at this stage, and we apologize for such cases. We ask users to direct such issues exclusively through the channel.

Provide your account address and the reason for the dispute. Be prepared to show works in progress or versions of a work in question so the team can verify and determine if the restriction is mistaken. Having a well-used Twitter account, work is shown on your website, Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr, etc., that is your own will help.

You should not expect a warm reception if you attempt malicious action on the platform or threaten mods and admin. The team has to process many requests, some of which are less than honest. Unfortunately, they have to begin the process with a lack of trust, and you have to convince them that you are trustworthy. The most straightforward way to overturn a mistaken restriction is to engage with the team politely.

If the copymint team agrees that the account does not violate the TEIA rules, the account affected will be removed from the TEIA restricted list. It takes about 5 minutes for any changes to the restricted list to go live.