Welcome to Submit, the future of BDSM, Fetish and Kinky community.
Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be publishing posts where we’ll explain some of the features, concepts, and ideas behind the development of our platform.
Two years ago, we set out on a journey to build a social platform that is safe, inclusive, and private. The work on those goals is never complete, but we think Submit has managed to embody those ideals so far. While our technology certainly takes us far in achieving those ideals, true success requires more than just code.
Guidelines, rules, and policies (the “guidelines”) are critical in delivering a safe and inclusive platform. Equally as critical is how we interpret and enforce those guidelines. These two parts ultimately dictate safety and inclusion on any platform. Getting it right is never easy, and I’ll be the first to say that we’re going to fuck it up and make mistakes - but we’re going to be transparent about that and learn from those mistakes.
Our guidelines promote a safe and inclusive space built upon consent and respect, free of hate, violence, and extremism (and the many versions of each). We do not tolerate anyone attempting to hide abuse through the guise of a kink. We will not defend, hide, or otherwise allow predators, extremists, pedophiles, and anyone trying to pervert, abuse, or hurt our communities to exist here.
Writing a pile of words can only take us so far; we’ve got to put up or shut up. We choose to put up…
Today I’m excited to introduce a big part of our strategy to create a safe and inclusive platform, the Community Council. The Community Council is a group of democratically elected community members with the power to shape the development and enforcement of our guidelines. In addition to Community Members, we’ve partnered with a few leading nonprofit organizations that will lend their expertise and help. As we’re working out some final details with them, we’ll announce those organizations in a future post.
We believe the Council is one of the most important elements of our safety and inclusion strategies. It ensures that our policy and its enforcement are not controlled by a single person or group and that the community as a whole has a say. This helps us avoid the development of a benevolent dictatorship.
Six (6) members, each elected by the community to serve for one (1) year, make up the Council. Members are limited to a maximum of two (2) terms. The Council is primarily tasked with guideline development and enforcement. Members are empowered to create and shape guidelines and to observe the enforcement process to help ensure that we’re enforcing guidelines as intended.
Update Oct 2023: The council is now comprised of 11 members. Year 1 of the council is 18 months, to allow for enough time to processes to be set up to support future councils. Each council after the first will serve 1 year terms.
The selection process is designed to ensure that the Council represents all viewpoints as best as possible. Members are democratically elected by the community following the nomination and voting stages.
Nomination
The nomination phase occurs during the first week of April each year. Candidates interested in running for Council Membership self-nominate. In order to self-nominate, candidates must be fully verified and active users in good standing. Once their nomination has been accepted, candidates are able to create a special section on their profile to explain why they think they’re best suited for Council Membership.
The nomination phase lasts two weeks.
Voting
Following the nomination phase, public voting starts and lasts for a week. All active members of Submit in good standing are able to cast one (1) vote. At the end of the week, the six (6) candidates with the highest vote counts will be selected and granted Council-Elect status.
At the end of April, the new Council Members will be granted Council status and replace the prior Council members.
2023 Exception
With Submit launching publicly this year, our first year of operation will suspend the nomination process and replace it with an application process. Community Council members that apply will be voted on in our Community Discord server. You can find details on how to apply for the Community Council on our Discord Server.
Update Oct 2023: The application process for the 2023-2024 council will take place entirely on platform.
Throughout their term of service, Council Members will have direct access to the Submit team and our internal tools to fulfill their responsibilities to the community. They’re able to directly work on drafting, approving & releasing guidelines and observe our enforcement and interpretation of our policies. Throughout their term of service, Members will also be invited to represent the community in other aspects of Submit, including our feature and roadmap planning, events, and more.
While Community Council members aren’t employees, we want to recognize their hard work and service to the community. Council Members do enjoy some perks, our way of saying thank you:
With 2023 being our first year of public operation, it’ll also be our first year running the Community Council. Year One members will also help us ensure the Council is operating efficiently and positioned to effectively make change.
If you’re interested in applying to be a Council Member for our first year, join our Community Discord to get started.
Update Oct 2023: If you’re interestedin applying to be a Council Member for our first year, applications are opening up on October 4th, 2023 here on the platform.