What a Call-Out Means
A call-out does not mean you’re a bad person. It means you may be acting from unexamined oppressive conditioning.
How to respond to a call-out:
1. Listen — pause, read, and try to understand why it happened.
2. Acknowledge the impact, even if it wasn’t your intention.
3. Change the behavior going forward.
Why is This Important?
Racism, sexism, classism, speciesism, ableism, and other (including genocide apologists) oppressive systems shape our societies and people’s lives. The more intersecting oppressions someone faces, the more barriers they experience to safety, health, and the chance to thrive.
Don’t be an asshole to people whose lives are disproportionately impacted by these systems.
Things We Encourage (This Goes Beyond the Forum or Online Spaces)
- Keep posts on-topic and be respectful.
- Share your experiences of love, joy, pain, frustration, anger, confusion, and more.
- Ask for what you need — without entitlement to someone’s emotional labor.
- Offer support and solidarity.
- Give advice if it’s asked for (and you want to).
- Call out oppressive language, attitudes, and behaviors when needed.
- Respect pronouns. If you’re unsure, use they/them/their.
- Creep on members or comment on someone’s personal appearance unless you’re friends.
- Send unsolicited or “creepy” private messages to people you don’t know.
- Post sensitive personal information or doxxing members.
(If you’re a cop, fuck off.) - Tone police people — don’t tell someone to “be nice” when they’re expressing anger.
If you see a post or message that breaks these guidelines, report it so moderators can take action.