English : Central-Info or Frequently Asked Questions
::===============::Why the name "Siriel" ?
In Armenian, 'siriel' is the infinitive verb 'to love'.
The Armenian genocide (by the Turkish army between 1915 and 1918, during W.W.I) was actively ignored by governments at the time and even for many decades after and, even today, many governments attempt to avoid the subject, such is the case of the Turkish government.
It is a classical and important example of a crime against humanity which had been ignored, if not somewhat hidden, for a rather long time. To have this crime officially recognized as a genocide and to make people aware that it occured, it took the determined hard work of many world citizens and historians.
This media/network of world citizens is therefore named Siriel-Media in honor of the ignored victims and to denounce crimes against humanity that the mass media ignore.
( On a lighter note, I also discovered that the word 'siriel' means "child (or daughter) of the water" in one of the elvish tongues in the work of J.R.R. Tolkien "The Lord of the Rings".)
- Michaël Lessard,
webmaster & founder of Siriel-Media
www.theforgotten.org
(English, Espanol, Français, Deutsch, Italiano, Türkçe, etc.)
A visual and animated site
(English) Armenian National Institute
::===============::
How to see the English navigation links...
Actually, if your browser (ex.: Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.) language is set to English (en), the navigation links will automatically be in English.
If, for any reason, you do not wish to set English as the primary language in a given browser, just create a user account (it’s free and can be created directly online) to activate the English navigation. Of course, in your account, you need to select English as your preferred language.
When opening a session, you can click the box ‘Keep session open on this computer’: this option means you will not need to enter your name/password everytime. But anyone using that computer will have access to your account (so this option is not for public computers or an “Internet cafe-restaurant”).
Navigation: Easy Tips
How to add, in your posts, 'styles' (bold, italic, etc.).
I created a page to show how to add 'styles' (bold, italic, etc.). As you'll see, when posting on the Siriel-Media, you can use the simple Textile codes or HTML (the usual Internet codes or tags), or you can use both at once.
All in all, Textile offers simpler tricks to modify the appearance of your texts (i.e. HTML is more complex and longer).
Open the page : www.siriel.info/misc/guide-styles.html
However, notice that it's not necessary. You can post a 'simple text'.
Adding smileys and small country flags
When you are posting, you can see to your right the smileys that are accessible.
So, if you write ’:note’, the icon 
will be visible in place.
You can also add small country flags. These work exactly like smileys. Due to the great number of flags, the list of these “flag-smileys” is visible only here, to your right.
( Sorry, we have not finished the list. )
Content: votes and moderation by all users !
New (July 30, 2004) :
Users can now vote for or against a non published text in the submission queue (you must open a session to see the submission queue).
Promoting a post : users can automatically promote a post to the first page if the total votes are +3 points.
Suppression of a post : votes are noted by the administrator but, to avoid potential sabotage by Internet surfers, the suppression of a post is not automated (but promotion is automated by the vote results).
If you feel a Comment is hateful or violent…
Users can also vote to express if a Comment is OK or hateful, violent or totally out of subject (this is therefore a moderation vote). Yet, moderation is not automatic according to votes: only the administrator (Michaël Lessard) has the technical power to delete a Comment (see the following section to know the Siriel-Media moderation criteria).
Moderation Criteria - Inclusion or exclusion of a post (V.1.4b, 2007 edition)
(V.1.4b : November 26, 2007, see the change in red.)
:: Comments are not judged by the Content Committee, but one must create an account to post or comment; with a valid e-mail) (a necessary mesure after being bombarded more than once by automated advert. comments).
The Siriel-Media Content Committee is not responsible for content of Comments, but we will nonetheless refuse hate propaganda or gross insults directed at users.
– Users can vote to state if they feel a Comment is hateful, violent or totally out of subject.
:: Identity (you have the right to be anonymous):
Though you must create an account to post or comment, your user name does not need to be real. Yet the e-mail you use must be functional, otherwise you will not receive the welcome message and the administrator will destroy this false-account.
:: Sources :
If you share a media article, you must mention the name of the original source (such as the name of the newspaper) and, when possible, the name of the author and the Internet link.
:: When a post is accepted, the Administrator will try to include a comment explaining the criteria, when useful… The Administrator should also contact the user if a post is not accepted (but we can’t contact you if you didn’t open a session-account when posting). – Users can vote for or against a post in the submission queue.
CRITERIA FAVOURABLE TO INCLUSION OF A POST
> “Relevance” : concerns a massive violation of a fundamental human right or what we call a ‘policy of mass destruction’ (Ex.: torture and political repression of many people; a policy which causes mass suffering or death to a group of people; a crime of war; an important violation of international law, etc.)
BUT some individual cases represent what a group of people are going through and, hence, postings for such cases could be accepted; especially if human rights organizations have not mentionned the case enough.
The Content Committee should be more flexible towards users from countries where there is no or very little freedom of press/expression.
The Siriel-Media is also open to announcements from citizen groups and non-governmental organizations interested by the subjects named above.
> Info that is little known or that would be very important to share:
the info must not be too widespread in the mass media *or* must be urgent to ‘broadcast’ more.
UNFAVOURABLE CRITERIA (which could exclude a post)
• Irrelevant :
A post may be considered not irrelevant if it concerns human rights violations that are “too individual” or which do not concern “mass suffering”. There are already many organizations and web sites specialised in rights violations such as Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, etc. (We can sometimes make exceptions: see above.)
• Info that are already known by people, especially if it was broadcast by mass media (on television for example).
• Duplication :
If there is other content on the site that repeats the same information posted and that the post in question does not add enough ‘food for thought’ or information.
• No source named for copyrighted material :
It pretty simple really: if your share a media article (commercial or non-profit), you must mention the name of the original source (such as the name of the newspaper). The name of the author would be appreciated (but it is not obligatory if the source is mentionned).
• Poor credibility :
If the information is not credible (if it sounds like it could be false), the post could be excluded. For Siriel-Media to be useful, we must avoid misleading information.
BUT this criteria does not apply the same way if the post clearly states that the information concerns an allegation and needs investigation and if it is posted as a warning about potential human rights violations (in the hope of preventing…).
• False data and exaggerated distortions :
We will not accept untruthful propaganda and gross exagerations.
Example : “Saddam Hussein killed millions of people !”
Admin : He is indeed responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people and is co-responsible (along with many other States) for the Iran-Iraq War and suffering under economic sanctions, but this statement is an exaggeration that does not contain reliable data.
Note: does not apply to the Comments.
• Hateful, racist or sexist propaganda or that encourages human rights violations
Note: This particular criteria obviously applies also to Comments (reminder: Comments do not require approval to be published on the site).
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Who is on the Content Committee & How do I join? (V.2, 07-2004)
The Content Committee would be the team that verifies posts, etc.
For the moment, no one has asked to join the team. The creator of the site (Michael Lessard) is the only administator for the moment… But, considering that the Siriel-Media is intended to be a tool for world citizens and because of my democratic values, I hope some day there will be many members of the Content Committee.
What do the members of such a committee have to do ?
> The idea is to filter or moderate, taking into account user votes, posts that could be irrelevant, unnecessary duplications or that contain information that is not credible or false. Notice that all users (with an account) can vote that a Comment is hateful or violent propaganda, but only the members of the Content Committee have the technical power to remove a post or Comment.
How to become a member of this committee ?
> If a participant sends texts that are appreciated by users of the site and he/she understands how to make a correct post (ex.: with the right terms-subjects), members of the committee (Michael Lessard for the moment) will invite that participant to join. Hence, you only need to demonstrate, through your own posts on the site, that you comprehend the themes and guidelines of the Siriel-Media.
Reminder : Comments are automatically published.
– V.2, 07-2004. By: Michaël Lessard, Admin. Siriel-Media.
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