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 from the community.
If you want to add ideas/feedback - go to the #✊core-values-philosophy channel on the Teia Discord and bring your input there!
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 decentralised 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.
- We believe in a community for all users and all art forms.
- 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
- Inclusive for all participants, no matter the social/economic status.
- 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.
- 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
- 2.1 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.
- 3.1 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 (s. 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.
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 gatekeeping 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 equal rights in this voting process **and distribute the votes equally to users that contribute to its development
- 4.6.3 Encourage and help all members to participate in community votes
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- 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.
- 5.1 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
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 mediafiles of objkts should be stored in a decentralised and transparent way.
- 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
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.
- 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.
- Respect the community.
- 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.
- Don't post spam or vandalize the space.
We do not condone harassment against any member, for any reason. 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. Harassment of admins or moderators will not be tolerated.
- If you see something wrong, voice it and try to help people without a voice. Report abuse of the platform. [link to report page/channel]
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.
- 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.
- Artists should avoid suggesting that incorporated elements are original to them, unless that suggestion is integral to the meaning of the new work.
- When copying another’s work, an artist should cite the source, whether in the new work or elsewhere (by means such as labeling or embedding), unless there is an articulable aesthetic basis for not doing so.
These bulletpoints on intellectual property are taken from page 11 of https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1000&context=scholcom and reflect our idea of how to handle the topic.
- 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”.
Copyminting is the act of taking another's work and minting it as your own. We come down heavily on any account that does this. It results in an instant restriction. Several processes are in place to detect copyminting and other behaviors against the CoC.
A copymint team oversees the processes and acts as moderators over accounts in question. Please understand their role and that processes like this do generate mistakes. The team investigates when alerted through the #report-copyminters channel of the original "hicetnunc" Discord server). Please respect their work, and help them by being courteous and accurate with the information that will help your inquiry.
Accounts that TEIA restricts are labeled “restricted account,” and OBJKTs that a restricted account has minted are labeled “restricted OBJKT” in the marketplace. Since TEIA is a decentralized application, restricted OBJKTs are only superficially restricted, meaning that they are still available through APIs and on-chain data.
Various other Tezos marketplaces also use the Hicetnunc/Teia restricted list of accounts, which means that once TEIA restricts an account, other NFT marketplaces will likely follow suit.
The copymint team operates on the following Terms and work voluntarily to keep TEIA free of copymints and keep collectors and artists happy. Please understand their role and that processes like this do generate mistakes. The team investigates when alerted through the #report-copyminters channel of the original "hicetnunc" Discord server). It is important to note that we do not tolerate harassment of any kind and using the site to harass others can result in restrictions in your teia/hicetnunc profile and your Discord account.
- Copymint: minting another artist(s) work without their consent or minting your identical work more than once. Copyminting can also include OBJKTs based on another artist's work, with minimal filters or modifications applied.
- Duplicate mints across marketplaces: if you mint the same work more than once without artistic merit or an apparent reference for prospective buyers.
- Infringed copyright: the use of artists' work in part or whole where the artist explicitly forbids third party use.
- Funding from a confirmed restricted account.
- Funding of confirmed restricted accounts.
- Wash trading: market manipulation through buying own OBJKTs directly or indirectly.
- Minting material that glorifies human rights violations or is soley pornographic without any artistic expression. This applies especially but is not limited to cases of copied or filtered pornographic content stolen from third parties.
- Violates the CoC in other ways: mainly if it is overtly abusive to another group, invokes violence, or intimidates or harasses.
Teia currently shares the list of banned/restricted accounts with hicetnunc.xyz - currently the list is managed on hicetnuncs discord server. Teia is working on setting up its own copymint report channel, but for now please use the #report-copyminters channel on the hicetnunc discord server for reports or unban requests.
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.
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 that is shown on your website, Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr, etc., that is your own will help.
If the copymint team agrees that the account does not violate the CoC, the account affected will be removed from the restricted list. It takes about 5 mins for any changes to the restricted list to go live.