English Habitat is a home for English language learning and teaching on the internet. It aims to be a learning community: a welcoming and suitable environment in which people from around the world can come together to learn the English language and develop their skills, freely and creatively. Learning takes places in the interaction with content, other learners, and other members of the platform.

Every home, community, or habitat has a set of rules – spoken or unspoken – that govern its affairs. The rules of English Habitat are explained in these Community Guidelines. Their purpose is to keep the community healthy and vibrant, and its mission clear.

The guidelines are meant to be simple, clear, and readable. When in doubt or you need further clarification, please contact us.

The guidelines will help you to understand how to behave in the community, and what kind of behaviour you can expect from others.

It is a well-known phenomenon that people tend to behave worse on the internet than they do in person. When people are allowed anonymity and an audience, they will often act in an antisocial manner. This is why English Habitat requires registration (giving up at least some of your anonymity), and expects the community to self-regulate to a large extent.

We shape our environments and our environments shape us. In a community, we are all responsible for shaping the environment into a pleasant one, and in turn, this pleasant environment will shape us into pleasant people.

The community guidelines apply to all of the comments, the Blog, the Forum and the Q&A on the website, and they are expected to apply to all of the English Habitat social media channels as well. Moderation is applied only to interactions occurring on EnglishHabitat.com; social media channels are governed by their own respective rules and regulations. English Habitat facilitates no other interactions between community members, such as private messages.

These guidelines may be revised periodically, based for example on feedback from members and on how the community evolves and adapts.

The Community Guidelines are written in the spirit of three basic principles:

1. English Habitat is a collaborative learning platform

2. English Habitat is for everyone

3. English Habitat is a private, not a public, platform

These principles are explained and illustrated below with some dos and don’ts. The rules are meant to be common-sensical, not exhaustive.

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1. English Habitat is a collaborative learning platform

English Habitat is designed as a platform for learning. Learning is the only goal. There is no other agenda. Education is often subordinated to other societal goals and instrumentalised, sometimes in service of very lofty ideals. Not here.

We come together on the platform as a learning community. English Habitat values and promotes open, lively collaboration and interaction. This means we encourage you to freely express your opinions and ideas with mutual respect and civility.

Learning is only possible when there is trust between members of the community, and people feel safe and comfortable. It is our shared responsibility to foster trust. Be tolerant with others, and strict with yourself.

Expressing yourself while learning a new language inevitably means making mistakes. Failure is an inherent part of success. Open yourself up to honest feedback, but give and receive it in a pleasant and constructive manner. Don’t forget to give positive feedback as well, and encourage others. Express gratitude.

Interactive features, including comments, are intended to provide relevant and helpful content to members in order to foster learning.

Anything that deviates, detracts or distracts from its learning objective is removed from English Habitat.

This includes excessive self-promotion; spam and other forms of advertising; anything that is false, misleading, or inauthentic; and links to phishing, malware, scams, or other illegal sites.

2. English Habitat is for everyone

English Habitat is populated by people of all stripes. It aims to be an inclusive environment. We come together with a single, common aim: to learn and to help others learn English.

As a rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t say or do it at a dinner table with your extended family, don’t say or do it on English Habitat. “Home” is a good metaphor for the platform. You wouldn’t allow people to engage in unpleasant behaviour in your living room.

English Habitat welcomes diversity. Statements or actions that discriminate, express hatred or intolerance for people on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex/gender, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, physical appearance, or socio-economic status, are strictly prohibited.

Viewpoint diversity is as important as demographic diversity in the community. Disagreements are useful, even necessary, but they have to be in good faith, like a friend pointing out you’re wrong. Disagreement is not about trying to make the other person look or feel bad or to “score points”. Approach giving criticism the way you would if you were a guest at the other person’s house.

Don’t use language that is harassing, threatening, or inflammatory. Never use insults or obscenities, and don’t attack or bully others. (Further guidance on taboos and offensive language [for members].)

Members are not in competition with one another. Do not seek status within the community. Learning is not a “zero sum game”: everyone can succeed, in their own way, in their own time. There is nothing great about being better at English than someone else. The only honourable thing is to be better than your own former self. Don’t wear credentials as badges of honour.

English Habitat may be used by minors – defined as those between the ages of 13 and 18 (under 13s cannot use the platform). There is no separation between children and adults on the platform. This means that all interactions must be child friendly.

Don’t post or link to content that is obscene, pornographic, or sexually suggestive, or that contains nudity or sexually explicit images. Don’t post or link to content that relates to extreme or graphic violence.

While we all mingle and engage with one another, we should be respectful of others’ privacy. Asking for or posting your own or other people’s private, personally identifiable information (including phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, family members’ names, employer’s information, etc.) is not allowed, even with the best of intentions.

3. English Habitat is a private, not a public, platform

English Habitat is a private space, and its content and features are accessible only to registered members. By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and you agree to abide by these Community Guidelines.

You may use the platform only for lawful purposes.

The information you provide as part of the registration process must be true and accurate. (The way we handle your information is explained in the Privacy Policy.) You mustn’t impersonate other people or pretend to be someone or something you're not. Don’t use multiple accounts.

Only post your own content or content that you have permission to use. Don’t post anything that infringes others’ intellectual property. Don’t post anything that encourages or supports illegal behaviour.

While operating in accordance with national and international laws, English Habitat does not violate your rights or civil liberties, such as the right to free speech or assembly, if you are denied access or you have your input moderated. Moderation is not authoritarian control; its objective is never to surveil or censor you.

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Moderation

The sole moderator of English Habitat is its administrator. I am the final arbiter in the interpretation of these guidelines, should there arise a dispute.

Moderation is done in the spirit of the three basic principles outlined above. It is further grounded in the principles of free speech as outlined in this statement [for members].

Moderation assumes good faith, but it is prepared to deal with bad faith.

If you violate the Community Guidelines, your ability to access the platform may be restricted. Your content may be removed, and your membership may be suspended or terminated.

The tools of moderation consist of:

• Removal of content (comments or other contributions)
• Warning (First warning, Final warning)
• Temporary suspension of account (duration may vary)
• Permanent ban

A virtue carried to the extreme becomes a vice. Moderation tries to find a middle way to balance the rules. Things aren’t always black and white, and there are often trade-offs to consider.

When in doubt or you need further clarification, please contact us.

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Thai