We love words—fact. Another fact: we hate hate. And since we hate to hate, we tend to love love. We love to love, and we love trying our best to spread love. It’s not about how many muscles you need to frown or smile, or how consistent the effort should be to do good instead of letting entropy do its “shitty” job. It’s about laziness and momentum.

We’re not here to discuss life (well… actually, we are, but that’s not the point right now). We live in a society, and that means we have to interact with other people. And looking at our society, it can feel like things are heading in the wrong direction.

So, what can we do with our social platform? (Let’s think about the word itself and break a few behavioral rules. It’s not just a “social network”—let’s call it a social platform. Do you like it? Nothing is carved in stone—even stone isn’t eternal).

We have a chance to build something from scratch, to lay down the first bricks on virgin soil. So let’s do this together, shall we? This is the first article where we’ll accept comments. Share, enjoy, and help us shape this platform.

Who are we (to think we can “concede” something)?

Slam In is not just a site, a social platform, or what you’ll see when we’ll open it to the world—it’s an evolving ecosystem.

We’ve established a company—not because we love paperwork, but because in a capitalist system, one of the best ways to change it is from within. We decided not to monetize your content (everything posted will be under a Creative Commons license). Our aim is to build a community of peers that manages the platform collectively, as a nonprofit.

But we ask for something in return: we try to do our best—if you promise to do yours.

Why a company, you ask? Because if you upload a video to the internet, there needs to be a contract between you and the hosting company—so you know your content won’t be misused or monetized behind your back. The counterpart is: we also need the ability to delete content that breaks our ground rules (we don’t want SLAM IN to become a hub for illegal activity or harmful behavior). Normally, this kind of stuff gets buried in a verbose, infinite EULA that you skip, scroll past, and accept without reading.

Our challenge? Keeping this contract simple, clear, and humane. We’re writing it now, and we invite you to join us. Suggest what works, point out what doesn’t. Since we’re all on the same side and everyone is equal, no single person dictates the rules here. Nothing will be carved in stone—our terms will evolve as we do.

But here’s where we ask for a little effort.

Edmund Burke for the win!

You know the line:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

We ask you to think—really think—about words. About meaning. About what it’s like to live in a “bad society.” Then do your best not to recreate that environment on SLAM IN.

If you have something useful to say, say it!
If you have nothing to add: read, listen, enjoy, and please, don’t chime in with something hurtful or superfluous. Silence, when needed or simply due, is golden.

“But we’re poets! How could we remain silent?”

We get it. We’re here for that—to speak up! But we’re also here to find new, healthier ways to interact. We ask everyone (ourselves included) to:

• Listen before speaking.
• Think before writing or acting.
• Speak and act with an open, collaborative attitude.

Sometimes, compromise is the win-win solution. If you witness wrongdoing, don’t stay silent—point it out. That’s how we learn. That’s how we improve.

Live up to your word

This won’t be easy—but we’re up for the challenge. We dreamed of the simplest EULA ever: “Don’t be evil.”
But, aside from already being taken (and, well… not followed), it’s a bit too vague and open to interpretation.

We know and understand that evolution follows the path of least effort(entropy, remember?!)—the minimum needed to get by. That’s why we ask you to try your best to be your best self right from the start. The rest will follow (and if it will be a little worse than before, at least we tried our best in the beginning, it shouldn’t be that bad).

We’re drafting the ground rules for a better society, help us with the best you’ve got. SLAM IN will always need new energy to evolve, and if it’s not you, today, maybe someone else will do their best for you… you’ll try tomorrow. Together, we can make it happen.

Thank you.

Published: Dec 18 – 2024