The Legal Bit...
Code of conduct
The following is a code of conduct for users and/or members of The Sparrow website.
1. Purpose
This Code of Conduct establishes guidelines for user interaction and engagement on The Sparrow's online platform, ensuring a respectful, safe, and constructive digital environment.
2. Fundamental Principles
- Respect: Treat all users, writers, and staff with dignity
- Integrity: Maintain honesty in comments and interactions
- Inclusivity: Embrace diverse perspectives and backgrounds
3. User Expectations
3.1 Content Engagement
- Comments must be constructive and relevant
- Personal attacks are prohibited
- No hate speech, discriminatory language, or offensive content
- Respect intellectual property rights
3.2 Account Responsibility
- Provide accurate registration information
- Maintain account security
- Use one genuine account per individual
- Protect personal and others' privacy
4. Prohibited Actions
- Spam or unsolicited advertising
- Harassment or bullying
- Sharing explicit or graphic content
- Impersonation
- Deliberate misinformation
5. Consequences of Violation
- Warning
- Temporary account suspension
- Permanent account termination
6. Reporting Mechanism
Users can report inappropriate content or behavior through:
- Email: contact.sparrow.magazine@gmail.com
- Use the 'Contact Us' page
Effective Date: 20th January, 2025
Content Disclaimer
The following is a disclaimer regarding any content posted on The Sparrow site, related sites or our social media pages inclusive of content within articles and as part of the web design.
Editors, writers and/or contributors may on occasion spelling, grammatical or structuring mistakes for which we apologise for. These mistakes may have slipped through our editorial process. Please contact us about such instances here, or by navigating to the 'Contact Us' page on our website.
The Sparrow is a website which publishes articles and content from multiple independent writers or 'Contributors'. These 'Contributors' have the right to create their own articles and content which we then publish on their behalf. We have a set list of standards which content must conform to in order to be publish which is outlined in internal documents given to each contributor and on our online website under the 'Legal' page listed here. We cannot be held responsible for the content created by individuals who contribute to our website. We will try to ensure all content meets our requirements however, from time to time we understand we may not have met these expectations. If you feel that a piece of content is not suitable for this site or goes against our guidelines please contact us here or by navigating to the 'Contact Us' page on our website.
Whilst The Sparrow is intended to provide news and information to its readers, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of facts, statistics or information in articles written by contributors. Information in these articles should never be taken as fact and we suggest readers look at other sources to further understand topics. We aim to minimise misinformation on our site by rigorous reviewing processes in accordance to internal guidelines which are available to all our writers. We also give our writers guidelines on how to properly research and/or develop articles in order to reduce misinformation.
Opinion articles are always signposted in the title and using the category tags. The opinions expressed in these articles may not represent the opinions of the editors of The Sparrow, other contributors or of our website hosting service.
Effective Date: 20th January, 2025
Translation Disclaimer
The Sparrow currently offers users the ability to read content in English or Spanish. English is our primary language meaning all website design, articles and content are created in English first and then translated.
Because we are a small and independent organisation, we do not have dedicated Spanish translators meaning we must rely on online translation software. We use multiple tools such as the built in software translation service from our website hosting service as well as other services such as Google Translate and Apple's Translate App. These services can sometimes not accurately translate content resulting in errors in meaning, spelling or punctuation.
We ask readers to understand that there may be errors in content due to these factors for which we apologise.
Effective Date: 20th January, 2025
Permitted content
The following is a written list of what content/articles we permit and ban from The Sparrow. We have used our internal guidelines for writers to create this list.
The Sparrow aims to feature a wide range of topics and discussions in order to create variety and choice for our readers. Currently we are looking for content in the following categories:
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Culture
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Music
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Art
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Politics
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Technology
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Reviews
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Opinions
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Fashion
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Leeds
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University Life
The following topics/articles are not allowed:
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Political propaganda or heavy endorsement of both UK and international parties/politicians.
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Content which may be overly distressing or triggering for readers. E.g. descriptions of rape, terrorism, self-harm, war etc.
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Content of a highly sexual nature including uncensored images of nudity and/or in-depth descriptions or discussions of sexual acts.
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Paid promotions which are not clearly signposted using the appropriate methods (see page 7 for more details)
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Content which shows prejudice towards a certain community or minority group.
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Very niche topics which may not have a large readership potential for our audience. E.g. an article about a local market in a small village in Wales.
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Opinion pieces which have not been clearly signposted as opinions (see page 8 for more details)
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Articles which glorify or promote acts of violence, racism, prejudice, terrorism or dangerous acts.
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Topics which have already been covered before in previous articles and where there is no ability to expand on or provide different insight.
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Topics or discussions which invade a persons or organisations privacy.
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AI generated materials including images and text.
This list is not exhaustive, and the editors reserve the right to decline any article for any reason if they deem it inappropriate.
If you feel that an article goes against these guidelines or it should be removed for any other reason please contact us here or by navigating to the 'Contact Us' page on our website.